[DienBienPhu]

what loads are usually carried by LE if they carry a G21 in 45 caliber?

would they use something like a Remington Golden Saber 185 gr JHP?

do they ever use something in 230 gr JHP?

I read the Rem 185 gr JHP Golden Saber makes a very effective defense load

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news...ns-glocks-orange-deputies-20150201-story.html

 

[L-2]

There is no specific ammo "usually carried" by LE. Each agency/department might specify an particular brand and version of ammo. In some cases it may be as simple as any ammo from a specified list of brands (e.g. Winchester, Remington, Federal, Hornady, or Speer, etc.). I was aware of one department which fairly recently (~10 years ago) finally OK'd JHP ammo for .45ACP where previously it only allowed FMJ type.

I've carried Speer Gold Dot (which is a JHP type) in 230 gr., Winchester SilverTip in 185gr., and Winchester Ranger in 230 gr. +P. I may have carried other brands/versions but can't remember any others right now, but it may have been Remington Golden Saber and Federal Hydra-Shok. I know I can't remember which bullet weights I would have carried of those last two if I'd actually carried those brands/models.

Somewhere in the country, there's probably an LEO carrying 230 gr JHP ammo from a commonly-known brand name of ammo. I'd be surprised if any LEO in this day and age was carrying handloaded ammo or FMJ from a brand like Tula, Wolf, or Armscor, although I'll shoot thousands of rounds of those brands for practice.

(I now most carry 9mm, but I'm carrying Speer Gold Dot 230 gr. right now as I type this.)

 

[Joe King]

what loads are usually carried by LE if they carry a G21 in 4.5 caliber?...

On patrol, I carry the G21 loaded with the Federal 230 gr HST. FWIW, I carry a G23 during other assignments and it's loaded with Federal 180 gr HST's.

 

[Borg Warner]

I think the best load for the G21 is either the Federal 230 grain HST or better yet the Federal 230 grain HST Plus +P since recoil isn't an issue with a G21.

But I think if you were going the carry a non-plus+P 185 grain load you might as well carry a smaller gun with the same capacity like a Glock 23 in 40 caliber loaded with 180 grain HST's

 

[John_AZ]

Our department does 230 HST

 

[jstrange]

We use Winchester Ranger Bonded 230 gr. I can’t recall if it’s +P or not.

 

[Valmet]

I went to college in WV in the early 2000s and I recall WV state troopers carrying Glock 21s and seem to remember a trooper saying they carried Remington Golden Saber. Not sure 185 or 230-gr?

I've always been a Golden Saber fan from the days when I ccw'd a .45 LW Commander to the 124-gr+P 9mm in my Glock 19.

 

[DienBienPhu]

I went to college in WV in the early 2000s and I recall WV state troopers carrying Glock 21s and seem to remember a trooper saying they carried Remington Golden Saber. Not sure 185 or 230-gr?

I've always been a Golden Saber fan from the days when I ccw'd a .45 LW Commander to the 124-gr+P 9mm in my Glock 19.

I'll probably pick up some Federal 230 gr HST and Golden Saber for testing , the local store carries it.

 

[Valmet]

I'll probably pick up some Federal 230 gr HST and Golden Saber for testing , the local store carries it.

Both excellent loads IMO. I keep 230-gr HSTs in my G-21 (nightstand gun).

 

[fredj338]

I'll probably pick up some Federal 230 gr HST and Golden Saber for testing , the local store carries it.

Both good loafs. A couple friends of mine are leo carrying g21. Fed HsT, ranger or rgs, all 230gr std pressure.

 

[DonGlock26]

We used Federal HST 230gr+P or Winchester Ranger 230gr in our Sig P220's.
They worked fine on bad guys.

 

[pgg00]

When i started out we carried 230 Winchester Tseries. Then went to 230 grain gold dots. Currently we issue 230 grain federal HSTs

 

[DienBienPhu]

thanks for the replies, I tried some Remington Green & White box 230 gr JHP 100 rd packs from Walmart and those seemed to be pretty good, but those are more of an economy round, bargain box ammo.

 

[GlockWheeler]

Our officers are carrying the Federal 230 gr HST+P.

 

[collim1]

HST or Gold Dot in 230g is what I see. Remington Golden Saber was a popular round 10-15 years ago, but I don’t see it much in LE these days. Winchester Ranger is popular in other areas of the country, but in my area most agencies follow suit with the state police’s research to save money testing their own stuff. And Ranger doesn’t seem to have much around here.

The Honrady Critical Duty is being marketed heavily towards LE right now. They are practically giving it away to convince agencies to use their loading. That’s why we switched from Gold Dot to Hornady when we switched to 9mm a couple months ago.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see it gain a portion of Gold Dots and HST’s market in the next few years.

I would imagine most LE agencies are carrying 230g. That is usually preferred when you’re using a 4-5” barrel. The 185+P stuff was typically marketed to the sub 4” guns to help with expansion.

Me personally, if I’m carrying .45 it’s because I want a big heavy slug. I have no interest in the 185 and 200g loadings, but that’s just me.

 

[Glock199mmP]

If I carried a G21, I'd carry a fast 185gr JHP.

 

[9mmskng]

Our Dept. issue ammo for our G21’s, was Gold Dot 230gr JHP. Couple of the Sgts did their own testing for the Dept, chose the 230gr over the 185gr. We NEVER deviated from Gold Dot, pretty nasty stuff!

 

[Vikings87]

I used to carry the 185 Golden Sabers.

Back in those days there wasn't much to choose from. If I recall there were PMC Starfires, Hydro-shoks, SilverTips, and BlackTalon. The talons were about gone and way to expensive.

 

[Ranger357]

I saw a large state contract proposal online last year. The technical specifications for several calibers were simply : weight in grains, “bonded hollow point” and a FPS requirement +-50fps. Basically none of the cool stuff we obsesse over was even mentioned

The 45 acp section listed 230 grains as desired weight with no notation as to why.

 

[bubbatime]

I worked for that agency in the article about 13 years ago. I was issued a brand new gen 3 G21 with Speer Gold Dot 200+P .45ACP. They got into a lot of shootouts, and went from the Beretta 92, to the Glock 22, and then to the G21. The trainers were BIG fans of the .45ACP. In my hiring class, they allowed one small female to swap her G21 for a G22. And they allowed a IDPA shooter to swap his G21 for a G22, since he shot tens of thousands of rounds down range in that platform and was more comfortable on the .40. But 95% of the deputies had the G21.

The article is nonsense. They have had the G21 for a long time. They just want to swap them out for new gen 4 guns, which is a good idea every 10 years or so. They got a good price on the trade in.