230 gr 45 ACP... 1000 fps?

[TexasLife]

I can vouch for Hodgdon. All of their data I'd live fired.

I haven't tried their data as I rarely to never have the same brass and/or primers. I mainly shot Sierra's from '84 to '14 when I only shot and reloaded for 3 cartridges (44mag, 264WM & 270win). Good to know about Hodgdon though!

 

[FOTIS]

I have done this many times before from my 45 super but not from my 45 ACP I got to give it a try

 

[Bruce Mc]

I never gave a serious thought to a 45 acp 1911 as a defense round while hunting out west but 1000 fps with a 230 gr bullet makes me wonder. I believe I'm gonna try. I have not had any variation on my ACP loads in a lot of years as I use a Dillon square deal to load and it's set. 5.5grs 231 and 200 gr lead swc. I have loaded some 185s on my single stage and have some power pistol. What should I load for this purpose. Hard cast 225 gr truncated cone or 255gr? What powder? (I won't be using the Dillon).

 

[FOTIS]

I never gave a serious thought to a 45 acp 1911 as a defense round while hunting out west but 1000 fps with a 230 gr bullet makes me wonder. I believe I'm gonna try. I have not had any variation on my ACP loads in a lot of years as I use a Dillon square deal to load and it's set. 5.5grs 231 and 200 gr lead swc. I have loaded some 185s on my single stage and have some power pistol. What should I load for this purpose. Hard cast 225 gr truncated cone or 255gr? What powder? (I won't be using the Dillon).

You can always get some buffalo bore ammo

45 ACP +P OUTDOORSMAN Pistol & Handgun Ammunition

45 ACP +P OUTDOORSMAN Field Proven pistol and handgun ammo. Maximum firepower bullets. Best ammunition for pistols and handguns for sale. Buffalo Bore. Strictly big bore. Strictly Business.

www.buffalobore.com

 

[FOTIS]

 

[truck driver]

Guy Thanks for sharing the info.
Now I'm not downing what you have written here and no flames are intended.
It's well known I only shoot target loads out of my 45acps.
To shoot loads 1000fps or faster a lot of things have to be considered, such as age and manufacture quality of the 1911used. The proper recoil spring weight to keep from battering the frame and bottom barrel lugs. I have seen the whole top end come off a custom target grade 1911 45acp and end up down range with the shooter holding just the frame shooting just 4grs of Bullseye and a 200gr SWC lead cast bullet. Lots of rounds down the barrel and a cracked weld is all that was needed for this to happen.
If the 1911 45acp that these loads are used in is not built to handle the breach pressure you will eventually destroy or at least break the gun and maybe injure someone or yourself.
Like you I have shot tons of GI ball ammo thru my 1911s both of which are custom built guns on forged frames not some of the cheap castings you find in today's guns, and I won't mention brands and start a flaming war here.
I'm just saying to use a little caution to everyone before you go hog wild overloading the old war horse and getting hurt.
I even use a thin stainless-steel plate (blast shield) under my 1911 grips just in case I accidently overload a round and blow the magazine out of the frame which can and does happen with overloads. Plus, if it does happen it saves your hand from a severe injury or loss of your hand.

 

[Bruce Mc]

You can always get some buffalo bore ammo

45 ACP +P OUTDOORSMAN Pistol & Handgun Ammunition

45 ACP +P OUTDOORSMAN Field Proven pistol and handgun ammo. Maximum firepower bullets. Best ammunition for pistols and handguns for sale. Buffalo Bore. Strictly big bore. Strictly Business.

www.buffalobore.com

That is a good idea Fotis, better than spending 150 bucks on components to give it a try.

 

[Balthazar]

How hard to handle vs. 230gr @850pfs?

 

[JD338]

That's some impressive performance. Don't care to run any through my Kimber, don't think the aluminum frame would hold up, even with a heavy spring. I'm happy with 45 ACP performance. If I need more, I've got a couple of S&W 629's. They raise the performance bar.

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

How hard to handle vs. 230gr @850pfs?

Well, ya gotta hang on!

I dunno how to describe it really. It's just a harder kicking 45 1911. Not as bad as a real 44 magnum, but more thump than the 850 fps 230 grain 45 ACP for sure. Kinda like moving up from 185-200 grain target loads to 230 grain hardball, except it's just another rung higher on the ladder.

They're not bad, but I wouldn't want to shoot a huge number of them. I think back about some of the 500 round training days I've done with 230 grain 45 ammo - and am glad that those weren't with 1000 fps ammo... My 1911 is probably happier too.

