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Over the years, I have been fortunate to have had correspondence with a couple of dozen ex-FBI agents
who over time gave me a sense of what went on in the agency during and after the time when the
FBI was developing their new ammunition test protocol. All bemoaned the loss of the 10mm, and individually
NONE could account for any gun failures.
Many agents still used the 1076 while on duty, having purchased their 1076 on the private market. This bit of information is startling. Why would a firearm and caliber so maligned in the firearm community have such a loyal following among those who were part of its history? The flood gates of information appear to be opening as agents retire, and feel free to discuss the issue. This page has some details from the best source of information who was closer to the entire 10mm testing than anyone I have had contact with. I left it in its original Email format. Note: as usual I deleted identifying text to keep the originator anonymous, my replies are in Italics. |
I was involved in the analysis, testing and selection that led to the adoption of the 10mm.
I have attached a synopsis of dates/events that was used as a hand-out by the FBI to
illustrate the process. You may find it of interest. None of the Agents that were issued
1076's (several thousand) complained about the guns - the problems with the gun were
manufactured at Quantico for a variety of reasons having nothing to do with the merits of
the weapon system/caliber.
Enjoyed your web site.
Questions for you??
Were you working at the FBI, S&W, or a contractor for one of them?
Can I use this info on my site?
> I was in the FBI, and was the Assistant Unit Chief of the Firearms Training Unit, and
> project manager for the FBI's Ammunition Test Program as well as firearms and ammunition
> research and procurement. The information is public - as I said, it was used as a
> hand-out to educate and answer questions among Agents and police.
Then you must know John Hall from the FTU? I'm not personally acquainted with him, but a
former agent who wrote me from my site took Law with Mr. Hall, and shared a quote he
supposedly once used...
"Treat everyone you meet like a million dollars.... but always have a plan to kill them"
I think that's refreshingly honest, considering the scrutiny agents receive from chair warmers
in high places :-)
From the reading material I have, it seems like Mr. Hall was also instrumental in selection
of the 10mm, and I read he brought his personal Delta Elite into the trials.
I've had a couple of dozen retired FBI agents write me after reading my website. All bemoan
the loss of the 10mm, and 1076.
> John Hall was Unit Chief of the Firearms Training Unit -
> He recently published a book about the law enforcement use of deadly force
> or you could just search Amazon under his name or mine -- probably easier. The book is
> "In Defense of Self & Others..." John was the initiator of the 10mm - when we decided to
> examine calibers for the general issue pistol to replace revolvers Bureau-wide, he threw
> the 10 into the mix. The rest was history.
> When the Assistant Director for Training Division at the time (Jim Greenleaf) transferred
> out, he was replaced by a far less substantive individual who reorganized the Academy -
> taking the Firearms Unit away from the Deputy Assistant Director who had (with Greenleaf)
> made the 10 program their own, and gave it to his new Deputy (there were two at Quantico
> then) - his personal sycophant. That individual and John soon crossed swords - regularly.
> John refused to act as the Deputy's yes man, was forced out of the Firearms Unit - which
> caused a huge uproar - and basically, to justify his actions, the Deputy had begun a
> systematic effort behind our backs to trash the 1076 program. One example - the "gunsmith"
> responsible for quality control of the 1076s as they came in had been in the gunvault
> one year - prior to that time he had been a full time grass mower on the grounds crew.
> He was directed to reject every gun that had anything wrong or out of place, and report
> directly to the Deputy. He rejected guns that had the retaining pin in the grips partially
> out of place - or needed a screw in the sights tightened - or had a scratch in the finish ---
> if he had to do anything at all to the gun no matter how trivial, he rejected it -- and
> reported the high failure rates to the Deputy behind our backs. That's just one example.
> Ultimately, the contract was cancelled "for the convenience of the government" since they never
> could find Smith in violation - and that of course meant Smith got paid to stop making the guns.
