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Old May 3, 2013, 02:19 PM   #1
Rorik
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Dumb ammo question re: .45

This may be an extremely stupid question - or extremely common. Having only really dealt with rifles, I'm somewhat unfamiliar with .45 pistol ammo.

I recently picked up a 1911 and bought a box of Winchester .45 Auto ammo


This is the same as ACP correct? I know ACP is Auto Colt Pistol, just wanted to be sure I didn't spend 50$ on the incorrect ammo haha. I figured it was correct but what threw me off was seeing shelves at my LGS with two different labels under the ammo ".45 Auto" and ".45 ACP" as if they were two different types of ammo.

Also - would Winchester be a good brand of ammo to break in a brand new 1911? And how many rounds should I put through it before polishing the feed ramp and trying out hollow points? It is a Para USA 1911 GI
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Old May 3, 2013, 02:24 PM   #2
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I cannot speak for how many rounds it will take to "break it in", but yes .45 AUTO is just another way of saying .45 ACP. Just don't buy .45 Colt.
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Old May 3, 2013, 02:34 PM   #3
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Alright awesome I appreciate it. Ammo isn't returnable so I thought I may have thrown away 50$ haha.
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Old May 3, 2013, 02:46 PM   #4
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Quote:
And how many rounds should I put through it before polishing the feed ramp and trying out hollow points? It is a Para USA 1911 GI
Doubtful you need to polish anything to feed hollow points, betting it works just fine as it is.
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Old May 3, 2013, 03:03 PM   #5
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DO NOT polish the feed ramp of your 1911 if you don't know what you're doing. You'll turn a working gun into a nose-diving POS.

45 Auto is 45 ACP (less common 45 AP). At most stores it's sold next to 45 Colt (45 LC) which is revolver ammo. 45 GAP is for Glocks.

1911s aren't exclusive to 45 ACP. I'm assuming you don't have a 9mm, 38 Super, or other 1911.
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Old May 3, 2013, 03:06 PM   #6
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Okay good to know, appreciate it. I know they have other 1911's in different calibers. Mine is in .45 ACP - just needed to clear up the issue on Ammo. I know how to polish the feed ramp.
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Old May 3, 2013, 03:09 PM   #7
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Not sure on break in, gun should run fine out of the box but I know some makers do recommend a break in period, one that come to mind is Les Baer, they recommend 500 rds I believe before a detailed cleaning. Of course LB's are tight as a frogs u-know-what out of the box. Oh yea and step away from the dremel, l think more feed ramps are messed up than improved by trying to fix something that isn't broke in the first place.
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Old May 3, 2013, 03:27 PM   #8
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Not sure on break in, gun should run fine out of the box but I know some makers do recommend a break in period, one that come to mind is Les Baer, they recommend 500 rds I believe before a detailed cleaning. Of course LB's are tight as a frogs u-know-what out of the box. Oh yea and step away from the dremel, l think more feed ramps are messed up than improved by trying to fix something that isn't broke in the first place.
500 rounds sounds good to me haha. And the only reason I wanted to polish the feed ramp was due to problems I have heard with 1911's taking hollow points. Wouldn't have used a dremel, was just going to polish it by hand. But it probably would be a bad idea to try shooting hollow points out of it before dicking with it haha.
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Old May 3, 2013, 03:33 PM   #9
thedudeabides
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Quote:
problems I have heard with 1911's taking hollow points.
I'd like to have 1911Tuner to weigh in on this, but it's a bit more complicated than that. Most modern 1911s will feed JHPs reliably assuming that the ammo resembles ball ammo (some JHPs are shaped like SWCs and 1911s aren't too happy with that).

Also what kind of magazines you choose can determine if your JHPs will feed. My 1911s flawlessly feed JHP ammo with Wilson 47Ds (those have the nylon followers) and Chip McCormick Power Mags.

I'd pick an ammo that works and a good magazine before polishing your feed ramp.
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Old May 3, 2013, 03:41 PM   #10
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Oh okay - I'm partial to Winchester so I will probably use their ammo. Saw that Hornady makes a round similar to what you are talking about with a hollow point and composite tip. Aside from Chip McCormick, are there any other brand magazines that you would recommend? I've heard of people going through 5-6 brands at times before finding a brand mag that really works.
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Old May 3, 2013, 03:50 PM   #11
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Wilson 47Ds are probably my favorites for JHPs across my 1911 range.
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Old May 3, 2013, 06:40 PM   #12
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Your question was answered two hours before you started this thread. Why beat a dead horse?

