Though many may not realize it, Jeff Cooper is partly to blame for the 10mm Auto handgun cartridge. Interestingly, the thing has its origins in a Browning HiPower pistol. The history of the 10mm is a story for another time. The focus here is on a 10mm Falcon from Nighthawk.
I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes thinking, here we go, a story about another $ 3000.00 gun. Well, you’re right; a Nighthawk Falcon actually costs more than three grand. Now, you may not be able to afford it, and that’s OK. If you’re like me, you probably cannot afford a lot of things like a new Jaguar F-Type Coupe. That does not mean you do not want to own or drive one.
I’m not a big fan of the 10mm as a carry gun, though I think it makes a great hunting handgun. Or one for carry into the backcountry for defense against things with teeth longer and sharper than mine. That’s exactly why I borrowed one from Nighthawk for my backcountry bear hunt. However, not being a 10mm guy I wanted a good load for it so while I was visiting the Hornady factory I asked if we could shoot two of their loads into 10% ordnance gelatin. (When it comes to ammo, I never assume.)
We did just that and I found that the 180-grain XTP load would penetrate about 16 inches and the Critical Duty load about 13. I went with the XTP load, which averaged 1165 fps out of the Falcon’s five-inch barrel and only showed a standard velocity deviation of 8.3 fps. This combination was also very accurate; at 15 yards my off-hand groups were less than 1.5 inches and I could ring a man-sized silhouette about 75% of the time at 100 yards, while standing on my hind legs. 50-yard groups from the rest were in the four to five-inch range.
For me, shooting like this requires two things. I need a good trigger and sights I can see, preferably without wearing glasses. The trigger on the Falcon broke at a clean and consistent three pounds and there was absolutely no take up. The wide notch Heinie rear sight, combined with the red fiber optic front sight was easy for me to see, especially in the dark of the timer or in early or late light.
This pistol was also very tight. So tight that many 1911 “experts” would argue it would never run. That, as I’ve seen with every other Nighthawk I’ve fired, was not the case. I’ve fired more than 100 rounds through the Falcon and it hasn’t hiccupped. Recoil is a bit stiff, maybe best explained as shooting 200 grain +P loads out of a .45 AUTO 1911 Commander. Stiff but not unpleasant, and the contoured mainspring housing with the integral mag well helped with the feel of this pistol in the hand during the snappy recoil.
As it turned out, I did not need to finish my bear with the big 10 and I did not need to fend off an angry pack of wolves or a band of killer biker chicks either. Still, it was comforting to have all that power, in a controllable package, on my hip and beside my cot at night. The Galco Gunleather thumb-strap Phoenix holster was comfortable when walking and on horseback.
The Nighthawk Falcon is an exquisitely elegant, incredibly accurate, and unfailingly reliable pistol that is big game capable. It has that pride of ownership like you get with a Jaguar but it costs $ 58,100.00 less. I’m betting it will hold its value better and over a 10-year period require less maintenance too.
Like me, you probably cannot pay cash for a Nighthawk Falcon but, for those serious about hunting with a handgun that can double for concealed carry, it just might be the best excuse for a credit card I’ve seen in a long time. And, the two loads I tested from Hornady could cover both applications very well. If you order one, you’re welcome to drop by Shadowland and let me shoot it anytime you want.