> It went downhill from there -- after several years of no weapons contract and "emergency purchases"
> of Sigs on a class by class basis (slightly illegal) they finally contracted with Glock, even
> though H&K won the technical evaluation with its USP at the time. Then several more years
> followed trying to swap out the issued 1076s in the field for Glocks - few volunteered it.
> Finally, they resorted to ordering Agents back to Quantico and confiscating the 1076 and
> issuing a Glock. There's a lot more to it - but that's the 10mm deal in a nutshell.
> I still get irritated when I read about the FBI dumping it because of all the "problems".
> Anyway - one good thing that came out of it was that the 9mm was killed off as a law
> enforcement round - now the 40S&W is the general law enforcement round (and lots of
> .45s - but the .40 is ubiquitous in PDs across the country) and that's a very good thing.
> S&W came up with the 40 as a way to save all its small frame 9mm types - and of course
> produce a proprietary round that would ride the 10mm wave.
> And if you find a 1076 - or have one - treasure it. It's one of the most reliable,
> accurate handguns there is. We had numerous of them go literally thousands of rounds without
> cleaning and no failures.
> I had two, but my sons relieved me of them.
Thanks very much. Your notes confirm all of the suspicions about the events involving the 10
in the FBI that myself and others have had all these years. I will post the info you provided
on my website after I get it in a web format. Any personal information or anything that could
identify you will be omitted.
10mm Notes
History:
1. Miami Shooting Incident - 4/11/86
a. ammunition failure - Dove made perfect shot, gun worked perfectly, bullet failed to do what is necessary
b. had bullet met currently established FBI standards, Platt’s heart would have been penetrated and he
could have lasted only 30 seconds or so - not the four minutes plus after which he killed Grogan and
Dove.
2. 1987 Weapons Procurement - 8/87
a. examined all currently available 9mm & .45 weapons
b. established no single weapon possessed all the features and capabilities desired for FBI issue pistol
1. all such features & capabilities existed BUT
2. not all present in one weapon
c. began drafting specifications for FBI pistol
3. Wound Ballistics Workshop - 9/87
a. brought in disparate and opposing theories and views regarding wound ballistics.
b. limited consensus obtained:
1. only two ways to incapacitate human target
hit central nervous system (fast incapacitation)
loss of blood sufficient to black out brain or drop blood pressure (relatively slow)
2. penetration of vital organs is critical
3. given desired penetration, only way to increase effectiveness is to make hole bigger
4. FBI Wound Ballistic Research - 1987-1988
a. adopted documented research of Dr. Martin Fackler
Director, Wound Ballistics Laboratory
U.S. Army Letterman Institute
Presidio of San Francisco, California
b. established bullet performance standards for law enforcement use
1. minimum 12 inches penetration, & 18 inches is better
2. bullet should create larger than caliber sized hole
NOTE: See “HANDGUN WOUNDING FACTORS & EFFECTIVENESS”
5. FBI Ammunition Test Protocol - began 12/88 & ongoing
a. designed to measure bullet effectiveness when used in conditions commonly present in FBI shootings
b. Eight penetration tests - five shots per test - 40 shots total
1. Bare 10% gelatin at 10 feet
proven to duplicate wounds in muscle tissue
correlates results with other researchers, all of whom shoot bare gelatin
2. Heavily clothed gelatin at 10 feet
four layers of clothing on gelatin
- cotton tee-shirt material
- cotton flannel shirt material
- 10oz down in nylon carrier
- heavy denim outer layer
3. Steel at 10 feet
20 gauge steel - heaviest found in car doors
clothed gelatin set 18” behind steel
- cotton tee-shirt material
- cotton flannel shirt material
4. Wallboard at 10 feet
simulates interior wall construction
clothed gelatin set 18” behind wallboard
- cotton tee-shirt material
- cotton flannel shirt material
5. Plywood at 10 feet
simulates construction lumber/wood doors
clothed gelatin set 18” behind plywood
- cotton tee-shirt material
- cotton flannel shirt material
6. Auto windshield glass at 10 feet
glass angled at 45 degrees
shot angled 15 degrees to glass
simulates shooting at driver from left front quarter
clothed gelatin set 18” behind glass
- cotton tee-shirt material
- cotton flannel shirt material
7. Clothed gelatin at 20 yards
two layers of clothing on gelatin
- cotton tee-shirt material
- cotton flannel shirt material
Note: starting in 1990, this test was changed. It now duplicates Test 2 - Heavily Clothed Gelatin (4 layers) but at 20 yards.