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=523987
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Old May 4, 2013, 09:22 AM   #13
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Actually the box does not say ".45 ACP" it says "45 Auto". There are several different kinds of .45 ammo out there so I can understand the confusion for a new pistol owner. Still, there was no need for a new thread on the same topic.
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Old May 4, 2013, 09:56 AM   #14
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Quote:
Aguila Blanca posted
Your question was answered two hours before you started this thread. Why beat a dead horse?

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=523987
Yeah, I'm really confused. It looks like the OP got his question answered in the other thread (and you know he read it because he responded). But then he started a new thread about an hour later asking the same question?
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Old May 4, 2013, 11:53 AM   #15
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$50 for one box of ammo??? I hope you got two for that, but even that is a bit high. My LGS (not quite real local but a LE supply) charges about $23 and I thought that was high.

Anyway, you may want to consider buying different varieties of ammo (if you can find it at a reasonable price) to confirm what works well and what may not. Although both my 1911's eat anything, I have a couple semi's that don't.
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Old May 4, 2013, 01:14 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by 2ndsojourn
$50 for one box of ammo??? I hope you got two for that, but even that is a bit high. My LGS (not quite real local but a LE supply) charges about $23 and I thought that was high.
I believe his first post/thread on this topic stated that he bought two boxes. However, when I went back to that thread to verify, I found that he edited the original post to remove the ammo question. I know it was there because my post in response to it remains.

Sneaky.
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Old May 4, 2013, 01:59 PM   #17
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Quote:
I believe his first post/thread on this topic stated that he bought two boxes. However, when I went back to that thread to verify, I found that he edited the original post to remove the ammo question. I know it was there because my post in response to it remains.
I gotcha now. It was not in there when I looked.

Quote:
$50 for one box of ammo???
When he said that I assumed he had bought .45 Colt ammo by accident. $50 for .45 ACP training ammo is highway robbery even with the shortage going on. You should be able to get good hollow point SD ammo for that price. I just figured he had gotten "gun shopped".

This whole thing is weird. "ha ha"
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Old May 4, 2013, 07:33 PM   #18
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Fiocchi, some of the best stuff going
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Old May 4, 2013, 08:05 PM   #19
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Another vote for Wilson 47D magazines for a standard 1911. I don't have any Chip McCormick mags but I've read they are at least as good as 47D mags. I wouldn't touch the feed ramp until after about 1000 rounds, and then only if necessary (and NO Dremel).
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Old May 4, 2013, 08:20 PM   #20
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Way too many people get bad advice off the internet.

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Old May 4, 2013, 09:01 PM   #21
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This is just my personal opinion, so please do not accept it as "expertise,"

I will not trust a defensive pistol until it has fired 200 consecutive rounds of the ammo which I plan to carry in it without any type of malfunction.


That is my personal "break in."
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Old May 5, 2013, 06:34 AM   #22
Nathan
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45 Auto is the official caliber name.

45 ACP is the Colt trademarked name.

Same ammo.


Break in length is kind of your choice. Break in is wearing of small burrs or cutting marks to smooth or to the point there is enough bearing surface to support th load. The number of rounds required depends on the quality of manufacture.

There are tons of 1911 mags. Before you start spending $50 each for magic mags, ask yourself why you need them. A nice ~$10-15 Springfield mag which holds 7rds, wadcutter lips and the dimple is a pretty good mag which matches the modern 1911 design. If you are not feeding well with this kind of mags, mag replacement is wishful thinking. A gunsmith can help with the issue. Checkmate makes a few versions of this style mag and are good also.

Wilson mags work, but are more spring sensitive.....probably due to lack of a speedbump on the follower.
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Old May 5, 2013, 06:46 AM   #23
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Quote:
I don't see how polishing your feed ramp is going to make it a pos?
There is are subtle angles on the feed ramp and the space between the feed ramp and the barrel that have to be maintained. Also, there may not be any need (gun most likely will work fine as is), to polish the ramp except that some people cannot bring themselves to leave things alone and/or like the aesthetics of a polished ramp. If it functions and there is no indication that there is a problem, you risk (does not always happen), inducing malfunctions that were not there before.
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Old May 5, 2013, 11:30 AM   #24
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Just try some HPs & see if they'll function.
Make it simple.
If they do, no need to mess with the ramp.
If they don't, hand polishing the ramp will probably not accomplish a thing.
The danger in polishing by those who don't understand the design lies in altering angles, as Dahermit says.

The problem, IF JHPs don't cycle, may be in throating or magazines.
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Old May 6, 2013, 12:13 AM   #25
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500 rounds through a Para is about right. After this many rounds....if you're lucky, it's probably broken and you should just throw it away.
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