gun guys, what is a good .45 ammo?

[nailbomb]

Need one good type for target practice, and one good time to load for self-defense carrying. I haven't shot in years so wasn't sure what's good these days. I used to just get a standard box of Federal .45 ammo for like 15 bucks.

Also, while on topic, I am also looking at getting a home defense shotgun, something effective and basic. I was thinking of this:

http://www.impactguns.com/store/047700250779.html

thanks for the advice!

[wolfdogs]

Eagle for practice

Hydro Shock for carry

[nailbomb]

i think i saw the hydroshock, Remington I think. expensive, but then again in all likelyhood I hope I never have to shoot it.

[wolfdogs]

i think i saw the hydroshock, Remington I think. expensive, but then again in all likelyhood I hope I never have to shoot it.

if you do..money is no object. remington is correct. you say "hydro shock" in an sporting goods store, they know right away what you are looking for.

[2K6 GTO]

Those are good rounds Wolfdogs. I'd only add that as long as your pistol likes em, you'll do fine. Shot place FTW!

The 870 is hard to beat.

[TexRdnec]

winchester white box (USA) for target and a mix of it and speer gold dot or federal hydra-shok for defense.

reasoning being the FMJ target ammo will penetrate further than a hollowpoint in the case of heavy clothing or cover.............

[GagToe]

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=92 037
Cor-Bon Pow'rBall, its a hollow point with a poly ball to help feed, my 9mm loves it, and great impact power

[GagToe]

Stock number/cal/grain/type/fps/lbft
76589 9mm+P 100 FMJ 1,475 483
76590 10mm 135 FMJ 1,400 587
76591 .357 SIG 100 FMJ 1,600 568
76592 .40 S&W® 135 FMJ 1,325 526
76593 .400 Cor-Bon 135 FMJ 1,400 587
76594 .45 ACP+P 165 FMJ 1,225 550

[barkingspud]

Glaser Safety Slugs....It's the ONLY carry ammo I use....

[nesikachad]

If you want good quality stuff give Cor-Bon ammunition a call.

Ask for Pete Jr. and tell him Chad (that'd be me) sent you.

I've built a few guns for "RePete" and he's a good turd. He'll treat you right and you'll get top shelf stuff.

[chief_spinning_tires]

870 is a great choice, but Impact guns are high on their prices.

[Jason at XMS]

I have Winchester Rangers for carry. I use Eagle for practice rounds.

I have a Rem 870 Tactical for a shotty :)

[GagToe]

Go to the link I provided, some very good deals there.

[SK360]

i practice with whatever sportsmans warehouse has cheap, usually cci blazer brass or independent.

i carry .45 hyrdashok 165gr low recoil rounds.

[CoolAid]

+1 on the Federal Premium Hydra-Shok rounds.

BUT, if you cant find any, good old Winchester JHPs or I suppose any other quality ammo will do. Your goal here is quality and reliability so that the round fires when needed, no questions asked.

As long as the bullet fires and its not a dud, you'll be ok. Haven't met too many people that have taken ANY TYPE of .45 round.

[207]

For an ammo source also check your local WalMart.. Although the one we have here no longer sells firearms it stills carries ammo at decent prices... yours may do the same.
Because I get my .40 for N/C from work I usually only pick up 550 round boxes of Remington .22 for my daughters P22 for about 8 bucks a box. Charlie (the Mgr) said that he could order in case lots if I wanted that much.

[Scurvy]

use w/e ur gun likes for practice as long as its copper cased w/ full metal jacket. No steel cased or soft lead nose rounds

for carry:

-is your postol rated for +p ammo?
-if so any JHP 230gr round that your pistol feeds reliably is good. I like Cor-Bon and hydroshocks personally. 230 grain bullet makes sure he goes down w/ one shot. suckers are HEAVY

[SK360]

use w/e ur gun likes for practice as long as its copper cased w/ full metal jacket. No steel cased or soft lead nose rounds

for carry:

-is your postol rated for +p ammo?
-if so any JHP 230gr round that your pistol feeds reliably is good. I like Cor-Bon and hydroshocks personally. 230 grain bullet makes sure he goes down w/ one shot. suckers are HEAVY

165gr makes sure you can get a second shot lined up much faster :)

either way.

[rVOLT]

Do what I do... have a gun for whatever mood your in... Somedays I carry a 44 to work, other days I carry a 40 or a 22. Every man needs at least 3 guns.