8. Auto windshield glass at 20 yards
glass angled at 45 degrees
simulates shooting at driver from straight ahead
clothed gelatin set 18” behind glass
- cotton tee-shirt material
- cotton flannel shirt material
c. Other tests performed
1. Accuracy
10 round groups at 25 yards
using test barrel & service weapon
2. Velocity
from test barrel & from service weapon
3. Pressure
4. Functioning
5. FBI Actions Resulting
a. developed 10mm load 12/88
1. commercial offerings too high pressure, too high velocity
2. originally seen as potential solution to controversy between big bullet advocates (.45) and high capacity advocates (9mm)
b. tested 4 calibers to determine most effective for adoption by FBI
1. .38 - 158gr LHP+P FBI load (establish minimum standard)
2. 9mm - 147gr subsonic load (best 9mm then available)
3. .45 - 185gr JHP (best .45 load then available)
4. 10mm - 180gr JHP subsonic developed by FBI
c. Director approved adoption of 10mm (2/89)
d. initiated procurement of 9500 10mm pistols (5/89)
1. two manufacturers submitted out of 21 expressing interest
Colt (one sample)
Smith & Wesson (three samples)
e. awarded contract for weapons to Smith & Wesson (1/90)
1. first 50 delivered 2/89 for test and pre-production evaluation
2. 200 for field testing and evaluation received 5/90
3. began issue to New Agents 7/90
4. began issue to field Firearms Instructors 8/90
4. begin general Field distribution and issue in 12/90
6. Facts About S&W M1076
a. Size Comparison with S&W M13
1. Empty Weight: M1076 - 36 oz. M13 - 32 oz.
2. Loaded Weight: M1076 - 44 oz. M13 - 35 oz.
3. Length: M1076 1/4 inch shorter than M13
4. Width: M1076 3/8 inch thinner than M13
5. Heigth: M1076 approximately same height as M13
b. Feature List of M1076
1. Tritium sights standard, plain sights optional
2. Three magazine capacities: 9, 11 & 15 rounds
3. Three different grip shapes available
4. Issued with 2 9-round, 4 11-round & 1 15 round mags
5. Issued with holster, 1 double & 1 single mag pouch
Reasons for Adoption of 10mm
1. Initial Test Results (12/88-1/89) on which decision based:
a. .38 Special +P - 158 gr lead hollow point
success rate meeting 12” minimum: 67.5%
wound volume (cubic inches of tissue disrupted): 2.16
average penetration: 11.76 ÛÛÛÛ test barrel average group: 2.992
service weapon average group: 10.863
b. 9mm Subsonic - 147 gr jacketed hollow point
success rate meeting 12” minimum: 67.5%
wound volume (cubic inches of tissue disrupted): 2.82
average penetration: 13.84 ÛÛÛÛ test barrel average group: 2.305
service weapon average group: 2.774
c. .45 ACP - 185 gr jacketed hollow point
success rate meeting 12” minimum: 92.5%
wound volume (cubic inches of tissue disrupted): 3.98
average penetration: 19.95 ÛÛÛÛ test barrel average group: 2.040
service weapon average group: 4.319
d. 10mm FBI Load - 180 gr jacketed hollow point
success rate meeting 12” minimum: 97.5%
wound volume (cubic inches of tissue disrupted): 4.11
average penetration: 17.90 ÛÛÛÛ test barrel average group: 0.893
service weapon average group: 2.550
Common Questions:
