Rob Leatham on 10mm Resurgence: ‘In The Right Gun, 10mm Isn’t That Hard to Shoot’

by
posted on January 27, 2018

Pro shooter Rob Leatham and Brian Sheetz of American Rifleman spoke at the 2018 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range about the recent resurgence of 10mm (watch the video above, especially impressive is when he shoots Springfield’s new 10mm TRP Operator 5-inch model one-handed).

Leatham mentions to Sheetz that he didn’t like the first 10mm pistol he used.

“I bought a Delta Elite 10mm the day they came out, because I thought the whole concept of that little bullet going faster than the .45, and that additional power was going to be awesome—until I got the gun. The gun, I did not like to shoot. It was violent to shoot and hard to control, and I never liked it.”

Rob Leatham shooting the Springfield Armory 10mm TRP Operator 5-inch barrel one-handed at the 2018 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range
And why the resurgence of 10mm? Leatham thinks in the right gun, 10mm is not difficult to shoot. Says Leatham:

“The popularity [of 10mm] always waned because of the fact that it was difficult to shoot and hard to control. Somewhere along the line they softened up the 10mm ammo, and then the .40 came out and became crazy popular. It was the 10mm everybody can shoot. In the right gun, the 10mm isn’t that hard to shoot.”

Industry Day 2018 provided an opportunity to shoot Springfield Armory’s new 10mm model, the TRP Operator. The new pistol comes in two sizes, one with a 5-inch barrel (MSRP: $1,790), and a longslide version that sports a 6-inch barrel (MSRP: $1,842). The 5-inch is a good choice for competition and could even be used as a carry gun. Since they are Operators, there is a bit more mass that helps make these guns easier to control. The new models are steel-framed, and weigh 40 oz. (5-inch barrel) and 45 oz. (6-inch barrel).

Springfield had to develop a 10mm barrel from scratch. “This was our chance to build a really good barrel,” said Leatham. “One of these barrels in a machine rest will shoot into one hole at 50 yards.”

Learn more at springfield-armory.com

Latest

Sauerland Dryfire Tips 2
Sauerland Dryfire Tips 2

Axioms Of Dry-Fire Training

USPSA competitor Joey Sauerland discusses dry-fire training for practical shooting.

Burrell Wins Sporter Title At 2025 JROTC 3-P Nationals

Burrell, Wells win sporter, precision titles at 2025 JROTC National Championship.

Wakefield Team Match Results 2025

The U.S. Wakefield Team is selected from the top 10 iron-sight shooters at the National Smallbore Metric Championships.

Daniel Horner Tops Tactical Leaderboard At 2025 Superstition Mountain Mystery 3-Gun Competition

Daniel Horner of Team SIG wins Tactical division at 2025 SMM 3-Gun match with score of 534.76.

Shooting Fitness With Justine Williams

This successful USPSA competitor trains daily for competition.

USA Shooting Shotgun Athletes Shine At 2025 Junior CAT Games

USA Shooting’s Junior Shotgun team victorious at 2025 Junior CAT Games in Barbados.

Interests



Get the best of Shooting Sports USA delivered to your inbox.