Smith & Wesson introduces M&P 10mm 2.0

The 10-millimetre is back! Smith & Wesson has announced it's bringing the M&P 10mm 2.0 to market, chambered in the love-it-or-loathe-it 10mm Auto.

A blast from the past

Smith & Wesson's decision to bring back its semi-auto pistol in 10mm Auto is most interesting, considering the cartridge has fallen from favour in recent years. Introduced in the early 1980s, 10mm Auto gained some popularity when the FBI and other law enforcement agencies decided they were under-gunned and needed more powerful semi-autos. The main catalyst was the 1986 FBI Miami shootout where two bank robbers almost wiped out a team of FBI special agents, leaving the agency feeling the need for more hitting power. Sonny Crockett famously wielded a Bren Ten chambered in 10mm Auto in a couple of seasons of Miami Vice, too, which boosted sales as well.

The 10mm Auto was supposed to give magnum-level power in a semi-auto handgun, but the FBI decided many agents couldn't handle the recoil, and instead chose to go with the .40 S&W cartridge. Since then, smaller police departments have adopted the cartridge, but it lags far, far behind the 9mm Luger, .40 S&W and other cartridges in its law enforcement and civilian usage.

However: The 10mm Auto is still a beastly, powerful cartridge for an autoloading pistol, with some loadings exceeding some .357 Magnum loads. No doubt Smith & Wesson sees some demand for such power, as the US is selling handguns like mad, with buyers wanting self-defense shock-and-awe. Whether customers will be able to find ammunition to feed their guns is another question.

The M&P 10mm 2.0

So, Smith & Wesson is bringing its updated M&P pistol out in 10mm Auto. It's supposed to be based on the M&P 45 2.0, roughly the same size physically, and accepting many of the same accessories. The M&P 10mm 2.0 comes with a slide designed to mount optics, and the M2.0 flat-faced trigger kit pre-installed. There's a Picatinny rail under the barrel for mounting a laser or light.

Grip angle is 18 degrees, and Smith & Wesson includes four interchangeable grip inserts.

Smith & Wesson will make the M&P 10mm 2.0 with both 4-inch and 4.6-inch barrels―we'd expect the longer-barreled version to come to Canada, although the 15-round double-stack magazine will obviously be neutered to Canuckistan-legal 10 rounds. Buyers have the choice of purchasing with or without an ambidextrous thumb-activated safety. It comes with an Armornite corrosion-resistant finish, and weighs about 30 ounces. See more details at Smith & Wesson's website. At this point, the details on that site are for American-market pistols, but surely Canadian details will come soon.