1. Since the .45 tested so well, why not adopt it instead of a new gun/caliber??
first, the 10mm tested better, albeit marginally better, than the .45 and we were committed
to adopt the best round. Nevertheless, the 10mm has far superior accuracy, allows for slightly
higher capacity than similar sized .45 weapons, is a new cartridge with room for further improvement
whereas the .45 has been around for 80 years and is as good as it is ever going to be, and the recoil
of the 10mm is softer than that of a comparably sized .45
second, related answer is that even had the FBI adopted the .45, a new weapon would have still been
required. In 1987 we determined that there was no current weapon with all the features in one package
that we desired. Regardless of caliber, the FBI would still have specified and procured a new weapon.
third, the difference between the two is marginal and had the Director said “go with the .45”, we
would have done so gladly. However, based on the results of the testing, we would not recommend
the 9mm for adoption as the FBI issued round.
2. Since you developed the 10mm, why not do the same thing with the 9mm??
The 9mm has been in existence since 1902. It is actually an older cartridge than the .45.
In that time, so many variations and designs have been tried that it is hard to imagine
anything new that could be attempted. For example, Federal Cartridge Corp. has 19 different
9mm loadings available. The currently produced 147 grain loadings are the upper practical
limit for the caliber in terms of weight. Heavier bullets have not proven feasible, and
everything else that you can think of has been tried.
3. Aren’t you afraid of over-penetration??
Û The fear of over-penetration is a misconception which was created back when law
enforcement was trying to overcome misinformed public resistance to the use of hollow
point ammunition. In the process, we began to believe it ourselves. First, our
lawyers are unaware of any successful legal action resulting from the injury of a
bystander due to a round over-penetrating the subject. We are aware of numerous
instances of Agents/officers being killed because their round did not penetrate enough
(Grogan and Dove, for example). Further, if you examine shooting statistics you will
see that officers hit the subject somewhere around 20-30% of the time. Thus 70-80%
of the shots fired never hit their intended target, and nobody ever worries about them -
only the ones that might “overpenetrate” the bad guy. Third, as our testing shows, even
the most frangible bullets designed specifically for shallow penetration will plug up
when striking wood or wallboard and then penetrate like full metal jacketed ammunition.
We are aware of successful legal actions where an innocent party has been struck by a shot
passing through a wall, but as we have proven, ALL of them will do that.
Another overlooked factor is that frequently the bullet must penetrate some obstacle
before reaching the desired target area, such as glass, clothing, arms, etc. If all of
our shots were at the subject’s unobstructed, frontal chest area then the required
penetration could be less, but such ideal conditions are seldom present.
4. How much does the gun cost??
The weapon with standard night sights, three grip options and seven magazines (2 nine round,
4 11 round and 1 fifteen round) costs the FBI $295 a copy. We doubt you will be able to get
them for that as I believe S&W is looking upon us as a “loss leader”. We anticipate their
contract price for departmental orders will be in the $400+ range.
5. What about women and small handed shooters??
We do not anticipate any major problems. Our experience is that they have difficulty with
revolvers for two reasons: the requirement for a long, heavy double action trigger pull
for every shot fired, and the extremely inefficient shape of revolver grips for the transmission
of recoil into the hand. The recoil is focussed on the bone structure of the small hand, and
before long bruises the hand and thumb bones. Every shot fired is then painful to the shooter.
The pistol (any pistol) softens the recoil by virtue of the energy absorbing action of the slide,
and transmits it into the hand more efficiently and in a manner not damaging to the hand. We
have found that they shoot better, shoot more often, and enjoy it for the first time - all of
which translates into a better shooter - because there is no pain or discomfort in the hand.
Further, only the first shot is double action, and that is shorter and smoother than on our
revolvers. Most of their shooting is done in the short, single action mode which follows the
first shot. The average double action trigger weight of our 10mm pistol is 11.5 pounds, and
the average single action trigger is 6 pounds.
