[randomman]

Folks, I did some digging and we have some threads about various .45 ACP rounds, but we do not have a thread concerning what people actually carry! We have .38 special carry loads and 9mm carry loads (or it's equivalent), but not .45!

So, what are your preferred carry rounds in .45 ACP, why? I'm not far from getting my CHL now and I plan on packing my 1911 and it's time to start doing a test 'n tune on various .45 rounds for carry.

-Rob

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello.

At the present time, my normal carry loads and what is in my .45's right now are either Remington 230-gr. Golden Saber or Winchester 230-gr. Ranger (RA45T). Both are standard pressure loads.

Both have proven accurate and utterly reliable in my pistols. Both seem to expand nicely, though I suspect the Winchester is more consistent over a wider range of variables. That said, I have zero complaints with the Remington load. In a deer that I killed using this load, the jacket did separate from the bullet core, but this evidently occurred during the last couple of inches of penetration.

These loads seem to perform well in the 4 and 5" guns, but begin to fall off performance-wise in the shorter bbl pistols. Were I carrying a short 3 to 3.5" .45 auto, I'd go with the Corbon DPX "Compact Gun" load...but this is unlikely as I much, much, much prefer 5" bbls to the short ones.

If interested, here are some links on this topic:

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Corbon%20.45%20ACP.htm

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/45%20ACP%20Golden%20Saber%20Field%20Report.htm

http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Corbon%20160%20gr%20DPX.htm

FWIW, I also think highly of the very accurate 200 and 230-gr. Hornady XTP factory ammo, be it sold under their "Custom" or "TAP" or whatever that third label is. With the 200, I prefer +P, but in the 230-gr, standard has proven fine. Most of my shooting with these bullets has been with handloads however, but they've been in the same velocity range as the factory rounds. The XTP doesn't expand as aggressively as other JHP's, but it does seem to be consistent in tissue. The bullets I've recovered from deer, javelina, etc have more closely matched what I've seen in the homogeneous test media I've used, be it water or wetpack.

It wouldn't bother me at all to carry 200-gr. XTP +P, or the 230-gr. XTP for "serious" purposes.

Best.

 

[erich]

I don't "carry" the .45 acp, but I have 200-gr LSWCs in my 3" 625 housegun (warm handloads that will do 1060 fps from the short barrel) and Winchester 230-gr SXTs in moon clips in reserve.

 

[Guest]

I carry a .45 ACP daily. I agree with Stephen regarding the Winchester Ranger Talon (RA45T) and it's my preferred round. However, they are hard to get if you're non-LEO in some jurisdictions, and in that case I would go to the 230 gr Speer Gold Dot Hollow Point, which slightly edges out the Remington Golden Saber 230 gr in some good (but private) studies out of southern California LEA's. I do not carry any of the Federal or Hornady offerings in this caliber, but wouldn't hesitate to do so if that's all I could get my hands on.

I don't like the fast recoil impulse of 185 - 200 gr bullet loads. I've standardized on 230's, as above.

 

[Guest]

Fiocchi 230 gr JHP [ 45T]
Federal Classic 230 gr JHP

Currently, these are the most used, since I have a quanity.

I know the guns and mags will run other ammo...in the event I am out and about, and need to buy something.

I tend to buy on performance for me and my testing - not marketing.

 

[weshowe]

Gents,

I've used Federal 230 grain Hydro-Shock for years. Recently, I've changed over to the 230 grain Ranger LE Load (RA45T) and like the round. Am testing the +P version, as well.
Hydro-Shock is old technology, but like the 115 gr Federal (9BP) load it works...well.
I've always stuck with the 230 grain load except for one short test with 185 grain Winch Silvertips. IMHO, 230 grains is the way to go in the .45 ACP.

Wes

 

[jimhigginbotham]

It is hard to mess up a .45 (I did once on a wild boar but that is another story :).

I carry mostly Win Ranger RA45TP (+P 230 gr) but my aluminum framed guns have Remington 230 gr Golden Sabre and I dont feel a bit bad about substituting Federal 230 Hydra-Shok or Federal 200gr +P EFMG.

Also, lately, I carry a Cor-Bon +P DPX up the spout of one gun just in case I get a varmint to test it on (I work on a rather large training site and often get the chance to shoot stuff).

Right now, for the last week or so and for the near future, I am carrying my old worn out Colt which I wore for my first trip to Gunsite which has some old Triton .45 Super 230 gr Hi-vel in it.

I am a hopless tinkerer but most often it is the Win. Ranger.

Jim H.

 

[lelandray]

In cooler weather I'm more likely to carry an auto than the little pocket J frame, and that auto is either going to be a BHP or a Colt stainless Commander.

After a lot of reading and some personal testing, I decided that I didn't want to carry anything except full weight bullets, i.e. 230-grain. While I wouldn't feel bad about hardball, I've carried the Black Box Winchester SXT, the Golden Saber Remingtons, and the Federal Hydra Shok, but I've pretty much settled on the Federals. They feed in my guns, I hit with them, and they have a good real world track record. (But so do the Winchesters, as do the Remingtons.) My next "big" .45 ammo purchase will be several 50-count boxes of the Federals, but should I run out I have sufficient quantities of the other two rounds as well.

 

[pff]

Have carried the 230gr HydraShok for those years when I've had a .45ACP; pricey but effective from all accounts.

Played with 185gr Silvertips from time to time; they aren't reliable expanders in short barrels. I've had several fail to upset in the slightest hitting water-filled gallon jugs from a G30.

I prolly have part of a box of nearly every variety of premium JHP that I picked up to chrono or something at one time or another. Looking at the price stickers (some several years old) can be a shock when you figure them on cost per hundred.

Have pretty much gone over to the 230gr Remington JHP (L45AP7B) UMC. The 100 round boxes at Walmart run around $27. Thats cheap enough I can afford to burn some every time I go shoot.


Regards,

Pat

 

[jimhigginbotham]

PFF;
I have killed 7 deer and seen one 250lb Boar killed with the .45 H-S. None of those failed to expand nor to bring home the bacon...or the venision as the case may be

I might add another boar, killed by Tom Givens with a Federal 230 Classic JHP which seems to work about the same.

Jim H.

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello, Mr. Higginbotham. I've seen similar results with the 230-gr. Hydrashok and the "Classic" JHP. I don't understand why the latter round was not more popular. The only Hydrashok round that I've seen consistently fail on smaller animals (javalina) has been Federal's 165-gr. Hydrashok. I never used it on anything larger and once I shot up the ones I had at home, have not used it for anything at all.

Best.

 

[Guest]

I carry 185gr Gold Dots at +P. They work fine in my gun and I do not find the recoil bad. That may change if I buy a gun with a shorter barrel.

 

[jimhigginbotham]

Steve;
I once shot a boar with a 165gr .45 (it was not the H-S)...3 times. After the foot race and final disposition of the critter with heavier bullets there was the acrid comment from the observers: "You really dont get anywhere trying to make a .38 out of a .45." :-/

There's a wise acre in every crowd.

Jim

 

[weshowe]

Jim,

What? No film at 11:00? I'd have given a bunch to have seen that on film!

Just another reason I stay with 230 grain bullet weights in the .45 ACP.

Wes

 

[jimhigginbotham]

Jim,

What? No film at 11:00? I'd have given a bunch to have seen that on film!

Just another reason I stay with 230 grain bullet weights in the .45 ACP.

Wes

Believe me, if there was a film, I would be the victim of blackmail right now, lest it be spread all over the internet :-[

Jim H.

 

[airforceshooter]

Federal 165 Gr. HS

Works for me

AFS