questions on the .45

[.41fan]

I am contemplating picking up a .45 m&p, most likely a full size, but would like to know if anyone has had a feeding issue with any types of hollow point loads. I had a 1911 springfield before and it could be picky with some speer 200 grain and mag tech rounds. Also what are your favorite self defense factory loads for the m&p with regards to power and accuracy. thanks in advance all.

 

[SPEEDGUNNER]

I picked up a used full-size .45 locally only because I was so thrilled with my full-size .40. After shooting it a few times I have almost come to like it MORE than the .40...although the extra capacity of the .40 keeps it my choice for daily carry. At the range, never a hiccup, and I have the feeling it will digest anything I feed it.

 

[texanfan]

big can o' worms on PD ammo choice.
I keep three types of .40 rounds on hand for various situations.
Air freedom by extreme shock
Black talons 180g
Gold dot 165g

Home gun if I can't get to the shotgun gets full mag of air freedom, spare mag of black talons.

Carry gun gets 6 air freedoms, 4 gold dots. spare mag gets 4 air freedoms, 6 gold dots.

165g gold dots are about 3 inches low at 15yrds. havent shot enough of what i have left of the talons in my bed gun to tell you much. no feed problems with any of these 3. The air freedoms are pretty much a CQ/indoor/heavy traffic round that I prefer for the first shots if I ever have the displeasure of shooting at a threat under stress.
Make sure you have your lawyer lined up...

 

[bronco45]

I have a 45c and it eats everything I feed it. It has not proven to be finicky. The touchiest gun I own for 45 is a 625JM, I went through three factory crimp dies before finding one that worked with the JM.

The M&P45c digested my reloads with all three of the taper crimp dies, when the 625JM wouldn't.

 

[philmontscout]

I have a 45c and it eats everything I feed it. It has not proven to be finicky. The touchiest gun I own for 45 is a 625JM, I went through three factory crimp dies before finding one that worked with the JM.

The M&P45c digested my reloads with all three of the taper crimp dies, when the 625JM wouldn't.

Totally agree with all these comments on the 45c digesting everything.... handloads, +p factory stuff, cheapo factory stuff. not any problems.

 

[growr]

My 45 M&P feeds everything. I had a recently widowed 72 year old lady in a class that brought a gym bag of her deceased husbands 45 ammo. There was 230 Hardball, 230 JHP, 200 SWC. 185 grain, some factory some reloads, etc.
We tell the students that they should fill their pockets with some loose ammo so as to be able to top off thier magazines while we give instructions for the next phase. She, being a dutiful student, dumped all of the ammo out in her gym bag so that it was all mixed up. Not knowing which of her husbands guns would be correct she ended up borrowing my M&P because she liked the way it fir her hand.

Throughout the entire course she was loading whatever her hand grabbed and loaded the magazine. Every magazine fired contained a mixture of everything she had. The M&P did NOT miss a beat on nearly 500 rounds fired. She liked the M&P so well that she had me write down what she used so that she could go the the store and buy her own.
Randy
PS. As an aside...the point of aim and point of impact did not seem to change perceptibly either!

 

[.41fan]

thanks guys this is what i was hoping to hear.still saving for a new one but watching out for a good used one at the same time.

 

[Sparks]

I would like to ask a serious question on this topic, since everyone is reporting that the M&P .45 will feed any type of ammo. I'm thrilled to hear that the gun works so well, and plan to try one out myself. But as a gunsmith I have no reason whatsoever to expect a variety of ammo types to ALL feed reliably in the same gun. That goes for semi-auto rifles also.
We are talking reliability here, not range plinking.

The shape of the bullet and the COAL will change the way the cartridge gets from the magazine into the chamber. Doesn't it make sense that a particular gun design would be most reliable with one particular type of ammo? That's been my experience with most semi-autos. How come everyone expects a .45 to work reliably with every type of ammo in existence? Frankly, the success of the 9mm platform owes a lot to the fact that everyone is using the same 9mm cartridge, and not 10 different variations of the same. Just some thoughts.

Sparks

 

[blastfact]

Not picky at all as long as said ammo is to dimensional spec's for basic .45 acp cartridges. I did have some Blazer Brass FMJ that would not chamber in my pistol. A quick check with calipers told the story. Ran the ammo through my .45 acp resizing die and it worked great!

It has fed, fired and extracted everything I have fed it. ( If in spec ) Be it retail or my own reloads.

 

[.41fan]

thanks for all the comments, the only sd ammo in this would be factory either win. silvertip or win. 230 gr hp that is bass pro proprietary.

