1911 45 ACP "range" Ammunition

You didn't say what make of gun you had. Some of the exclusive deluxe boutique houses have recommendations on what brand of simple hardball to shoot in their guns.

I once had problems with an early production Glock 19. Glock/GA fixed it but returned it with a huffy note that I should not use cheap foreign ammo (Norinco in those days.) but should stick to something like the WWB they tested guns with at the shop.

 

Thanks, Jim. I'm not sure why it should matter what kind of gun I was going to use it in; I thought all 1911 guns were essentially the same.

I wasn't looking for "cheap", so "cheap foreign ammo" wasn't even considered.

Actually, I was already inclined to get "Federal" or "Winchester", or "CCI". CCI came off my list because I was told Les Baer suggests people avoid it in his guns (but I only heard that second hand), and that was before I read about the problem here in the forums. At any rate, Winchester is a well known brand, and even if it's "dirty" (as some people say, but others say it's anything BUT dirty), I feel comfortable about buying it.

What make of gun? There are two, the Les Baer Premiere II that I just bought, and my old 1980 Colt Combat Commander that is finally fixed (by Colt) and on its way back to me. I guess I need to also ask if the Colt needs any kind of break-in; haven't thought about that yet.

Question - did you buy the Norinco because it was readily available, or because it was inexpensive?

================================================

My suggestion to myself about being concerned with the cost of ammo is to buy 500 or 1000 rounds at a time. Buying it by the box, I'm aware of how much I'm spending. Once I buy a lot of it, I tend to forget that, or at least not think about it too much.

 

Oh, we bought Chi Com because it was cheap.
Shot pretty well, too; that G19 was just not right.

 

I shoot WWB exclusively and no problems in my 9mm or my .45acp. I do have a problem finding quality ammo for my .38 Super, mostly use Remington UMC, but would prefer Winchester or Federal.

 

This might help you.

 

I got an answer from Winchester a few days ago...


Question:

I have ordered 1000 rounds of Winchester USA Ammunition 45 ACP 230 Grain Full Metal Jacket. I'm not that big, and I'm 71 now. Do you have ammo with less recoil that you recommend for target shooting?
​

Answer:

Micheal,

The W Train in 45 ACP would be a great choice for lower recoil.

Best Regards,

Technical Services Dept.​

I looked it up on the Midway USA site:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2900555667/winchester-w-train-reduced-recoil-ammunition-45-acp-230-grain-full-metal-jacket


Anybody ever use this?

 

...like at Wal-Mart where it would have cost $180 with no shipping!

 

Thanks, and you are correct.

Wal-Mart (when it's available):
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Winchester-45-Automatic-230-Grain-USA-Full-Metal-Jacket/16817298

Midway:
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/2900486782/winchester-usa-ammunition-45-acp-230-grain-full-metal-jacket?cm_vc=ProductFinding

Probably available from lots of other places too.....

Next time I buy ammo, I think I want this (maybe from a different supplier):
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/555667/winchester-w-train-reduced-recoil-ammunition-45-acp-230-grain-full-metal-jacket

...........and by that time, I should be reloading my own.

 

That's decent ammo... I Used that same stuff to start the break in process...for my Kimber 1911 45 ACP CDP... at the 300 mark.. I tried a few other brands, and also for my EDC... I figured if I'm going to carry a certain load, that I should become familiar with its characteristics... so All I buy now is my carry load... Hornady 235 grain + P hollow points...

 

Some of the best super accurate .45 ACP ammo I ever had the chance to shoot were reloads using those Hornady XTP JHP bullets!

 

Cabelas currently has 350 rounds of federal for about $150ish in a 50 cal can it's a smokin deal

 

$150ish/350 = ~.43/rd

Federal @ .32/rd, Federal @ .36/rd, Federal @ .36/rd.

Hornady XTP +P @ Midway is .94/rd. Why would you pay that?? :banghead:

Hornady XTP +P for .57/rd or Hornady XTP +P for .74/rd.

I understand some people like to pay more, but this is not one of those times your friends will be impressed. Seriously people! Y'all are making me consider going into the ammo business.

Let's try this: why do we carry guns? One reason is because they are a more effective tool than a stick with a rock tied to it--right? Well, there is a more effective tool to feed your gun too!

http://www.ammospy.net/

I have no pecuniary interest in that website. It is not mine and I do not know the webmaster's wife, even casually. I know it works, and paying an extra $.35/rd adds up to a brand new gun in about 7 trips to the range.

 

Not to disagree with anything anyone here has said, but this specific thread was not created to find the least expensive ammo. The original question was:

"I wanted to buy 500 rounds of ammunition, to be used in breaking in a new gun, as well as range time. It was to be 45 ACP 230 gr. FMJ.

The criteria was something reasonably accurate, not too expensive, readily available, and something that "most" opinions seemed to favor."
​

There are lots of ways to save money, and thanks for all the suggestions. Now I've got lots of places to check prices, including Walmart and Midway too.

I can add up the favorites again, but both here and elsewhere, I kept coming up with Winchester as the ammo that the most people mentioned as something they liked. That's what I bought, and I have no complaints. Next time, I'll try to get the same thing for less money, and hopefully not that far off in the future, I'll load my own.

 

That's why I showed lower prices for the exact same ammo shown in other posts.

You're right: the point is not to find the cheapest. The point is not to overpay for your chosen ammo. That is why you use a tool, like the one I linked above.

 

A part of the fun of shooting is buying a batch (or a box or two) of ammo you have not tried before and seeing what works best in your gun.

On some mundane matters like this listen to folks less and experiment more on your own.

