PPU's Defense 180-grain jacketed hollow point is the slowest load in this group. It leaves the muzzle at 1,082 fps with 468 ft-lbs, a power factor of 195 that clears the 165 major floor by about 30, and it is the only load here that starts below 1,125 fps. From a 25-yard zero it sits 1.5 inches low at 50 yards and 11.1 inches low at 100, where it still has 949 fps and 360 ft-lbs. It has the least recoil energy of the five loads here.

Everything else is loaded harder. The Hornady Custom 180-grain XTP is 193 fps faster at the muzzle with about 32 percent more recoil energy in the same pistol. The Winchester Defender 180-grain bonded JHP is 158 fps faster with about 26 percent more recoil. PMC Bronze 170-grain runs 118 fps faster for about 6 percent more. The Federal Personal Defense HST 200-grain is 48 fps faster and kicks about 33 percent harder, but it loses speed quickly: by 100 yards the PPU is 44 fps faster than the HST and they carry the same energy within 4 ft-lbs. Drop at 50 yards is within half an inch across the group; at 100 yards the PPU lands 3.0 inches lower than the Hornady.

Carry this if you want the 10mm hollow point with the least recoil, for a compact pistol, a new 10mm shooter, or high-volume hollow point practice. It is not the load for anyone who bought a 10mm for full power: the Hornady Custom and the Winchester Defender each deliver more than 30 percent more energy at the muzzle. For a ball practice load, the Fiocchi Shooting Dynamics 180-grain FMJTC at 1,250 fps produces about 28 percent more recoil energy than this load, so it will not feel like what you carry.