I see this as a specialty load - perhaps for carry when hunting, hiking, camping, fishing in bear country. If that was the case, I think I'd want to beef it up with some sort of flat nose hard cast bullet anyway, for better penetration on a bear or whatever. That 230 gr Berry's hollow point is a pretty soft bullet, made more for expansion than deep penetration.

I'll likely load some more of this 1000 fps ammo, then CLEARLY mark it so someone doesn't grab it by mistake. One of my sons has a funny habit of restocking his ammo supply by raiding my loading room.

Regards, Guy

 

[Bruce Mc]

That's some impressive performance. Don't care to run any through my Kimber, don't think the aluminum frame would hold up, even with a heavy spring. I'm happy with 45 ACP performance. If I need more, I've got a couple of S&W 629's. They raise the performance bar.

JD338

I don't like shooting

That's some impressive performance. Don't care to run any through my Kimber, don't think the aluminum frame would hold up, even with a heavy spring. I'm happy with 45 ACP performance. If I need more, I've got a couple of S&W 629's. They raise the performance bar.

JD338

Years ago I bought an used Series 70 Lightweight Commander in 45 ACP. I shot it a lot with ball ammo. After a thousand rounds or so I noticed a crack in the frame in the area of the slide stop. I traded the pistol off. Since that time I have been reluctant to shoot a steady diet of heavy loads in an aluminum frame. I shot standard 185s in my most recent lightweight ACP before I traded it for my new 9mm Springfield LW Commander. I carry +p 124 gr in the gun but when I'm banging plates I use the standard 115 gr. I think the 124 gr at 1200 fps might also be a bit stiff for a steady diet in an aluminum frame.

 

[PJGunner]

I'm not sure I want to subject my two F. "Bob" Chow custom .1911s to those +P+ loads. My other custom is based on a Colt Gold Cup Slide mounted on a Caspian frame and is set up for light target loads. I like my Colt Combat Commander and would have to change to a heavier spring for sure.

Probably the only .45 I might try those in is my SIG P220. About all I've shot in that one is some standard GI ball and mostly a cast bullet load consisting off the SAECO #068 SWC over 5.0 gr. of Unique. The bullet is a clone of the H&G #68. One of the reasons I'm not too fond of the SIG is it ejects my brass well over thirty feet away. Makes it hard to find. The 1911s drop the empties at a more sedate rate, usually about 15 feet or less. It seems power lever in the SIG makes no consideration on power level of the load. It just kicks everything way the hell and gone out yonder.
Paul B.

 

[truck driver]

I'm thinking a Les Bare 6" Monilif with a compensator would be the ticket to shoot these loads in with a 23lb recoil spring. The weight would cut down the recoil some and the compensator would control the muzzle jump.
Winchester came out with a 45 acp magnum and Desert Eagle made a pistol to handle it years ago this load is close to what it would do.

 

[TackDriver284]

I'm used to 45+P handloads and commercial ammo getting into the 900-950 fps range with a 230 grain bullet. That's a solid step up from the normal 800-850 fps with a 230 grain bullet that much of the commercial ammo I've used manages to produce.

But... 1000 fps? From a standard 5" 1911 and a 230 grain bullet? Hodgdon thinks so!
View attachment 25466

I've loaded Ramshot Silhouette with a bit less of a powder charge before, and got good results. It's a great powder for the 45 ACP. I didn't ever expect to see a published 1000+ fps load for a 230 gr bullet though. So today I tried it. Yes! From my Kimber, this very load produced an average of 1016 fps! SD and ES were thrown off by one oddly low velocity cartridge - I'll take responsibility for that. Apparently I messed up that one in particular or average velocity would have been higher and the SD & ES figures tighter.

Story should come out in a week or so. Used the Berry's 230 gr hollowpoint, which seems to be a pretty serious self-defense bullet. I've found it available in commercial ammo from two sources: Underwood and HSL ammunition companies.

Just a little tidbit that I thought you handgunner types would appreciate. Story in the works!

Regards, Guy

That is a fast load. Did you feel the slide bottom out during ejection? I recall a weak spring or a P+ load I used in a Browning 9mm Hi Power back in the days where the slide bottomed out, I felt it slam back so I bought a new spring and never felt it again. I have bought two heavier springs for my .45 and .38 Super, I'm not sure if I changed them out, its been about 10 years ago when I purchased the springs, how would you find out which spring is the heavier one? I have the springs in their original packaging but not sure if i swapped them with the weaker springs.