.45 ACP 230gr FMJ "Hardball" for Personal Defense?

[perpster]

What is the effectiveness of .45 ACP 230gr FMJ "Hardball" for personal defense from a 4" or 5" semi-auto pistol?

[Sharpsdressed Man]

Depends. Where are you going to shoot the bad guy? Head, midsection, heart/lungs?

[SIGSHR]

Has a pretty good track record IMHO.

[royal barnes]

As long as your pistol is reliable with a chosen hollow point there is no real reason to carry ball for defense. If you are shooting a JHP that does not, for whatever reason, expand you are shooting ball so why not start with the hollow point.

[Kreyzhorse]

I would use a good hollow point for self defense.

With that said, if a full metal jacket is all you have, by all means use it as it will still provide good measure of self defense.

[perpster]

I would prefer HP as well, but due to lack of availability to buy at all, let alone practice and function test with, hardball may be the only option for the time being.

[Joe_Pike]

I believe I remember Clint Smith saying he likes hardball in his 1911.

[RickB]

I'd be much more concerned with shot placement, than what you are placing with that shot!
I carry hardball in my Commander (which, admittedly, is carried only rarely).

[HKGuns]

It certainly worked for Alvin York.

[Sgt Pepper]

Nothing wrong with it except the increased potential of overpenetration and ricochet and the resulting increased possibility of hitting unintended targets. One of the main objectives of hollow point or soft point ammo is to dump 100% of the bullet's energy into the intended target and nowhere else. That is not to say that there is no chance of a hollow point will not pass in and out of target, but the probability of that is greatly reduced.

[.22lr]

Sir or Madam,
All handguns / handgun ammunition types have the same effectiveness. They all require you to shoot until the threat stops or you can escape.

If all you have is .45 FMJ, then it is the most effective load you have. The difference is you. The ammunition / gun can never carry the day; you can!

Stay safe, shoot till you're happy!

[jrobin3360]

All will fall before the ball.
I have no problem carrying 230gr hardball in my government & officers 1911.
It is a proven man stopper. Has been for 70+ years.
Can the same be said for any other caliber?

[.22lr]

while 109 years could be considered "70+ years"...

The .45 ACP (11.43×23mm) (Automatic Colt Pistol), also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P. or 45 Auto by SAAMI, is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic

And snappy phrases aside, FMJ is hardly the ideal choice. But since it is the OP's ONLY choice, and since handguns are such miserable fight stoppers, the point is somewhat moot.

When the OP's ammunition opportunities improve, I doubt many would suggest he or she stay with FMJ.

[Venom1956]

Sir or Madam,
All handguns h handgun ammunition types have the same effectiveness. They all require you to shoot until the threat stops or you can escape.

I would just amend that from 'same' to 'similar' and give that a strong +1

[ClydeFrog]

In the 1980s/1990s, it was widely considered to have a "one shot stop"(based on available court records & ME reports) of approx 65%.
These #s come from retired Detroit MI police officer & PhD; Evan Marshall and sworn LE officer/author; Edwin Sanow.
Gunwriter & tactics instructor; Chuck Taylor(not his real name), endorsed the 1911a1 & the 230gr milspec FMJ for many years.
Taylor stated he used the weapon as a sidearm in the armed forces & as a sworn LE officer.
To me, the 230gr FMJ is okay for milspec .45acp pistols or compact/sub-compact pistols where you want to have 100% function(cycle/feeding).
In 2013, there are far better anti-personnel loads for .45acp sidearms; the Speer Gold Dot, the Ranger T/T Series, the Hornady Critical Duty, DPX, Golden Saber.
The FBI Protocol tests are a good way to gauge a round's performance.

[Double Naught Spy]

I believe I remember Clint Smith saying he likes hardball in his 1911.

Well, if you are as good or better than Clint Smith, then maybe that will work well for you. While he may like hardball, I have seen him download hollowpoints from his magazine to demo with hardball while at Thunder Ranch. In other words, he was carrying hollowpoints for SD.

