I don't shoot open irons as well as I used to, and lost interest in the .357 some time ago. The 10 in a Glock 40 with Holosun is a mighty capable handgun, and yes, casting and powder coating bullets for handloading the 10 make it very easy on the pocket book to shoot. No big deal to top up with a CCI .40 snake load and then eject it by hand. Truth be told about these is that I have ALWAYS had a DRT with the .22 snake load with No. 12 shot, and ALWAYS had to follow up with the larger shot CCI uses in .38/.357 and .44.

It always amazes me to read/hear about success with #12 shot vs literally anything. Especially the .22 rat shells. But you know I am gonna weigh in on it, and IMO it’s useless. Unless you are so close that you could almost kill him with just the muzzle blast. Seems like a great load for swatting carpenter bees off the dandelions, that’s about it.

I think a spit wad has better terminal ballistics than #12 shot.

Not sure what that means, can't read it...but it takes about an hour to "shake and bake" 100 bullets start to finish and another 30 minutes minimum to gas check them. 90 minutes for 100 bullets is significant and therefore the price quoted above is pretty good. Unsure what 30d=cal rifle stuff is but I bake for 15 minutes at 400. But I have to get everything set up, clean the bullets, tumble them in powder and use forceps to place them one by one. I don't think I have ever WDing but once again, I'm unsure. Once they cool off (gotta count that time), then the gas checks go on.

I don’t get the infatuation with high capacity handguns for snakes or hunting, especially in Texas. My tastes for carrying a hunting handgun lean toward accurate 4”-5”revolvers with quality single action triggers. The two I have and really like are both .357. 4 5/8” Blackhawk and a 4” 686. Both with fully adjustable iron sights. If you don’t practice a lot, a dot probably makes more sense. I’ve found it easier for me to accurately stretch the range with a quality revolver. Barrels longer than 5” are bothersome carrying for me.

Being able to have light is one pro for the semiauto, my S&W 4006 TSW with a TLR1 gets carried a lot when I'm at my uncle's farm. If I know I'll only be out during daytime, my 357 Blackhawk gets carried for its longer range, and of course the cool cowboy factor. There are some pretty spicy 40 S&W loads from Underwood that encroach on 357 territory and that's what I carry in the 4006. Both have adjustable sights and are quite accurate with good ammo if I do my part. Now if I have an AR with a light on me, I'll just carry a Mark IV 22.

I carry a high capacity 10mm, because I hunt in Mountain Lion country.

GG I GC before coating with sizer. 30 cal 145gr PB on hot plate, turn on wait 15 min, wait another10 min @ 400F for 'linking', power off and wait to cool. Do something else in 'wait' time. Second batch of 100 this morning. I use an old 45ACP tray to set them.

Are you speaking from experience? Because I am. .22LR rat shot and it never moved a muscle.

FN 510 is a hoot.

Agree hundreds of rats from the old corn crib growing up and I have no ides how many snakes have not argued any with the effectiveness within 15 feet of the 22 revolvers. The old crimped Winchester rat shot loads seemed more effective than the CCI version but the CCIs have served well too in the 22lr and mag.

Remington at one time made a rat shot for the 45ACP and they worked extremely well with the larger payload and case mouth acted as a bit of a choke, they patterned well and deadly at 20 feet or more on snakes.

IMO it sounds like a great excuse to get a 10mm (I don't have one). On the other hand I've been carrying the same Ruger GP100, .357 for over 20 years and it hasn't let me down. The first round is a shotshell followed by 5 hollow points.

I feel the same way. A GP100 is all I've carried in the woods since the day I got it. My eldest son's first handgun was a GP100 and my youngest, a Security Six.

I like the idea of a 10mm, but don't really want to introduce a new cartridge right now.

Every gun owner should have a 10mm IMHO. Best way to magnum performance in a semi auto and increase capacity, however small. There’s even a double stack these days. I got the bug years ago. Have 5 or 6.

I would like a 50bmg but I would trust my 45ACP in bear country. I think 12 rounds of 45 +P hard cast will be a good contender to the lower round count of a 357 revolver.

I carry a Glock 20 Gen 5 with a Holosun SCS optic which allows for cowitness with the factory sights or in my case night sights.

I've killed pigs with a 45 ACP and a 10mm. There's no question which one has more one-shot-stop power. I tried to kill about 5 or 6 pigs in a trap once with my 45 ACP. My first shot with a 45 ACP from about 5 feet on a hogs head literally bounced off it's head and pissed it off. I killed all those pigs after 2 mags later, then sold my 45 ACP not long after that. I have done the same thing with a 10mm (multiple times now), and it only required one round each time. A 200 grain XTP will flat out hammer the big pigs and put them down.

Years ago I went to 40 cal and 10mm on every handgun I own, (except one Glock 45 ACP for testing new ammo). I'll be these 2 calibers from now on.

Ha, I had the same thing happen to me with a wounded hog and 1911 45acp, shot him right between the eyes and he fell over quivering.
Shot again just to be sure, upon cleaning it was discovered the first shot just bounced off his forehead, stunned him pretty good though.
That 1911 has since been converted to 460 Rowland

I call it "Black Jack Shellac"