Secondly, the weapons have three different grip shapes available so we will be better able to
fit the weapon to the individual Agent’s hand.
6. Isn’t the gun going to be large and heavy??
The weapon is actually smaller in overall dimensions than our currently issued Smith & Wesson
M13 revolver with a three inch barrel. Our 10mm pistol is approximately one-quarter inch shorter
in over all length, about the same over all height, and three-eights of an inch thinner than the
M13. So it carries far more comfortably and unobtrusively, especially if a good weight bearing
holster is used. A fully loaded M13 weighs 35 ounces. The Model 1076 fully loaded weighs just
over 43 ounces, only 5 ounces more than a fully loaded SigSauer P226. Empty, it is only about
3.5 ounces heavier than the empty M13.
7. How long will the transition take??
About two years. The bottleneck is our gunvault. They estimate they can process 100
guns a week, so our distribution is based on that rate. 9500 Agents equals 95 weeks,
and that is not counting weapons processed for issuance to New Agent Classes.
8. Will your contract eat up S&W’s production to the extent that nobody else can get them for awhile??
No. S&W’s production capability is far in excess of our 100 gun a week delivery requirement.
For example, Virginia State Police contracted with S&W for about 2200 of the weapons, identical
to ours but with a five inch barrel instead of our 4.25” inch barrel, and they received their
entire order by July, 1990. Their transition is complete, and all of their troopers are now
armed with the 5” version of our gun, called the Model 1026.
9. Is anyone else making 10mm pistols??
Yes. For example, Colt has their Double Eagle double action pistol available in 10mm and
their single action Delta model.
Ruger is developing one that should appear sometime this year. Sig-Sauer is developing
one, and I believe it will appear in one to two years. Glock has chambered their weapon
in 10mm.
10. Do you anticipate shoulder weapons in 10mm??
Û Yes. Colt, Ruger and H&K are all working on developing a 10mm shoulder weapon and or submachine gun.
11. Can police departments get ammunition tested that they are interested in??
Yes. We will be happy to test ammunition for police. We will require 300 rounds for the
test, and need to know what firearm they want it tested in. Contact our Ballistic Technician
Ted Hollabaugh at (PHONE # DELETED) to arrange the testing, or determine if the round may
have already been tested.
12. Why didn’t the 9mm do better - that is surprising??
The 9mm is no more effective than the .38 Special, which should not be surprising since
they are the same caliber bullets (.35 caliber) at the same range of velocities and bullet
weights.
13. Are you saying the 9mm is no good??
No. We are saying it is as good as the .38 Special which has served us for a long time.
It has severe limitations which we are not willing to accept. It is woefully inadequate
for shooting at people in cars, for example, and over half of our shootings involve
vehicles. It is a marginally adequate wounding agent. We have had a number of 9mm
shootings over the past couple of years, and if you define a good shooting as one in
which the subject stops whatever he was doing when he gets shot, we have yet to have a
good one, and we are hitting our adversaries multiple times. We have shot half a dozen
dogs in the past year and have not killed one yet, although we have run up a significant
veterinary bill. The 9mm with proper ammunition is not a bad round. It is just nowhere
near as effective as the 10mm and .45 offerings, and the disparity between it and the
larger calibers has remained a constant throughout all the testing we have done over the
past two years.
14. What is different about your pistol other than the caliber??
Nothing revolutionary. It is a composite of the features we identified as desirable, all of which
existed in varying degrees among available weapons. It is an all steel, conventional double
action pistol with no manual safety, and no magazine disconnector. It has a 40,000 round
warranty on the slide and the frame, which is important to us because we expect a weapon
to be able to last an Agent’s career. Although we will replace the weapon if something better
comes along, we do not want to be in the position of having to replace it simply because
it is worn out in a few years. In a 20 year career, an Agent will fire at least 40,000 rounds.
