Whether you’re a SIG SAUER fan or not, it’s hard to ignore their P320 pistol. Its innovative modular design and good functionality and ergonomics have not only earned it an enduring presence in the civilian and law enforcement markets, but it’s also become the primary sidearm for the United States Armed Forces with its variants, the M17 and M18 pistols.

Earlier this month, Dan Zimmerman managed to get his hands on one before its official launch at the inaugural SIG SAUER Freedom Days event, and both from his article about it and my conversations with him, it’s a winner. The ergonomics are basically the same as other P320 pistols, and it’s been well-adapted to handle the increased power and recoil of 10mm.

Rather than give readers a wall of text describing the gun’s features, I’ll let SIG do that . . .

Some retailers are listing them for preorder/backorder for about $800, but there aren’t enough of them to give confident retail pricing at this point, but that won’t take long.

A 10mm Resurgence?

The police and civilian concealed carry world unquestionably favor 9mm now, due to advances in ammunition and ballistics that gave it better terminal performance than it did when agencies moved away from it 20-30 years ago. Moving back down to 9mm lowers recoil and increases magazine capacity, which gives inexperienced or smaller shooters an easier time with shot placement and recoil management on followup shots.

Law enforcement agencies and militaries often have to train and equip to the lowest common denominator, though. The weakest/smallest, most inexperienced need something that’s easier to count on, and can be like pulling teeth to get everyone to the point where they’re proficient with higher calibers. Thinking law enforcement knows best, many instructors and their students followed along (and it has worked out well for many shooters).

But not all of us are convinced that less is more. Many of us have spent decades shooting everything from 1911s to zippy 155-grain .40 S&W polymer guns to magnum revolvers. We didn’t accept our limitations, learned to live with more recoil, and don’t feel like there’s any need to downgrade and miss out on the additional foot-pounds just to keep the trendy people impressed with us.

Plus, larger calibers have also benefited from the same advances in bullet technology. If expansion is a lot more reliable these days and you start with a larger bullet to begin with, you’re going to get even better results for defense and/or hunting.

Hunting is a big part of what has kept 10mm on life support since Jeff Cooper and other experts brought it to life. For both hunting and for defense against dangerous and large animals, common pistol calibers like 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP just aren’t up to the task. Pushing a heavier bullet faster, 10mm falls just a little short of the venerable .41 Magnum revolver round. With that kind of power, it not only has a flatter trajectory out to 100 yards, but delivers enough power to take game and big, dangerous (but tasty) pests like feral hogs. This PETA* member approves.

While it never really went away, the variety of 10mm pistols available had dwindled over the years. There have always been variants of the 1911 that have come and gone, and GLOCK has been pretty good about keeping the G20 and G29 in production. Other guns have come and gone, but that hasn’t been enough to attract many new shooters to the caliber, often because the newer guns introduced that we’ve grown to love just aren’t available in 10mm.

In recent years, though, a trickle of popular guns have been changing this as the round has regained some popularity among people looking for more power for defense and hunting. Springfield’s XD-M pistol started coming in centimeter caliber in 2018. Another crack in the dam appeared (somewhat quietly) when the extremely popular M&P 2.0 pistol entered the market with 10mm in the magwell, and is available at reasonable prices in two barrel lengths with suppressor sights and provisions for mounting optics. Now, with the P320 XTEN joining the fray, some of the most popular pistols of 2022 are now available in 10mm.

Whether this trend continues is anybody’s guess, but it’s clearly a trend that’s picking up steam in 2022. The reasons people move to the caliber vary widely, but it almost always has something to do with rejecting the “less is more” mindset. Some of us feel like today’s threats, whether in the city or out in the woods, means it’s time to go big(ger) or go home.

 

  • PETA = People who Eat Tasty Animals

83 COMMENTS

  1. Interested in this! Firearm Blog did a video on it and it looked really good. And I’ve seen ample 10mm at several gunshops…

    • I even saw some on the shelves during the recent ammo shortage. That might change in a future shortage if it’s really becoming more popular.

  2. Have ammo companies started making 10mm full power? Or is the only company making real 10mm still buffalo bore?

    • Both Double Tap and Underwood have been making some of the full-power 10mm fodder you seek. Call Mike McNett at Double Tap and order some of the best 10mm ammunition made.

