Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns How comfortable would you be with .45 ACP Ball...

As a matter of fact - no.

It makes a smaller diameter hole. The tissue expands and contracts.

A little bit larger hole, if SWC or FP configuration.

But I agree, that if I were forced to use FMJ, SWC, and 45 > 9 mm is the way to go.

Hermann

Not as good as I would feel with cast SWC, and certainly not as good as HP - but if it's all I had, I would carry it with no reservations.

The U.S. Army undertook a study in the mid/late 1970s on the effectiveness of military ball ammo in .45 cal... The results were circulated widely amongst military police and, I believe, published in the Army Times.

To paraphrase the results, as i recall them, in most instances those shot once with .45 acp ball were not immediately incapacitated unless major skeletal damage was done.
The recommendation was to make multiple hits, if the pistol was to be relied on.
Good advice with any pistol ammo...

I have shot a few critters with the .45acp, and yes, a good expanding round makes a lot of difference...
I would hesitate though, to call .45 hardball ineffective. The very nature and history of the cartridge breeds confidence in those who shoot it well...

I trust ball to function better in a semi and I do like function.
If you do your part the ball will do its part.
Simplicity is a good thing.
Blessings

Experience in street shootings has shown that multiple hits do little more to end the confrontation unless major bones are hit or one makes a CNS hit. This is especially true with drugged up suspects. Which they often are.
The other problem with hardball is is glances off almost anything solid. Hollow point ammo, especially the lighter stuff, usually breaks up. E

While I carry the 185 gr Barnes XPB's in my 45 for carry, I have shot a couple of hogs and two small WT buck with the 230 gr FMJ-FP bullets made by Nosler and Hornady.

The penetration and wound channel studies on field dressing the game leave me NO doubt on the effectiveness of the FMJ-FP's for defense, I would be very comfortable carrying them, another plus is that the FMJ and FMJ-FP's feed better than any other bullet design in a lot of pistols.

I also have some 45 Supers loaded up with the FMJ-FP's at 1250 fps, a very formidable load with eleven rounds on tap in my 5" Springfield.

Gunner

COL Cooper liked truncated cone FMJ bullets for the 45. He thought they were a good compromise between stopping power and reliable feeding.

I wished Hornady would re-introduce that bullet.

10-4 TAK, thats good to know.

Gunner

Nosler still makes it, just bought 1K of them a couple months ago.

Gunner

The Hornady bullet I'm referring to looked nothing like anything I've seen out there currently. I think they referred to it as TMJ Truncated Cone or JTC (Jacketed Truncated Cone)... it had a sharp shoulder like an H&G SWC.

10-4

Gunner

What's real-world experience with the Hornady XTPs in the .45ACP?

I've loaded a bunch of 'em and they feed very well - in fact I've had no failures to feed/fire/eject in any of my Kimbers to date using that round.

But the main question is - will that bullet do a better job in stopping a perp?

Redneck, I have no real-world experience shooting people with XTP's, but I'm betting you will find no fault using them on perps, whether you are using the 185, 200, or 230 gr XTP's.

Gunner

I think you are referring to the Combat/Target or C/T.

That's close but not quite the same profile. The truncated bullet I'm referring to was dropped Hornady's lineup probably 15 years ago and was available in 200 and 230 grains. The good Colonel from AZ kept his pistols loaded with a 230 gr loaded to a bit over 900 fps if I remember correctly.

They also made the same bullet in .429 dia with a bullet weight of 240 grains.

I load the .230 gr.. I've found 'em to be pretty darn accurate as well - placing 8 shots inside 3" at 15 yards; using eyes that cannot discern the sights worth a hoot..

I think I know the ones you are talking about. I have some old PMC rounds with a truncated 240 grain bullet. The bullet looks like a hollow point without being a hollow point.

I'm with you, and I do have confidence in 45 acp GI ball for being effective against a combatant whereas I do not have the same level of confidence using 9mm ball.

My point was merely a reminder that the government has already conducted extensive testing on penetration through media showing that a 45 acp fmj bullet will penetrate farther through media than both a M-16A1 fmj round and a 7.62 Nato fmj round. Fired within the structure of a residence, shop or structure of a business, absent having steel barriers, you may not have any suitable barrier to prevent the bullet from zipping through the combatant and continuing through interior and exterior walls while maintaining lethality beyond any visible backstops. This added risk is significantly reduced with quality bullets that reliably expand.

Just some food for thought, there are numerous expanding 45 acp bullets that meet FBI performance standards having stellar track records that fall within penetration guidelines. When reloading, you're looking at a difference in bullet prices of about $200 for a 1,000 fmj blasting bullets vs. about $220 to $280 for 1,000 premium expanders. If you're shooting in bulk and are looking to save some money, you're better off reloading in the long run. Adding a few boxes of premium bullets is not a great expense.

Best

I would rather have a reliable HP but have and would bet my life on ball ammo again. I dont care if all I have is a sharp stick, as long as I can think clearly that is half the battle.