I'm going to be needing to buy some premium quality .45 ACP ammo soon for a
short barreled semi auto handgun. This gun is a small concealed carry piece
and its barrel is only a little over three inches. What I'm trying to find
out is what ammo works best in these guns with the real short barrels. I
don't know whether the 230 grain bullets are best in a gun like this or is
something like the 185 grain gold dot better? I guess I'm trying to find out
which .45 caliber ammo performs best out of a real short barrel. They are
making specialized ammo for snub nosed revolvers that works at low
velocities. Are they making anything in .45 ACP that is similar? I think
Cor-Bon has a 165 grain load that is good but is the high velocity light
bullet combo good for short barrels or heavy and slow? Anyone...

I suggest you ask any reloading friends which one has a shooting chronograph
he (or she) will let you use. Then bring several brands of ammo in a range
of bullet weights, and preferably let your friend be the one to shoot across
the chronograph (lest you hit it and you are the one stuck with the bill; the
ammo selection will be expensive enough already). If money is an object, try
at least one of each in light+fast, medium, and heavy+slow. But be warned,
two brands with the same weight and velocity in a 5" barrel may come out of
a 3" barrel at vastly different speeds. I found this out with a chronograph
in .380 ACP and a ~3" barrel, and ended up using 102 grain Remington Golden
Saber, which came out of the barrel about 130 fps faster than the lighter
90 grain Winchester Silvertip HPs.

Or buy Speer part #4482, "45 Auto Gold Dot Short Barrel HP 45 Auto:"
http://www.speer-bullets.com/ballistics/bullet_detail.aspx?id=209

Best regards,
Paul

Hawke wrote:
# I'm going to be needing to buy some premium quality .45 ACP ammo soon for a
# short barreled semi auto handgun. This gun is a small concealed carry piece
# and its barrel is only a little...

Paul Kinney wrote:
# Or buy Speer part #4482, "45 Auto Gold Dot Short Barrel HP 45 Auto:"
# http://www.speer-bullets.com/ballistics/bullet_detail.aspx?id=209

Oops, that part is just bullets, not loaded ammo. I believe they
make the corresponding short-barrel loaded ammo as well.

Paul

"Hawke" dslextreme.com> wrote in message
news:fs8536$jtj$1@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...
# I'm going to be needing to buy some premium quality .45 ACP ammo soon for
# a
# short barreled semi auto handgun. This gun is a small concealed carry
# piece
# and its barrel is only a little over three inches. What I'm trying to find
# out is what ammo works best in these guns with the real short barrels. I
# don't know whether the 230 grain bullets are best in a gun like this or is
# something like the 185 grain gold dot better? I guess I'm trying to find
# out
# which .45 caliber ammo performs best out of a real short barrel. They are
# making specialized ammo for snub nosed revolvers that works at low
# velocities. Are they making anything in .45 ACP that is similar? I think
# Cor-Bon has a 165 grain load that is good but is the high velocity light
# bullet combo good for short barrels or heavy and slow? Anyone know which
# ammo works best in short barreled .45 ACP guns?
#
You could go with the stuff loaded with 200 grain Gold Dots. It splits the
difference between the slow&heavy and fast&light (and the Gold dot slug has ...

Ron: You are correct, Old John designed his pistol around a proprietary
cartridge with a .45 caliber, 200 grain bullet. So it follows the M1911
design should do best with that weight bullet. Also, it true the US Army
insisted on a heavier bullet, compromising on 230 grains instead of the
preferred .45 Colt bullet of 255 grains. The heavier bullet was not
nostalgia, but rather considered necessary to knock down a charging horse.
Heavy .45 caliber bullets had also proven effective against hopped up
Juramentados in the Philippine Insurrection a few years earlier.

Some of today's M1911 pattern pistols have accuracy problems with the 230
grainers. Many shooters believe the sooner a bullet can exit these pistols
the better, given all the parts that start to move out of place once the
powder ignites. I have two 5-inch M1911 pistols. One does best with 200
grainers, the other with 230 grainers. It seems every pistola has it own
pet load. - CW

"Ron Seiden" verizon.net> wrote in message
news:fscc6v$9ni$1@grapevine.wam.umd.edu...

i use the 230 grain ball ammo in mine .it feeds good and is pretty
acurate and plenty powerfull. i think your splitting hairs over what to
use. im more concerned about feeding than i am heavy or light load, all
the loads are powerfull. lucas

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