# best 45acp pd round



## aaronious45 (Dec 15, 2011)

I'm sure this is been discussed before but...what's your favorite 45acp round for personal defense? I'm liking guarded dog and power ball, let me know if I'm wrong!


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

I keep federal hydra-shok Loaded in my 45. Don't know if it's the best though, hadn't had to use it yet! Hopefully I won't


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## Goldigger (Mar 14, 2011)

45 check out CorBon dpx all copper bullet, very pricey but very nice round. As we know if you stay with the good manufactures they are all pretty good.


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## timc (Oct 19, 2009)

Winchester SXT, Federal HST, Speer Gold Dots. That's what I keep in my 45's. I have a couple boxes of hydra-shocks, and have used the Winchester White box hollow points as well.


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## aaronious45 (Dec 15, 2011)

I've shot corbons in 357mag and like them..


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

Speer Gold Dots is what I use..


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## aaronious45 (Dec 15, 2011)

Gold dots have great ballistics, anybody use Buffalo bore?


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

Speer Gold Dots and keeping all of em in the 10 ring.....


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## Lloyd (Mar 13, 2012)

prefer hornady ftx in all my guns

45 acp 185gr pushing 1000fps


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## bobinbusan (Feb 16, 2010)

230 GR FMJ, why fool with a proven winner :whistling: :whistling: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :whistling:


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## aaronious45 (Dec 15, 2011)

Check out grizzly extreme...50$ a box! Pretty crazy expansion...


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## slackwolf (Oct 23, 2007)

aaronious45 said:


> Check out grizzly extreme...50$ a box! Pretty crazy expansion...


Ive never seen a round perform better (expansion + penetration) and more reliable than the federal tactical HST .45 230gr +P.

http://www.everydaynodaysoff.com/wp...eral-Premium-Tactical-HST-Ammo-Comparison.jpg

Dig around and you will see many reviews replicating those numbers or better. Have seen some 5" 1911s pushing over an inch fully expanded, all 1 piece without seperation and 12.5-13"+ penetration. Have yet to see another round produce those numbers reliably.

Avg $27-32 per box of 50 for the +P .45 230gr.

Most of my .40 jhps are hst also but do have the usual win ranger talons, rem golden sabre, speer gold dots, double tap hot loads, and hot loaded gold dot handloads. Hst is still my favorite.


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## PompChaser315 (Feb 18, 2011)

Gold Dots


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## carman (Aug 11, 2010)

that guy on youtube shot himself in the leg with a 230gr ball round, very little actual damage

if that were a JHP he would have probably lost a chunk


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## Gravity3694 (May 10, 2011)

Federal HST is what I use for 9mm and .45ACP. Speer Gold Dot is my second choice.

I use the .45ACP only because I couldn't find the non+p version. I prefer normal pressure rounds for quicker follow up shots because the wound ballistics between the two are nearly identical.


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## aaronious45 (Dec 15, 2011)

The grizzlys are BAD..but to much $$...hst's are looking good

http://www.shootingillustrated.com/mobile/article.php?id=1565


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## omrbh (Aug 22, 2011)

Chris V said:


> I keep federal hydra-shok Loaded in my 45. Don't know if it's the best though, hadn't had to use it yet! Hopefully I won't


ditto! For me Winchester white box hollow point shoot to the same poi at defensive distances. Heck, I often carry a spare mag with them!


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## omrbh (Aug 22, 2011)

carman said:


> that guy on youtube shot himself in the leg with a 230gr ball round, very little actual damage
> 
> if that were a JHP he would have probably lost a chunk


 Did he hit bone? That's where hardball really shines.


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## smithnsig (Mar 28, 2012)

In .45, the margin for error is greater, most hollowpoints work pretty well. In 9mm, it is better to stay with Gold Dots, HST, Ranger, Golden Saber, and a few others like the Barnes Copper.

That being said in .45 the most largest reliable expander is the HST, followed closely the Ranger-T with the HST having a slight edge.

The most consistent expander are the Gold Dot and HST, followed by the Ranger-T, and Golden Sabers.


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## aaronious45 (Dec 15, 2011)

Ill be picking up a box of gold dots and hydrashocks Friday..shooting jugs n mellons and see which I like better..thanks all


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## dagee2akey (Nov 26, 2007)

I carry the original black talons in my. 45.


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## saku39 (May 11, 2010)

You trust old black talons? I wouldnt trust any SD ammo over 5 years old


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## scubapro (Nov 27, 2010)

As long as it is stored properly - I'm not really concerned with age. I've seen some "new" stock in stores that have been sitting on the shelf for years...


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## saku39 (May 11, 2010)

But how long do you trust carry ammo that is in your daily carry in the humidity ect?


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## scubapro (Nov 27, 2010)

I shoot & replace my carry ammo every 6 months - if not sooner...


