Hollow points in 1911

J

jaytothekizzay

New member
I got a smokin deal on some 230 gr. JHP rounds for next to nothin. I normally only shoot ball for target practice with my 1911s. Will shooting a bunch of JHP rounds for target shooting negatively effect my guns at all? Was thinking with a lot of use they may scratch the feed ramp? Due to not being smooth like ball ammo...or am i nuts???
 
You're nuts.
:D

Copper, lead, brass are all softer than steel.

In spec ammo will not harm your gun. Ever. (normal wear aside)
 
Lot of older 1911s may not feed JHPs well.
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My best guess is, they used too small/undersized milling cutter on the feed ramps. Very easy to fix, by widening the ramp few thousands of an inch.
 
The older guns were designed to feed ball, and it was common to have what was known as a "throat and polish" done, if you wanted to feed anything else.

Once the 1911's became "the one" back in the Cooper era, things changed, and some of the earlier issues were addressed/changed at the factory. Most today, will feed pretty much anything, assuming the gun is in spec and works.
 
By "older", you mean guns made thirty or more years ago.
Other than reproduction or replica pistols intended to appeal to nostalgia or historical interests, virtually every "1911" on the market has been manufactured with barrel and frame contours intended to allow feeding of most/all bullet shapes.
Even then, you might find that a given gun/magazine/load combination will work better than others.
The majority of modern .45 ACP hollowpoints have a rounded contour similar to hardball, so they should feed better than the generally older truncated cone shapes that were common 20 years ago.
That said, I've shot truncated-cone JHPs through a 1912 Colt and vintage magazine, so don't necessarily expect incompatibility, either!
 
"...Lot of older 1911s may not feed JHPs well..." True. Applies to SWC's too, but it's as easily remedied by chamfering the feed ramp half way up the sides of the back of the chamber. No rotary tools.
If a JHP does anything to any part of a pistol, said pistol was damaged before you got it.
"...only shoot ball for target practice..." Gets expensive quickly. So does shooting any jacketed bullet.
 
HPs are typically only an issue for custom or home built guns because the tighter tolerances might require a break-in to feed them reliably. Very carefully stoning your feed ramp to get the correct geometry and smoothness can also get them to run well. Sticking to HPs that somewhat conform to the shape of an FMJ will have the best luck, while more bizarre styles like Starfires might have a problem. No ammo would harm any part of the gun. Quite the opposite actually. You will ding up or destroy the ammo before any steel in the gun is harmed. If your 1911 won't feed the HP, it will probably just pound the bullet back into the case rendering it unusable until reseated.

Most factory guns with looser tolerances should work right out of the box. They should feed anything. The Rugers, Remingtons, Sigs, Smiths, Springfields and Colts out there should all feed them reliably out of the box. I am an apartment dweller so it is imperative I only use HPs in defense guns. FMJs are for the range.
 
Thanks for the replies guys...im gonna shoot them with confidence. These also are only range guns. No defense detail. Their little brothers in 9mm, and bigger cousin in 12 ga. Handle those roles...lol
 
You will sometimes have FTFs with hollowpoint rounds that have a wide mouth. It is preferable to pick a smaller mouth bullet with a smaller angle ogive. Hornady reshaped the anatomy of their .451 XTP bullets due to feeding problems in tightly toleranced 1911s about a year ago.
 
Hollow points in 1911
I got a smokin deal on some 230 gr. JHP rounds for next to nothin. I normally only shoot ball for target practice with my 1911s. Will shooting a bunch of JHP rounds for target shooting negatively effect my guns at all? Was thinking with a lot of use they may scratch the feed ramp? Due to not being smooth like ball ammo...or am i nuts???
Click to expand...

Steel frame 1911's, no problems whatsoever beyond potential feed issues, if however you happen to be talking about aluminum alloy receiver 1911's then yes, you very well could have some issues from feeding them JHP's! Wide cavity, thin walled JHP's can introduce erosion to the aluminum alloy feed ramps, especially in 6061 series aluminum alloys, which happen to be the most prolific of the lightweight frames out there, this because they are quite inexpensive to fabricate.

Those types of JHP's tend to bite into the feed ramp, and they can gouge, or chip them. These issues do not seem to represent a problem with 7075-T6 aluminum alloy or titanium, which are both about equally strong, and at the T6 as hard as some stainless steels.
 
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