I'm going to be buying one this afternoon and was wondering if anybody has experimented with different bullet weights etc. If it proves reliable it will replace my Glock 36 for carry.

I exclusively use 230gr Federal HST in mine.
But it does spit out Sig Sauer 185gr Elite V-Crown just fine.
I would also trust Speer or Hornady if I could not get Federal HST.

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Hipcocked45

This might help:

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self...llistic-tests/

I suggest you read the whole thing and don't just skip down to the .45 test results. Its pretty interesting stuff I think.

I was happy to see that the test was done with pistols that one would be carrying, not some theoretical test barrel.
Personally, I was very surprised and thrilled as to how well the various cartridges performed with these real world pistols.
Test like these inspire the CCW'ing of a smaller, commonly used pistol instead of a full sized, cumbersome larger pistol.

Critical defense.

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gold dots, golden sabers, HST, Hydrashock they all feed fine and are reliable. that's what matters.

Thanks, that is great!

185 JHPs in all my 45s. My shield is extremely accurate, reliable, and manageable with PMC bronze. Best of all, I can burn up 50 rounds for the price of 20 rounds of the exotic stuff.

Did try the Colt ammo, which uses a Barnes 185 gr JHP and definitely screams coming out the front. Not as manageable in the Shield but works very good in my M&P 45s. So much so, I've switched from my beloved gold dots.




I don't know if I would go that far, but at least for a particular caliber it's nice to know what does/doesn't work.

Count me as another 230 gr. Federal HST advocate.

It's controllable, very accurate, and has minimal flash. It's also one of the few rounds you can reasonably expect to expand when fired through an intermediate barrier like heavy clothing from a stubby 3.3" barrel.

Edit: I have also had zero issues with them failing to feed in my personally owned Shield .45; the rounded ogive certainly helps.

Federal 230gr HST are impressive, reliable & accurate.

HST's and Gold Dots are my go to rounds. Hornaday 230 gr XTP +P would be a good backup round as well.

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SFC, US Army, Retired

Liberty Civil Defense, 78 gr., >1,900 fps., >600 fpe.

I was actually a bit surprised by how many .45 slugs failed to expand. I didn't actually try to count but it seemed like a higher percentage of .45 failed to expand than for 9mm. My guess has been that more effort has been put into making sure 9mm bullets perform correctly from short barrels than has been given to .45.

I used to shoot a lot of short barrell .45ACP pistols. Mostly 1911'S, AND SIG's. The most reliable feeding ammo was Remington Golden Sabers, and Speer Gold Dots. The most temperamental was Federal. The Golden Saber's, and Gold Dots, even though they were JHP, pretty much, followed the same shape and contour of FMJ ball ammo, which possibly contributed to smooth feeding.



The Federal JHP's, bullets had a more triangle shape to them, and a sharp leading edge that had a tendency to dig into the feed ramp.

The 45 SD ammo has to function well with much less velocity than a typical 9mm for instance. Only about a half dozen good JHP rounds have consistent expansion at short barrel velocity. If you need good expansion at longer ranges then I'd use a lighter bullet.... or a longer barrel ....

I still like Gold Dots and HSTs . Work real well from a Shield.

I like the Liberty Civil Defense 45 ACP. Very light ammo but amazing performance. I do have some other ammo for penetration. If you really want penetration go with the Buffalo Bore Ammunition 45 ACP +P 255 Grain Hard Cast Flat Nose

I'm perfectly happy with the 160 grain Barnes TAC-XP +P handloads I carry. They function perfectly with low recoil from my 45 Shield.

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To be forgiven, I must forgive

For right now, 185gr Federal Premium Hi-Shok JHP. But I may start trying other ammo as I go along.

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Shield 45

Count me in as a fan of PMC Bronze 185 gr hp ammo.
My 45c loves it and as stated, it is considerably less expensive than the others mentioned here.

There's a lot to be said for practicing with the same ammo you carry.

Most people practice with something close unless you have thousands to burn on range ammo. I carry Seer Gold Dot. That about $500 a case. Don't know too many people who burn through that in a weekend but I know quite a few who will burn through a case of range ammo in a weekend.

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I reload Zero 185 JHPs to the same specs as the PMCs and that is the bulk of what I shoot. Because the PMCs are so affordable ($24.44/50), I typically end a range session with a few mags just to verify point of aim and confirm a level of confidence the round still does what I know it has done in the past. With the exotic stuff, that used to happen once in a LONG while because it was so expensive.

I used to shoot, and still love Gold Dots. Gotta love those "flying ashtrays". How many rounds in a case for $500. Colt ammo runs ~$100 for 200 rounds, which is about what I pay for PMCs. Affordable enough to burn through a couple mags without hitting the wallet too hard. It's rated at 1100fps and I believe it's right there after shooting it. Too much for the Shield 45, but my M&P45s love it. Hits dead on at 25 yards and very accurate.

I have no interest in reloading. Don't have the patience or time for it.

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I carry Critical Duty in all of my .45's.

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NRA Bene Life, SWCA 2372

Liberty Civil Defense Ammunition 45 ACP +P 78 Grain Fragmenting Hollow Point Lead-Free

Muzzle Energy ---- 625 Foot Pounds

That's almost as good as Underwood's 10mm +p ammo with 740 foot pounds.

I keep Federal Train + Protect 230 gr hollow points in mine. Bullet looks like the old Speer "flying ashtray" from the past........Unlike my Shield 9mm my 45 Shield is very accurate with my cast lead bullets.

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S&W Accumulator