Glock 30- barrel length and the .45 round

[piece of meat]

how much does the relatively short barrel affect the ballistics of the .45 acp round? will modern defensive ammo perform just as well as it would in say a glock 21, or anything with a 4+ inch barrel? glock 30 seems to be extremely popular and it felt good shooting it, just wondering how the 3.78in barrel affects the performance of an already (relatively) slow moving round

 

[Feanor]

At the distances common to defensive work, its superb. Muzzle velocity is just not a real issue with pistol calibers, certainly the .45 ACP takes a nosedive in velocity out of the shorter barrel, however an abundance of data exists that clearly indicates that this is virtually meaningless.

 

[nathan]

Many suggest using 185 gr to 200 gr JHP if barrel shorter than 4 inches. The 230 gr do well in 5 inch barrel. On the other hand, Hickok 45 shoots his glock 30 even at targets past 50 yds in his videos.

 

[MikePaiN]

This is a good topic and always a question I had with my G30.
After reading some data and looking at ballistics tests with .45acp I never felt comfortable with the short barrel producing effective terminal performance.

This is a little off topic but I been finding with my own short barrel weapons that the lighter gain(for caliber) rounds do shoot more consistent and smaller groups.
Interesting with the SR22 pistol(3.5" barrel) I normally shoot 40g Blazers through it with great performance. Last time to the range a bud had a box of 60g subsonic rounds. The pistol ate the subbies up but the rounds would not stabilize @10yards hits were all over the place and about 50% were perfect silhouettes of those 60g bullets.

 

[2wheels]

http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/45auto.html


I don't have a problem carrying 230 grain .45 caliber bullets in a 3 inch gun, I accept a reduction in velocity in order to have a gun I'm willing to carry on a regular basis.

 

[ku4hx]

Clocked velocity comparisons here:
http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=197490

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Even if the bullet slows down some, it is still a .45. It doesn't get lighter. There is some merit to using 185- or 200-grain loads, however.

 

[NG VI]

230 HST, Ranger-T, or Gold Dots would be the three loads I'd carry in any .45.

The 30 barrel isn't that short after all. And the polygynal rifling may or may not make for a faster barrel as well.

 

[jeepnik]

I've never had a problem, other than greater flash with some brands of ammo, using 230's. But, short barrels like this come into their own if you reload for them.

Reloading with faster powders, will lower the flash considerably. And, I've found that in this respect, the 230's will have less flash than the 185's. I think it's the longer barrel dwell time of the 230's that causes them to have less flash than the 185's.

 

[Mot45acp]

I had this concern as well. My solution was Corbon DPX 185 gr in the +p flavor.

I had this in my G30SF and my G36. The G30 was a Christmas present from wifey, so I will never get rid of it.

I found that the G23 is nearly identical is dimensions as the G36. So I swapped the 36 for the 23. Same size, with twice the capacity of a round moving the same speed, at nearly the same weight (180gr)

 

[jackpinesavages]

Funny things about the G30 and 36: they are just plain great shooters that eat everything well and accurately. IIRC Ayoob answered a similar question of short barrel 1911s, and ammo. he recommended. Forget what he answered per 1911s, but his G30 holds 230gr I believe.

My 36 is probably the softest shooting .45 I have.

Grab a KKM extended barrel if it concerns you enough?

 

[gofastman]

just load 'em up with .45 supers!
(know what you are doing first please!)
Too bad BB doesnt sell their JHP rounds with "real" bullets anymore

 

[dprice3844444]

anything out of the barrel will hurt

 

[Okie45]

I always like the 230 grain in .45. Dropping down to a 185 grain is a 45 grain reduction. Thats the equivalent weight of some of the lighter .223 hollowpoints. Federal makes/made a 165 grain .45 which is really light. Might as well just carry a .40 at that point and gain the extra mag capacity. Only time I would use a 185 grain is in an apartment, where more expansion, less penetration may be desired. There are plenty of videos on YouTube showing good 230 grain results out of a G30 using the current self defence ammo brands.

 

[swinokur]

Speer makes short barrel Gold Dots. I use regular ones.

 

[abq87120]

I put a Federal HST through three one gallon milk jugs with a G30SF. 230g I believe. WOW! Beautiful petal shape and looked pretty complete. It expanded to touch the rim ring of a quarter. I sold the G30 to buy a G23 but still carry nothing but HSTs. Awesome round.

 

[cosermann]

If you use a .45 with a barrel less than 4", my suggestion is to test your carry ammunition to confirm that it still functions as desired. If it works, great. If not one can make some adjustments (lighter bullet, +p load, etc.).

Modern hollow points are designed to function within a velocity range, and lower pressure cartridges, like the .45acp are more affected by barrel length than the 9/40. See below:

http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm#BARREL LENGTH

I like the run the Glock 30 with an extended barrel. I get the benefit of the shorter grip, and don't mind the extra length.

 

[coalman]

IMO, any loss in velocity is meaningless in practical application as it's still a .45" 230gr object and that's what really matters. Still, modern SD ammo expands reliably at slower velocities and with a wider window. I run 230gr HP in the Glock 30 and a 4" and 5" 1911. I believe penetration is king and expansion queen. I'd be fine with 230gr HP in a 3" barrel as I consider expansion a bonus.

 

[DeepSouth]

In my experience I loose about 100 fps per 1" of barrel loss, never any more and usually less. Take that for what you will.

I shoot a PM45 with 185gr gold dots, I used to shoot the 230gr short barreled gold dots but I shot a deer with them and after seeing the results I feared over penetration was an issue. Again worth what you paid for it.



Excuse typos posted via iPhone.

 

[Inebriated]

I recall reading someone's posts about his G30 getting something like 1,014 from one load, and his G21 getting 1,120???? Something like that? If I can find it, I'll post it.

EDIT - his post is in reference to the Double Tap 185 grain load.

Out of my glock 21 1119 fps

Out of my glock 30 1060 fps

 

[NG VI]

Using a lightweight bullet I'm sure that could happen, but the heavyweights tend to gain and lose speed at a much slower pace than the lightweights. With enough play, weird things can happen with different specific individual loads and barrels, but I would be shocked if ordinary 230 grain loads showed more than maybe 35 foot per second differences between the 21 and the 30.

Every load is different, but as a general rule don't expect the heavyweights to become screamers with a much longer barrel and don't expect lightweights keep pushing super high velocities as barrel length drops. Heavies are just less affected by variables than lightweights are.