What I don't get about the entire issue is how the technology is somehow new?
Didn't the .45 Colt use soft lead bullets, around 950 fps, that expanded well,
and were very effective?
Sure, they didn't have a jacket to feed into an automatic, but the actual effect is the same as, or better then the .45 ACP ammunition we have now.
Why? The .45 Colt used a heavier bullet, and still expands, with more velocity then most .45 ACP rounds.
SDM originally asks,
"Anyone else less than enchanted with JHP's in the .45?"
I might fit into that category. I don't see a reason to substitute expansion,
by using a hollow point, and removing bullet weight, for bullet weight, and added velocity.
I would like more velocity, and more bullet weight, to get back to the .45 Colt specs. My goal would be a 260 grain bullet, at least at 950 fps, that still expands. Another avenue would be a flat point, made from pure lead, with a very thin copper jacket. It would feed, but, by not removing the weight from the hollow point, you can have a shorter bullet, that leaves more room for powder. The added speed would make expansion more reliable.
Buffalobore has something like this:
http://www.buffalobore.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=214
255 grains at 925 fps.
I have a bunch of friends that SWEAR by the .45 Colt, with LFN type bullets like the above, but at 1100 fps.
It doesn't need to expand, since bullet design and velocity cut a considerable hole in whatever you shoot.
There are those who also think the advantage lies in the above, but hard cast, and non-expanding.
If you look at these high speed pictures, you can see the cone shaped pressure wave created by HP ammo.
http://www.brassfetcher.com/index_files/Page1950.htm
The flat point hard cast bullets don't slow down nearly as much, due to lack of expansion, and they create a hole more like a shotgun slug, big, with a more cylindrical, longer wound channel. The advantage of the added speed through the target is it turns any hard matter, such as bone, into a secondary projectile, and high speed, that causes devastating damage on it's own.
Here is a picture of a LFN, this one .50 caliber, at 950 fps, and the exit whole it left in a deer:
.300 Win mag for size comparision.
Here is a .45 Colt exit hole on another deer:
1150 fps hard cast.
So, I am less then enamored with current .45 ACP offerings.
I think the avenue most of the ammo has taken is a combination of Political
Correctness, compromise, and the need to be able to shoot in older guns.
I would like more bullet weight, and more speed. My solution for 1911's has been 230 grain Speer HP's at 1100 fps, that being .45 Super. I would also feel pretty good about 200 grains at 1200 fps, or, LFN type bullets at similar speeds.
A load I've always wanted, but haven't seen much of is a Truncated cone 185 grain hard cast bullet, at 1300-1400 fps, much like the old .451Detonics. You would get limited expansion, a BIG hole due to the velocity and
bullet construction, and a flat shooting round, with relatively little recoil.