I've kinda settled on the 200 gr., lead SWC at 800-950 fps. and am still trying out different loads to see which one shoots the best, etc.
I like lead because it's cheap, and accurate. Like the semi wad cutter shape because it kills alot better than a round nose design.
Was considering the FMJ, 230 gr., flat point designs like Hornady's, but they apparently are no longer made. Anybody know of a lead, 230 gr. FP that works well ? I see that there are such bullets for the .45 Colt.
So what are your thoughts ? E

If I had to do with one bullet, I'd stay with the 230 grain ball.

I use a 200 gr RNFP cast, but carry 200 gr Gold Dots for self defense. If I had to, I'd use the RNFP for that, too.

I'd have to agree with you. 200 grain cast lead SWC.

I am right there with you Sir.

I had a bullet mold made for me by a tool and die man.
It was to duplicate the 230 gr Hornady flat noise 230 gr.
I don't know why but the bullets weigh 245 grs with #2 alloy.
Anyhow it is a three cavity mold. It should penetrate!

Well if we're talking about non-expanding bullets, then Lee makes a 230 grain truncated cone flat point mold that's pretty good. I'm completely unimpressed with the killing power of the .45ACP on small game in non-expanding bullets. With JHP's the .45ACP is very impressive, and I have a great deal of confidence.

If I didn't have access to JHP's though, the afore mentioned bullet from the Lee mold (preferably their excellent 6 cavity mold) would be my go-to bullet.

For my plinking rounds I use a cast 230 grain round nose from a 6 cavity Lee mold...I'm a huge fan of the Lee 6 cavity molds; they're worth more than they charge for them if you ask me. Once you learn how to use an aluminum mold (and they are quite different from cast iron), then you can really crank 'em out with those 6 cavity molds.

Hornady 230 FP is now part of the HAP competition bullet line...it is also my favorite "do-all" .45 ACP bullet.

http://www.hornady.com/store/45-Cal-.451-230-gr-HAP-Bulk-Box-of-1500/


Bob

I Shoot Winchester White Box Exclusively.
----------------------------------------

Mostly 'cause I shoot's paper and Diet-Coke cans.

The 185 JHP at 1100 hits like "the hammer of Thor" on blacktails and jackrabbits (and perhaps pigs- I don't remember if I've done that).

I like the 230 grain bullets if we are talking lead or jacketed bullets. I also like the 185 grain XPB bullet at 1100+ FPS in my testing this bullet work very well in both expansion and pentration

Thanks fellas. Looks like I'm going to be shooting up a few rds. testing for accuracy, and how well they blow up/penetrate my standard 2.5 gal water jugs. E

I have tried several of those self-defense ammo bullets! However, I went back to what those FMJ bullets for my Glock model 21-SF. The make a big hole and I don't need to ask if they will penetrate deep enough, they get the job done in spades.

Remember a guy I knew who worked security in South Africa.
Back when it was still run by us racists.
Carried a 1911 stoked with some 185 gr HP AND then 230 FMJs. Had a
bad guy come along wearing VERY heavy wool jacket. Knocked him down twice with the 185s but he got back up, then the 230s came up to the chamber...he stopped getting back up.
The 185s failed to get through all that wool, the 230s had no problem.

That's the main reason I live in sunny California-- no very heavy wool jackets on our bad guys. Strong-man tops and bikini bras offer little resistance.

That's why in a lead core bullet jacketed or other wise I use 230 grain or heavier

A quick look shows me that the 185 has a small edge in both energy and momentum (at defensive distance). I'll posit that the difference, in the situation described, would be because of frontal area, more so as the HP expands, and 'cloth grip' (vs point piercing).
Given equal profiles & construction, the 230 might not come out ahead.


(But I've nothing against 230s. The .45 ACP wad of lead is a good thing however it flies.)

I like 200 gr H&G #68 SWC style for a do it all bullet (mine are from the same outfit that supplies Black Hills Ammunition). With tuned handloads the accuracy is amazing. Plus as E intimated, the performance isn't shabby at all either.

185g Nosler with 9.6g of AA#5 would do it all. This bullet gives great expansion and shoots about 1 1/2" at 25 yds in my Kimber and never fails to feed.

