What the effective range of .45 ACP from a Carbine?

[Lovesbeer99]

I was looking at a Barreta CX4 storm in .45 acp but I nave no idea what the effective range is for this set up? Is this a 50 yard gun, a 100 yard gun or 300 yard gun? I'm sure it would be a good HD gun but I'm looking for a carbine to have fun with at the range. I could just get a carbine upper for my AR but I thought this would be cool.

Thanks in advance.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

Tommy Guns were used in WWII to over 100 yards.

 

[mberoose]

I have a CX4 Storm in 45ACP. I'd give it about 100 yard effective range, maybe a little bit more, but at those ranges you'll be looking for human-sized target hits, not anything measured in MOA. 50 yards is more typical.

They're a ton of fun, I can tell you that.

 

[jmorris]

It would be effective at creating a challange shooting cans at 300 yards. What is your intended use?

 

[Balrog]

Some cartridges, such as 357 magnum, gain a pretty goog amount of velocity when fired from a carbine length barrel. 45 ACP is not one of those. It will not gain much velocity, and will have a lot of drop at 100 yds. That said, a shoulder fired carbine will still be more likely to be be accurate than a pistol, and will therefore have a longer effective range. I would not want to be hit at 100 yrds by a 45.

 

[moxie]

A 230 gr. .45acp going 850fps from the muzzle is +2.5" at 50yds., and -6.9" at 100yds. And it has 370 fp ME.

At 50yds. it's still going 810 fps. and at 100 yds. 770.

At 50yds. it's still got 335 fpe. and at 100 yds. 305.

So, as you can see it still has plenty of zip and energy at 100 yards, so I'd call it "effective" from that standpoint.

But, at 100 yards you're dealing with ~7" of bullet drop, which is manageable with practice against man-sized targets. I know on a good day I can hit a plate at 100 yards with practice with a 1911. Much beyond 100 yards bullet drop is severe and velocity and energy bleed off. At these ranges pistol sights become very iffy. The Storm's ghost ring might be a lot better but haven't tried it.

 

[Silvanus]

I wouldn´t deliberately choose a .45 or 9mm carbine for anything over 50m. I guess +/- 100m will be the maximum effective range, though.

 

[mberoose]

If I could make one recommendation as a .45 CX4 owner, I'd say this - get a 9mm Storm. Why?

-Ammo costs, ammo costs, ammo costs. You'll run through tons of ammo with a carbine like this, and it'll hurt your wallet.
-Mag capacity (only 8 rds. in the .45)
-Mag costs (Beretta Cougar 8045 mags are $33-42 a pop)
-Better groups and longer range with 9mm. I've shot a 9mm version, and it's better in these respects.

Unless you're in love with the .45, or already own a Beretta Cougar pistol, I'd steer clear of the .45 personally. I only got mine because the price was too good to pass up.

 

[Furncliff]

I agree with mberoose ^^^^
I shoot a .45acp carbine and 50 yards is about the limit of being able to hit a tin can with regularity. I bought a .45 because I reload that caliber for other guns. In retrospect the 9mm would have been a better choice for a fun range gun.

 

[trueg50]

Well if you are like the guy I ran into at the range you can shoot out to hundreds of yards if you slap a 6-12x scope on your carbine!

The same guy explained how 22LR is the most lethal round ever because it is so small it penetrates bullet proof vests.

I would expect the range to be under 100yards, but hey why not try longer at the rifle range under safe conditions?

 

[7.62 Nato]

I was plinking a dirt berm offhand, for fun with some .45 carbines at 200 yds. With iron sites I held about 6ft. high and had respectable accuracy for point of impact. It was fun and answered the "I wonder if I can".

 

[loose noose]

trueg50, Where did you hear that a .22LR would penetrate a bullet proof vest? I from personal experience, know an Officer that got hit by a .41 Magnum, dead center in the chest, at close range, and managed to return fire: Even though he suffered severe trauma, the round did not penetrate the Second Chance Vest he was wearing. Further I don't believe any high quality scope can make much of difference in shooting a ballistically inferior round in much over 100 yards. Yes the .45 ACP is a magnificent round, but it does have it's limitations, as do all pistol caliber rounds. Perhaps the exception would be the .357, .41, .44 Mag and a few more modern chamberings. However, we're talking the .45 in a carbine.