      • ‘……Double Tap…… ‘

        Hope they’ve gotten better then they were around 16 months ago.

        I ordered a few cases of ammo from them (that their website showed in stock), card was charged immidately. Waited three weeks for tracking info. Called and asked when it was getting shipped. Was told the ammo wasn’t in stock, asked when it will be produced, was told they had no idea. 🤪
        Asked for the charge on my card to be refunded, and a ‘hold’ placed on my card until the ammo is produced and ready for shipment. Was told their payment system doesn’t allow them to do that. 🤪
        Told them to cancel my order, and I will never order ammo from them again.
        Been using Buffalo Bore exclusively ever since.

        • James I bought some recently with no issue. It was 200gr hardcast though I prefer the steinel 220s

    • Underwood focused on 9mm during the Pan . . . ic, but their 10mm is back at Midway. Their 155gr XTP is the best I’ve seen.

      • They make some awesome 147gr +P+ 9mm too.
        Around 440ft/lbs muzzle energy.
        The Speer Gold Dots they use open up to over .8″. Great penetration too, around 13″.
        I keep my Wilson Combat 92G Brig Tac set up for the stuff.

        • You’re a man of taste and culture!👍

          I carry their 9mm as well, but in the light/fast loadings. Some may pooh-pooh the BC, but I’m not looking to hunt antelope with my 3″bbl EDC.

  3. If you are in the woods and a 10mm is your primary, hopefully small game is your only concern. And I’ll trade off for an easy 9mm to conceal vs. carrying some giant 10mm for the threat of a grizzly invading the grocery store. The chances of a 9mm vs 10mm vs .45 doing anything different to the small chance of an active shooter encounter are not worth the trade in daily carry comfort. If that is your mindset, you probably wear a vest to wal-mart and open carry rifles “for science” on YT.

    • Been carrying a G29 for years never once had the urge to don my “vest” for a trip to Walmart. If you are not comfortable with the power of a 10MM that’s your business but don’t criticize others for their personal choices. 10MM will penetrate things that a 9MM would just bounce off of and the last two mass shooters both had body armor, but the last idiot had no plates in his. G29 fits the same holster as a Taurus Millenium 9MM.

      • Good to know you guys are still around (Montana Actual and MADDMAXX). Haven’t seen a comment in awhile.

        • Yes but we have Vahn Geo and Sid now, surely that’s more than enough, isn’t it Dude?

    • Yeah, I don’t know why people giggle like little girls and jump up and down waving their hands in the air squealing “it’s for grizzly bears! It’s for grizzly bears!” It ain’t. A 10mm in big bear country is so you know with reasonable certainty that when the time comes to shoot yerself in the head cause that bear is just chewing deeper, you will likely and hopefully get at least that job done. 500 Wyoming Express and similar was created for a reason and those are limited by handgun parameters, not desire.

      • Dean Weingarten at Ammoland would disagree with all of the 10mm and anti handgun bear shit in both the article and comments. And he has data to back it up.

        https://www.ammoland.com/search/?query=bear

        https://www.ammoland.com/2021/06/handgun-or-pistol-against-bear-attacks-104-cases-97-effective/

        Carry a 10mm if you want. It’s a free country. I have a friend that carries it. He is over 6′ tall and proportionally wide. He works out. For him 10mm is about like 9mm is for me.

        I carried .40 for about 11 years. No matter how many rounds I put down range I could never stop the rise from being so great that a follow up shot was effectively a whole new affair. 9mm is about my limit. My wife maxes out at .380

        I would not denigrate anyone for carrying 10mm. i would ask the same courtesy in return. I also would not tell my wife not to shoot a charging bear with .380. Handguns of all calibers have proven to be 97% effective against bears, and I will take those odds over a can of taco seasoning all day every day.

