The 10mm Auto is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

 developed by Jeff Cooper

Jeff Cooper

John Dean "Jeff" Cooper was recognized as the father of what is commonly known as "the Modern Technique" of handgun shooting, and one of the 20th century's foremost international experts on the use and history of small arms....

 and introduced in 1983 for the Bren Ten

Bren Ten

The Bren Ten was a semi-automatic pistol designed to advance the state of the art in sidearms, combining the then-new, powerful 10mm Auto round with a weapon of greater strength and accuracy than previous designs...

 pistol. It was initially produced by ammunition

Ammunition

Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...

s manufacturer FFV Norma AB of Åmotfors

Åmotfors

Åmotfors is a bimunicipal locality situated in Eda Municipality and Arvika Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 1,476 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

Although it was selected by the F.B.I.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 for use in the field following the 1986 F.B.I. Miami shootout, their Firearms Training Unit "concluded that its recoil was excessive in terms of training for average agent/police officer competency of use and qualification", and the pistols that chambered it were too large for some small-handed individuals.