Get a revolver if you dont ever ever want a jam. :) A gun is a gun, but theres something about a nice long barreled revolver that says "youre fucked now" like no other when pulled.

[rVOLT]

Oh, if youre looking for cheep ammo, just goto walmart. I buy my .40 and 22 rounds from there. Usually its about 15 bucks for 50 rounds of .40s there. 22s are a dime a dozen. Hehe

[Scurvy]

165gr makes sure you can get a second shot lined up much faster :)

either way.

not my fault if u can't double tap w/ 230gr :p

[umphreak]

Winchester white box from Walmart for target
Federal HST for carry

[SK360]

not my fault if u can't double tap w/ 230gr :p

oh i can, but you never know what the situation is going to be :)

[wolfdogs]

165gr makes sure you can get a second shot lined up much faster :)

either way.
but.......dont need a second shot with a 230gr......LOL.... well..unless you are shaking real bad...LOL

[wolfdogs]

just dont buy (and GOD I hate saying this...wish they had picked a different name) Wolf ammo. stuff is extremely high in black powder...dirty black powder... its a gun clogger.

[unsigned]

The Wolf stuff isn't that bad, I've put maybe 2 thousand rounds of it through my Colt. I've been shooting the white box winchester lately though, I got a great deal on a couple of cases.

[nailbomb]

hey thanks for all the good advice fellas. the pistol is a Ruger P90, nothing fancy, just a basic .45. I have talked to some friends to and everything points to me picking up some hydro shoks for carry. this gun will somewhat of a pain the ass to carry, since it isn't that small. I am going to look at holsters this weekend.

BTW did anyone read the post in the lounge about the guy in Chicago area that got approached by three "gangbangers." Maybe this post here would be good for him to read!

[SK360]

just dont buy (and GOD I hate saying this...wish they had picked a different name) Wolf ammo. stuff is extremely high in black powder...dirty black powder... its a gun clogger.

i run wolf through my AK, but its a dirty bitch and does not deserve anything better....

but i would never put it through my AR15 or XD45

[2K6 GTO]

Wolf also has a steel case instead of brass... Will void some warranties.

[barkingspud]

I guess none of you've had any experience with Glaser Safety Slugs? Excellent stopping power for those close encounters. Remember most armed encounters happen less than 10' away....

[nesikachad]

I've shot lots of Wolf centerfire ammunition.

I mean LOTS, as in tens of thousands of rounds.

Horrible stuff.

Fouls real bad and forget it if its hot outside. You will have malfunctions and stoppages. Least you do here in the poo poo land of Iraq.

Some cases are steel. The laquer finish on the outside screws you cause when the gun gets hot (M-4, M-16, AR-15, etc. . .) it starts cooking that crap to the chamber and now you have a maple syrup nightmare.

I'm tellin ya'll. Cor-Bon ammunition is pretty dern good stuff.

Pete's a good dude and he'll do ya right.

He'll also custom load anything you want for rifles. Just mail the gun to him and he'll load develop and build as much ammo as you want.

Just some friendly advice. . .

[greg'sgoat]

Honestly for shooting paper, Wolf is fine. Ya it's dirty and burns your lungs, but it is 50% less than the next cheapest ammo out there. My AR and shotty love it. And here's the kicker, if you clean your gun after a range trip...the fouling won't hurt anything. UMC is another dirty ass ammo, but I can't really afford to shoot really nice stuff as often as I go. Some nitro solvent, brass brush and CLP are your best friends with dirty ammo. Wolf is not the most accurate (shouldn't quite matter at 15yards with a pistol), but it is affordable, especially in large ammounts.

I usually shoot Rem UMC .45 through my HK USP when at the range and will be switching to HydroShok over the GoldDots I have now.

[SK360]

i feed it to my AK, because well, i paid $200 for it, im not going to shoot $30/box ammo through it.

My AR, now i have over $1500 tied up into it, im not going to shoot wolf through it... (i did fire 5 rounds of it through it tho, it was -5F outside and it could not cycle the bolt completely)

[nesikachad]

I'll stick to hand loads, Black Hills, and Cor-Bon. I gots too much money tied up in stuff.

Anyways. . .

[72/04 GTO]

I'll stick to hand loads, Black Hills, and Cor-Bon. I gots too much money tied up in stuff.

Anyways. . .


Agreed.

