Advice on .45acp carry load?

[LoboGunLeather]

With any semi-auto defensive handgun the absolute gold standard is ammunition that will function (feed, fire, extract, eject) 100% of the time without any doubts or problems. The latest, greatest, super-duper, most popular load of all time is worthless in a defensive situation if it does not function properly in your pistol.

The next challenge is to find ammunition that will consistently shoot to point of aim in your pistol. This is especially important for pistols with fixed sights, typically regulated at the factory to shoot "standard" ammo to a point of aim at a given range. Your pistol may, or may not, provide acceptable accuracy with any given ammo you choose.

We can discuss velocities, terminal ballistics, gelatin tests (with or without fabric interface), or any other stuff you want to talk about. But a hit at center of mass with .45ACP 230 grain ball will always be better than a miss, or marginal impact, when it comes down to putting a stop to the gunfight.

My personal standard is 200 rounds without a malfunction, using all of the magazines dedicated to a particular pistol, before I will carry any ammo for defensive purposes.

YMMV

 

[mrchuck]

This past week, I have been carrying my KAHR GW-45. 6 round magazine and one in the chamber. Carrying concealed, it rides nicely.
Recoil? Not bad at all.

 

[KSDeputy]

I carry the present Hydra Shok 165 gr. I do not know if they will have that configuration in the new Hydra Shok.

 

[JayFramer]

I second the Federal HST standard pressure 230 grain load:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWW2Y-IZpyE[/ame]

The 4 1/2" bbl on your SIG may or may not give just a tick lower velocities but it won't be enough to matter. This one has some of the very widest, most consistent expansion I've yet to see and most importantly still penetrates very nicely. As tnoutdoors9 says, this load is "an absolute beast" as it were. The best .45 ACP JHP on the market. Plus, you can get 50 round LE overrun boxes for an excellent price. Do not buy this ammo at the big box stores, they usually only have the 20-25 round boxes that are always severely marked up. This goes for other loads like the Gold Dot too. Online you can get that contract ammo for often half the price.

 

[swsig]

I have been very pleased with Federal Tactical Bonded 230g. It has been the most accurate self-defense ammo I have tested for both my FNX 45 Tactical, and my Shield .45. Tactical Bonded rounds are sometimes hard to find, so Federal HSTs are my back-up rounds, as they have performed reasonably well for me.

 

[jeeps]

230 ball been turning bad guys into fertilizer since 1911. No other needed!

 

[Joe4d]

its a 45,, its what all those tacticool wizbang over priced stuff trys to be.
What ever functions and is accurate in your gun. Ive got 210 gr coated hard cast flat nose in mine.

 

[Riposte1]

230 ball been turning bad guys into fertilizer since 1911. No other needed!

You might be right. The .45 Auto has been working since about 1905 (being invented by John Browning in either late 1903 or early 1904 for a couple of prototype pistols).

However when it became an official military round Frankfort Arsenal loaded it with 200 gr FMJ at 900 fps - I honestly don't know the date on the change over to 230 gr (but I certainly applaud the move).

As to what to carry? I think it likely depends on a person's circumstances. I live out in the boondocks so don't worry about "over-penetration" - if there really is such a thing (I might feel different in an apartment building or a courtroom).

230 HST is fine in either standard or +P, 230 HydraShok may be a bit dated but I've shot 7 deer with it and saw a friend shoot a wild boar with it, and it worked well.

I really like the Hornady Critical Duty 220 - it actually goes 1050 from my carry gun though it is advertised at under 1000 - it expands to a flat profile and penetrates well in 4 legged critters.

It is really hard to mess up a .45...but I managed to do it. 165 Corbon Power ball +P (1250 fps) - I shot a smallish wild boar with that load 3 times and it led me on a merry chase - fortunately I only had 3 of them in the gun and a 230 +P Wincester Ranger (my duty load at the time) shut him down for keeps.

I'm sure the critter would have expired eventually but I'm not so sure I would not have as well...I'm too old to be running that far (well over 1/4 mile). All the bullets came apart in the first lung though one piece damaged the off side lung - none exited.

Riposte

 

[ContinentalOp]

I live out in the boondocks so don't worry about "over-penetration" - if there really is such a thing (I might feel different in an apartment building or a courtroom).

I don't know why, in this day and age, people still don't believe overpenetration is a real risk. When the NYPD switched to 9mm pistols in the 90s they first used FMJ, but switched to JHP after numerous instances of people injured by bullets after passing through other people.

I can think of two instances of overpenetration involving .45ACP FMJ off the top of my head. One involved a police officer firing at a suspect. The round hit the suspect in the midsection, exited his body on the opposite side, and struck another police officer, also in the midsection. The other involved a hostage situation in a vehicle. A LAPD SWAT officer fired into the vehicle at the hostage taker. The .45ACP FMJ went through the hostage taker and struck one of the hostages. Fortunately, the people hit by the overpenetrating rounds survived.

 

[hardknocks]

45 ACP

I use 230 grain ball.
In 3 different 45s.
Hopefully I will never have to find out how it works.
Ymmv

 

[geartow]

230 grain winchester white box hollow points, from
wally world

 

[Riposte1]

I don't know why, in this day and age, people still don't believe overpenetration is a real risk. When the NYPD switched to 9mm pistols in the 90s they first used FMJ, but switched to JHP after numerous instances of people injured by bullets after passing through other people.

I can think of two instances of overpenetration involving .45ACP FMJ off the top of my head. One involved a police officer firing at a suspect. The round hit the suspect in the midsection, exited his body on the opposite side, and struck another police officer, also in the midsection. The other involved a hostage situation in a vehicle. A LAPD SWAT officer fired into the vehicle at the hostage taker. The .45ACP FMJ went through the hostage taker and struck one of the hostages. Fortunately, the people hit by the overpenetrating rounds survived.

Oddly enough I actually know that officer, though not well, but we share quite a few acquaintances and I once had his boss in a class.

Also oddly enough we had an officer killed down the road when one of the bullets fired by another officer passed through the suspect - that was a 9mm Federal +P 115 gr JHP...one just never knows what will happen. We've only had one shooting in our county with .45 ball - it did not exit and I've had several M.E.s tell me that it actually only goes through about half the time (so far I've not had or heard of it exiting a deer but then that is very few cases and they ranged from a medium sized doe to a rather large buck).

Riposte.

 

[Valmet]

+1 for Federal HST or Remington Golden Saber.

 

[dogsoldier]

From a 4-inch, or shorter, barrel, I always preferred W-W's '185gr SilverTip'.

 

[Old Corp]

My department's duty round has been the 230 gr Speer Gold Dot since about 1999 when we switched from 10mm to the .45.
It's established a very good track record.
I somehow retired with a prodigious amount that ammo, so am usually carrying it.
Would be interested in seeing how it compares to the Federal HST stuff.