Has anyone ever heard of a Bren Ten?  It is apparently very collectible.  I saw one on Morphy Auctions (starts Sept. 10, 2024).  Apparently there were only 75 ever made.  For you old guys, it's the gun that Sonny Crockett carried in Miami Vice (show, not movie).  I read that Jeff Cooper was involved in the creation.  I guess it was either the first or one of the first 10mm's ever produced.

Morphy Auctions

Who you calling old? There were more than 75 made the problem was getting extra mags. $5k as a collector is pretty high to me since I like to shoot my guns.

Nice first post. I learned a little more lore today.

Bren 10, Coonan .357, two pistols that will always be more mythical than real.

Ya Cooper encouraged the guys ( Dornhaus&Dixion IIRC) but basically threw Them under the bus when it came down to it. Need to be talking to the "new guys" not "old guys" and definitely made more than 75 lol. Magazines on the other hand were sub-contracted out and the sub-contractor dropped the ball on Q.C. and shipped a bunch of non functioning mags.
           Read "Bren Ten The Heir Apparrent" by Ron Carrillo.

It is a 75.

An American-made 75.

A 75 is a clone of the old original: the CZ-75.  Just like a 1911 is a clone of the original John M. Browning design made by Colt.

I have a pair of Coonan .357 magnums.  Not quite as mythical as the bren ten.

Has anyone ever heard of a Bren Ten?
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I really really wanted one just like Sonny's!

Interesting to see they copied the original CZ75 short-rail frame.

Pretty sure the “75” is the number of magazines made for the Bren Ten…..EVER

OP's next thread will be telling us how great Miami Vice is and how we all need to see it!

it was a great idea

back then, the CZ75 wasn’t available in the USA

the 10mm was,…and is now,…a badass cartridge

Yep, the original mags are as rare as hens teeth, they now are selling for $400 each, there is a lot of 10 for sale on Gunbroker now for those interested.

A great idea and cartridge.
Execution was underwhelming, as mentioned the magazine shortage, some of the cast slides also had casting defects that caused a small number of fractured slides / unscheduled rapid disassembly issues.

I have two Bren Ten pistols and several magazines. I bought them in the early 90s when prices were lower than today, but still a big investment back then. One has been hard chromed while the other has been unfired and left alone in the box. All of the mags work fine through the hard chromed gun. The mags were made by MecGar. I think the demise of the gun was the two owners, Dornaus and Dixon privately funded their venture and did not have a lot of capital in the project and the whole magazine issue was them not being able to secure enough from MecGar and customers waiting a long time past their estimated delivery date.

Richard Voight of Voight Sporting Goods bought the rights to the Bren Ten and at one point planned to bring the gun back as the Peregrine Falcon. I contacted Peregrine and received a brochure with a price list but Voight never got the project running. Voight sold the rights to the design to Vltor. Viltor debuted an updated design at SHOT Show a few years back and promised to bring the gun back as Bren Ten. Their contact person at the time if memory serves correct was Eric Kincel. Viltor never got the project off the ground supposedly due to them fulfilling military contracts for their other products. Master gunsmith Chuck Warner was working on a modern version that never panned out.

I think the Bren Ten was way ahead of its time and failed because the business side was not well thought out. If you handle an actual gun, it has the CZ75 ergonomics and feels pretty good in the hand. Recoil is brisk with full power loads. I have original Norma 200 gr and 170 JHP. I also like the 175gr Winchester Silver Tip. I actually thought a company such as Ruger with their experience in stainless manufacturing could have built the gun successfully.

In 2024, with all of the CNC technology, I personally think the Bren Ten could be done in 9mm, .40/10mm, .45 ACP with some design changes that would make manufacturing simpler. EAA/Defiant makes several 10mm variants but nothing as close as the Bren Ten. If a modern version ever came out, I would a pair.

Wow - that was a phenomenal and informative post

I kick my self in the butt for not buying a Bren Ten at the Indy 1500 gun show in the early 2000s. A guy had one and he wanted $1500 for it with 2 mags and no box. I was kinda broke at the time, wife lost her job and went back to school.


My pants moved when Vltor kept posting pictures of progression of their Bren Ten, I think the gun is cursed since it has a cult following but it never really gets off the ground....