Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns What Do You Consider the Best 45 ACP 185 Gr Defense Carry Load

What do you consider the best 185 gr carry load in the 45 acp ? Do you think the 185 gr is as good as the 230 gr for self defense? I carry both weights in my 1911's and Glock 36, but in my officer model 1911 i carry the Speer Gold Dot 185 gr.

I stick with the 230 gr. weight... I think if I were to try the 185 gr. it would be a +P load with the Barnes copper hollow point.

Hard to beat a Gold Dot. Barnes are no doubt good, but pricey. I have lots of 185 Gold Dots. A stiff load with a 185 gets your attention.

I used to Golgen Sabers.

185 grain Barnes equals 230 grain lead core in my experience. Next choice XTP. IME & opinion.

will these work?

I currently use 230gr SXT Black Talon and 185gr TAC-XPD Barnes

In 185's, Barnes, followed by Rem GS, Speer GD, Hornady XTP.

I think the Barnes is head & shoulders above the others, which I consider more or less equal.

For the most part though, I carry 230 Federal HST, but really, I think the Barnes is just as good.

MM

If I'm shooting 185 JHP's I like the Remington Golden Sabers. I've killed one deer & several hogs using them in my Glock 36.

But I much prefer the Speer Gold Dots in either the 200gr JHP also known as the famed "Flying Ashtray" load.

Mostly though, I just carry the Speer Gold Dot 230gr JHP. Personaly, I don't think you could go wrong with that particular Factory 45acp Ammo, for anything.

I know of a couple of hogs killed withe 185 Barnes +P, and it was very effective. Then again, so was a 230 Federal HST

Actually the Speer Gold Dot and the "Flying Ashtray" are two completely different bullet designs. The two have never been synonymous. The "Flying ashtray" was nicknamed as such because of its rather large open hollow point cavity compared to other hollow point designs at the time. The Gold Dot does not share that characteristic or relate to the acquired nickname in design.

I'd suggest you look through the results of FBI protocol testing conducted at the Wound Ballistic Workshops. The testing is designed to make side by side comparisons for law enforcement purposes to select duty ammunition, but the data is available to the general public. I do believe extensive testing has been conducted on 185, 200 and 230 45acp loads. You may find several 185 loads having exceptional performance and have the luxury of choosing the particualr load that performs best out of your pistol.

As for 230 vs 185, or 200 for that matter, when it comes to your Officer ACP, especially if it is a lightweight, you may need to take into account recoil and your ability to execute quick and accurate lethal hits. You may, or may not find that your performance on getting hits improves shooting the 185s vs 230s or 230+Ps in such a small lightweight pistol. That's how I'd look at the choices. In addition, there may be an option for law enforcement ammunition that is tailored to maximize performance from the shorter barrel.

Best

I use Gold Dot 185's in my XDS and 230's in my 1911's.The bullet will work,I'm all about the accurcy.
Our local ME is supporter of the Gold Dot and HST loads,word is he has a good collection,all used once....

The 185 gr Gold Dots i use are the Speer 50 round LE ammo

This is correct... good post.

185 gr Barnes TAC-XP's at 1150 fps cant be beat imho, very accurate and soft shooting.

Gunner

Any factory 185 gr load with a 230 gr Winchester SXT at +P velocities. The 185 gr 45 bullet is pretty weak on sectional density. The Winchester Black Talon ammo is now 20 years old, and should be used with caution, and lots of regular testing. I never did like the Rem Golden Sabre design, and won't use them. I know they were supposedly designed for the FBI, but a giraffe is a horse designed by a committee too. Speer 200 gr "flying ashtrays" were discontinued ages ago, as was the initial offering of their Gold Dot replacements.

Could you explain what you do not like about the Golden Saber design? I only ask because I got a great deal on them a few years ago and loaded up on them for my 9mm in 147 grain and .45acp in 230 grain.

I like the feel of the recoil pulse with 185gr fodder. My other reason for 185gr is that you can drive them over 1000fps easily which was fast enough to open up most designs consistently. I've tested 185gr XTP's and they've always opened up for me, so I run them at 1100fps 5" and 1050fps 4". Since I'm not in the Cop business I don't care if they'll shoot through barriers or if the recoil is tolerable by a 5'3" woman.

Uhmm just confirming that your aware that Winchester ammo reps themselves have confirmed that the Ranger SXT is nothing more then a bonded Black Talon with the points rounded off and sans the black coating. It was simply dome to be more PC bit same bullet per Winchester.