Modified Ranger T 230 for Shield 45

[Aksarben]

Got in the 2 boxes of Ranger T .45 +P ammo today. Shot water jugs with both the Shield 45 and the Sig P-320 45 with this ammo. Impressive. Very impressive(Darth Vader voice) They both expanded as Dr. Gary Roberts had said in an article sent to me. I really noticed no difference in recoil or report from shooting the +P Rangers. Hit exactly where I was aiming. The only difference between the two may be just a bit. The Shield expanded to .935" between 2 talons. The Sig P320 had talons that were 1.037" apart. I notice just a bit taller expanded bullet with the Shield, indication just a wee bit less velocity, which explains the wider talons of the SIG. Shield .430 tall and SIG .371"

All in all it's performance was redemptive! Pictures as follows. I did not find (yet) the brass from the Sig P320, but included a Federal FMJ shot out of it for comparison of the primer strike. S&W has a dimple then tail whereas the Sig only has a simple dimple impression. Easy to tell apart, but I can't remember the reason of the dimple-stretch.








Nasty little rounds ....

 

[gqllc007]

Try that with 4 layers of denim and ballistics gel. Extremely poor performer outside of anything bare

 

[Aksarben]

Try that with 4 layers of denim and ballistics gel. Extremely poor performer outside of anything bare

Not according to these folks that did their testing with ordinance gel and denim. Just scroll down to the .45. http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests/

Also this guy at "shooting the bull" who did a test on 9mm Ranger T, and in the end put the trophy over from the Federal HST to the Winchester Ranger T.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UP7p3fxgzE&[/ame]

The whole point of this thread/exercise is to show that even well known brand ammunition can have fluctuation and variances between dates (batch codes). In the Lucky Gunner above they probably had a batch of RA45T that was made with a new or fairly new tooling that cuts the scoring and talon of the bullet. Some batches are just better than other, both in terminal performance and in accuracy, so you "you" need to check out the accuracy and if possible do a little "in house" testing.

Even those that tumbled and had only one side that opened up will be effective in stopping IF shot placement is correct. Placement is #1; the rest is semantics.

 

[gqllc007]

Correct! Shot placement is number 1
I have tested all these rounds including the 147.
147 performed ok. Nothing exciting. I got 16" penetration and adequate expansion. Nothing close to the HST 124 standard pressure. These were tested out of a Glock 43 and Shield. The +P 124 HST and the 147 HST standard and plus P also failed to open 50% of the time. 25 out of 25 124 HST standard pressure expanded beautifully and penetrated 17 1/2"-18 1/2"
I should have preempted out of a SHORT barrel .45 the Ranger 230 and 230+P is a very poor performer. Failed to expand 16 out of 20 rounds.
5" barrel did make a difference.

 

[swsig]

When you guys (gqllc007 and Aksarben) get a chance, I suggest testing .45 cal. Federal Tactical Bonded SD rounds (LE45T1). They are on Doc Roberts recommended list, and have done well in the Lucky Gunner tests. In my own informal testing, they have proven the most accurate of the SD rounds I've fired from both my Shield .45 and my full-size FNX-45T. They have also fired 149 consecutive times without a jam from my failure-to-feed prone Shield. I'd be most interested to see how they do in your tests.

 

[gqllc007]

Remember performance from a short barrel .45 is very different from a full size 5". The only consistent performers were the 185+P .45 in the short barrel Shield. I don't have any of the Federal tactical bonded rounds but if I get my hands on them I will surely test them!

 

[Bleek Gilliam]

I really prefer the Barnes copper bullets for short barrel usage as their expansion threshold is failure low in comparison to most ammo. I believe their 45cal bullets are designed to expanded down to a tad over 700fps which makes it a solid option for short barreled pistols like the Shield.

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