I dont know why someone would "Cheap" out on the ammo side. You want to be accurate so go shoot a bunch of Inferior ammo that will not give you repeatable results and possibly jam your weapon (Never mind the hassle of cleaning it). Then load "The good Stuff" to carry.

I'll shoot the good stuff and KNOW what to expect if/when I squeeze the trigger.

[11 Bravo]

Need one good type for target practice, and one good time to load for self-defense carrying. I haven't shot in years so wasn't sure what's good these days. I used to just get a standard box of Federal .45 ammo for like 15 bucks.

No way to begin to even give you a proper answer if all we know is you have a .45. That's not enough information. And I'm not sure anyone here has even asked. For plinking I use whatever is cheap. Here is some good information for just a start about self defence ammo:

.45 ACP Caliber:
One Shot Stopping Success: 63-94% (Actual)
Self Defense Rating: Best
Recommended Cartridges:

Federal "Hydra-Shok" JHP 230 grains 94%
Remington "Gold Sabre" JHPP 230 grains 93%
Cor-Bon JHP 185 grains 92%
Remington +P JHPP 185 grains 91%
CCI/Speer "Lawman" JHP 200 grains 88%
Federal JHP 185 grains 87%


Penetration of .45 ACP is 10 to 12 inches.

The Federal "Hydra-Shok", JHP, 230 grains, gives the most stopping power in the potent .45 ACP caliber. Another excellent load from Federal is the JHP, 185 grains. This round is well suited to a compact, short-barreled .45 pistol like the Colt Officer's ACP or the S & W 4516. It has lighter recoil than the Federal "Hydra-Shok", 230 grain, or CCI/Speer "Lawman", 200 grain bullets. Because of its higher velocity, the Federal JHP, 185 grains, is more likely to expand out of a short 3.5-inch barrel.

The CCI/Speer "Lawman", also known as the "Inspector" or "Flying Ashtray", is a wide-mouth JHP bullet that may jam in some guns. This round is totally reliable in newer pistols like the current production "enhanced" Colt 1911A1; the SIG/Sauer P220; Star M45, Firestar, and Megastar; Smith & Wesson .45 pistols (all); Para-Ordnance .45 pistols (all); Ruger .45 pistols (all); and the Smith & Wesson Model 625 revolver.

The Remington JHP, 185 grains, with a one shot stopping success of 81%, is the best choice for older pistols that may jam with other JHP ammunition. This load is adapted to the Heckler and Koch P9S; Browning BDA; Springfield Armory M1911A1; AMT M1911A1; Thompson M1911A1; Llama; and Star PD.

The Cor-Bon and Remington +P, JHP, 185 grains, are very powerful, hard kicking rounds best left to the experienced shooter. They are second only to the famed Federal "Hydra-Shok", 230 grains, for stopping power. These two cartridges are also hard on a pistol, especially an aluminum framed pistol like the SIG/Sauer P220 or Colt Lightweight Commander.

The .45 ACP "hardball' load, FMJ, 230 grains, is the only ball ammunition in any caliber that should be considered for self defense. Remington, Federal, and Winchester all manufacture this round. One shot stopping success is 65%. Don't compromise on reliability. If your pistol can accommodate only ball ammunition, then load it only with ball. The Llama, Federal Ordinance, AMT, and Auto-Ordnance M1911A1 copies often jam with anything but FMJ ammunition. As previously suggested, try the Remington JHP, 185 grains. If reliability is a problem, stick with FMJ.



.45 Colt Caliber:
One Shot Stopping Success: Data Not Available
Self Defense Rating: Very Good
Recommended Cartridges:

Cor-Bon JHP 200 grains
Winchester "Silvertip" JHP 225 grains
Federal LHP 225 grains




http://www.internetarmory.com/handgunammo.htm

[umphreak]

Honestly for shooting paper, Wolf is fine. Ya it's dirty and burns your lungs, but it is 50% less than the next cheapest ammo out there. My AR and shotty love it. And here's the kicker, if you clean your gun after a range trip...the fouling won't hurt anything. UMC is another dirty ass ammo, but I can't really afford to shoot really nice stuff as often as I go. Some nitro solvent, brass brush and CLP are your best friends with dirty ammo. Wolf is not the most accurate (shouldn't quite matter at 15yards with a pistol), but it is affordable, especially in large ammounts.

I usually shoot Rem UMC .45 through my HK USP when at the range and will be switching to HydroShok over the GoldDots I have now.

