I’m a HUGE fan of 10mm Auto. It’s powerful, compact, and a great cartridge to carry when “heavy hitting” knock-down power is needed. Where I live we have black bear (lots), and it’s always reassuring to carry something like 10mm or 44 magnum for protection. So when I heard about the new 10mm CMMG Banshee AR Pistol- I couldn’t wait to try it out. So I invited Eric Renander from CMMG to visit the Ultimate Reloader Ranch, and we had a GREAT time shooting this new AR pistol from CMMG!

CMMG Brings 10mm To the Popular BANSHEE Lineup

In 2018, CMMG introduced a new name for their AR Pistols and SBRs- “Banshee”. These AR pistols have become incredibly popular, and for good reason. A variety of different chamberings, three “trim levels” (100/200/300), and top quality have contributed to the massive market share that CMMG has attained in this category.

From the CMMG BANSHEE landing page:

BANSHEE Calibers

• • 22LR
  • 5.7x28mm
  • 9mm (conversion, Glock, Colt)
  • 40 S&W
  • 10mm (NEW!)
  • 45 ACP
  • 5.56
  • 6.5 Grendel
  • 300 BLK
  • 7.62x39mm
  • 308 Win
  • .458 SOCOM

BANSHEE Features

• • OUR LINE OF PISTOLS AND SBRS
  • TEN DIFFERENT CALIBERS
  • 7075 T-6 RECEIVERS
  • MAXIMUM CONCEALABILITY
  • M-LOK® FREE FLOAT HANDGUARD
  • ULTIMATE PORTABILITY
  • SBN FINISH ON BARRELS
  • CMMG’S LIFETIME QUALITY GUARANTEE
  • VARIOUS BARREL LENGTHS
  • TEN DIFFERENT CALIBERS
  • MAXIMUM CONCEALABILITY
  • ULTIMATE PORTABILITY
  • CMMG’S LIFETIME QUALITY GUARANTEE

Impressions: Hands-On with the 10mm BANSHEE

My first impression after shooting the 10mm Banshee: “This is a LOT of fun!”. The 10mm Banshee doesn’t have a lot of recoil, and the ergonomics “make sense” once you shoot it for a while. Coming from full-size ARs, it does take some getting used to. So I’m looking forward to getting some training and more practice time with this scaled-down AR platform form factor. Even shooting it for the first time, it felt natural, and I didn’t have trouble hitting targets. In fact, it was easy to hit targets when compared to shooting my 10mm Glock 20!

During our brief range session we shot the following:

• Rapid fire, targets 45′ away: I definitely need more practice here!
• Tin cans at 45′: Eric and I both shot five-for-five in our friendly competition
• 10″ x 10″ steel at 100 yards: I hit 7/10, and Eric hit 8/10

During our shooting (hundreds of rounds each) the CMMG 10mm Banshee AR pistol functioned 100%, no problems whatsoever with the 10mm DoubleTap 180 grain factory ammo we shot.

I think the 10mm Banshee would be good for:

• Home defense
• A truck gun
• Close-range hunting (hogs?)
• Back-up gun for hunting, bear protection
• Fun and plinking

Radial Delayed Blow Back

Above: the Bolt from the 10mm Banshee which implements radial delayed blowback

The 10mm Banshee is one of the CMMG AR pistols that employs a CMMG patented technology: Radial Delayed Blowback. This new technology was debuted in 2017 by CMMG, and was introduced via their Guard 45 ACP AR carbine. This technology is now built into all of the 10mm CMMG Banshee firearms!

From the Wikipedia article covering blowback:

CMMG introduced the Mk 45 Guard rifle incorporating a radial-delay in 2017. This system uses the rotation of the bolt head to accelerate the bolt carrier of an AR-15 pattern rifle. The bolt locking lugs are adapted to incorporate 120° angles that rotate the bolt as it travels rearward under conventional blowback power. As the bolt rotates 22.5˚, it must accelerate the bolt carrier to the rear through an adapted 50° angle cam-pin slot. This acceleration amplifies the effective mass of the bolt carrier, slowing the speed of the bolt head. This delay allows pressure to drop prior to extraction without the penalty of a heavier bolt carrier assembly. The system is similar to roller and lever-delayed blowback in that it uses the mass of the bolt carrier moving at a faster rate than the bolt head to delay the action from opening.

I’m curious to dig deeper into radial delayed blowback! Perhaps that would be a good story for 2020 here on Ultimate Reloader…

Reloading 10mm Auto

It’s always more fun to shoot ammunition you’ve reloaded, and you can save some good money as well (especially for specialty ammo like 10mm Auto). Shooting the Banshee 10mm Auto got me excited about loading some 10mm, so look for fresh 10mm content coming here in the near future. I’ve got a bunch of 10mm Starline brass waiting for me!

Get Yours

Interested in getting your own Banshee 10mm Auto? Check out all of the Banshee 10mm models here:

What do you think of the CMMG 10mm Banshee? Please leave a comment!

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Thanks,
Gavin