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Most amount of energy out of a 325 Night Guard?
- Thread starter circa81
- Start date
45's don't get their "effectiveness" (for lack of a better word) from energy but momentum.
I don't know the velocity or bullet you're using but to give you an ideal the 230 grn Hard Ball out of a 5 inch 1911 would be right at 350 Ft Lbs.
Don't sound like much but I don't load my 45 to mil specs. I get about 245 Ft lbs out of mine but it never fails to know down steel plates or poppers if I hit them.
But to answer your question, my best guess is you are getting some where between 250 and 350 ft lbs. of energy.
I don't know the velocity or bullet you're using but to give you an ideal the 230 grn Hard Ball out of a 5 inch 1911 would be right at 350 Ft Lbs.
Don't sound like much but I don't load my 45 to mil specs. I get about 245 Ft lbs out of mine but it never fails to know down steel plates or poppers if I hit them.
But to answer your question, my best guess is you are getting some where between 250 and 350 ft lbs. of energy.
In order to answer the question, you need to know what various ammo is chronographing from the revolver in question. Once you've got your numbers (you need velocity and bullet weight) kinetic energy is fairly easy to calculate and there are several calculators online that only require you to plug in the numbers and hit a button.
Velocity and short barrels can be quirky. While you'd expect the loadings with the heaviest bullets to have very low velocities since they're going the slowest to begin with, such is not always the case. By and large, lightweight bullets tend to suffer the most velocity loss from short barrels while heavy bullets suffer the least. This is because the amount of pressure required to move a heavier bullet out of the case is greater than that of a lighter one and because loadings with heavier bullets generally contain less powder than those with light bullets. What this translates to is that a cartridge with a heavy bullet burns a larger percentage of its powder in the case and a smaller percentage in the barrel than a cartridge with a light bullet thus making the heavy bullet's velocity less sensitive to barrel length.
Also, while kinetic energy is a useful number, it is not a good predictor of terminal performance in and of itself. Energy doesn't really mean much if other factors like expansion and penetration are unsatisfactory. Likewise, terminal performance is completely irrelevant if the recoil of your chosen loading is so heavy that you cannot shoot accurately.
What you want, ideally, is the loading which has the highest kinetic energy that also expands reliably to at least 1.5 times its original diameter, penetrates at least 12" in calibrated 10% ballistic gelatin, and can be shot quickly and accurately by you in your chosen gun. Of those factors, the order of importance is as follows (from least to most): kinetic energy, expansion, penetration, rapidity of fire, shot placement.
Velocity and short barrels can be quirky. While you'd expect the loadings with the heaviest bullets to have very low velocities since they're going the slowest to begin with, such is not always the case. By and large, lightweight bullets tend to suffer the most velocity loss from short barrels while heavy bullets suffer the least. This is because the amount of pressure required to move a heavier bullet out of the case is greater than that of a lighter one and because loadings with heavier bullets generally contain less powder than those with light bullets. What this translates to is that a cartridge with a heavy bullet burns a larger percentage of its powder in the case and a smaller percentage in the barrel than a cartridge with a light bullet thus making the heavy bullet's velocity less sensitive to barrel length.
Also, while kinetic energy is a useful number, it is not a good predictor of terminal performance in and of itself. Energy doesn't really mean much if other factors like expansion and penetration are unsatisfactory. Likewise, terminal performance is completely irrelevant if the recoil of your chosen loading is so heavy that you cannot shoot accurately.
What you want, ideally, is the loading which has the highest kinetic energy that also expands reliably to at least 1.5 times its original diameter, penetrates at least 12" in calibrated 10% ballistic gelatin, and can be shot quickly and accurately by you in your chosen gun. Of those factors, the order of importance is as follows (from least to most): kinetic energy, expansion, penetration, rapidity of fire, shot placement.
Check out the 45 Super ammo at Buffalo Bore. The 45 Super is about like 45 +P+.
For info the following brass is the same external size:
45 acp (Low Pressure)
45acp +P (Higher Pressure)
45 Super ( Highest Pressure)
The Super is made from the same brass as 45 Winchester Magnum. It is just higher pressure brass than 45 acp +P. DO NOT MIX 45 Super Ammunition where it can get in a 45 auto that does not have heavy recoil springs to deal with the added slide velocity!!!!
It comes in:
185 HP
200 HP
230 HP
255 Hard Cast Flat Point
A little on the pricey side, but this should be as bad as a 325NG can get without rechambering it to 460 Rolland.
I do not think you will practice with this load much in a 325 Night Guard. It will probably be on the serious end recoil wise.
http://buffalobore.com/
Bob
For info the following brass is the same external size:
45 acp (Low Pressure)
45acp +P (Higher Pressure)
45 Super ( Highest Pressure)
The Super is made from the same brass as 45 Winchester Magnum. It is just higher pressure brass than 45 acp +P. DO NOT MIX 45 Super Ammunition where it can get in a 45 auto that does not have heavy recoil springs to deal with the added slide velocity!!!!
It comes in:
185 HP
200 HP
230 HP
255 Hard Cast Flat Point
A little on the pricey side, but this should be as bad as a 325NG can get without rechambering it to 460 Rolland.
I do not think you will practice with this load much in a 325 Night Guard. It will probably be on the serious end recoil wise.
http://buffalobore.com/
Bob