        • Crimson, no doubt, not at all. My point was more towards someone purposely selecting 10mm in a semi auto configuration as the New Hotness in anti bear meal devices in ‘da woods, i.e.: honest to crap grizzly country, the country I live in. The country where I have more than a few up close n personals with them, including right inside my (now) all too tiny shop. You tell your wife to do whatever she has to do, of course, but one best understand what the results will most likely be from shooting a potentially bluff charging, 500lb+ package of very animated, very chuffed, very Pleistocene era bone, cartilage, muscle and attitude with a .380. Skidding to a final resting place with its nose in the dust at her feet ain’t likely to be that result. What I would suggest is to not point her, or anyone, towards a semi auto in 10mm as a proper (big) bear gun… regardless of recoil/handling. As I said, it just ain’t. No handgun caliber is. If size/ability is a determining factor and you are truly out there in grizzly country, then a 45-70 or a shotty with slugs is the answer, along with a big spray can of Bear Away in the off hand just to give the curious bear a chance. Anything less is being personally irresponsible. Not that you would but if you are letting your wife saunter around the bush with a pink handled, 3″ LadySmith in .38, even where black bear is the only concern, then that’s on you. And unfortunately, on her. Big bears, real bears, are tough and even tougher to kill especially when they are amped up. Moose maybe even more so where a large bull is concerned. Look up that data while your at it. There seems to be a lot of Big City bred stoopidity out there regarding creatures of the wild and our handheld pee shooters.

  4. I didn’t need to have a house fall on me to get the hint. I have 5 handguns chambered for the 10mm Auto Cartridge, and one is a revolver. (I have been shooting the round since 1991). This is one of the most versatile automatic pistol cartridges extant.

    The more pistols/revolvers manufactured for the cartridge, the better.

  5. I’d love to see Ruger make their Pistol Caliber Carbine in 10mm Auto, and see it built to a hypothetical “10mm +P” standard.

    That would be a damned good Rifle for Medium to Deer Sized Game.

    • I have a Ruger PCC Break-down and it is awesome. Takes all Glock mags if you do the conversion which Ruger supplies. 33rounders from S. Korea ‘were’ cheap, not sure now, but they work flawlessly.
      A 10mm version and I would be first in line! Might be expensive range days, ammo being as it is now, but screw it.

      • Not sure about 10mm ammo, but I saw an ad for 9mm the other day from a name brand manufacturer that was at the 2019 price level. 10mm may lag a bit and be more expensive anyway, but ammo prices in general are almost back to what they were pre plandemic.

    • Now THIS would get me interested in jumping into the 10mm ring, only in this version; https://www.beretta.com/en-us/cx4-storm/

      $80 cheaper (MSRP), over a pound and a half lighter, and even with the PC Carbine’s stock fully collapsed it’s 2-1/2″ shorter despite a 1/2″ longer barrel. Pistol caliber carbines should feed up the pistol grip.

      • Love that layout but until various assault weapon bans get repealed Ruger pc10 hypothetical it is for my area. Also wasn’t the Beretta pc9 not rated for +p

      • Gov, also check out the TNW Aero survival 🙄 carbine. I have one in .45/glock mags but screw out the barrel and screw a new one in and presto; .460 Rowland, or 10mm, or .40ShortnWeak, or 9mm, or whatever. Blowback action, might need to adjust or even change the buffer tube spring for caliber of choice. Best part is it looks a bit like a take down mini me Ma Deuce with a buttstock. Mine only fails to feed when exceedingly dry n dirty or sometimes stovepipes with a brass catcher I made for it mounted on the top rail.

  6. “Law enforcement”.

    Strut around, assault, tase, and handcuff desperate parents trying to save their childrens’ lives, lie about it afterword even though the proof is on video with dozens of eyewitnesses to boot, collect your paycheck and your luxurious benefits and pension…

    We’re still talking about “law enforcement” like they’re some kind of authority on something.

      • I had an anurism once and lost an eyeball and the hearing in my left ear another time while expounding on the characteristics of our nation’s finest. Does that count?

        • Vahn Geo, ha!, none. Just long experience from being close to the dark side. Would’ve been the rcmp though, just to point fingers and make faces.

  7. ‘…10mm falls just a little short of the venerable .41 Magnum revolver round.’

    10mm falls well short of the venerable .41 Magnum revolver round. In fact it falls just a little short of the venerable .357 Magnum revolver round. The .357 has 8.7% more case capacity, albeit at 7.1% lower max pressure. The .357 also benefits from higher SD bullets.

    • Yeah gun blogs and videos across the web routinely fall into that trap of how hot loading cartridges can walk you into another calibers territory, when doing so isn’t realistic or not safe.

      For arguments sake, you could walk down .44 mag all the way down to .22 with the kind of logic I see online.