That hardball worked for Alvin York is equally dubious. If you can think and shoot like Alvin York, then you can probably get by with a .22. Yes, hardball has a pretty good history, but hollowpoint still performs much better.

I would prefer HP as well, but due to lack of availability to buy at all, let alone practice and function test with, hardball may be the only option for the time being.

There are plenty of places with .45 hollowpoint right now. It isn't like there isn't any out there. Ammotogo, SGammo, Gunbroker, etc. have ammo. So availability isn't really an excuse. Need enough to function test? No problem. For practice? Even when ammo was cheap, most people who practiced regularly didn't practice with hollowpoint ammo. They practiced with ball ammo.

I know the arguments. Ball ammo, being loaded differently, won't pattern the same as your defensive ammo. Sure enough, at 50-100 yards, it makes a difference, but by golly, you likely won't see enough difference inside 25 yards to matter and at typical SD shooting distances of 21 feet and less, the trajectories will be virtually identical.

Go buy 300 rounds of hollowpoint ammo. Function test it with 200 and you will have 100 left over for carry and be good to go for quite a while. Practice with ball ammo.

[Danielfranklin]

Only problem with ball to me would be over penetration if you were in a populated area. If you are worried about it being effective, practice and remember if it is worth shooting once, it is worth shooting twice.

But I would still carry hollow points if they feed well.

[pat701]

It is better then a 380.

[Technosavant]

There are plenty of places with .45 hollowpoint right now. It isn't like there isn't any out there. Ammotogo, SGammo, Gunbroker, etc. have ammo. So availability isn't really an excuse. Need enough to function test? No problem. For practice? Even when ammo was cheap, most people who practiced regularly didn't practice with hollowpoint ammo. They practiced with ball ammo.

Not only this, but the price of quality JHP is really no different than it was before the panic. A year ago I could get 230gr FMJ for about 30-35 cents/round delivered. Quality JHP, a bit over a buck a round. At the height of the panic I saw FMJ for up to 80 cents/round, but really nothing under 50-60 cents/round in stock. Quality JHP, still a bit over a buck.

[Fixed Sight Training]

Go buy 300 rounds of hollowpoint ammo. Function test it with 200 and you will have 100 left over for carry and be good to go for quite a while. Practice with ball ammo.

This is a good plan but probably $250- $300. If your funds are limited I would say practice and carry with whatever you can afford and is reliable. Don't trust the HPs unless you can afford to test them well and practice often.

A hit with hardball is much better than a miss with HPs, much, much better than a malfunction with HPs and much, much, much better than a gun in your safe because you couldn't afford to test or practice with expensive ammo.

[Deaf Smith]

If hardball is what you got then use it.

According to Mas Ayoob it's has a 50 percent chance of over penetration.

But yes, if you can get a good JHP like DPX or T series, do so. That will make your .45 even better!

Deaf

[Double Impact]

OK I prefer jhp in 45 myself but see nothing wrong with using ball ammo.

As far as over penetration with ball ammo I think a missed shot should be more of a worry.

Under stress if you are 10 15 feet from the purp think about it. (Will you miss) most likely most of the BEST shooters will under stress. Then think will it make a difference what ammo you use?

In my opinion yes would I want to miss and hit the wrong target with or without a hollow point.

What I'm getting at is hollow point or not it's all lethal, and you most likely will fire some misses!

Just something for thought! Know a professional ask them.

[Laz]

due to lack of availability to buy at all, let alone practice and function test with, hardball may be the only option

I see the likelihood of more such situations in future years, rather than less.

[HKGuns]

That hardball worked for Alvin York is equally dubious. If you can think and shoot like Alvin York, then you can probably get by with a .22.

Dubious my rear and yes, anyone with an modicum of shooting experience would likely do just fine with a .22. Shot placement.

Alvin York was a Tennessee bumpkin who could shoot and was a crack rifle shot. He weren't no rocket scientist.

[Joe_Pike]

Well, if you are as good or better than Clint Smith, then maybe that will work well for you.

Well, I don't claim to be Clint Smith but a nearly 1/2" hole without having to expand seems to be a good thing. And, if I can't hit with hardball then loading hollow points isn't gong to help.