The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > Hogan's Alley > Handguns: General Handgun Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old May 19, 2018, 09:31 AM   #1
5pins
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 30, 1998
Location: WV
Posts: 252
Federal .45 ACP 230gr HST in Clear Ballistics Gel.



Test Gun: Colt 1991.
Barrel length: 5 inches.
Ammunition: Federal .45 ACP 230gr HST.
Test media: 10% Clear Ballistics Gel.
Distance: 10 feet.
Chronograph: PACT 1 XP with inferred sky screens.
Five shot velocity average: 920fps
Gel Temperature 70 degrees.

Whenever I post a new test, on the several forums I post on, the one response comes up a lot is “I’ll stick with HST” or some variant of that phrase. There is a very good reason for that. The HST is one of the best, if not the best, performers in all of the calibers I have tested it in. This is the first complete test I have done in the .45 ACP and I think this test, of the HST, will set the standard.

I got an average 5 shot velocity of 920fps with a high of 944fps and a low of 902fps. This average was 30fps higher than the advertised 890fps. Five shots at 10 yards were right at the point of aim and recoil was about what you would expect, not much different than most 230gr ball.



Round one in the bare gel had a velocity of 904fps, penetrated to 15 inches and expanded to .91 inches. Round two performed very similar to the first hitting the block at 927fps and matching the first round with 15 inches of penetration and .91 inches of expansion.



The two rounds fired into the heavy clothing covered gel was very much like the two in the bare gel. The first round had a velocity of 921fps and penetrated to 15.5 inches with an expansion of .82 inches. The last shot traveled at 910fps, expanded to .83 inches and penetrated to 15.25 inches.



I often get asked to post pictures of the gel after I shoot it. I normally don't because they just don't turn out very well or the block is getting dark from remelting. This block has only been reused once I thought I would give it a try.

Here are the first two rounds in bare gel.


With the two rounds through heave clothing.
__________________
www.general-cartridge.com
5pins is offline  
Old May 19, 2018, 10:35 AM   #2
disseminator
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 26, 2016
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 959
Nice job. HST is definitely the top of the heap for me and I carry it an all my carry guns.

Your results are virtually identical to those of Tnoutdoors9 on youtube which is good to see. With the +P HST Tnoutdoors9 saw a little more expansion and a little less penetration as would be expected when you add 60 FPS to the same bullet.

Keep 'em coming.

The gel picture gives your results a lot more credibility FWIW.
disseminator is offline  
Old May 19, 2018, 11:05 AM   #3
Cheapshooter
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 2, 2007
Location: Missouri
Posts: 8,306
Another interesting, and informative post. Keep up the excellent work. It is appreciated.
__________________
Cheapshooter's rules of gun ownership #1: NEVER SELL OR TRADE ANYTHING!
Cheapshooter is offline  
Old May 19, 2018, 12:16 PM   #4
muzzleblast...
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 16, 2015
Location: Obwat, TN
Posts: 285
Great results froma 5" 1911. A head to head comparison out of a short barrel carry gun like a Shield 45 would be interesting.
muzzleblast... is offline  
Old May 19, 2018, 04:58 PM   #5
Model12Win
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2012
Posts: 5,854
The 230 grain .45 ACP Federal HST is the best performing JHP load in that caliber that I have ever seen.

Incredible expansion yet very good penetration, highly consistent and good quality and doesn't cost an arm and a leg.
Model12Win is offline  
Old May 19, 2018, 05:56 PM   #6
zeke
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 17, 1999
Location: NW Wi
Posts: 1,665
Am mentally filing this into "modern 9mm rounds now make caliber effectiveness closer", or some such.

Excellent test for an excellent round.
zeke is offline  
Old May 20, 2018, 06:36 AM   #7
CDW4ME
Senior Member
 
Join Date: March 18, 2009
Posts: 1,321
45 HST is one of my preferred choices for SD.
__________________
Strive to carry the handgun you would want anywhere, everywhere; forget that good area bullcrap.
"Wouldn't want to / Nobody volunteer to" get shot by _____ is not indicative of quickly incapacitating.
CDW4ME is offline  
Old May 20, 2018, 08:31 AM   #8
David Ozlo
Member
 
Join Date: November 23, 2015
Posts: 47
Nice to see a non+P perform so beautifully.
David Ozlo is offline  
Old May 23, 2018, 03:39 PM   #9
5pins
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 30, 1998
Location: WV
Posts: 252
A friend at work let me use his Glock 30 so I could try them out. No chronograph results this time just two quick shots in bare gel.

Round one out of the Glock 30 penetrated to 14 inches and had a recovered diameter of .92 inches. Round two penetrated to 13.25 inches and expanded to .93 inches.



__________________
www.general-cartridge.com
5pins is offline  
Old May 24, 2018, 03:15 PM   #10
jfruser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 6, 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 350
Hmm, maybe time to move on from Remington Golden Saber. Will have to see how this shoots out of my 1911s. The GS has been 100pct reliable over many rounds for years. Reliability > Geltest, every day of the week.

That said, Federal's HST and NEW Hydra-Shok Deep cartridges have have shown very consistent performance over many tests & testers.

For my own part, I like non +P 230gr in my 1911s.
__________________
Regards, jfruser
"Books and bullets have their own destinies."----Bob Ross
jfruser is offline  
Old May 24, 2018, 03:57 PM   #11
Model12Win
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2012
Posts: 5,854
Which load would you recommend for a Walther PPQ 45 with 4.25" barrel? +P or standard pressure HST?
Model12Win is offline  
Old May 26, 2018, 05:44 AM   #12
Spats McGee
Staff
 
Join Date: July 28, 2010
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 8,819
HST is one of those rounds that I see recommended as an SD round, over and over and over. Yeah, there's a reason for that. Every time I read a new test, it comes out as a top performer.
__________________
I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. If you need some honest-to-goodness legal advice, go buy some.
Spats McGee is offline  
Old May 26, 2018, 05:49 AM   #13
5pins
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 30, 1998
Location: WV
Posts: 252
I have never tried the +P version of this round and based on this test I don't see any reason to choose it.
__________________
www.general-cartridge.com
5pins is offline  
Old May 30, 2018, 09:38 AM   #14
jfruser
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 6, 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 350
Quote:
Originally Posted by 5pins
I have never tried the +P version of this round and based on this test I don't see any reason to choose it.
Same here, if the use is for self defense. Move to another flavor of .45ACP for some other purpose: defense vs 4-legged critters, target, etc.
__________________
Regards, jfruser
"Books and bullets have their own destinies."----Bob Ross
jfruser is offline  
Old May 30, 2018, 11:41 AM   #15
zeke
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 17, 1999
Location: NW Wi
Posts: 1,665
Not sure how much extra velocity is gained by the plus p version, but might come in useful in short barreled pistol/revolver. Very generally speaking, you can lose 100 fps from a 5 in 1911 to a 3 incher.
zeke is offline  
Old May 30, 2018, 03:15 PM   #16
disseminator
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 26, 2016
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 959
Quote:
Not sure how much extra velocity is gained by the plus p version, but might come in useful in short barreled pistol/revolver. Very generally speaking, you can lose 100 fps from a 5 in 1911 to a 3 incher.
60 FPS
disseminator is offline  
Old June 24, 2018, 09:25 PM   #17
Red Devil
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 26, 2010
Posts: 269
GLOCK 36/3.8" Bbl.








Red
Red Devil is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:26 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.06184 seconds with 8 queries