Favorite defense ammo for the XD .45?

[ArmedBear]

What do you like?

Anything with problems feeding?

Excessive muzzle flash?

Anything else?

Anyone have experience, i.e. 100 rounds plus of higher-end JHP or similar defensive ammo through an XD .45?

 

[geronimo509]

I used federal hydroshocks in my Xd 45 service model for a while. It fed flawless, dont know about muzzle flash though. Now I use remington golden sabers and they feed flawless. Over 300 used in each to assure reliability before I used them as a HD/SD weapon.

 

[orchidhunter]

They all fall to hardball. orchidhunter

 

[Rampant_Colt]

They all fall to hardball

Ain't what i heard...

R-P 230gr Golden Saber
W-W 230gr Ranger T
Federal 230gr HST [not crappy Hydra-Shok]
Speer 230gr Gold Dot
Corbon 185gr DPX
Taurus 185gr Hex [same stuff as Corbon DPX]

And if the hollowpoints listed above fail to expand, they're still .451 dia "hardballs"

 

[Kind of Blued]

I'll bet you it'll feed Federal HST 230gr. +P, and I bet you can't find a better performing, readily-available load.

Here's one lying atop a quarter:

 

[Sunray]

You have to try a box of as many brands and bullet weights to find the ammo your pistol shoots best and cycles. What firearm you use doesn't matter.
No offense, but with 13,333 posts, you should know that.

 

[EdLaver]

I use standard pressure Federal HSTs 230gr

 

[Mr.510]

HST

I have put several hundred rounds each of HST and HST +P through my XD45 Compact with no issues. I carry mine loaded with +P. These guns tend to reliably eat anything you feel like feeding them so take your pick and run a couple hundred through to make sure. I don't think there's a better defense round available than the HST. I only carry the +P version because I have a large cougar frequently wandering through my yard....

 

[CPshooter]

They all fall to hardball. orchidhunter

This coming from a guy that believes nothing in this known universe can make a 3" 1911 work.

And if the hollowpoints listed above fail to expand, they're still .451 dia "hardballs"

+1

Any modern JHP will probably feed reliably through your XD and will give you MUCH better performance than hardball (FMJ) ammo. You can't go wrong with Gold Dot or HST. Btw, that picture of the expanded HST over the quarter is totally awesome!!! I need to pick up a few boxes of this stuff and see how it runs through my colt commander and ultra carry II.

 

[Kind of Blued]

Running hardball through something like an XD makes me think of Amish people using an 18V Dewalt without a battery as a screwdriver.

 

[Newton]

Remington Golden Sabre 185gr +P

 

[ArmedBear]

What firearm you use doesn't matter.
No offense, but with 13,333 posts, you should know that.

With 5000, you should know better than reading something into my post that's not anywhere in it.

I didn't ask about what firearm I should use, and I don't care what firearm anyone else likes, either.

I just want to know if anyone has had good or bad experiences with particular brands/types of ammo so that I don't...

....have to try a box of as many brands and bullet weights to find the ammo your pistol shoots best and cycles.

You must work for an ammo distributor.

That could easily be thousands of dollars worth of ammo, to find and test everything. Damn near anything will feed fine for 20 rounds, so to trust the stuff I'd have to buy at least several boxes of each premium ammo, just for initial testing!

We're not talking about WWB here, and even that's getting steep enough to pay for another set of dies in about 5 minutes of shooting...

No thanks, I think I'll do some research first, in case there are some particularly likely candidates.

But thanks for your concern.

To everyone else who posted, thank you for some great info! Now I have a good place to start testing.

 

[ppcgm]

The magazine that is in my gun has a Glaser silver point on top with twelve 230 gr. Remington Golden Sabers waiting their turns. The remaining magazines are loaded with 230 gr. hardball. I have yet to try anything in mine that didn't run through it without a hitch.

 

[distra]

Hornday TAP 230 gr XTP. It works fine in my XD and other 45's for that matter. Speer's and Federal are also fine. I've even been known to carry Winchester 230gr JHP rounds, they are cheaper and seem to function fine in my guns. I agree, you can spend lots of $$$ finding a defense round. I think it's prudent to find out what others are using in a particular pistol instead of wasting $$$ searching for one.

 

[DigMe]

They all fall to hardball. orchidhunter

Riiiiiiiiight.

 

[magnumman44]

Hornady Custom 230gr+p XTP, Speer Gold Dot 230 gr, and just plain ole 230gr WWB hardball have all functioned flawlessly for me!

 

[Rampant_Colt]

Running hardball through something like an XD makes me think of Amish people using an 18V Dewalt without a battery as a screwdriver

This made me LoL

Excellent analogy

 

[Davionmaximus]

I use both Hornady Gold Dot and Federal Hydra-shoks

 

[WRGADog]

Corbon DXP 185 grain

or Federal HST 230 grain

 

[Bill_G]

Rem golden saber 230gr.

 

[Dorkfish]

Federal Hydroshok
Speer Gold Dot (Fed's new hollow point ammo)
Pow'rball if you want a hollow point in a ball-style bullet (especially if hp's are illegal in your locale)

 

[gglass]

HST is the real deal! There is not an ammunition brand that has all these characteristics in one bullet:

Best expansion
Best weight retention
Great penetration
Great jacket adhesion

Yes it always looks like this...

 

[TG13]

CorBon DPX..

 

[Rampant_Colt]

Hydra-Shok is NOT first-tier ammo anymore... Why settle for second best?

I will never understand why some people still carry FMJ or sub-par, second-tier ammo when LIVES are on the line...!