At 1,275 fps and 650 ft-lbs, Hornady's Custom 180-grain XTP is the fastest load in this group of 10mm hollow points. Power factor is 230, 65 over the 165 major floor. The XTP is a jacketed hollow point that Hornady designs to expand in a controlled way. From a 25-yard zero it is 1.0 inch low at 50 yards, still supersonic at 1,146 fps with 525 ft-lbs, and 8.1 inches low at 100 yards at 1,052 fps and 443 ft-lbs. Recoil energy in the reference compact pistol is 11.8 ft-lbs, tied with the Federal Personal Defense HST 200-grain for the most here.

The Winchester Defender 180-grain bonded JHP is the nearest match, 35 fps slower with about 5 percent less recoil. Winchester's Super-X 175-grain Silvertip and PMC Bronze 170-grain both leave at 1,200 fps, 75 fps behind, and give up 91 and 107 ft-lbs at the muzzle. The HST 200-grain is 145 fps slower but matches the Hornady's recoil, and by 100 yards the Hornady is 147 fps faster and lands 3.1 inches higher. The PPU Defense 180-grain is 193 fps slower, and the Hornady produces about 32 percent more recoil energy than it. Fifty-yard drop across the group runs from 1.0 to 1.5 inches, so nothing here needs a different hold.

This is the load for shooters who want the most velocity and energy the 10mm hollow points here offer, in a pistol they have practiced with at this power level. If recoil decides it, the Super-X Silvertip 175-grain produces about 15 percent less recoil energy in the same pistol and the PPU Defense about 24 percent less. For practice, the Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics 180-grain FMJTC at 1,250 fps is only 25 fps slower and within 4 percent on recoil.