Semi wad cutters do not feed reliably in my Kimber.

I have used this bullet for years in a variety of .45acp's. Mostly 1911 variations. Still have a whole bunch loaded and i also cast for it. Works just great in front of a variety of different powders.
Having said that, not ALL .45's will accept it. I have had issues in a springfield xd with it, and a sig 220 really doesn't like it either. The pistol has to be accepting of that ledge on it or it just don't feed properly. You can have similar issues with some jacketed rounds too. I have started casting round nose so i can get interchangeability in most everything.

All I know about the incident is that the Kaffir wasn't down for good until 230 fmjs vented him out.

Just for the record, my serious self defense load is the factory, 230 gr. Federal Hydra-Shok.
I'm not trying to duplicate that. I'm interested in kind of a "do all" load. Paper targets, maybe steel, which requires lead, small game, but with enough penetration for say a face on shot with a black bear. E

Never heard that before with a .45 ACP. But, then again, all of the .45 ACP shootings I've seen, save one, involved the 230 gr. loads.
The exception was a BG that took a 190 gr. Super-Vel HP bullet high in the chest. Bullet angled downward, and blew apart the aorta artery. Lodged against the opposite side of the rib cage. Expanded to 3/4 of an inch. Caliber sized entry hole. Wound channel almost 3/4 of an inch across. The guy made it about 10 feet on wobbly legs. And was very dead when approached. E

E;

I ran a few water jug tests with .45ACP JHPs a few years back. Posted here, way back, IIRC.

The GoldDots are superlative, but the Winchester "white box" 230 JHPs are PLENTY good, shoot well, cheaply, and I can't think of much they won't do.

I use a revolver in 45 ACP and I loved Speer's 255g SWC with red dot pushing them along, now they market a 250g SWC. Heavy bullets are my choice if the gun will handle them.

In my 2 Auto's I am using the above mentioned Winchester 230g JHP's, I have faith in them. I am not sure if they will always expand, but being a 230g 45 slug, it doesn't really matter.

Anyway the 255's make clover leaf groups at 25 yards, and not from a rest either. My eyes suck now, and tendonitis has set in too, but I have done it more than once in front of witnesses with one hand, back when I was a young man.

Thanks, VA. E

I cast an LBT 230 gr Wide Flat Nose/WFN for my Ed Brown Special Forces 45 acp. It's a wonderfully accurate and deadly bullet.

Alan

PS, I sell them over on Gunbroker.

Since, in real life, I'm not limited to just one bullet, I like 200 gr lead SWC for routine range work, & 230 gr Gold Dots or HydraShocks for any carry use.

I'd use 230 ball B4 any SWC's if I couldn't get JHP's.

I have a stash of the old, long since discontinued Super Vel 190 gr JHP's & they do more damage than any bullet I've ever seen.

MM

Hard to beat the old school 200gr Speer, the one with the gapping hole. Now all of the current generation 230HP will expand and penetrate about the same and I feel the golddot, HST are the most consistent.

For me the wildcard to still be played with the the Barnes slug, cutting the weight and jacking up the speed while maintining integrity sounds like a good thing but at $1 each it will be a while before I do anything other than look at them on the shelf.

Did some testing yesterday using my standard 2.5 gallon water jugs. They measure almost 12 inches long, by 6 inches wide and about 10 inches high.
I was disappointed with Hornady's flat point, 230 gr. FMJ. Jeff Cooper used to say that this bullet was the best compromise in the .45 ACP for penetration and tissue disruption. Sure didn't look very impressive at 890 fps. Hardly ruptured anything on the container, just punched through.
The more or less standard 200 gr. lead SWC did noticable better at about 930 fps. Ruptured the sides moderately, and passed all the way through.
The 185 gr. Remington Golden Saber HP did alot better at busting up the jug even though it wasn't going much faster than the 200 gr. SWC. Not nearly as much as the 10mm shooting the 180 gr. Rem GS at about 1200 fps. and not quite as much as the 158 gr. .357 lead SWC at 1100-1200 fps. Passed through the jug quite well.
Next time I test, I'm going to try the 230 Federal Hydra Shok factory load as well as their new 165 gr. Personal Defense load. E

Well if you really want to see something try the Doubletap ammo. Mike is not real shy about using power and his 230 gold dot at 950fps and his 185 gold dot at over 1100fps are very impressive.

