Best Personal Defense Ammo For the 45 ACP

If you can still find it, look at the March 2001 issue of Shooting Times. It contains an article in which one of the gun writers does some testing to develop an opinion on the best defensive round for his Ultra Carry.

I think he decided on the Speer Gold Dot, which I believe is a 185 grain HP. He used expansion test results from shooting into water jugs along with accuracy results.

I don't have the magazine with me here at work - but let me know if you want more info & I'll post it later.

Kevin
 
I'm gonna go against the grain here. I stock my compact weapons with Winchester Silvertips.

The reason for my line of thinking is two fold: 1) the shorter barrel needs a faster bullet to help accomplish expansion. 2) AND THE PRIMARY REASON-in my neck of the woods, you can buy Silvertips for 9 bucks a box for 20 at WalMart.

For that amount, I can actually afford to practice with the ammo that I'm gonna count on. Where I shop, the Hydro Shoks and Gold Dots are all at least three or four bucks a box more. I figure the more I practice with my "good" ammo, the better I'll be able to hold up my end when/if my time comes.

Just my thoughts...
 
I keep Hydras in my full size 1911s, but in my Ultra Compacts I prefer 200 gr XTPs with the lower flash powders that Hornady developed a few years ago. I prefer those in my USP 45C because it is more accurate than the 230gr Federals.

I think the key here is to play with accuracy because each gun will have different preferences. That and double-taps and Mozambique drills. I figure if I ever have to sling JHPs at someone I'm not so concerned about 30grs - I just want to get as many into them as it takes to stop them. There is no magic bullet. I know, 5 x 30 = 150gr more bullet mass, but with modern designs I worry less about weight than performance. The bullet needs to go where I point the gun - each time. That's what I train for - bullet performance is lower on the priority list than my performance. Not that I will use ball ammo, mind you, but I choose to spend more money on training than on ammo tests.

Maybe when I get to try some of those gelatin tests out at the farm, I'll change my tune, but whatever round(s) I choose will still have to be as accurate from my gun(s) as I am.

ERRainman

______________________________________________________
"All the roots grow deeper, when it's dry"
David Wilcox
 
Well I've stayed outta this one as long as I could.
I am of the opinion that it depends upon the gun.
For example my own experiances with this from a 5 inch barrel GM and an 3 inch Detonics - the HS is a great round for full sized guns but since it is a little slow to start out with - you could lose too much speed with the shorter tube. I'm not quite comfortable with that.
Hornady Custom is fantastic ammo. Soft point bullets loaded nice and hot but very easy to shoot and very very accurate. It's billed as hunting loads but performance shows that it would be fantastic for defensive use.
The 165 Personal Defense loads are a joke. If you want to shoot 165s get the Cor Bon 165 +P loads that move out as fast as a good 9MM load. I prefer that load for defense in 3 inch guns.
For my full sized GM 1911s I like the HS as much as anyone else - but I also like loads from Triton and Cor Bon... and as I mentioned before, the Hornady Custom. Given the fact that you can buy the Hornady for a heck of a lot cheaper than the HS - my next box of carry rounds for the GM will be Hornady.

Soft points for defense? Regardless of plugging, a soft point will still expand - since there is nothing to plug. Hollow Points fail to expand regularly and become Ball...
I think the gun rags have sold us on these hot techno hollow points that are ALL over rated. Where as the lowly soft point has performed consistantly for decades quietly taking down dangerous game and doing soldier service for those not interested in the latest and greatest Tommy B design.

No - I have never shot anyone with a soft point - so I dont know how it would do... I can only make educated guesses. Then agian I have never shot anyone with a Hydra Shok either. In fact I have never thrown rounds at anyone other than FMJs and to tell you the truth - when I aimed well - the FMJs did JUST FINE.
 
I like to carry 230 gr. Hydra Shoks also. I practice with
American Eagle ball, which has a very similar recoil pulse.
 
I had a feeling some good information would come out!. Thank you to everyone for the great ideas. A point of clarification...my wife carries a full size H&K USP .45 (i.e. 4.5" bbl).

I will have to invest in a few of the ammo types mentioned such as the Hydro shoks. The Hornady Custom sounds interesting as well. The bottom line is that I want her to feel comfortable should she need to get serious.

Thanks!
 
#1...Whatever is 100% reliable

#2...Whatever is the most accurate for whoever is shooting a particular weapon...

#3...Whatever is most reliable!

230gr Cor-Bon+P... for #1,2,3 for me in MY pistol...
...In the pipe and loaded mag

185gr HShok...would be the other choice

230gr HBall...in all the other mags
...in the 2 back-up mags

...Yes it's expensive to practice with your carry ammo...
But...it's cheaper than the alternative;)
 
I use Winchester Silvertips in all of my pistols.

60 gr Silvertips in the 32
115 gr Silvertips in the 9mm
185 gr Silvertips in the 45
 
230 g. Golden Sabre's at 1000 fps. Expansion, and penetration, what more could you want? Maybe a bullet that expands and stays together at .45 Super velocities. I'm going to try the Sierra's I hear Corbon uses them....
 
I still reccomend mil spec hardball.

The most important thing in any gun used for defense is reliability.

Nothing is more reliable than 230 mil-spec ball in a 45 auto.

Run a couple cases through your pistol. Practice enough so that your shot placement,when drawing from concealment,is where it needs to be every time. There are no magic bullets,and there is no substitute for practice.
 
Well....if I was the guy that you were going to shoot, and you asked me what I would prefer to be shot with, I would have to say none of the above, so I guess that means all of the above would be a good choice for you. Personally, I agree with the last poster, 230 grn ball, the cheaper the better. :)
 
"Nothing is more reliable than 230 mil-spec ball in a 45 auto."

Just what is exactly "Mil-Spec"? Which loads?

And thats not quite true either. I've seen plenty of 1911s that couldnt even feed ball - but do you know what they could feed? 185 grain Hydra Shoks. Why? I dont know - they just DID.

Also it depends on the magazines your using. The Colt patern mags were ment for Ball ammo. While the new Wilsons and Metal-Forms and what not have a different release point and these fire the modern HP bullets just fine and or better than ball.
 
From what I've heard/read the Gold Dot and Golden Saber are supposed to be superior designs to the Hydrashock. Is this true? There are people who have said the Hydras don't expand relably... and the un-bonded Golden Sabers jackets can separate from the core.
 
First of all, the original poster mentioned +p+ ammo. As far as I know, there is no +p+ for .45, correct me if I'm wrong. Second, going on my limited knowledge of ballistics, I'm going to go with the hardball camp on this one. You want something that's going to hit, and penetrate. Next, when dealing with 230 gr. JHP's, isn't the velocity getting a little low, to ensure expansion? If you really wanted, you could alternate the bullets in the mag., i.e. 1 FMJ, 1 JHP, and so on.

Also, wouldn't 200 gr. be a perfect compromise for a .45?

Thanks
 
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