Recommend .45acp ammo for carry

[chupps]

I sometimes carry my full size 1911 45. What ammo do you recommend for carry? Thanks

[TunnelRat]

Stuff that goes bang . But no seriously you'd be pretty hard pressed to find bad defensive ammo in 45 I think. Remington Golden Sabres, Federal HST, Speer Gold Dot, are just a few.

[Pointer]

I like the Speer Gold dot 185 grain HP's... They are faster 1041 fps and a little more effective than the 240 grain "ball" ammo at 860 fps.

[big_bad_kitty]

Hornady Critical Defense 185 gr

[Webleymkv]

My personal .45 ACP loading of choice is Federal 230gr +P HST, but I honestly wouldn't feel uneasy with any premium JHP in the 200-230gr range.

[WVsig]

230Gr of your choice. I personally do not see the need for +P in a 45 ACP.

Gold Dot, Federal HST, Winchester Ranger etc.... Whatever feeds in your particular gun. For me it is all about shot placement vs the magic bullet.

[cwok]

... for save your life ammo.

IMHO, a person should fire at least 100 rounds of trouble-free ammo through a weapon before deciding that that particular ammo will be carried for self-defence, more is obviously better.
Of course the fact that a 45 acp starts by making a .45 caliber hole is a help.

Hence, if I find something that works early in testing, I probably won't continue buying other brands/weights for extensive testing.
Of course is someone wants to fund an in-depth study, I'd be willing to reconsider -- strictly as a favor to that someone .

.

[Lee McNelly]

1 whatever is most accurate
maybe hydrashok, silvertip, ball

[meatgrinder42]

IMHO, does it really matter as long as it's accurate? It's a hunk of lead if you hit someone with it, it's gonna hurt 'em! I mean, you shoot someone in the knee with a TMJ 230 gr. it'll stop them and leave a hole, or you can throw a 185 HP at them and blow their knee inside out. Either way, the person is on the ground and unable to advance.

[RickB]

The new Winchester round, that replaced the 230 SXT, is what I bought most recently. I generally buy a box of hollowpoints every two or three years, so still have Hydra-Shoks and Eldorados in the ammo box, but I like HPs that approximate the external profile of hardball, and I like that Winchester has generally resisted the urge to bump velocities in their 230gr offerings. The last time I chrono'd 230 Hydra-shok, it ran very close to 900fps from 5", and ease of shooting is one of the reasons I chose a .45 in the first place, and I don't think I get much benefit to counter the increase in recoil and blast when velocities are bumped above the tried-and-true 230/850fps.

[Adamantium]

They aren't the sexy choice these days but Hornady XTP's work very well in 45. I agree completely with cwok that you should be running your carry ammo through your gun to ensure reliable feeding. The advantage of the XTP is that Fiocchi loads it as well which is going to cut the cost of this test period by half (or more). And since it is the same bullet you can load up your carry ammo with the more expensive +P Hornady brand should you want. Going from $25 for 20 rounds to $31 for 50 rounds make a lot of sense if you want to give your gun more than a mag or two for testing purposes.

[Carry_24/7]

I carry Wilsons 230 gr with Hornadys XTP HP bullet. It's a reliable, very clean burning, low flash round.

[Mrgunsngear]

I've always had good luck with Hornady 230 or 200gr TAP rounds as well as Ranger T. Speer is a quality round as well but I don't have experience with it outside of 9mm.

[BigPoppa]

Federal HST 230 +P

[Marquezj16]

It's been mentioned a few times.

Hornady XTP bullets in various loads from Hornady TAP, Hornady Custom, Fiocchi, etc...185, 200, 230 gr variety.

I have them all and I reload to try and match the factory loads so my range sessions are cheaper than shooting boxes upon boxes of factory ammo.

And I totally agree with this.

IMHO, does it really matter as long as it's accurate? It's a hunk of lead if you hit someone with it, it's gonna hurt 'em! I mean, you shoot someone in the knee with a TMJ 230 gr. it'll stop them and leave a hole, or you can throw a 185 HP at them and blow their knee inside out. Either way, the person is on the ground and unable to advance.

