what 45 round for defence

[hogrider97fxdwg]

Would like to know what you are using as a defence round in your 45. What is the best round for self defence in 45. my current carry is a para p12. Would like to thank all that have answered my post now and in the future. I just got back form the range and have found that my p12 loves 230 gr ammo. So that will be what I use for weight, for now I have a mixture of hydra shocks silver tips and cci blazers for bdefence.

[Coltonator]

Just about any, hog. That .45 is a powerhouse. Anything but, that regular FMJ ball.

[Xracer]

I use Federal 230 grain Hydra-Shoks.

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by Xracer

I use Federal 230 grain Hydra-Shoks.

My choice as well, X, for my Colts. If I'm carrying a short-barreled .45, I will usually choose the 185 grain Speer Gold Dot. The lighter bullet gives a bit more velocity out of that short barrel.

[Oneida Steve]

+1 on the 230 gr. Federal Hydra-Shoks.

[AngelDeville]

Originally Posted by Oneida Steve

+1 on the 230 gr. Federal Hydra-Shoks.

+2 big slow fat bullet, knocks down bad guys real proper like....

[southernshooter]

I have and carry alot of differnet kinds. Hydra Shok in 185 "I think" and in 230. Hornady Tap Both 200 and 230 grain. Taurus 99.95 copper hex expanding. Remington Golden Saber. Corbon. and so on and so on.
And Hollow point with decent expansion will work.

[Pat Hurley]

Very good choices have already been listed above - particularly Hornady TAP. However, my favorite is CorBon PowRball in .45ACP +p. It's a screamer... 1225fps and energy is 550lbs. Wow.

These rounds rock.

[Kahr]

230grain Hydrashocks or 185grain Magtech Guardian Gold

[Taurus_9mm]

Speer Gold Dots 230 grain. I want to try some Buffalo Bore +P ammo at some point however. From their website:

185 gr. JHP @ 1150 fps (543 ft. lbs.)

[swabjocky]

Remington Golden Sabres.

[358 winchester]

Federal 230 grain Hydra-Shoks out of my S&W 625 revolver and Remington golden sabers out of my Para LDA CCW
Any thing out of the 16 inch carbine

[JLA]

i guess i'll be the black sheep... nobody mentioned handloads for personal defense, (i am somewhat of a skeptic, and only fully trust the things i myself assemble), i use hornady 230gr. XTP on top of 5.0gr. of hodgdon titegroup, seated to 1.230 OAL. which adds up to 829.5 fps. avg. from a 5" bbl, with a 19.1 fps extreme spread (over a 16 rd. string) and delivers 351 ft. lb. of kinetic energy @ the target... more than enough to incapacitate a potential threat. plus, since i know the load inside and out, i know exactly what to expect of it.

[HadEmAll]

JLA, can I ask why you choose the Hornady XTP bullet?

[Bruce FLinch]

Originally Posted by JLA

i guess i'll be the black sheep... nobody mentioned handloads for personal defense, (i am somewhat of a skeptic, and only fully trust the things i myself assemble), i use hornady 230gr. XTP on top of 5.0gr. of hodgdon titegroup, seated to 1.230 OAL. which adds up to 829.5 fps. avg. from a 5" bbl, with a 19.1 fps extreme spread (over a 16 rd. string) and delivers 351 ft. lb. of kinetic energy @ the target... more than enough to incapacitate a potential threat. plus, since i know the load inside and out, i know exactly what to expect of it.

Have you thought about what a Prosecutor would say if you went on trial for a self defense shooting w/ your own handloads? We have discussed it here before.

I understand your skepticism, I'll stick to factory hollowpoints in my handguns for self defense.

[mrkirker]

JLA
B Flinch makes a good point: a prosecutor will go to any lengths to make a point; win a case. Do you want him/her telling a jury that this 'gun nut' has "actually developed (or personally loaded) KILLER AMMO that was used in this instance?" Premeditation? Hmmm...... "Why sir, did you select that particular combination of components for this custom load?" I don't think 'Mild recoil' will fly. Think about it, OK?

I practice with handloads. As careful as I am, I still come up with a squib load every once in a while. Speer Gold Dot .45 acp always works; no squibs. (My mag bases are color marked for Range or Carry.)

[JLA]

to answer HadEmAll... because i got 1000 of them from a buddy for dirt cheap... to answer the rest of you(Bruce Flinch & Mrkirker) i appreciate the genuine concern, but i believe that todays system would likely try to "hang" just about anybody who has had the misfortune to use deadly force on another human being regardless of the type of ammunition or firearm used. so with that said, i just feel better about my own brand.... and i have probably reloaded somewheres around 20,000 rounds(i shoot nearly every day) since i started reloading and have never had any "squib" loads in any of my guns. once i finish the preliminary tests with the chrony and the notepad, my loads get loaded the same exact way everytime i do it 1 round at a time... until i break into a new lot of components, then the chrony and notepad come back out. So, i guess i dont mind the risk of the extra "red tape" when it comes to killing another person, afterall, taking a life is taking a life. and to me the absolute certainty that my gun will work when i need it to work simply outweighs the consequences in my mind...

