So with modern factory 45 acp hollow points, what is the prefered bullet weight?
185gr or 230gr
This would be from 4-4.5" barrels.
Advantages for one over the other?
I prefer 230 ranger t, or hst. The only 185 I would use is the barnes xpb.
Personal thoughts, I use 230gr standard pressure JHP. Though quality JHP from Winchester, Speer, and Federal are generally loaded a little on the hot side in my experience, it can generally mean that readily available ball ammo can be used for practice without any, or little, change in POI from practice to defensive ammo. I generally load Ranger T or Gold Dot in my 1911 in 230gr for this reason. The only thing that 185gr has going for it is that it is generally faster. That said, the Barnes all copper rounds are the exception to the rule since being all copper they are going to be lighter weight regardless, all other thigns being equal and I would not have an issue carrying them, other than cost.
Heavier weight generally gives better penetration. My department has had great success with the 230 HST.
Barns are the only 185s on “the list”. Bullet is what matters, if you want to be technical, not weight. However, most of the best 45 rounds are 230gr. Generally, you want the heaviest rounds for a given caliber.
Advantage of heavier ammo is actually penetrating deep enough to do what it needs to in non-ideal conditions, less deflection through barriers, and better powder efficiency through short bbls.
MH64, private message sent.
With the new generation of hollow points they work well in full size 4.5-5 inch barrels, and even in the sub compact 3 inch barrels.
Ranger t/hst/gold dot all expand out of my g30 just as well as they did in my full size 1911. I would stick with the 230s, because most of the loads on docgkrs list are 230. Plus 45acp, and a 230 grain projectiles just go together.
The only problem with the 45 acp defense loads is there price. They cost over a hundred dollars more a case than most 9 or 40 loads.
Did anyone ever test the 160gr Barnes X bullet in 45? Wasn’t it marketed as a short bbl specific ammunition?
Is this it? http://www.ar15.com/ammo/project/Ballistic_Gel_Experiments/BARNES/Barnes_.45ACP_160gr_TAC-XP.pdf
The XPB? DocGKR did here, a pretty good read: https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?26390-Corbon-DPX-9mm-40-S-amp-W-45-ACP-duty-ammo-vs-Fed-HST-as-control
I don’t know if these are the same or not. X, tac-X, bpx… are these all names for the same bullet or different ones?
If one were to choose the 185 grain 45 ACP, wouldn’t it better to go to the 40S&W 180 grain? More rounds.
Not for me. I can’t think of any reason to choose 40 (more muzzle flip, more recoil, more wear on the gun/parts – no gain) over 9mm or 45.
That’s it. I have an officers 45 but it rarely sees defensive carry. For small guns I go with 9mm.
That’s my reasoning, too. For me, 45 = 230g.
Federal 230gr HST seems to be the ticket.
In general, yes, because there are a lot of very good 180gr .40 loads and not a loat of 180gr 45 loads. However, weight alone really has nothing to do with it. You really need to look at each round individually.
I mean, people don’t buy a gun in a certain caliber to shoot a certain weight. Like El Cid touched on, there are many other factors people consider when picking a cal.