 

[jonnyc]

I converted an Enfield No.4 rifle to a .45 ACP carbine and it gets respectable accuracy (5 in. groups) at 100 yards. I also load .45 Super for it, and that does 2-3 inch groups at 100 yds. I would consider it a "grabber" for up to 150 yds.

 

[mookiie]

A friend of mine has te semi auto Thompson, and 100 yards is basically max the bullet drop was noticeable at that distance much farther would be more luck than anything else.

 

[trueg50]

trueg50, Where did you hear that a .22LR would penetrate a bullet proof vest? I from personal experience, know an Officer that got hit by a .41 Magnum, dead center in the chest, at close range, and managed to return fire: Even though he suffered severe trauma, the round did not penetrate the Second Chance Vest he was wearing. Further I don't believe any high quality scope can make much of difference in shooting a ballistically inferior round in much over 100 yards. Yes the .45 ACP is a magnificent round, but it does have it's limitations, as do all pistol caliber rounds. Perhaps the exception would be the .357, .41, .44 Mag and a few more modern chamberings. However, we're talking the .45 in a carbine.

An idiot at the range told me that. He also told me the .223 will ricochet off a twig so you have to be careful; he said this while shooting at targets he never set out, and had no idea what he was shooting at (he never went down range).

He also showed off the AR setup he made of a massive 6-12x scope behind an Eotech. The setup stretched the full length of his upper with 16" barrel.

He reloaded "a little hot" using "compressed charges" by filling a 9mm case to the brim and punching down a bullet.

"I'm still alive after 43 years because I am careful" he says, while playing with his locked and loaded AR while my friend is down range.

 

[hang fire]

IIRC, for the M3A1 grease gun I was issued, think it had fixed 100 yards sights and was claimed to have an effective range of 2-300 yards. But in reality, most attempts at aimed fire beyond 50 yards became a spray and pray affair. We practiced at 25 yards where
hit ratio was very good.


Again IIRC, the replacement cost was around 20 bucks.

 

[mortablunt]

From experience, a 45ACP karbine in 45 ÄCP is a 50M gun easy. It could do 100M, and no doubt that it might be deadly to 150M with good optics and a ton of practice and a hot load, plus some luck. Beyond that, you are just blowing money down a tube.

 

[browningguy]

My HK USC will consistantly shoot 2.5-3" groups at 100 with a red dot, I don't think you can ask much more than that from a .45 ACP.

 

[BCRider]

For simply range plinking I suspect you could lob them out to 300 yards and the rounds would still be decently consistent in terms of trajectory. And would likely hurt any living things they were to hit even then.

More relistically and within the range of adjustment of MOST sights likely you'd top out at around 150 to 200 yards.

It would be fun to install one of the hinged ladder style sights found on some military rifles. Flip it up to the ladder position and adjust the traveler up to where it arcs them in at 200 to 300....

 

[gpurp]

A CX4 in 40 S&W is a compromise. Mags hold 17 rnds and you'll get 1200 - 1300+ fps depending on bullet weight.

 

[firesky101]

We could get a hit on a large gong every once in a while at 1000yds. It was by no means consistent. 1-2 hits from an 8rd. mag. The holdover was ridiculous, it was a lot more like lobbing mortars.

 

[Davek1977]

LOL, definitely more of a 50-100yd gun than a 300 yd gun. While most pistol cartridges gain a bit of velocity through a rifle barrel, nothing is going to turn a .45ACP into a 45-70!!!

 

[303tom]

Fifty Yards..................

 

[BCRider]

LOL, definitely more of a 50-100yd gun than a 300 yd gun. While most pistol cartridges gain a bit of velocity through a rifle barrel, nothing is going to turn a .45ACP into a 45-70!!!

Agreed, at least if you're looking at the range where the round is still fairly flat shooting and you want it to do more than push through paper or ring a gong.... such as if using it for actual defensive or hunting uses.

But if you're simply looking to see if you can hit paper or ring the gong the bullets WILL fly out to 300 and beyond. It's simply that the hold over becomes rather silly and you need a set of sights that has a lot more adjustment than what is typically found on a CQB tactical firearm.

 

[303tom]

US Army ordnance says the M1928A1 had a max effective range of 50 meters.