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## saku39 (May 11, 2010)

10-4

I always wonder, i try and get new carry ammo every year

i know some old dogs who carry ammo from the 90s


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## Gravity3694 (May 10, 2011)

dagee2akey said:


> I carry the original black talons in my. 45.


I don't trust black talons at all. They are outdated second generation hollowpoints. I never understood why people carry black talons. They seem to believe that hollow point development stopped and that the black talon is the perfection of performance.



saku39 said:


> But how long do you trust carry ammo that is in your daily carry in the humidity ect?


If I could afford to, I would shoot and rotate my ammo for practice purposes. Modern ammo can be reliably shot after being stored in some weird ways.


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## saku39 (May 11, 2010)

i just hate how people covet them, like they are some kinda special ammo

people wanting ridiculous amounts for a half full box of 15 year old ammo make me laugh

I usually roll with hornady ftx, i just like the rounded profile, although ive never had any failure with jhp in a glock, usually the ftx rounds are on the lighter side but they seem to do well in youtube tests


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## TURTLE (May 22, 2008)

aaronious45 said:


> Check out grizzly extreme...50$ a box! Pretty crazy expansion...


*Those are crazy exspanded. 1 1/2 " ??? Damn, I just ordered a box.*


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## TURTLE (May 22, 2008)

saku39 said:


> You trust old black talons? I wouldnt trust any SD ammo over 5 years old


*Why? I shot through 300 rounds last week with a date of 05/1982 on the box and had not one FTF. Was crappy ammo to start with too.:001_huh:*


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## aaronious45 (Dec 15, 2011)

If its stored right age doesn't have a big effect on ammo.


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## saku39 (May 11, 2010)

what I meant is, if you are carrying your gun then its not stored "right" since they heat humidity ect gets to the rounds, some guys will carry the same rounds for 10 years and then never shoot them, put them back in the box and sell them as new

there is a guy on guntrader wanting $80 for a box of OLD talon 45 rounds, which is quite funny

people coveting something that isnt worth what they think, i even saw an old guy one time selling a tec - 9 for get this

$3000.00, he was serious for a closed bolt, non- full auto standard $300 tec 9

Its usually same type of guys who always pass on myths, like talons are the greatest ammo ever made, you can "file the sear" on any semi to make full auto, and you can use a lawnmower muffler to make a "silencer"


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## scubapro (Nov 27, 2010)

The Talon bullet is just a coated SXT bullet. I've got some Ranger ammo from 2005 and some from 2009. Winchester updated the bullet between those years, replacing the SXT with the T-series projectile. They look similar on first glance, but are actually different. Likewise, I have some LE Gold Dots in the same 45 GAP loading that were different year production - they have different number of "petals". The ammo engineers are always busy tweaking their designs to improve performance.

I agree, the Black Talons out there are out-dated in terms of what's available currently for self defense ammo. They're good - and will do the job, but I would think only ammo collectors should be truly interested in them.

I personally like either the Winchester Ranger T-series or the Gold Dots for self dense in a 45, but there are other good modern loads on the market too.


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## Az-Vic (Jan 7, 2012)

Ole Cooper was as right today...as yesterday...."the all fall, with hardball"

i still have mine ready to roll with 230 fmj; feeds, shoots right and does what it is supposed to.


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## scubapro (Nov 27, 2010)

I dunno... I treated a guy who survived 5 rounds of 45 hardball to the chest in 1987. A couple of years prior to that, we had another case where a housewife in Cordova Park survived a 45 hardball round to the abdomen. In her case, no major organs were affected - the hardball just moved the intestines around as it was passing through. 

If you're going to carry ball - at least find some with a truncated flat nose, rather than rounded.


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## Az-Vic (Jan 7, 2012)

Anecdotal evidence is sinister to any arguement. Ive seen accounts of various rpg rounds as well as M103 grenades wedged into body cavities, and the victims survived, but that can't ruleout the anti-personnel advantages of either
 There have been thousands of gunfights stopped immediately with a 1911 and hardball, versus the occasional fluke....just like every other bullet configuration out there, something odd can happen now and again that can make you scratch your head.
I'll happily stick with hardball,and assume it will "push stuff around" with a proper center chest hit


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## scubapro (Nov 27, 2010)

True - every gunshot is unpredictable... I saw and treated many fatalities from a single hit of .22 LR, and I wouldn't advocate adopting it for a preferred self defense choice!


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## aaronious45 (Dec 15, 2011)

Ball ammo is meant to mame, not kill..right?


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## smithnsig (Mar 28, 2012)

Ball ammo is range fodder. It's also used in autos that have feed issues with hollowpoints. 

I also know someone who was shot through the side with ball ammo. It went all the way through, going in one side, and stopping against the ribcage on the opposite side. Other than bruising, no organs were damaged. He never knew he was shot till he felt blood. 

The doctor said that he was very blessed that whoever shot him didn't have hollowpoints. He said if was a hollowpoint with the least bit of expansion, he would have died on the way to the ER.

He was hunting, and had no idea who could have shot him.


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