Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Bobtail Commander 45 ACP +P

Carry load, 200gr XTP at 1050 fps over Longshot,Wife finally emptied enough I gallon vinegar jugs from canning over the last few weeks I had enough to test this load, filled jugs with water, shot lengthways at 7 yards, bullet was in third jug, weighed 199 grains, .603-.594 expanded, just throwing out an fyi, a great shooting, very accurate carry load.

The XTP's continue to impress me with their accuracy and penetration.

Not to rain on your parade, but that bullet does not expand much or as reliably, & is surely not in the same league as HST's & God Dots in that respect. The 185 is even worse.

The penetrate because they don't expand similar to the above, might just as well shoot hardball, IMO, YMMV.

Here's a series of pretty good relative test on numerous different cartridges & bullets, for reference.

MM

Ballistic & Ammo Tests

My experience differs. The XTP works fine when driven hard. My 185gr at 1100+fps open up, penetrate more than the FBI wants, and stay together.
But they need to be driven hard - not mangina speeds.

Those are factory loads in the test as far as I know..................so I guess Hornady hasn't figured out how to load them yet, eh?

MM

My approach to loading 45 is on the other end of things...

After five decades with the round I realized that the 45 has plenty of power on tap to get the job done and doesn't need to be driven hard to be effective.

I load the 45, and especially carry rounds with faster powders to minimize slide velocity, optimize reliable feeding, minimize recoil, decrease shot-to-shot recovery time and minimize muzzle flash.

I don't have any problem with controlling recoil, as I see some other shooters do, but my target acquisition and shot-to-shot measured times are still cut in half with recoil optimized loads and that's much more critical with smaller framed pistols and weak hand testing.

Muzzle flash is major concern when firing after dark and Longshot is not one of the better powders to minimize that. Power Pistol is probably the worst in that regard, but Longshot is still up there.

Bullet choice is a paramount concern...but has no effect on a big handful of benefits with optimized carry loads that I don't take lightly...

I'd take all of that bunch over 50-100 fps of velocity any day.

LOL, no rain on my parade MM, I went to your link, am near 200 fps faster than the standard load, and a hundred fps faster than the factory +P load, it will open up, a garden hose size hole through and through made by a .600 inch punch would hurt like hell, for a little while ; ]

Boogaloo, to each their own, 'you' have to do what works for 'you', this load is very soft shooting and accurate in this heavy bobtail Commander pistol, I think it's a hell of a carry load, and will leave it be, I don't shoot matches, or have a timer, but do practice a lot with weak side shooting.