Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

Best Factory Load, Self Defense, .45 Auto

RCrosby
I'm sure this has been aired before, but I tried several searches and have come up empty handed, so please bear with me.
I have a small quantity of factory ammo for my 1911; W-W 185 Silvertip H.P. and Remington Golden Saber 230 JHP.
Most of my shooting is with handloads but without opening a whole 'nother can of worms, lets just say that I prefer factory ammo for the hopefully never to be encountered social occasion.
Both the Rem. and the WW feed flawlessly through my 1911.
I'm leaning toward the Rem. 230's but would love to hear from anyone who has had first hand experience with either load. Like I said, both feed and eject reliably and accuracy differences are inconsequential.
Really boils down to bullet construction and the relative merits of more weight/lower velocity vs. more velocity, lower weight.
What say The Brethren?
Thanks,
0

Comments

11 comments

Date Votes
  • Nwcid
    I know not a direct answer to your question but I like the Corbon PowRball ammo, http://www.dakotaammo.net/products/glaser/powrball.htm

    This stuff is shaped like a FMJ to make very reliable feeing. It has a good bullet construction. It is what I use in all my carry guns. I carried the regular Corbon HP's prior to these coming out.
    0
  • babun
    I like and use the 185gr silver tips because they function 100% in all
    my .45acp guns. I did some tests with them many years ago into animal
    carcasses, and liked the effects they had. Never had the need [yet] to try them on someone that "needed killing".
    Here is some interesting charts if you want to see some bullet comparisons. But view the charts shown here with an open mind...NO ONE
    can tell you for certain how any bullet will perform when hitting a person. Too many variables. http://www.stevespages.com/page8f45acp.html
    0
  • dcs shooters
    I don't see where you can go wrong with either load. I would feel safe with either. I would carry the one that hit to your point of aim if your 1911 has fixed sights.
    0
  • tsr1965
    First of, you need to try several loads and determine which ones will make your gun function 100% of the time. From those, pick the one that shoots closest to the point of ain, then pick the best hollow point from those. The silvertips in 185, or 230 should be a top choice if either perform the first two tasks.

    Best
    0
  • Bert H.
    Factory loaded 230-grain ball rounds are almost impossible to beat. Find the brand that shoots the best in your gun and stick with it... my Colt 1911A1 likes the Remington ammo, whereas my Kimber Custom II Match grade is not as picky.
    0
  • RCrosby
    Thanks all,
    Great info and links.
    Have decided to go with the Remington ammo as much of my practice is done with old military 230 hardball and it just feels right for springs, etc.
    Hopefully practice and fun is all it will ever be called on to do again.
    0
  • sandwarrior
    quote:Originally posted by RCrosby
    ... lets just say that I prefer factory ammo for the hopefully never to be encountered social occasion.
    ...


    You don't want to go to that dance. It isn't as fun as it sounds.

    Seriously,

    I've always touted using .45 230 gr. 'Ball' ammunition as best choice. It is what the military used for years and is still readily available. It doesn't have any special terminal performance features that you can be asked about in court. Like, "Why did you pick a bullet that will maim someone more than a regular bullet?" Meaning The prosecuting attorney will always question why you stepped up in bullet performance.

    However, I was looking at bullet performance and I noted that the most energy was delivered, within normal 'encounter' range, by the 185's moving faster. I decided to worry about the end results instead of the court results. I use 185 JHP's.
    0
  • RCrosby
    Sandwarrior,
    As in, "Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6?"
    A pursuasive argument.
    0
  • partisan
    You can't go wrong with the Federal Hydro-Shok ammo.
    0
  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by sandwarrior
    I've always touted using .45 230 gr. 'Ball' ammunition as best choice. It is what the military used for years and is still readily available. It doesn't have any special terminal performance features that you can be asked about in court. Like, "Why did you pick a bullet that will maim someone more than a regular bullet?" Meaning The prosecuting attorney will always question why you stepped up in bullet performance.


    I'm not arguing against using ball ammo, but on this second bit, the ammo you choose is likely labelled "personal protection" by the manufacturer.

    Its going to be pretty hard for any prosecutor to persuade a jury that you were looking for trouble with your "personal protection" ammunition, or had pre-meditated malicious intent.

    In fact, assuming the jury are a bunch of gullible idiots, the fact that you chose "personal protection" ammunition, would only tend to enhance your "personal protection" narrative.

    Ultimately, its not going to be your choice of ammo, but rather the circumstances surrounding the shooting that determine your criminal or civil liability in a defensive shooting. If its an otherwise "clean" shooting, the type of ammo or gun you used will be irrelevant. Only if its a borderline or "bad" shooting will this sort of ploy potentially "stick".

    EG, if you shoot an armed convicted felon inside your home at night raping your wife, nobody will care if you used ball ammo or some other type. On the other hand, if you mistakenly shoot the neighbors kid leaving him crippled for life, your choice of ammo may well come back to haunt you.

    In terms of the argument of lower weight/higher velocity vs higher weight/lower velocity, that one goes back and forth, and there are two schools of thought on that.

    Skirting the issue just a bit, you have to figure that even a "light" 185 grain .45ACP bullet is *still* going to be heavier than typical defensive loads in 9mm luger, .40SW, and .357 magnum. So long as it cycles your gun reliably, I can't see how a quality load at that weight would be a BAD choice.

    And in general, I think people spend WAY too much time wondering about this load vs that load. Ultimately *THEY ALL SUCK*. . .which is to say that NO PISTOL LOAD is EVER going to reliably stop an adversary because by necessity handgun loads are ALL relatively weak with only a few hundred foot pounds of ballistic energy maximum.

    So long as the round you are using is reasonably powerful, the bottom line is that shot placement is going to be the most important thing, not bullet type.
    0
  • shilowar
    230 Gr Winchester Ranger SXT T-Series...if you can find it, all around it placed 2nd and 1st in all categories JHP testing with all the other major brands including barrier penetration, windshields, car doors, and gelatin....great all around JHP Essentially its the 5th generation Black Talon
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity