[ZO6Vettever]

Hope this is in the right place. Long time shooter but new to Glock and 45ACP. What's got the best ballistics?

[8th ID]

The best?? I have no idea, but a longer barrel will give the best velocity. Consider if you plan to carry the pistol or not and how that will play into the size of Glock you get. There are many videos on youtube done by tnoutdoors9 on testing self-defense ammo. He does have some on the .45 acp.

As soon as I get more rounds through my G36, I will be carrying it loaded with Speer Gold Dot 230 gr HP's for defense ammo.

[ronin.45]

You will get many different specific loads from people. Others will disagree and say that brand x is the best. In the end just pick a top quality, modern hollow point and it's hard to go wrong.

Some options;
Speer Gold Dot
Cor-Bon DPX
Cor-Bon Pow'R Ball
Win PDX/ranger
Hornady Critical Defense
Hornady TAP
Remington Golden Saber
Etc.

Whether you should go light or heavy is a whole other argument.

[DannyR]

Any contemporary HP is good. Choose name brands like Federal Premium, Speer Gold Dot and Winchester.

[FiremanMike]

I like my 230 grain Winchester bonded rangers..

[SGT_Calle]

Originally Posted by ronin.45

In the end just pick a top quality, modern hollow point and it's hard to go wrong.

I think this is the best answer.
I keep Speer Gold Dots (230 gr.) and Critical Defense (185 gr.) on hand for my .45 mostly because I found them for reasonable prices and the cycle well. I also have about 200 hand-rolled hornady XTPs, mostly because I found the bullets at a good price. To each his own.

[Agent6-3/8]

I'm packing Federal 230g HST in my .45's but its getting hard to find from what I hear.Winchester Ranger, Winchester PDX1, Speer Gold Dots, Remington Golder Sabers and Hornady TAP are all other excellent options. With the exception of the Hornady TAP I'd recommend staying with the 230g variety. There are several companies loading the excellent solid copper Barnes TAC-XP bullet. They offer excellent performance, but they're pretty pricey.

I recommend staying away from lightweight (with the exception of the solid copper Barnes) and frangible bullets.

[repo4sale]

lb
fps is momentum in units pound(mass)-feet-per-second.
ftlbs is energy in units foot-pounts(force).
cu is volume of wound cavity, in cubic inches.

Sorted by.. kinetic energy
1. momentum
2. (bare gelatin) penetration depth
3. (bare gelatin) wound volume
4. (clothed gelatin) penetration depth
5. (clothed gelatin) wound volume
6. Average wound volume for clothed and bare gelatin
Penetration over 30 inches in negatively sanctioned, and penetration over 20 inches is folded down to 20 inches.
Explanation of fields, example= 9x19 Win Ranger +P+ |115@1320, 21.7 mv, 444 E|BR 9.6", 0.53", 2.11cu|CL 10.2", 0.65", 3.37cu|avg 2.74, 3.89 re, 0.70
1. 9x19 - caliber
2. Win Ranger +P+ - the name of the load
3. 115@1320 - bullet mass in grains @ muzzle velocity
4. 21.7 mv - bullet momentum in lb*fps
5. 444 E - muzzle energy in ftlbs
6. BR - what follows is the data for bare gelatin
1. 9.6" inches of penetration
2. 0.53", final expanded diameter of bullet
3. 2.11 cu, approximation of wound volume. (this does not take into account the expansion profile as a function of depth, but it should be roughly proportionate to actual wound volume)
7. CL - what follows is the data for clothed gelatin
same fields as the bare gelatin, as defined above
8. avg 2.74 - Average wound volume, clothed and bare gelatin
9. 3.89 re - Free Recoil Energy, assuming a 1.88 lb pistol
10. 0.70 - Average would volume per unit Free Recoil Energy. This is a measure of "bang for buck", and is discussed in the text below the data table.