15. Will your gun handle the hot stuff on the market??
Yes. Several hundred rounds of higher velocity ammunition have been fired through the pistols
by the FTU without visible problems. Smith & Wesson initiated a program to fire a M1076 to
destruction with the hottest commercial ammunition on the market (Norma), but discontinued
the test after approximately 18,000 rounds. Nothing had broken, and they had more pressing
matters to spend their time on. However, although illuminating, this is insufficient data
at this time to project the longevity of one of these pistosl which is fed a steady diet
of the “hot” loads.
16. How much time will be necessary to train Agents with the new weapon??
Recruits are no problem. They start clean on day one learning the skills they need, and by the
time they graduate (112 hours and over 5500 rounds later) they are better, more proficient
shooters than we produced with revolvers. The problem is the field Agent who has spent years
learning and ingraining revolver skills and habits. With them, we must break the old habits
and instill new, different skills which apply to shooting pistols, such as a different grip,
different trigger control technique, and different operating features. We will require a five
day transition training for each Agent, and budget 2000 rounds per Agent for that purpose.
The few who still are not sufficiently proficient to be issued the weapon will receive regular
remedial training until such time as they are.
17. Will you continue to allow revolvers??
Only temporarily. Once the transition is completed, the FBI will be a pure pistol agency.
There will be no revolvers. We have a personally owned pistol program now whereby an Agent
can purchase a pistol (either 9mm or .45) and be authorized to carry it. The personally
owned pistol program will continue unchanged, so the Agent can choose to carry the issued
10mm, or a personally owned 9mm or .45. Currently, we authorize all the Smith & Wesson and
Sig-Sauer pistols for personally owned use, and the new weapons in those calibers plus 10mm
and .40 S&W will be added to the list as they become available.
18. What is the best round in?
9mm - the Federal 147 grain HydraShok
.45 - the Federal 230 grain HydaShok
10mm - the FBI load, a 180 grain Sierra bullet at 980 feet per second
.380 - there isn’t one. The full metal jacketed round is the best of a bad choice,
but only because it might penetrate.
.357 - we haven’t found one that is sufficiently better than the best .38 load to justify
all the sound and fury of shooting it, unless you need the increased effective range which
the higher velocity gives you. We have only tested five so far, and none of them stands out.
.38 Special - the Federal 147 grain HydraShok
NOTE: there are a lot of rounds we have not tested, so all of the above recommendations
are strictly limited to those we have tested. The testing is continuing, and in time we will
have an even better basis for comparison.
19. Can we get copies of the test results?
Yes. Send a letter to the Firearms Training Unit (attn: Ted Hollabaugh) at Quantico and he
will send a copy to you. Or call him at (703) 640-1386.
20. Isn’t shot placement the most important requirement in a shooting incident, and doesn’t that
make the issue of caliber less important??
Shot placement is obviously critical, and our test criteria presume that the shot is placed in the
vital area of the body which contains the brain, upper spinal cord, heart and aorta/vena cava.
This area runs from just above the eyes to the diaphragm, and is about 4 inches wide. But, as
our experience in Miami amply illustrates, shot placement is only the first part of the equation.
Jerry Dove placed his shot perfectly. Bullet performance is critical to translate shot placement
into an effective, incapacitating wound. If shot placement was all that mattered, we could arm
all Agents with .22’s. Secondly, perfect shot placement may be difficult to attain in the stress
and dynamics of a shooting incident. The larger calibers offer a “margin of error” in that where
a smaller bullet may just miss the aorta, for example, the larger one in the same placement will
damage it. A good example is killing a 400 pound pig with a .22, something commonly done on the farm.
If the shot placement is exactly right, the pig is instantly killed. If it is off less than an inch,
the pig goes wild and the process of killing it becomes rather lengthy and involved, whereas a larger
caliber would succeed with a larger margin of miss than an inch. (Larger calibers are not used because
they ruin too much of the pig - a consideration that does not come into play in a shooting incident -
and besides which, nobody is going to die if the pig is not instantly killed anyway. In shootings,
just the opposite is true).