[Charlie98]

I carry Gold Dot 230grn's in my Kimber, they are quite accurate and function 100%. (They are actually the 'Short Barrel' version, my Kimber is a 4".)

I'm not a big +P guy in defensive ammo, the muzzle blast is too much.

A friend on another forum is running some water jug and newsprint tests right now, and he said the Gold Dots, PDXs and Hornady CD are all pretty much equal for penetration and expansion.

As an aside, when I go shooting, I fire my 2 carry mags full of ammo also, then rotate in the other 2 (currently in the dresser and night stand) for carry duty, reload the old 2 with new ammo and relocate. That way I function test the ammo, the magazines and keep everything fresh. Yes, Gold Dots aren't cheap, but my family and I are worth more than a $25 box of ammo every month or so.

[Coltman 77]

Gold Dot or HST 230 gr. ammo. I don't think +P is necessary at all with a cartridge this size.

Frankly, I think a quality 230 gr. FMJ round is plenty good.

They've worked well in combat for many, many years.

[Andy Taylor]

It's a .45. In calibers this large, I generally don't worry about it to much as long as it cycles in the gun reliably and is reasonably accurate. Lately I've been using the Wallyworld 230gr WWB JHP. This is affordable enough that it is not painful to buy enough rounds to ensure proper function.

[joegator]

Any quality name brand 230 grain hollow point. Try a few and see if you gun favors one. Might start with Gold Dot, Golden Sabre, Hydra-shoks. As most of the others have said its hard to go wrong with any of the 230 grain premium loads.

[Jeff56]

I'd suggest trying several brands in your pistol to see for yourself which is more accurate in it. I'd check to see how the round expands from your gun too. Every gun is different and they all like different ammo. But every time I've gone through this Gold Dot has come out on top. But HST, Hornady, and Remington are all good choices too. It just seems Gold Dot is more accurate in my pistols. And it always expands too. Federal ammo seems to do real well too. I still have quite a bit of ammo left over from my trials so I have plenty of carry ammo if I should ever need more. None of what I've tested was terrible or anything. But again, Gold Dot seems to be more accurate in my guns.

BTW I do have some 185 gr. ammo and even some 160 gr.. The higher speed will make penetrating car doors, etc. easier. That's always been the knock on .45's anyway. A 9mm and a .357 will both penetrate doors and such better. That's what they say anyway. But I always end up carrying the 230 gr. stuff because I don't expect to be shooting through any car doors. If I have to shoot through a car door most likely I will be running instead of shooting.

[MagnumWill]

I'm an advocate for the Golden Sabers for now. I like them since they are the same shape as ball ammo, and the brass jacket may help feeding a little bit. I've also used Hornady XTP as well, with no issues.

[Seventhsword]

Speer Gold dot here....

[StreetKnight]

As a Police Officer I was trained in projectile containment. In other words you have to decide what you plan on using the ammo for. If you want target ammo and you are shooting on a controlled range, the most effective is a full metal jacket. On the other hand a full metal jacket is not advisable for personal protection because it can do a through and through and injure or kill an innocent person a hundred yards away. For personal protection with maximum penetration and knockdown power, you cannot beat the 185 gr. copper jacketed soft tip. A jacketed hollow point will not have the penetration of the soft tip if the assailant is wearing tight knit clothing with a canvas or leather jacket. It will still stop him, but unless you hit a vital organ before it comes to a stop, the hollow point is not a sure kill. The difference is that the hollow point begins to fully expand on contact, where the jacketed soft tip will penetrate as much as two inches before it begins to expand, but once it starts, it expands faster than the hollow point and continues to spin acting like a mini saw blade. We tested both on pig carcasses and found the soft tip performed better than the hollow point for termination effect.

[Shadi Khalil]

The only 1911 I've ever carried only functioned with hard ball. Based on my experience, any bullet that has a hole in it, is connected to the proper casings and feeds reliably.

[Single Six]

In my experience, you could do a lot worse than 230 grain Hydra Shoks.