Self Defense ammo for .45 ACP?

i have heard they (milinneums) suck but no personal exp. myself. i think they were replaced by the 24/7 series which is what i carry. the 24/7's have very good ergonomics, sweet triggers. the heinie straight 8 sites were new to me but i love them now. i have purposly put about 1000 rnds through mine without cleaning or lube to see if it would handle it. 4 trips to the range without a malfunction.
 
yes, the tone of this conversation is much more mature than the one on the "taurus quality" thread. i ended up challenging anyone that doubts the quality of MY taurus to a competition. 1000 rounds, no cleaning or lubing, run-what-ya-brung, first gun to fail goes in the river. nobody accepted. thanks to you both for the helpfull info and grown up attitude. yes, there are so many options out there because everybody is looking for something different. hope none of us has to ever use our weapons for anything other than paper targets and conversation
 
frangible

I keep frangible ammuntion in all my SD guns. For my .45 acp SD gun (Glock 36) the bullets are "only" 185gr, but they come out of the muzzle faster than a 230 gr bullet! To me the frangible bullets are important to help avoiding unintentional injury to persons outside the room and/or the building.

I once built a test wall and took it to the range. The wall is made of standard 2x4 studs and has a 1/2" drywall layer on each side. Firing frangible bullets through this test wall: all bullets exitted the far side in at least 5 pieces, and the spread was sufficient that 3 feet from the wall the pattern was several inches across.
 
have to give it to ya constantine, many people in the situation WOULDNT have responded with such respect. cudos to you my friend.
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Thank you ;-)

I see it like this...Most of the people on the internet are tough guys that talk trash behind a computer because, well..they're behind a computer. Slick comments, attitudes, saying negative derogatory comments about someone weapon..When, I'd bet in person they would never fathom the idea of being so disrespectful? Why? Well it's face to face and they're scared of confrontation. So they come online to talk trash where they can't in the real world.

I act the exact same way I do in person, same attitude, same tone etc. Online with all you guys as if I was in the same room as you guys. If you read a thread here sometimes you'd think.."If everyone was speaking like this in a room to each other, there would be bloodshed" Hostile, unnecessary amounts.

You don't know me, you don't know what hardships I've done, you don't know my age unless I tell you. Even THEN it should be taken lightly because everyone can say anything. I could be talking to someone that's old enough to be my father. You think I'd talk to my old man that way? Not since I was 15 and got smacked. Respect. lol

Have I had to argue or put someone in their place before? "or try" some people just have too much pride. Yes, because they're too excessive in their words and talking reckless where there is no need.

Different people where born thinking differently and with free will. If I go out back now and shoot my Glock and it blows up. I'll probably hate it. And always will. That's MY experience. Don't tell me otherwise. People try to convert other people here and fight to the death about it. Give your advice, your opinion, your experience. They take it or leave and that's it. End of discussion.




okay...I'm sorry...Rant over. :D
 
No doubt there's lots of good SD ammo for the .45. My preference is Hornady Critical Defense, based on test reports I've read.
 
I'm also not a fan of the Taurus 1911. If you are a big fan of investment cast parts, then more power to you, because the Taurus 1911 is almost all investment cast. Even the sear which won't hold a trigger job. Just not something I'm willing to risk my life with. They are cheap for a reason and like almost everything in life, you get what you pay for.

As for 45 ACP self defense ammunition, there is plenty of good stuff out there. With all the options and bullet profiles available today I see no reason to not carry a jhp load. If your gun won't function on anything other than hardball, well then its probably not something I would be carrying. Lots of really awesome 45 platforms out there that will swallow anything. Like others have mentioned I like the 230gr loads for any gun with a 4" or longer barrel. When you start getting much shorter then that I like to lighten the bullet to make sure that it can reach a velocity where it will expand reliably. I have never really seen very consistent tests from bullets in 200gr so I prefer to stay away from them.

I use 230gr Speer Gold Dots for a variety of reasons. They have been proven on the street time and again, they will consistently perform no matter what barrier they might have to go through, the jacket is bonded so weight retention is nearly 100% every time, and maybe the biggest draw to some is that you can buy them in boxes of 50 rounds instead of 20 for just a few bucks more. This means more opportunity to run more rounds through your gun to test for reliable function and more practice with your defense load.

Anything from Corbon, Hornady Critical Defense, Federal HST, Winchester Ranger T and PDX1; these are all great loads. An oldie but a goodie is the 230gr Federal Hydra-shock load. I'm not a fan of them in other calibers but they just seem to work in this weight and this caliber. Golden Saber is another older design and I can take it or leave it but they still work. If you are on a very tight budget the Winchester white box jhp loads are even an okay load (better in climates where you will probably not encounter alot of heavy clothing). Lots of choices out there.
 
To answer the OP's question: I'll stick with the 230 grain Hydra-Shok. It feeds great in all of my .45s and the round has a long, good track record. Constantine: I'm with you. I have encountered the Internet bullies that you describe; guys who use the anonymity of the computer to talk to people in a way that would guarantee a bloody lip if done in person. The first such encounter for me was right here on TFL; thankfully, that person seems to have been shown the door by the mods. Then there are those others, the Internet commandos who want everyone to think they've "been there and done that". The reality is, the folks who have REALLY done that sort of thing almost never talk about it. While I myself have now been full-time LE for 22 years, I have never been in actual combat, and I sure hope it stays that way. God forbid I should ever pretend otherwise. My point here: Constantine, you hit the nail on the head. :)
 
A forum member stated he knew a sworn LE officer who used a "200gr +P Golden Saber".
To my knowledge, Big Green only markets or sells a 185gr JHP +P in the Golden Saber line.
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When I bought my 185 gr. on cheaperthandirt.com they also offered 230 gr. ammuntion as well. If you'd like, here's a link.

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/AMM509-5.html


winchester bonded pdx1
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Just bought two boxes of this stuff. No range report yet, but this stuff looks like it means business.
 
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