I need the truth about Speer Gold Dot .45 acp 200 +p performance

[mljdeckard]

Post #2 said it all. Pistol bullets all suck. Arguing about which one is best or worst is pretty silly.

 

[Lawdawg45]

Here are your problems. First of all, very few police departments or documented shootings using this ammo exist, as it it is not mainstream, it is expensive, and departments will usually purchase Federal, Winchester, or Remington in bulk, for less money. Given that, there are darn few shootings in general, and few to none with any given +P .45 ammo. That is why you are getting little response here. I would ignore the internet crap about the 200gr +P; Speer Gold Dot is good stuff, and it will work just fine.

Exactly right Sir, then add the fact that very few departments allow the .45 acp, and you're left with little to evaluate.

BTW, I just switched to the Gold Dots from Hornaday Critical Defense.

LD

 

[swanderek]

ok

I like the fact that you are honest!! 12 GA all the way!

 

[Mr.510]

As everyone else has said all handgun bullets suck and none of them do what we'd like them to do every time. That said, from the cumulative reading of a bunch of scientific and semi-scientific tests (Box-O-Truth, etc.) over the years my personal take is that Gold Dots tend to plug up and not expand well when they pass through heavy clothing like leather and denim. All hollow points are subject to plugging and not expanding but some perform better than others in testing.

Where I live it's cold and wet half the year and everybody wears multiple layers of clothes when outdoors. When I chose my carry round (about four years ago?) I went with the .45ACP +P HST from Federal. At the time this seemed to be the most reliably expanding .45 round when the target was wearing heavy clothing.

All this said, I'd rather shoot a BG with a 230 grain .45 hardball than any bullet from a 9mm... but I'm just an internet commando so what do I know?

 

[wally]

The truth is that with a hand gun where you place the bullet on the target will have far more influence on its effectiveness that which bullet it happens to be.

 

[Seven For Sure]

The 200 +P is a great compromise, especially with a reliably explanding bonded bullet. I have two of the new ones that are way over an inch expanded (admit it means little as they were shot in naked water jugs). They held together and with a large .451 bullet, I feel Speer hit the nail right on the head with the seven petal design. Personally I have no use for the 165 and 185 gr. weights in .45 but prefer 200 and up. As was said earlier JMB designed the cartridge around a 200 gr. FMJ @ 800. A 200 gr. bonded HP @ 1,000 can't hurt (well...).

With the lower weights in .45 and most other calibers I suggest going down for more sectional density. For instance, for bears or your typical internet scenario 300# methed out outlaw biker, I'd rather have a 165 or 180 .40. Same or more velocity and much higher SD. There are no 200 gr. HP's in .40 that I consider decent enough to carry or I would use them.