[HadEmAll]

JLA, good reason. I asked because I just bought several boxes of Black Hills 230 grain +P JHP rounds for the express purpose of carry loads in my S&W M&P .45. I had been under the impression BH was using the Speer Gold Dot bullets, but somewhere along the line they changed to the Hornady XTP.

I'm concerned because I've seen some info that the XTP doesn't expand well, and may have a tendency to overpenetrate.

[JLA]

HadEmAll:
the XTP bullets are intended for hunting game, not killing people, they do expand somewhat in a bucket of water but the jacket separates from the core just as the core begins to mushroom, which probably isnt the best thing for hunting, but would suit a personal defence situation quite well, limiting the penetration characteristics and increasing energy tranfer...

[polishshooter]

I dunno that it would be any different explaining to an ignorant jury why you handloaded the killer cartridges than explaining why you shot him with "Black Talons" or "Hydro Shoks" or TAP whatevers...

I personally EITHER have common 230 gr hardball in my mags, or, my IPSC 200 gr H&G 68 lead SWCs in mine for defence. In fact right now I have 6 loaded mags, 2 loaded with Remington Hardball, 4 with the IPSC loads....

My reasons?

The IPSC load also happens to be a HELLUVA defence load, that I have the MOST experience (100,000+ rounds?) with through my .45, it works, and goes where I aim...plus my "defence" would be "I was so desperate all I had was really only my 'target' loads....") This is similar to the "I only had small game rabbit loads for the shotgun " defence....as opposed to tactical buckshot or whatever....


The hardball? Pure guaranteed function, and I get the penetration I might not get from the lead SWCs if I need it, plus there's just something about shooting the round the gun was DESIGNED around, that has done pretty well defensively over the past 100 years or so....WHY try to make a better mousetrap?

I have pretty much only bought commercial hardball since 1980, and I usually shoot just enough of it every year to replace the lost cases from my handloads....

[Pistolenschutze]

Polish, do you use military hardball in your hunting rifles too? I hear that armor piercing stuff is great on whitetails.

[Tom Militano]

What difference does it make what .45 round you use? If you hit someone with a .45 round of any kind and he doesn't stop, you've got a problem. It's where you hit them, not what you hit them with.

[JLA]

well said tom...

[polishshooter]

Originally Posted by Pistolenschutze

Polish, do you use military hardball in your hunting rifles too? I hear that armor piercing stuff is great on whitetails.

(Insert best Ronnie Reagan impersonation....) There you go again, Pistol.

Do I have to remind you that "Hardball" is NOT "Armor piercing?"

My POINT is for a LESSER caliber, expansion to "around" 1/2 inch would be considered GREAT for a defensive round....for a round that starts OUT at that diameter, what is there to gain?

Now I know all ABOUT energy transfer, etc, which is why I like the Lead SWCs....(BESIDES nicer holes and bring cheaper ) but penetration is a GOOD thing in some circumstances, like maybe if the perp is behind a little cover, wearing a heavy jacket, in a car, whatever, so the FMJs give a little of that if needed...

Plus you cannot deny that the .45 Hardball round HAS done the job admirably since 1905, under all climate conditions, all over this world, as a "manstopper..." It's record speaks for itself, in fact probably no OTHER pistol round has been fired as much in anger with similar incontrovertible results in history.....

Yeah there are rounds out their that are "better" than hardball on paper, but why BOTHER? (Heck if they cut better holes and were as CHEAP as lead, I don't think I would ever fire ANYTHING but hardball from a .45...)

[Pistolenschutze]

Originally Posted by polishshooter

My POINT is for a LESSER caliber, expansion to "around" 1/2 inch would be considered GREAT for a defensive round....for a round that starts OUT at that diameter, what is there to gain?

Quite a bit actually, Polish. Why NOT gain additional expansion and impact shock from an already effective round? A .45 caliber round that expands to .70 caliber on impact (which is about average for the Federal Hydra Shok) just makes it that much more a certain stopper. I don't know about you, but if the excretory material impacts the rotary cooling impeller, I want all the advantage I can get! For target work, I shoot FMJs, for the real thing, I will go with high-quality hollow points like the Hydra Shok every time. In modern autos with modern ammo, the issue of feeding is really not a factor. None of the .45s I shoot--including two 1911 pattern Colts--have even the slightest problem digesting good hollow point ammo. If yours does, I would suggest you see a gunsmith. Do yourself a favor, Polish, forego a few of those expensive cigars and buy yourself a box of Hydra Shoks.