 

[BobRowe]

I have a M&P 45 Mid-Size. It digests all of the following without any problems:

Win white box 230 gr FMJ
Rem 230 gr FMJ
Fed 230 gr Hydro Shock
Fed 185 gr +P Hydro Shock
CorBon 185 gr +P JHP (my carry ammo)
My 230 gr FMJ RN reloads
My 185 gr JHP reloads

The reloads were made for use in a Kimber 1911. I have not tried any of my lead reloads in the M&P, as my favorite indoor range now has a rule against lead bullets (except .22LR), but I suspect it would all function fine in the M&P, except for really light PPC SWC stuff that takes a 9-lb recoil spring in the 1911.

 

[MotorCityGun]

I have not tried any of my lead reloads in the M&P, as my favorite indoor range now has a rule against lead bullets (except .22LR)

Just curious Bob, I live in your neck of the woods and was wondering which (of the two?) is your favorite indoor range.

Also wondering if you know of any (local) outdoor ranges, besides those belonging to private gun clubs. Thx.

 

[jtboss]

How is the recoil on the M&P 45 as compared to the M&P 40 ?
I am seriously thinking about buying the 45. I have the M&P 40c, it is great and is my CCW. I have never fired a .45 caliber handgun and plan on renting one at the range in a couple of weeks.

 

[Sparks]

I have a M&P 45 Mid-Size. It digests all of the following without any problems:

Win white box 230 gr FMJ
Rem 230 gr FMJ
Fed 230 gr Hydro Shock
Fed 185 gr +P Hydro Shock
CorBon 185 gr +P JHP (my carry ammo)
My 230 gr FMJ RN reloads
My 185 gr JHP reloads

The reloads were made for use in a Kimber 1911. I have not tried any of my lead reloads in the M&P, as my favorite indoor range now has a rule against lead bullets (except .22LR), but I suspect it would all function fine in the M&P, except for really light PPC SWC stuff that takes a 9-lb recoil spring in the 1911.

Referring to my previous comments, the above statement expresses my question exactly. When we focus on reliability, the ability to fire a particular round is not in question. That ability is related to accuracy. Getting the round out of the magazine and into the chamber, and back out of the chamber after firing is the essence of reliable functioning. Why should everyone assume that just any type of ammo will function at its best in any given firearm?

Think about it. Wouldn't you want your pistol to be as reliable as possible? It can only be done with one specific round with known OAL and bullet shape and for that matter one particular type of magazine as well. Everyone realizes that many semi-autos will in fact function with all sorts of ammunition - even most of the time. But maximum reliability cannot be achieved in this manner. No machine operates this way. That's why a beer bottling machine doesn't do so well with orange juice cartons.

Personally, I am not happy with the concept "most of the time" when it comes to self-defense firearms. "Digests everything" and "most of the time" are perfectly acceptable when it comes to range plinking, and I assume that most people are completely satisfied with this level of functioning. But let's face a few basic concepts, and not swallow the manufacturers claims that everything works great so don't worry about it.

You don't hear people bragging that their 9mm autopistols "digest everything that they feed it". The reason you hear it all the time when it comes to .45 ACP is that it is quite common that certain ammo types do NOT digest everything, and we are back to what makes a firearm reliable. That's how it appears to me.

Sparks

 

[novalty]

My 5906 has digested everything I have fed it.

 

[45times6]

I have three .45ACP handguns that I'm pretty sure would even feed rocks if I loaded them: My 25-2 revolver, my Ruger P90, and my full-sized M&P. Even during its initial break-in period, my M&P has chugged through everything I've ever fed it without a single hiccup.

 

[Motor-T]

Sparks, I understand what you are saying. However, I haven't experienced a failure of any sort with my M&P 45. I have fired a variety of factory and handloaded rounds without fail.
I bought this gun for IDPA because my Springfield 1911 TRP had less than satisfactory reliability. I'm happy with my M&P so I'll be using it this year as my IDPA gun.

 

[torrejon224]

I bought my FS 45 last fall about this time and now have just shy of
4k rounds thru her without a single failure. Ammo used has been:
Federal HST & EFMJ
Speer Gold Dot & Lawman
Winchester Ranger
Rem Golden Sabre 185grn
Fiocchi Extrema 200 & 230 grn
Various reloads in 185, 200 and 230grn.
To be fair this gun was initially sent to the PC for the express trigger/action job but I would not hesitate to carry a stock M&P 45.

 

[OKFC05]

The shape of the bullet and the COAL will change the way the cartridge gets from the magazine into the chamber. Doesn't it make sense that a particular gun design would be most reliable with one particular type of ammo?

So how are you going to explain a pistol that goes past the 10,000 mark with zero FTF, using many different commercial and handloaded cartridges, as my M&P 9 Pro has done?
Sometimes it is as simple as clean it, shoot it, repeat PRN.

 

[jimmyj]

Hi:
As a member of the "Over The Hill Gang" I use and like 230gr FMJ. Done the job since 1911. I don't think BGs has gotton bigger or tougher over the years. Backup is a 12ga short barrel shotgun.
Jimmy