165 gr. JHP for 3" 1911 in .45 ACP? 230 gr. Gold Dot SB Question

[.455_Hunter]

Greetings,

Do the various 165 gr. JHPs (Cor-Bon, Federal, etc.) offer sufficient penetration to serve as a viable multi-purpose defensive round, or are they good only for t-shirt clad front facing torso shots? The gun in question would be a SA 3" 1911 GI Micro-Compact.

Also, are Speer's new 230 gr. "Short Barrel" Gold Dots designed to expand out of 3" barrels, or just out of longer Commander lengths? Anybody chrono and/or expansion test them compared to "normal" 230 gr. Gold Dots?

Thanks,

Hunter

 

[HighVelocity]

I tried some of the 165gr and 185gr Corbon in my 3" 1911 and the accuracy was poor at best. The gun behaved violently too and there was an insanely large muzzle flash.
I also tried 185gr and 230gr Golden Sabers as well as 185gr Silvertips. Finally I settled on the Winchester 230gr Ranger T (non +p). The recoil is manageable and accuracy is excellent.

Haven't seen any of the 230gr Gold Dot for short barrels yet. I'd like to try some.

 

[MICHAEL T]

Well Corbon is makeing a DPX 165 compact round non +P its 1050fps from a 3" Now these numbers are about the same as for a 40S&W and nobody worries about a 40 being only for t-shirts. I also have in my 3" and Commander which is 1100+fps.

 

[grizz5675]

I dont know for sure but i would be willing to bet that winchester whitebox ammo as well as their silvertip hp defense round out sells all the other handgun ammo ,yet alot of people on this forum put down WWB and i dont understand why.I use the hell out of the stuff and get along with it perfectly.Im certainly not putting anyone down for expressing their own opinions but have to wonder why alot of people put it down when alot of people love it.

 

[Azrael256]

The gun behaved violently too and there was an insanely large muzzle flash.

Those 3" guns are known for being REALLY picky about their ammo. Standard .45 loads, something in the 230gr. area, will tend to produce problems, while something more like 180gr. usually works pretty well. I would suspect that the hotter loads like the corbon will produce both mechanical issues, as well as insanely hard recoil from a 3" gun.

 

[jeepmor]

Mine does not seem to be picky, please share others

Those 3" guns are known for being REALLY picky about their ammo. ....hotter loads like the corbon will produce both mechanical issues, as well as insanely hard recoil from a 3" gun.

Not my PT145, it seems to eat everything. I've run 3 factory ammo flavors and 3 handload flavors through it without issue. ~600 rounds through it now, I'll brag it's good when it's 1000.


It does pop pretty good in my hand. But I'm good size, so it doesn't bother me much. It did take me a little bit to get over the flinch, but I'm admittedly new to handgunning and started with this PT145. Is there something that can be done about the recoil? I don't see any offerings of aftermarket springs to tame the slide battering a bit. But a stiffer spring might affect reliability I suppose. Gonna get that 1000 through it before I tamper with that.

Others please share any experiences good or bad with your 3" barreled autoloaders.

jeepmor

 

[waffentomas]

My P12 is loaded with Rem 185gr +ps. These do recoil a good bit, but I shoot mostly 10mm anyways, and am used to it. If +ps aren't to your liking, the Rem GS 185gr or WW 185 STHP have always been favorites of mine out of this gun. The Hornady 200gr XTP works well too, and all these loads expanded well in my very unscientific wet phone book tests.

Tom

 

[Johnny Guest]

Not in my experience - -

Azrael256 wrote:

Standard .45 loads, something in the 230gr. area, will tend to produce problems, while something more like 180gr. usually works pretty well.

I really don't have very wide experience with the sub-Commander length guns, buuuutt - - -
My Colt Officers ACP LW loves 230 FMJ ball, both factory and handloads, 230 LRN handloads, and Speer GDHP 230 gr. factory ammo. It accepts 200 LSWC handloads, but there's a noticible hesitation going into battery. I've watched similar results on the range with a Colt Defender and two different Kimber short barrel pieces. I HAVE seen short barrel .45s malfunction with lightweight bullets but not the 230s.

Again, my remarks are based on observation of fewer than a dozen pistols, only one of which was mine.

Best,
Johnny

 

[Bobo]

It does pop pretty good in my hand. But I'm good size, so it doesn't bother me much. It did take me a little bit to get over the flinch, but I'm admittedly new to handgunning and started with this PT145. Is there something that can be done about the recoil? I don't see any offerings of aftermarket springs to tame the slide battering a bit. But a stiffer spring might affect reliability I suppose. Gonna get that 1000 through it before I tamper with that.

Before you start altering the gun try this:
Hold the gun with a very firm grip, not so much that it shakes, but very tight.
Lock your strong-side wrist and elbow.
Tighten your shoulder, you will see it move upward.
Use only your shoulder joint to move the gun on target.
Concentrate on not allowing the gun to rise. Don't use downward pressure, just think in your mind "when the gun fires I won't allow it to move".
You can't stop all the movement, but it will be much less.
It takes a while to strengthen your muscles to do this, but not as long as you might think. You can practice the muscle tightening and strengthening almost anywhere, you don't always need a gun to practice.
Works for me.