      For example:

      A hot loaded .41 mag with the right bullet is in .44 mag territory. But a hot loaded .357 with the right bullet is now in .41 mag territory. Now, a hot loaded 10mm is in .357 territory. As well a hot .45. But .40 and 9mm can also push into .45 and 10mm territory. And I’m sure there’s those that argue a hot loaded .380 is in 9mm territory… NAY, could not .25 acp also be hot loaded and out of the right barrel walk into .380 territory!? Sir. I will now hotload a .22 lr and have the equivalent of .25 acp.

      I don’t agree with any of the above. But I’ve seen all of this and more across the gun blog/video world.

      • Consider, Winchester advertises their 240gr. .44mag loadings (Super-X, USA) at 741ft/lbs of energy from a 4″ vented (revolver) barrel, whereas Buffalo Bore advertises their 158gr. .357 load (similar SD) as generating 773ft/lbs of energy from a 4″ revolver (not a +p load, btw). Is .357 magnum stronger than .44 magnum? Not even close.

        I will say though, you could throw a wet Kleenex over 10mm and .357mag as well as .22LR and .25 auto. If you want .357mag power in an autoloading pistol, 10mm is your huckleberry.

    • So technically the hot .357 surpasses hot 10mm loads in energy and SD – but 10mm has double or more the ammunition capacity. I love my Smith Performance Center 8 shot .357, but it has a whole lot less capacity than 10mm. Most full sized .357 revolvers hold only 6 shots. To make matters worse, I can’t reload a revolver nearly as fast (I’m hot Jerry M or even close on a good day). Just a though which I am sure you are already aware of.

      This is a 10mm I really might buy – especially if I can run .40 through it.

      • AccurHA, you don’t need to sell your soul to the devil as Mr Michulek has quite obviously done. If the first four or maybe five big, flat, hard, heavy n slow bullets haven’t anchored that beast then the first six or maybe nine of your tiny, pointy, soft, light n fast bullets aren’t gonna either. And you only need one to either finish yourself off before being eaten or one to shoot yer buddy in the ass with as the encounter develops so you can execute a timely retreat. Obviously a large frame revolver is the thinking man’s choice.

        • Vahn Geo, as a matter of fact yes, I do. Or at least enough to comment on it, even half jokingly. And you?

      • Well yes, semi-auto pistols do (usually) hold more rounds than revolvers. But if you shove the muzzle into a bear’s ribs and pull the trigger the revolver goes bang and the semi-auto doesn’t. And remember, bears run at 35mph so you’d better make your first six shots count because the bear’s going to be chewing on your spleen by the time you get to round 7.

        • Yes, these are very important points: if it’s truly happening time will be extremely limited and contact a certainty. A semi auto just isn’t your friend in a northern wilderness, not like a large revolver can be. Both are mostly inadequate but what do you do? I’ve been lucky a few times with just black bears charging me out of fear but it sure makes you think real hard. Especially when you are up close n personal with the more brownish colored, bumpy shouldered ones.

      • Also, DG advises against shooting .40 in a 10 because you’re headspacing off the extractor and it will wear out or break.

  8. I don’t care enough to get another handgun and or chambering. I am too busy spending and prepping for economic suckatude.

    • “…economic suckatude…”

      Excellent point, Vic. I’ve had a little voice on one shoulder whispering in my ear lately, about getting a 10. I’ve got the cash right now, for the firearm, ammo, reloading, etc., but the voice on the other shoulder reminds me about the current conflagration of Opposite Day (the concept) and Groundhog Day (the movie). Even if conservatives run the table in the midterms, the inmates will still control 1/3 of the gov’t asylum for a couple more years and possession of the dumpster fire is nine points of the law. Sigh. There are some things I can do to harden my site, that should take precedence.

      • The P320 is bulky and for it’s size and year of manufacture it doesn’t have any technological enhancements that set it apart from the crowd. This modular serialized trigger group is a joke. The only people who use the feature live in unfree states you must have a license to buy each individual pistol for your collection. The bore height is absurdly high, the grips can be replaced all together but not adjustable? Why would I get this when I could get an M&P or Styer for cheaper with better performance? Glock for the same cost has many improvements for recoil reduction in a smaller easier to carry package. In a tight market the P320 is simply outdated with no real reason to stick around so Sig has to keep making changes and re-releasing it to keep it relavent. Oh look now the slide is grey, look now it has a threaded barrel, oh look the brick now has the trigger that should have come with it from the start that’s now drop safe. It’s a fan boy pistol like the HK VP9. Any task you have in mind their are other pistols that will perform better.

