45 ACP Blazer Ammo

A

Alex Johnson

New member
Has anyone seen any street results of Blazers 45 ACP 200 grain hollowpoints? I have been testing them in my Kimber Ultra Carry and they seem to be reliable. I was just wondering if any law enforcement agencies use the blazer cartridges, or if any of the gun rags have included them in any tests.
 
Well, I think so. If you look at Marshall and Sanows reports they list the Speer Lawman 200gr JHP at 975 fps as working pretty well.

I think the CCI Blazer is the same bullet at the same speed just with an aluminium case as CCI's webpage gives a 975 fps figure for the blazer load. I hope somebody can confirm that.

If that's true it's a heck of a bargain. I don't trust Marshalls work enough to make a big deal about a 6% difference in one shot stops between the CCI and Hydra-Shoks and since the CCI's are less than half the price per round, it would be defensive ammo you could actually afford to practice with!

reagrds,
David
 
Thanks for the response David. I guess those were my feelings. I think the Hydra Shoks are an excellent bullet, but I cannot afford the $130 or so that it would cost to get enough hydra shoks to make me feel they are totally reliable in my gun. I can get 200 blazers for about $60 compared to around $130 for the hydra shoks. Seems like a better deal to me.
 
I see. I stand corrected.

So I guess the question I'll ask now is: does anybody know anything about the Blazer 200gr JHP as a defensive round.

I know some people will have apolexy at the very thought but I like to explore all my options.

Of course until I've explored those options I think my primary mag will stay loaded with Hydra-shoks.....

regards,
David
 
I don't have a problem with using the Blazers for PRACTICE exclusively... but I wouldn't use it as a defense cartridge. I've had a couple of failures to extract that sticky aluminum cased ammo. I sure wouldn't want to risk that problem when TSHTF... if you know what I mean. It is reliable and accurate though... I'll give it that.

Ben

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Almost Online IM: BenK911
ICQ # 53788523
"Gun Control Is Being Able To Hit Your Target"
 
In my area the Blazer JHP ammo that is sold clearly states on the box it is the Gold Dot Bullet. I have contacted CCI/Speer regarding their aluminum cases, and they state they are anodized to prevent corrosion and so forth. I have never had a failure to extract or feed with Blazers in my Glock or Bersa.
 
Blazer was never intended as a duty cartridge, but rather as a cheaper way to practice, and aimed at buyers who do not reload their cases. The 200 Gr. "Flying Ashtray" bullet is the same as that loaded into brass. The jacket on that bullet is not bonded (plated) to the core, and can suffer from core-jacket separation. The "Ashtray" bullet does have a wide following though. I suspect is will be phased out and replaced with the Gold Dot bullet, which is actually better. Speer offers a 200 Gr. +P Gold Dot, that really ROCKS a .45 Auto.

Regards,

Slim
 
Hmmm. The plot thickens.

Rob96, I just bought a box of CCI Blazer 200gr JHP and it doesn't say anything about using Gold Dot bullets on the box anywhere. I have a box of Gold Dots and they are 230 gr JHP. The bullets LOOK very similar in construction but are of course different weights. Are you saying you are buying the 230gr JHP bullet with the aluminum case?

Ben, my buddies Kimber doesn't like the aluminum cased ammo but my .45 gobbles it right up. I noticed that his chamber was noticeably tighter than mine.

Slim, when you say "The 200 Gr. "Flying Ashtray" bullet is the same as that loaded into brass." That tells me that the Blazer stuff is the same as the Speer Lawman load, as both are advertised at 975 FPS. Same bullet, same velocity, non-reloadable case.

Thanks folks.

Regards,
David
 
Didn't mean to give the impression I am buying .45 ammo, just that the .40 ammo I buy sits right next to the .45. I can not remember the bullet weight, but right after the weight it had GDHP.That would designate it as the Gold Dot Hollow Point, correct?
 
Greetings, TFL.

There is a specific brass load that uses the 200 Gr. "Flying Ashtray" bullet. In addition, there is also a more popular 200 Gr. +P load that uses the Gold Dot bullet, in a nickel plated case, the premium stuff. To complicate things even further.... there is a non +P load with the Gold Dot, in 200 Gr. weight.

The two (old vs. new) can be differentiated by the flat spot at the bottom of the hollow point of the Ashtray bullet, while the Gold Dot comes to a point at the bottom. I don't think that the Ashtray load in brass is nickel plated, either.

In Blazer, there is just a few loads that have actual Gold Dot bullets. There is a .40 S&W that has a Gold Dot, 180 Gr, I think, and .44 Special has a nice WIDE gold dot. That thing is HUGE. Good for expansion at low velocity. 9mm Largo has a Gold Dot bullet too. Past that, I don't think there are any more, however, I have been wrong plenty of times before.

The Speer packaging is 20 count or 50 count. Federal has the 25 count tray.

Hope that helps.

Regards,

Slim
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Has anyone seen any street results of Blazers 45 ACP 200 grain hollowpoints?[/quote]

A wonderful round… unequivocally the best "proving round" for a 1911-pattern pistol. If one'll feed 200 consecutive Blazer 200-grain JHPs, it'll feed anything from any ammo manufacturer or OEM.

As for "street records," for thems what put any faith in the appendices of books from Paladin Press, the Lawman variant of this round was one of the better .45 ACP performers before the Hydra-Shok and other "designer cartridges" showed up. (Well, that's what the charts say, at least.)

There seems to be some confusion on the part of some of the respondents in this thread… let them now be deconfused.

The Lawman and Blazer 200-grain JHPs each used the same wide-mouthed, stubby projectile (dubbed "the Flying Ashtray" by ol' time gunwriter Dean Grennell) for many years. Even when the Gold Dot bullets were first introduced, the 200-grain "Ashtray" remained in the brass-cased Gold Dot line of ammunition for several years. (Note: all those Gold Dot cartridges, regardless of caliber, were identified as "GDHPs" except the 200-grain .45 ACP version which was simply labeled "JHP.")

This finally changed a year or so ago, when the engineers at Speer came up with a genuine core-bonded "Gold Dot" 200-grainer, and now every round in Speer's Gold Dot line of ammunition actually utilizes a Gold Dot projectile.

The 200-grain CCI Blazer remains the last of the "Flying Ashtrays." It is, I should mention, aside from its economy and great utility as a Colt's/Browning design proving round, the perfect "pin round."

It's cheap, it's powerful enough to take any pin off a 4' X 8' table, that wide cavity is more tolerant of a slightly off-center strike as it really bites into that composition surface of the pin rather than skittering off on an oblique, leaving the pin spinning on the table, and as one cannot police their brass at a pin match, who cares?!? The cases are aluminum.

Here endeth the reading of the First Book of the Blazer, Chapter 45, Verse 200…. :D

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- Peter Collinson

[This message has been edited by Peter Collinson (edited April 07, 2000).]
 
Peter,

You have parted the murky mists. Thank you indeed.

I cast a skeptical eye at the various ammo test procedures and statistic compendium. However to throw them out completely leaves one with no yardstick whatsoever.

I make up for that by practicing alot. Shot placement....

regards,
David
 
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