I shoot the hell out of wolf ammo thru my SKS and it runs fine. But I also clean it after each trip out. Now for handgun loads the steel cases will wear on the extractor. Plus I can get WWB ammo or dirty UMC cheaper than wolf.

[nsofokles]

speer gold dot or go home

[nesikachad]

300-338 Lapua Magnum FTW

Flaming DEATH

[Fat_Nick]

Winchester white box are good for target practice

Hydro Shock for home/car/out on the town

I also have some left over BT that I got from a gun dealer last year

The way I have my S&W Tactical clips set up is Blank, Blank (Warning Shots) HS, HS, HS, BT, BT, BT.

I also have 590 Mossburg that's fun in CQB simmulations.

[greg'sgoat]

Agreed.

I dont know why someone would "Cheap" out on the ammo side. You want to be accurate so go shoot a bunch of Inferior ammo that will not give you repeatable results and possibly jam your weapon (Never mind the hassle of cleaning it). Then load "The good Stuff" to carry.

I'll shoot the good stuff and KNOW what to expect if/when I squeeze the trigger.

I'm glad you can afford to throw .50 cents a round down range, not all of us can. I'd gladly take donations though. I plink with Wolf; I am under no illusion that it is accurate, or that it shows the true capability of the weapon. It is not exclusively shot through my two AR's either. I shoot diffrent ammo when I want be accurate.

The possibility of jams varries with every gun I guess, but my two Armalites and a friends Colt and my bosses Colt M16 love it and have 0 issues (even in f/a for the M16). And cleaning, well, I clean after every range trip so that's again, a non issue. I bought two cases of Wolf and some other ammo in misc calibers and still had money left over before it equaled the price of one case of NIB LC. I'm glad you can afford it, but for others it is a good, usually accurate, not-quite-as-crappy-as-everyone-likes-to-say alternative.

I have over $2k tied up into both AR's and if I thought for a minute it was actually hurting them, I'd never shoot it again.

[thedak]

Speer Gold Dot

[nesikachad]

Fifty cents a round?

I wish! Try two bucks a pop!

[socalGTOpilot]

I prefer the mossberg 590 over the rem. 870. Go load an 870 and then load a 590.:D

OT, what do you guys think of the 6.8spc round? I wouldnt mind another AR-15 style weapon, but I got bored with the 5.56 and sold my DPMS now I kinda want another one.

[greg'sgoat]

Fifty cents a round?

I wish! Try two bucks a pop!

I was talking about 5.56. I don't even want to think about those rare off the wall calibers.

[nesikachad]

I'm talking about 338 Lapua with 300 Grain Sierra Match Kings.

Wildcats are even more retarded. My 300-338 Lapua probably costs me about 8 bucks every time I pull the trigger.

Fun as hell though so I deal with it.

[shamronbeach]

Need one good type for target practice, and one good time to load for self-defense carrying. I haven't shot in years so wasn't sure what's good these days. I used to just get a standard box of Federal .45 ammo for like 15 bucks.

Also, while on topic, I am also looking at getting a home defense shotgun, something effective and basic. I was thinking of this:

http://www.impactguns.com/store/047700250779.html

thanks for the advice!One not being pointed at you.

[nailbomb]

found this stuff packed away. some of this I believe is nickel plated but i may be mistaken.

[Scurvy]

http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa27/Scurvy092/ 01-11-08_2313.jpg

From left to right are Cor-Bon +p, Speer gold-dots, and Federal hydra-shok

They are what I have spare. My xd45 sits full in my safe and my USP sits full in my night stand.

[seewiz]

Need one good type for target practice, and one good time to load for self-defense carrying. I haven't shot in years so wasn't sure what's good these days. I used to just get a standard box of Federal .45 ammo for like 15 bucks.

Also, while on topic, I am also looking at getting a home defense shotgun, something effective and basic. I was thinking of this:

http://www.impactguns.com/store/047700250779.html

thanks for the advice!

Nothing wrong with an 870.

Black Talon's 'cause I got plenty before they were pulled off market cause they were too "scarey".

[toxie]

WWB (winchester White box) is great for plinking, and Speer Gold Dot 230G for carry. Hydro-shoks are good, but one of the oldest of the hollowpoint designs.

Old, but exellent info if you care to read it all (I did a few years ago, and came to thge conclusion that Gold-dots were then the best design available).

[GTO_Kroh]

for home defence and a good non lethal load get bean bag rounds for a 12ga...or rubber ball rounds...i guarantee they are hurtin but not dead.