45ACP CCI/Speer GD |185@1041, 27.5 mv, 445 E|BR 11.9", 0.68", 4.34cu|CL 14.8", 0.68", 5.36cu|avg 4.85, 6.26 re, 0.77
45ACP Rem G.S. |185@1037, 27.4 mv, 441 E|BR 14.4", 0.72", 5.86cu|CL 15.9", 0.68", 5.79cu|avg 5.83, 6.21 re, 0.94
45ACP Rem G.S. +P |185@1046, 27.6 mv, 449 E|BR 10.1", 0.87", 6.00cu|CL 9.5", 0.81", 4.90cu|avg 5.45, 6.32 re, 0.86
45ACP Fed Hi-Shok |185@ 874, 23.1 mv, 313 E|BR 11.7", 0.74", 5.03cu|CL 19.8", 0.61", 5.79cu|avg 5.41, 4.41 re, 1.23
45ACP Win Silvertip |185@ 951, 25.1 mv, 371 E|BR 10.7", 0.78", 5.11cu|CL 10.9", 0.73", 4.56cu|avg 4.84, 5.22 re, 0.93
45ACP Fed Hi-Shok |185@ 953, 25.2 mv, 373 E|BR 13.3", 0.63", 4.15cu|CL 12.4", 0.74", 5.33cu|avg 4.74, 5.24 re, 0.90
45ACP Rem |185@ 903, 23.9 mv, 335 E|BR 16.2", 0.70", 6.23cu|CL 24.6", 0.55", 5.83cu|avg 5.49, 4.71 re, 1.17
45ACP CCI/Speer GD +P |200@1062, 30.3 mv, 500 E|BR 11.7", 0.75", 5.17cu|CL 18.8", 0.55", 4.47cu|avg 4.82, 7.61 re, 0.63
45ACP Fed HydraShok |230@ 956, 31.4 mv, 466 E|BR 13.8", 0.72", 5.64cu|CL 13.6", 0.74", 5.83cu|avg 5.73, 8.16 re, 0.70
45ACP Fed HydraShok |230@ 878, 28.8 mv, 393 E|BR 16.6", 0.66", 5.66cu|CL 20.2", 0.55", 4.80cu|avg 5.21, 6.88 re, 0.76
45ACP Fed HydraShok |230@ 858, 28.2 mv, 375 E|BR 13.7", 0.71", 5.42cu|CL 16.4", 0.66", 5.59cu|avg 5.51, 6.57 re, 0.84
45ACP Win |230@ 802, 26.4 mv, 328 E|BR 17.9", 0.60", 5.06cu|CL 24.0", 0.51", 4.90cu|avg 4.57, 5.74 re, 0.80
45ACP Fed HydraShok |230@ 854, 28.1 mv, 372 E|BR 14.9", 0.71", 5.90cu|CL 15.4", 0.64", 4.97cu|avg 5.43, 6.51 re, 0.83
45ACP Rem G.S. |230@ 885, 29.1 mv, 399 E|BR 14.1", 0.76", 6.37cu|CL 16.6", 0.69", 6.19cu|avg 6.28, 6.99 re, 0.90
45ACP Win Ranger SXT |230@ 819, 26.9 mv, 342 E|BR 13.2", 0.73", 5.55cu|CL 17.9", 0.63", 5.56cu|avg 5.55, 5.99 re, 0.93
45ACP CCI/Speer GD |230@ 896, 29.4 mv, 409 E|BR 16.0", 0.69", 5.98cu|CL 18.9", 0.59", 5.17cu|avg 5.58, 7.17 re, 0.78
45ACP PMC/Eldorado SF |230@ 853, 28.0 mv, 371 E|BR 13.9", 0.67", 4.90cu|CL 22.6", 0.45", 3.59cu|avg 4.04, 6.49 re, 0.62
45ACP Rem G.S. |230@ 871, 28.6 mv, 387 E|BR 15.0", 0.71", 5.94cu|CL 18.9", 0.73", 7.89cu|avg 6.91, 6.77 re, 1.02
45ACP CCI/Speer GD |230@ 847, 27.8 mv, 366 E|BR 13.2", 0.74", 5.66cu|CL 14.3", 0.70", 5.50cu|avg 5.58, 6.40 re, 0.87
45ACP Fed Hi-Shok |230@ 860, 28.3 mv, 377 E|BR 13.8", 0.80", 6.96cu|CL 17.4", 0.67", 6.13cu|avg 6.55, 6.60 re, 0.99
45ACP Win. B.T. |230@ 886, 29.1 mv, 400 E|BR 11.9", 0.77", 5.56cu|CL 13.9", 0.74", 6.00cu|avg 5.78, 7.01 re, 0.83

[Cineski]

Federal HST, CorBon DPX, Winchester Ranger T's, Speer Gold Dot.

[Jokerpro]

Winchester PDX1 230gr. You can pick them up at Walmart for like $25.

[Eric2340]

200 gr. +P Gold Dot for me.


The Hydra-shock round (230 gr. ?) is pretty famous too.

Golden Sabers aren't bad either, I'd stay away from the 185 gr. +P ones though (more kick, more flash).

[Bruce M]

Originally Posted by ZO6Vettever

Hope this is in the right place. Long time shooter but new to Glock and 45ACP. What's got the best ballistics?

My guess is that any of the current loads such as Winchester Ranger, Federal HST or Speer Gold Dot will be fine. That said there is a certain level of luck that applies to most any shooting - if you have ever heard of someone being shot and walking around or someone shot and a surgeon saying that if the bullet had been a couple millimeters in a different direction it would have been fatal, there is some of that cannot be explained by much other than luck, as opposed to 47 more feet per second.

[SCSU74]

Whatever you decide make sure it is 230g and a bonded bullet I.e. speed gold dots, less chance of separation through barriers like glass.


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[RetailNinjitsu]

I prefer standard pressure 230gr Speer Gold Dots.

[Patriot III]

CORBON PowRBall or CORBON 165 Grain HP

When I handloaded, I liked a 230 truncated cone (flat nose) total metal jacket loaded to the limit (1000 fps). A load like that has a tendancy lower blood pressure very very fast.

[Bren]

I think the .45 in my truck has ball in it right now. The difference between that and Goold Doots doesn't impress me enough to worry about it.

[Beanie-Bean]

I've got magazines of Speer Gold Dot LE 230 gr. and Hornady Critical Defense (185 gr. I believe...) for both G21s and my G30SF.

Those rounds feed and cycle just fine in all of them, and I use the longer G21 magazines as backup when I carry the G30SF.

[4GLOCKER]

Originally Posted by Jokerpro

Winchester PDX1 230gr. You can pick them up at Walmart for like $25.

Good choice. They also have the PDX1 in 9mm & .40 S&W.

[LawScholar]

I'll put another vote in for standard pressure Speer Gold Dot 230-grain

[triggerjerk]

Federal HST.

[xXGearheadXx]

Federal HSTs are a pretty good bet too, one nice thing is that they come in 50rd boxes that run about $25/box, instead of your normally priced $25/20rd boxes a lot of the PD rounds come in...therefore, you can afford to shoot a bit of it and ensure it will work reliably in your firearm.

[cowboy1964]

Never EVER buy ammo in 20 round boxes! If we stick together maybe they'll all go away!

[pitt1011]

I like Speer Gold Dots and Winchester Rangers, both in 230 grn.

[kashdaddy]

i like the corbon dpx and the federal hst

[SmithietheFox]

I've always been partial to 230-grain Remington Golden Sabers in my LW Commander and G-21