        • Oh. You are a SIG hater. Why didn’t you just say that? Would have saved you a ton of keystrokes and we would know exactlty where to file your opinion.

        • Is there better? Yes.
          Why buy this? Well, why buy anything?

          Adjustable grips? I’m sure you can get thicker grips if your hands need something bigger.

          Sig isn’t bad but they are plastic guns. The P320 is a striker and many people don’t like the combination. It DOES apeal to some and in the gun world…THAT’s what counts.

      • Ah, ok. Now I get it. A troll out exercising. Use supplements son, yer gonna need em.

        • SIG has made some goodies like the P226 and 556xi Russian. The P365 series is impressive. After shopping the market I always find myself purchasing Sig optics, they are tough to beat for features, quality, and price. These things keep the bar of expectation high, then P938 extractors sheering off left and right but Sig states it’s not a manufacturer defect. Spend $50 to send in your pistol in for “diagnostics.”
          They stop making 556xi parts one day to the next leaving a $1,400 rifle obsolete after 4 years.
          And the P320 comes out behind the times and not even drop safe?
          I think my issue is having standards for my equipment, thus not accepting “the best” just because it’s what all the cool kids at the range are buying. No Sig khool-aid here, I prefer thinking for myself.

  9. Leaving aside handloads or boutique manufacturers, I think the neat thing about 10 mm is that even in factory production ammo you have a pretty wide range from glorified 40 SW to reasonably powerful self-defense loads (HST, Gold Dot) on up to Buffalo Bore hardcast. It’s a versatile platform.

    And it might be big and ugly but my Glock 20 eats everything and is a favorite of mine for shootability.

    • 10mm Short&Weak works for me (S&W 40 CORE). It’s a very versatile caliber. I can get 200 grain hard cast or 125 grain hollow points about as fast as 357 Sig. Add a red dot and you have the ultimate adjustable sight for a wide variety of ammo. Now is probably a bad time to invest in another caliber thanks to the terrible decisions by our dear leaders. 10mm would be cool though…

  10. For the first time in my life I’m seriously considering a 10mm. Not because I’m worried about bears. Even though we have a few. A wild pig is another thing. I’ll always prefer a rifle for either of those. That said, sometimes you can only carry a handgun. But I’m going to buy a 10mm for the same best reason I can think of for buying any firearm. I want it. A final thought. The author made mention of agencies going back to 9mm. Improved ballistics. Lowest common denominator and all that. I understand every bit of that argument. However, it has been my experience that weak shooters come in all sexes, races, economic backgrounds, ages, experience and most important of all; they are weak shooters regardless of the caliber you put in their hand. There are several possible solutions for a weak shooter. One of the first I look at, assuming the shooter knows the fundamentals, is the firearm. Often, that’s all that’s needed. Same caliber, different gun.

    • I may be off base here, but am I the only one that thinks if the manufacturers were really trying to sell to the hunters they’d come out with a longer barreled, manual safety, preferably hammer fired version? The only thing I can see the 10s have an advantage of over a 45super or 460 conversion is added capacity, and if I were venturing into KNOWN bear country ( northern Mn.) or nasty pig territory ( Tennesippabama) , I’d likely be carrying a large 44 or better yet, an eight round 12 gauge or 444 levergun. These latest versions from all of the majors kind seem like a red-headed stepchild swing and miss.

      • You dont have your finger on the pulse of the market. Here is the deal, if you dont want one, dont buy one.

        • Vahn, so you know what everyone needs, as long as it says Sig on the side… eff off – go brag up their shit on the sig forum. LeadHead, I would buy what you asked about, but are nt you the guy with the. Ruger rechambered to 10 mm mag? num? Id think that would be a good carryaround gun, right?

        • Yer a nasty little one too, aren’t you Picasso? Howsabout putting mom’s laptop back where you found it before she comes back from getting her cigarettes. Or have you decided to entertain us further and regale us with more of your humanistic insights?

      • Pb, my guess is the thing 10mm has over the calibers you suggested (yes, they are ballisticlly superior) is that you can buy 10mm off the shelf. In theory. I admit I’m a slave to logistics.

