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.45 Acp + P

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smirnoff a

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Wahts general consensus on .45 ACP + P? I am looking for scientific data, personal prefference and all that good stuff.
 
More is generally better when it comes to SD JHP ammo. In the right run with the right shooter and ammo, it's good stuff.
 
I use the idea of .45acp +P to rag on .45 fans.

I mean, if .45acp is so divinely awesome, why is there a +P? :neener:

I always say that before running away, since those slow, heavy bullets will never catch up.
 
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I think it comes down to preference and perspective. For some they will got with +p, but only with lighter bullets, such as 185 or 165 grain .45 ACP's. I kind of laugh at that and say you may as well go with the .40 S&W and save yourself some time.

I personally don't care about the +p and don't shoot it. The @ 50 fps difference it will make, isn't going to make much of a difference at all.

Ballistics and actual events have shown the .45 ACP to be a solid self defense round and I will stick with it.

Matt - J2, I know you are being funny, but you also realize that "those other" self defense calibers have +p options also, right? :)

Shoot what you can handle and will be accurate with, but at the end of the day, it makes sense to shoot heavier bullets with a larger diameter.
 
I don't look for it but sometimes that's the only JHP ammo I can find around here so I buy it. I think standard pressure would do just fine and makes for a quicker follow-up shot if needed.

gp911
 
I mean, if .45acp is so divinely awesome, why is there a +P?
Click to expand...

Demand, mostly.

Seriously, though...With a bullet moving as slow as the standard .45/230, expansion can be a little iffy, and the additional 60-70 fps provided by the +P loadings up the chances of that. No guarantees...just better odds.

As the bullet mass drops...with the attendant rise in velocity, this becomes less of an issue, but adequate penetration then enters the fray. So, the +P loadings in 230 grain weights work to aid expansion, while the 185s and 200s need it more to insure penetration with a bullet that expands rapidly.

The drawback is...as with any other high pressure loading...accelerated wear and tear on the gun.

FWIW, a 200-grain hollowpoint at about 900-925 fps probably strikes the best balance of reliable expansion and adequate penetration without having to resort to high pressures and the attendant recoil forces beating the gun up.

Also FWIW...200 grains at 900 fps was the original .45 ACP...way back in the nineteen oughts.
 
I read an article just recently in one of the magazines (don't remember which one) where the author was bashing +P in a 45. His main reasoning was that they are just lighter grain adn you might as well just go with the 40 (same as stated by camslam), but for some reason he did not mention much about 230 grain.
 
Seriously, though...With a bullet moving as slow as the standard .45/230, expansion can be a little iffy, and the additional 60-70 fps provided by the +P loadings up the chances of that. No guarantees...just better odds.
Click to expand...

See that is exactly why I shoot the .45 ACP in 230 grain, for self defense purposes. Even IF it doesn't expand, I still have close to a 1/2 inch wide chunk of lead heading into someone at 800 to 850 feet per second. I want a heavy bullet that is going to stay on path and get to the section I need it to. Even at those slow speeds, you will get ample penetration.

I also hate to mention it, but EVEN those trusty 9mm and .40 S&W don't always expand the way they are supposed to. Then you have a lighter bullet with a much greater chance of deflecting or not penetrating to the needed amount.
 
It's awesome in HST 230 +P, that's why I like +P. 230 grains of reliably expanding lead is excellent at 830 FPS, but 230 grains of reliably expanding (sometimes up to and slightly over an inch!) lead at 960 FPS is even more better!
 
I carry the +p Hornady TAP rounds. 200 grains @ 1050 fps.

For my bedside gun I very slightly modified a 6" longslide to shoot .45 Super. Now my 200 grain loads are doing better than 1200 fps. I haven't shot anyone yet but I'm fairly confident in the likelihood of expansion (if not fragmentation.").

Light and fast? Heavy and slow? Why not heavy and fast?
 
See that is exactly why I shoot the .45 ACP in 230 grain, for self defense purposes. Even IF it doesn't expand, I still have close to a 1/2 inch wide chunk of lead heading into someone at 800 to 850 feet per second.
Click to expand...

I'm with ya. I don't give expansion a second thought. My carry ammo is hardball.
 
I mean, if .45acp is so divinely awesome, why is there a +P?
Click to expand...

Some of us actually carry those 3 to 4" barreled 45s. Remember that velocity you los from the shorter barrel? Get some/most/all of it back with +p loading.

Winchester Ranger 230 gr +p for me.
 
I loaded up several hundred of them for my Sig, but it didn't group well with them, so I dropped the idea, upped the weight to 230g from the 185's and I cast them in a TC configuration. I figure the heavy weight and big metplat translate into BG down medicine.

Side benefit - they shoot straight as a laser and both my Sig and Kimber love them.

No more +P for me.
 
I have a strong liking for Remington's 185gr +P Golden Saber.

It has worked very well in actual shootings.
 
The firearms detail at my work recently put out a .40 and .45 comparo as they are starting to issue the G21 along with the G22. Its always been an option but you had to buy it yourself. Anyways...they had a chart of the rounds tested, both HSTs with 180 grain .40 and 230 grain +P .45. The chart stated the .45 had a MV of about 950 FPS, penetrated 13 some odd inches of gel, and expanded just over an inch. Im not sure if all the rounds expanded an inch but all the ones I saw at their facility were Im guessing at least .90 expansion.

So long story short, yeah I like +P .45s.
 
Matt-J2 said:
I mean, if .45acp is so divinely awesome, why is there a +P?
Click to expand...

To blow holes in the space time continuum. ;) Oh here's another. It sets 1911's on VAPORIZE. ;) I just love the 45acp jokes.
 
I have a personal preference to not use it, especially in lightweight and/or downsized guns. The standard 230-gr. loadings have about as much recoil as I want while still maintaining controllability in rapid fire.
 
I got a GREAT deal on some magtech guardian gold +P 230gr ammo ($5/20 at an estate sale) so I bought all 10 boxes. I shot a few boxes just to make sure it functioned well in my SIG P220. I didnt notice any difference between it and my standard carry ammo (doubletap 230gr gold dot).
 
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