45 ACP Self Defense Load

[Tom G]

I have a new Kimber Ultra Raptor II (3in 1911) that I purchased as a carry gun. I am looking for relatively light 45 acp self defense round to load for this gun. My normal loaded self defense round is 200gr Hornady XTP's, 8.3gr of Power Pistol, win brass, Fed 150's.. This round is to much for the Kimber, and I don't like the feel of a reduced charge of the Power Pistol. Anyone have any recipes that they would like to offer up?

Thanks,
Tom

[gotgunz]

Many people, myself included, always advise against carrying handloads in a defense weapon. This is strictly for liability reasons if you should have a need to shoot somebody. Their lawyer could attack your motives with the "killer bullet" recipe you cooked up in your garage.

I never, never carry anything but factory loaded ammo and I always keep the box it came in just in case I have to explain later what ammo was used to dispatch the crack head, bad guy.

YMMV

[sobiloff]

Many people, myself included, always advise against carrying handloads in a defense weapon. This is strictly for liability reasons if you should have a need to shoot somebody. Their lawyer could attack your motives with the "killer bullet" recipe you cooked up in your garage.

...and I have never seen a single reference to established case law where anyone ever lost a case solely because of handloaded ammo.

To the OP: You'll want to look at the Barnes XPB 185 gr or Speer's Gold Dot 230 gr. The Barnes is light for caliber because it's all copper, which meets your criteria nicely. It's also the best and most consistent performer out there right now. The downside is cost, as it runs nearly $1/bullet.

The Gold Dot is a great performer, too, but unfortunately the 200 gr has some trouble with reliable expansion in some circumstances. I'd stick with the 230 gr if I were you. Speer has a "short barrel" version of this bullet that expands at the lower velocities you get with (you guessed it) short barrel handguns. (No short barrel version of the 200 gr bullet.)

These are the only two bullets available to reloaders that perform well, per the terminal ballistics research over at <http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=237>.

[1911whore]

handloaded ammo

You can make VERY effective man stoppers and you MAY not get hemmed up over it IF you have to use them. However Why give the lawyer that is GOING to try to take your freedom in a criminal court and most definately take ALOT of your money in a civil court more "ammo" to use against you. Cor bon and various others to include Hornady make REALLY effective man stoppers and they are the ones that made em "deadlier" not you so you are in the clear on that little piece of the pie.

+1 on using factory ammo and an UNALTERED gun!!!!!

[kenc9]

Legal issues aside, I load a 230 grain Laser cut lead round nose, with 4.5 grains of HODGDON HP38 powder and Winchester primers. The load is hot enough do do a job but the recoil keeps the muzzle down.

My last time out I shout the whole mag at rapid fire with the first three hitting the bull.

Guys this is a .45, if you shoot somebody in a vital area the person or thing is going to die.

The lead ball

The simplest bullet today is a pure lead ball. (We no longer shoot rounded stones or scraps of metal from our guns.) Hornady and Speer, among others, offer lead balls for those who shoot muzzleloaders. Lead balls are the most common sort of projectile fired from cap and ball revolvers, even today, and that is what I shoot in mine. They are capable of excellent accuracy and pack plenty of punch for small game hunting. The soft lead expands (flattens) readily upon impact, and lead balls can inflict very lethal wounds, as the slaughter that occurred during the American Civil War illustrates. The U.S. military still refers to its full metal jacketed service ammunition as "ball," even though the projectile used is a sleek boat-tail spitzer bullet.

[mike100]

I just got into reloads and I like the way they have been shooting so far... 200 gr lswc and 230 gr lead round nose. anyways, the published load data is still less than the better factory 230 gr ball ammo performance.

I have an old Lyman reloading manual and one particular powder load for a 200 gr load is shown at a lot higher charge than the Lyman manual from 2002 and current internet listings. I think either the powder changed or lawyers got there hands on the max load tables.

anyways, I think +p and hotter general use loads are up to the individual to figure out how far to push it by carefully working up to it.

[FatKatMatt]

Well, if you want less recoil I would go with a lighter bullet. I would also get something with severe expansion as well, bigger wound channel and all.

