Best feeding .45 ACP self-defense ammo - 185gr.

[yggorf]

What is the best feeding .45 ACP self-defense ammo you have seen (for a 1911)? I am hoping to find 1911 self-defense ammo that is completely reliable (with a well tuned magazine and gun of course). Here is what I am looking for:


185 gr. bullet
hollow point or very good expansion bullet
bullet available for handloading


I realize the 1911 was designed for ball ammo and if necessary I will use that, but I am concerned about over-penetration issues and expansion issues with ball, so I hope to find an alternative.

[Nykop]

I've had good luck with remington golden saber .45 185gr in my colt 1911 and finding them in stock to boot. Cabelas is one.

[FyredUp]

I have a Springfield Loaded Model 1911A1 and I have consistently used Winchester white box 230 grain FMJ and 230 grain JHP and have never had a problem with either.

Bigger is better and the flying ashtray is friggin' huge!

[Officer's Match]

I've had excellent success with Taurus branded all copper 185gr ammo - Barnes bullets IIRC.

[Technosavant]

There's a bunch of hollowpoints that will feed well in a 1911. You're going to generally better luck with bullets that have ogives (the curve of the bullet nose) that are similar to ball ammo, but that doesn't really limit you much. Golden Saber, Gold Dot, Winchester White Box, Hydroshok, there's a bunch of choices. I use Hornady XTP, and those feed quite well too.

You'll have to find something that works well in YOUR gun. Nothing's 100% guaranteed to work in ALL guns.

[B. Lahey]

I have also had good luck with the 185gr Golden Saber. It fed very well when I carried a SA 1911 that didn't like many hollowpoints.

You may also want to look at the Federal 200gr EFMJ, it also feeds well in all of my .45s. It's pretty close weight-wise, and I think the projectiles are at least sporadically available to reloaders.

[harrydog]

What's the reason you want to use 185gr? I think a big advantage of the .45 is the big heavy 230gr bullet. I've had great luck with Speer Gold Dot, Federal HST and Golden Saber, all in 230gr in my 1911's. The HST expands particularly well.

[yggorf]

I like 185 grains for the lower recoil and less gun wear and tear. I think they still have plenty of energy on the target.

[B. Lahey]

lower recoil and less gun wear and tear

Have you had a chance to shoot some 185gr .45acp?

The difference in recoil is pretty minimal, and some of the 185gr stuff is a bit more snappy. Kind of a sharper pulse than the shove of the 230gr. Neither is particularly hard to shoot, but the recoil is more "different" than "less".

And a 1911 is not going to suffer much wear and tear with either. The pistol was orginally designed for a 200gr bullet, so both of the common weights are pretty close to ye olde specs. It's just a matter of what you and your gun like.

If you go with the 185gr there's nothing wrong with that, but you may want to do some shooting before you go whole-hog and buy a pile of 185gr hollowpoints.

[michael t]

Corbon DPX in all my 1911's

[Tony C]

I have fired most name brand rounds in both 185 and 230 from my Kimber and Dan Wesson CBOB and have never had a problem with any of it. I ended up choosing Speer Gold Dot simply because that was what our local sheriff's department uses, though I believe when the Hornady Critical Defense comes out in .45 this year I will switch.

Try it all and chose what you like. Check with your local police / sheriff and see what brand they chose. Even if it is not .45 it is easy to talk to in court if you ever have to use it.

Tony C.
NW Oregon

[R.Ph. 380]

Have had good luck with the Corbon DPX in the compact loading 185gr

Bill

[qwman68]

my taurus is loaded with 185gr. golden saber.. there may be better but its good enough for me.. i also have some blazer thats good also