      • Pb, many have come out with exactly that if you call 6″ barrels ‘longer’ etc. But yeah, pistol calibers only go so far… so to speak.

  11. u-w, yes I do like the Ruger(GP100) conversion, even though the three different cases( 40, 10, 10 AMT mag) all required different dedicated moon clips, and the ejector to need chamfering. The only downside is that it’s a 6 0, same as the 44, and the (Tandoglio) 45super is a 10 1, so a 10 semiauto would be a 50% increase at a minimum. Oh, and Vahn, I’m pretty sure I properly elucidated what I don’t like about the sig, what about their largely unimaginative design- cookiedough are you such a huge fan of?

  12. u-w, yes I do like the Ruger(GP100) conversion, even the three different cases( 40, 10, 10 AMT mag) all required different dedicated moon clips and the ejector to need chamfering. The only downside is that it’s a 6 0, same as the 44, and the (Tanfoglio) 45super is a 10 1, so a 10 semiauto would be a 50% increase at a minimum. Oh, and Vahn, I’m pretty sure I properly elucidated what I don’t like about the sig, what about their largely unimaginative design- cookiedough are you such a huge fan of?

      • ….and is released on bail Unedited. By the way R/S, yeah the 6″ barrel is a minimum, looks like I’ll be waiting to see what the new Tanfoglio imports by IFG look like when they arrive.

        • Pb, I’ve seen chrono results showing minimal gain in pistol lengths but worthwhile gain in carbine lengths. Ie: 6″, meh, 10″ , f yeah! Everything my overtly anal retentive 10mm fanboy reloading buddy has discovered would indicate same. Mind you, he’s also a glock fanboy so he can’t really be trusted…

  13. @ CC, the 320 is absolutely drop safe. 100%. Don’t buy into the interweb goobery.

  14. @ Prndll, the 320 is not a plastic gun. It is a stainless steel frame. You have options as far as grip modules that range from polymer, aluminum alloy, polymere with tungsten infused, and soon to be steel.

    • How’s that Sig Khool-aid? It runs through your veins so much it’s turned you fudd!
      They are drop safe? Why all the pending law suits against Sig for P320 pistols going off without being manipulated by police officers/carriers. There’s been more than a few of these instances actually. This just one example for your enjoyment;

      “During the struggle, a shot was discharged from one of the arresting officers’ firearms, striking another officer,” Milwaukee police Cpt. Paul Lough told reporters near the intersection of West Garfield and West Lloyd streets that night.

      • Funny how triggers when moved to the rear causes gunshots to occur! Simply amazing. Who would have thunk it, eh?

    • So glad you joined us, Picasso. Where would we be without yet another adolescent expert to point out the errors of our ways. Please do continue to elucidate us with yer vast experience. We await with baited breath on the edge of our barstools for further enlightenment. Hugs n kisses.

      • Hi ttag! And oh, for about the 132nd time now, and to steal a step from Ntexass: FUCK OFF WITH YOUR RIDICOUSLY STOOPID MODERATION NONSENSE! Biden would be proud. Wth are you guys thinking?

      • Just holding up a mirror for you to look into pal. If you don’t like what you see, well, you have only yourself to blame.

  15. Had a chance to shoot the new Sig in 10mm at their Freedom Days event in Phoenix AZ even before the Sig instructors got their hands on them. The gun is bad ass and the recoil was very manageable with the target rounds supplied. When I get back to Wis. from my road trip, going to my gun dealer and ordering one. One of my Glock 20s is getting retired.

  16. I owned a Gen 3 G20 many years ago but got rid of it. The grip was too large for my big hands to shoot comfortably. Fast forward several years and I recently purchased a Gen 4 G40 and love it! slimmer grip is comfortable and recoil is manageable with the size and barrel length of this pistol. It is nice to see more companies coming out in 10mm. Many years ago I got to watch an FBI Hostage Rescue team go thru some drills using an HK MP5 (I think) in 10mm. those 10mm rounds were bad ass on the steel knockdown plates. I am pretty much a Glock person (.40 s&w) and 1911 for my .45’s. Own a couple of 9mm but don’t carry them. EDC is either .40, .45, and if I can find a holster for it, I may carry the 10mm.

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