If the bullet is lighter it will also need less powder which is better for you; I would experiment with different loads and see which one you like best.

[kenc9]

Actually that is not true, the larger grain bullet takes less powder. If you look at load data for the same type bullet except smaller grain and use the same type powder it normally uses less powder.


-ken

Well, if you want less recoil I would go with a lighter bullet. I would also get something with severe expansion as well, bigger wound channel and all.

If the bullet is lighter it will also need less powder which is better for you; I would experiment with different loads and see which one you like best.

[1911su16b870]

Currently using Remington Golden Saber in 230 gr as a defense load in my Kimber 1911s. Many excellent 45acp defense loads out there. What ever you choose, purchase a bunch of boxes of that defense load and run them in your 1911 so you know there will be no problems.

[DV8]

I've never used reloaded ammo for self-defense. I suppose you could but theres so many excellent proven ammo choices out there that it doesnt make sense to try and come up with something on my own.

[sobiloff]

I've never used reloaded ammo for self-defense. I suppose you could but theres so many excellent proven ammo choices out there that it doesnt make sense to try and come up with something on my own.

Sure it does--practice! You should be practicing with the same ammo you carry so that you validate its reliability in your weapon, and so that you're intimately familiar with all of its characteristics (point of impact, felt recoil, etc.).

It's not too hard to duplicate the external ballistics of the Barnes XPB (as loaded by Cor-Bon and Taurus) or Speer Gold Dot factory loads, and terminal ballistics are a given if you get the FPS the same. Getting a chrono and reloading will quickly save you money over buying the factory stuff.

ETA: I can't afford to practice with factory loads. That might just be me, though. :-)

[Directshot]

[DV8]

Sure it does--practice! You should be practicing with the same ammo you carry so that you validate its reliability in your weapon, and so that you're intimately familiar with all of its characteristics (point of impact, felt recoil, etc.).

It's not too hard to duplicate the external ballistics of the Barnes XPB (as loaded by Cor-Bon and Taurus) or Speer Gold Dot factory loads, and terminal ballistics are a given if you get the FPS the same. Getting a chrono and reloading will quickly save you money over buying the factory stuff.

ETA: I can't afford to practice with factory loads. That might just be me, though. :-)

The point of my post was that it didnt make sense to me to try and come up with an equivalent to any of the good commercial defensive rounds out there. This is because it would be too much cost (time and money) and hassle.

For instance, yeah you could buy the same bullets, get a chrono and reloader you might even find an equivalent powder. For me, I want to shoot more for less so the bullets and powder would probably end up making my rounds costing as much if not more than a readily available load. Then after researching the round I want to copy, I have to find a comparable powder, work up a load then make multiple range trips to make sure it performs exactly like the original load (provided the range lets me set up my chrono). Too much hassle for me as opposed to just buying 200 - 300 rounds of the commercial stuff. For conversation sake we'll say all that isnt a hassle you enjoy reloading and you're rolling in dough blah blah blah so now you've got you're round and you crank out a batch. What if something goes wrong (you get distracted, reloader messes up etc) now you have a batch that could potentially have squibs or are over/under pressure. Could make an HD encounter pretty interesting...

Yeah commercial stuff is expensive thats why you need to do the research and make sure you buy the right round. You pay for all that R&D they did and you get a round that has been used in the field and is known to produce the results you want for HD (provided you made the right choice). Can the manufacturer have bad ammo? Sure, but if you do the research you'll find that the well known ones rarely if ever do so you've got the peace of mind that you're ammo will deliver when needed.

I have to agree with practice though. I buy a couple of hundred rounds of the defensive ammo to make sure they function in my guns and that I am familiar with placement. Then I create my reloads using cheaper bullets with the same or close enough FPS. This lets me practice more for less...

[.17 thru .50]

I think that no matter what load you shoot, factory or handloaded, the person will be stopped. This is a .45 not a .22.

[-hanko]

If the bullet is lighter it will also need less powder which is better for you.

You are correct IF you want to load a lighter bullet to heavy bullet velocity.

Lighter bullets are usually selected to get higher velocity, however, so powder charge is heavier.

-hanko