Buy name brands and fear not!

tipoc

 

I disagree. When it can be avoided, why make the same mistakes that others have already made, and passed on the information? These forums have a goldmine of information, that one can learn simply by reading, and then reading the feedback too. I don't have enough basic knowledge, let alone the time and money, to experiment unless I already have a pretty good idea they will work properly, or even more so to know they are safe and won't damage anything - especially me!

 

No problems shooting Monarch-branded Russian steel case FMJ rounds through a Sig 1911.

 

You have been a member of this forum for a few years now and a shooter longer than that so you do have some information. Likely more than you are aware of.

You have been shooting some ammo, in some caliber, in some guns for a bit now. What was your experience with brands of range practice ammo? Why would that not apply to 45 acp ammo? If UMC makes good 9mm ball ammo why would it's 45 acp be worse? Or at least worth a few boxes to give it a shot, literally?

Why would quality ammo from known makers damage your guns or yourself? If it did it would not continue in business for long enough to become known and sell in the tens of thousands of rounds each week.

You say you don't have the time or the money. You have the rest of your life. Years of shooting ahead of you. You have all the money that years of labor will provide you with.

You know the names from gun magazines and this forum and others where you are a member and from the reviews at Midway and elsewhere. So you already possess the basic knowledge you need.

Remington, Federal, UMC, Winchester, CCI/Speer, PMC, S&B, Fiocchi, American Eagle, Magtech, and a few others are major manufacturers who produce 230 gr. ball ammo intended for range practice. It's all more or less good stuff. Your gun or you will favor one or the other but only after you try it. You already knew this.

You will find things out on your own.

You will find over time that Win. 230 gr. ball in the 50 round white boxes is usually very uniform stuff. But that the same ammo in the 100 round bulk boxes is less consistent and is often hit and miss. Pull 20 rounds at random from a box and compare them side by side with an eye for the oal. Still useful to practice malf drills.

You'll find that some Norinco ammo is good and some so inconsistent that it looks like a squib load is likely to occur. Useful for nothing but malf drills.

But this means not much in the telling because another fella will have a different experience. You need your own.

I did not say pay no attention to the advice of others...but no need to overthink it. You already know more than you give yourself credit for.

tipoc

 

Tipoc, I don't disagree with anything you've written. In my case, for several reasons (including the fact that I already have it), I'll use the Winchester WWB FMJ ACP (any more abbreviations???) ammo.

I just got off the phone with Les Baer. I wrote earlier about someone calling me to tell me that 230gr CCI Blazer ammo could damage my gun. That wasn't the whole story - Les says the gun will work with CCI BRASS ammo; don't use anything else.

(....which goes along with my asking lots of folks, as Les is reinforcing what I've already learned in the forums, to only buy ammo with brass cases - definitely not steel!!)


Overthinking - can't help it. I do that about everything.

Thanks!!

 

Two quick questions.

First, why would the same ammo be different depending on the packaging?
The price seems to be the same - I went to this page just to get an easy comparison:
http://www.luckygunner.com/handgun/45-acp-ammo?bullet_type=38&jacket_type=27&manufacturer=3
For buying 500 rounds, the difference in cost is a dollar.


I've got another question, but I think from all the above info, I may already have the answer. I went to the range today and shot both the White Box Winchester, and then the Winchester "Train & Defend T 45 Auto", both 230gr FMJ. The first target with the white box ammo at 15 yards was a 6" grouping, followed by 4", and then maybe 3 1/2". I then switched to the Training ammo - same everything. For me, in my gun, the Training Ammo went back to 6" and stayed there for the rest of the day.

Assuming this is repeatable from now on, does this just mean my gun doesn't work well with that ammo, or is "Train & Defend" sold just for training, and is not expected to be as accurate?

(I only bought it because they said it had less recoil. I'm not sure "less than what?", as the "white box ammo" almost felt easier to shoot.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The real answer to this is to load my own ammo. Linda Dillon, the club secretary where I shoot, brought 12 rounds of her "match ammo", and those were a joy to shoot! The gun liked them, both when I shot it, and when Linda tried it. In the meantime though, I need to break the gun in with full loads......

 

You got that right.
You paid .48/rd.
I load .45acp for about .12/rd.
Want to shoot 4x as much for the same money?

 

Good results! Shoot, keep track, see the results over time! You'll find the answers to the questions.

tipoc

 

I went through all the math ages ago, and again a few weeks ago. It would take a very, very long time to recover all the money I've spent on reloading gear, not to mention the time it will take to carefully do the reloading.

Neither of those is a problem; - I want to reload not to save money, but because I can get the exact ammo I want to shoot, "light" loads suitable for target shooting. That, and if I do my part precisely, they can be very accurate, if I'm accurate enough as well.

I know you're trying to help me, and saving money is always a good thing. It's just that there are things I'm concerned with far more than saving a little money on ammo. I've got a "one track mind", and right now the "destination" of that track is shooting better than I did with my S&W revolver. The best I ever did with that gun, was around a 2" grouping at 15 yards. Anyway, it's a long "trip" to get where I hope to be, and I know I've got a long ways to go.

 

Hi! Yeppers, I'm constantly finding "answers", but my experience it this forum is that every time I find an answer, it comes along with a whole new set of questions I hadn't thought of until then!

No book could teach someone as well as these discussions do. I guess that's the main reason why I'm here.



"See the results over time!" .....I take photos of all my targets, whichever gun and wherever I'm shooting. They're all stored away in a photo directory. Every so often I post them here. What you wrote, "over time" is important. Every time I'm feeling discouraged, I can always look back to see improvement.