Question for all the .45 cal. experts

[Deanimator]

Is the same premise true for the .45 ACP round? Isn't it big enough and doesn't it have enough knock down power that it will stop just about anybody with a decently placed shot, even with round nosed ball ammo?
Just curious. There's a BIG difference between $20 target ammo and $30- $50 defensive ammo.

I ONLY carry hollow points, not for greater stopping power, but to prevent through and throughs and collateral damage.

I'm not worried about defending a good shoot in criminal or civil court. There's NO defending shooting a mugger AND the two year old on the far side of him. You probably won't be prosecuted, but you'll lose your behind in civil court, and I can hardly blame the family. Should they just eat the consequences of somebody else's actions, no matter how justified?

I'd rather prevent a bad situation than try to survive it.

 

[Eightball]

All I've got at the moment to carry that I know is 100% reliable is some Mk.1 mod. 0 standard 230gr. ball loads, and I feel totally confident that it'd get the job done. While my 1911 is my primary winter CCW, it gives me summers to experiment and try to find a 100% reliable and decently accurate JHP without my life resting on an untested/unverified load. Sure, before I find the "magic" JHP, there's a risk of the FMJ overpenetrating......but something's better than nothing, no matter how you slice it. FMJ's taken down a crap-ton of people in its day, and until I find the PD rounds my firearm likes, it's FMJ all the way--because I don't trust my life to marketing hype.

 

[krs]

.45 FMJ.......1.16" in clay dirt. Who says it makes a .45" hole?

 

[USAFRetired]

Federal HST!! I mean, just look at this thing!

 

[mesinge2]

I always carried JHP in my 9mm autos, but my first 1911 had trouble feeding JHP so I carried FMJ's. Then I tried Pow'r Ball ammo and it feeds perfectly.

http://www.dakotaammo.net/products/glaser/powrball.htm



This is a 3.8" Barrel

The quote below is from: http://brassfetcher.com/.45ACP 165gr +P Cor-Bon Pow'r Ball.html


Many thanks to Cor-Bon for providing the ammunition used in this test.

Cor-Bon .45ACP 165 grain +P Pow'R Ball

Firearm was semi-automatic action with 3.8" barrel length

Block calibrated at 9.3cm penetration and an assumed impact velocity of 600 ft/sec. (chronograph malfunctioned due to rain at the test site).

Shot 1 - Penetrated to 10.9". Average recovered diameter 0.659".

Shot 2 - Penetrated to 12.6". Average recovered diameter 0.687".

Shot 3 - Penetrated to 11.8". Average recovered diameter 0.698".

Shot 4 - Penetrated to 12.2". Average recovered diameter 0.668".

Shot 5 - Penetrated to 11.4". Average recovered diameter 0.684".

Average diameter = 0.679". Average penetration depth = 11.8"

P.S. I love this site for making comparisons of expansion and penetration.

 

[Al Thompson]

krs, dirt ain't flesh. I've shot too many critters to carry hardball. The wound channel with FMJ is very unimpressive.

However, rc is completely correct - 100% reliability is key - if you don't have it with a good JHP, stay with ball ammo (regardless of caliber).

 

[Eightball]

As a side note: That Powerball stuff is sold at .45ACP +P. How would that fare out of an alloy-framed 1911 without "+P" stamped on the barrel?

 

[JTQ]

That penetration test graphic is a wonderful illustration. One thing to consider is that "most" of those penetration tests are done at 10' (I don't know the range used for the one pictured, though). Do the results change when the range is 21' (still just only 7 yards, the distance at which much of combat training is done) or farther?

Food for thought - When hunting animals that can hurt you, how many hunters use hollow points (with any kind of firearm)?

 

[kanook]

Show me one Police force that uses ball ammo. I'll be waiting right here...but I won't be holding my breath.

RCMP, OPP, and most of your neighbours up in the GREAT WHITE NORTH.

 

[el gato]

Jeff Copper said that .45 ball worked just fine in WWII

 

[mesinge2]

Eightball, Pow'r Ball is made by Corbon/Glasser and all of their ammo, except for 45 Colt +P, is loaded to SAAMI specifications. So if your gun is built to SAAMI specs it should be fine, but just to be safe you should call the gun manufactor and ask before using them. I did that with my Para P14, and they said that it was fine to use.

I added the image of the Ballistic Gelatin to my eariler post in case anyone was interested.