I can drive them that fast with handloads. With the .45 ACP, extra velocity seems to make quite a difference. E

I use both the 200 grain SWC and the 230 FMG so far.I sure would like to find some of those 230 FP bullets.Are they the same as the 230 Hap bullet?

Interesting penetration data on the 45acp.



Jayco

200 gr., lead SWC seems to feed thru everything nicely, with good accuracy.

185gr. Winchester SilverTip.

LogCutter.....Where was this test on the 45acp done? I would also like to ask what type of media they used ok. I ran my own tests this summer into a bundle of very wet compressed newspaper and the best penetration I could get using 200 and 230 grn bullets was 10 inches, using Hornady, Federal, Winchester, Cor-Bon and Power-R-Ball ammo. Most shots on target were in the 8.5 inch range at 6 feet from the newspaper.

Now just to let you know, my 10mm penetrated some 12.5 inches with Winchester 175 hollow points. I got 15 inches with FMJ bullets in the 180 grain weight.

Hav you chrono'ed them?

Your penetration in wet pack is very close to the results tht I got in my tests

I got it here.

http://www.realguns.com/Commentary/comar95.htm

Jayco

Tried that load on deer - SUCKS!

I remember being a teenager and going to the auto store buying engine parts and an old man in there looked at me and said " son, general motors has spent thousands of trial and error and engineering in that engine and you think youre gonna make it perform better in a weekend" i guess i should have listened to him then but....anyway...the 45 round was designed for 230gr and i think its best. i have shot the 185jhp's from sierra and i like the expansion but when bullet length and diameter nearly meet it kinda bothers me. bergers makes a 185fmj thats a plated lead and it works well in a 1911 but the grooves in a glock hate them. they are cheap to shoot and they are hollow base that give you good bullet length. loading them light might cause a misfire due to the hollow base in the bullet..it might not ignite if the powder is too far from primer. man, i just like the 230fmj and from my testing to get good expansion is kind of tough with any bullet but it can be done.

That is an excellent bullet IMHO. Flat point hard cast are excellent IME

I use the LBT 230 gr LFN. Great bullet!

I've done it now, for sure, though.
Still the hammer of Thor. At least, through the eye at 7 paces!

(Stupid pig. It came right up to this ugly lump on the hillside. I'd like to know, though, if it came there because of my "dying rabbit blues" serenade.)

Well, I'm not cool like you and have pictures ('cause this was a long time ago), but I've killed hogs with the .45ACP using first a 255 grain cast bullet (.45 Colt bullet), and then a factory Jacketed Flat Point (cant remember who made it, I think it was GECO or Fiocci, but I don't remember) and finally settled on 230 grain JHP's once I figured out that Hogs weren't as hard to put down as everyone said they were. Eventually, I took to the field with a 9mm with 124 grain JHP's which did the job just fine also. Still, nothing dropped a hog like my .30-30.

Wow! I've never been called "cool" before. Thanks.
Maybe soon I'll even be allowed to play in some reindeer games.


(I agree pigs aren't Sherman tanks, but vs deer I've had pigs gain more yards after the catch shot. While we shouldn't scare newbies with stories of hogs' invulnerability, we'd do an equal disservice if we implied they're cream-puffs. And I'll continue to wield my 185-gr. H of T. )

Well I've found, like just about every other animal that walks planet earth, it's all about shot placement. With body shots, unless you break the shoulder, they are a bit tough to put down. But since pig hunting is normally an up-close kind of thing, I've made it a habbit to take head shots. Now I fully expected to see handgun bullets bounce off a hogs head, because I've seen it with humans, but I've been surprisingly delighted to see that it hasn't happened to me yet.

Don't bring up that old wive's tale again! Convince everyone of that and we'll have nothing to argue about.




.

Kevin - in case you didn't see it, you might be interested in this thread...

Digital Dan's life with CBs (and pigs)