0.45 ACP bonded ammo question

[Creampuff]

All of my home defense ammo for 9mm and 0.40 are bonded ammo Gold Dots or Federal Bonded HST. My 0.45 has been collecting dust, as I haven't really used it in years, and for that reason my home defense ammo is a bit dated for my 0.45. I believe I have Remington Golden Sabers and some old HydraShok ammo from who knows how long ago.

Long story short, I notice when it comes to home defense recommendations for 9mm and 0.40's - most current recommendations are for bonded JHP, for good reason - the jacket doesn't fly apart. And yet, for 0.45 ammo recommendations are all over the place, bonded and non-bonded. Does the 0.45 not suffer from jacket shredding unlike the faster and smaller 9mm/0.40?

Are agencies that still use the old 0.45 still using older ammo, or are those departments all switching to bonded ammo as well? It seems most of the change in bonded technology is focusing on the 9mm and 0.40. Is that my imagination?

[fsx]

I'm not really worried about that. Taking a 45cal anywhere centermass is going to do serious damage.

BTW, this is the first time I've seen people use 0.45/0.40

[zfields]

I like gold dots 230 grain. The lighter weight stuff has some issues with expansion from what ive seen from a few diffrent testing reports.

the PDX-1 Stuff from winchester seems to test well also.

[SVRider]

From what I have heard, LAPD is using HST, but SWAT is using the Federal Tactical bonded, the latter being 45ACP.

From the test reports I have seen, it seems 45 tends to hold it's jacket better...perhaps because it is generally running at lower velocities than 9 & 40.

In the end though, for HOME DEFENSE, I do not have many plans of having to shoot through auto glass, so I do not think it makes much difference. If you are CCW'ing, perhaps something to consider, but inside the home I do not think there are many scenarios where I would worry about jacket/core separation.

[bernieb90]

There are plenty of unbonded loads in 9mm, and .40 that work great, and come highly recommended.

9 mm:
Barnes XPB 105 & 115 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Federal Tactical 124 gr JHP (LE9T1)
Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 124 gr +P JHP (RA9124TP)
Winchester Partition Gold 124 gr JHP (RA91P)
Winchester Ranger-T 127 gr +P+ JHP (RA9TA)
Federal Tactical 135 gr +P JHP (LE9T5)
Federal HST 147 gr JHP (P9HST2)
Remington Golden Saber 147 gr JHP (GS9MMC)
Speer Gold Dot 147 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 147 gr JHP (RA9T)
Winchester 147 gr bonded JHP (RA9B/Q4364)

.40 S&W:
Barnes XPB 140 & 155 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Speer Gold Dot 155 gr JHP
Federal Tactical 165 gr JHP (LE40T3)
Winchester Ranger-T 165 gr JHP (RA40TA)
Winchester Partition Gold 165 gr JHP (RA401P)
Federal HST 180 gr JHP (P40HST1)
Federal Tactical 180 gr JHP (LE40T1)
Remington Golden Saber 180 gr JHP (GS40SWB)
Speer Gold Dot 180 gr JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 180 gr JHP (RA40T)
Winchester 180 gr bonded JHP (RA40B/Q4355/S40SWPDB1)


All of these meet or exceed FBI 12" standards in 10% ordinace gelatin, both bare, and covered in 4 layers of denim. None of these have a core jacket separation issue under normal circumstances. Bonded bullets really are best when there is a need to sahoot through auto glass, or other tough barriers. I really like the Ranger-T +P load. I have fired it at close range into water, and despite being unbonded it still held together.

Barnes XPB 160 & 185 gr JHP (copper bullet)
Federal HST 230 gr JHP (P45HST2)
Federal HST 230 gr +P JHP (P45HST1)
Federal Tactical 230 gr JHP (LE45T1)
Speer Gold Dot 230 gr JHP
Speer Gold Dot 230 gr +P JHP
Winchester Ranger-T 230 gr JHP (RA45T)
Winchester Ranger-T 230 gr +P JHP (RA45TP)


By the way Federal HST is not bonded. Federal "Tactical Bonded" is. I am not sure which one you were refering to.

[JohanD]

Federal HST 230 gr +P JHP

This is what LAPD uses.

[Creampuff]

By the way Federal HST is not bonded. Federal "Tactical Bonded" is. I am not sure which one you were refering to.

Yikes happy fingers at the keyboard. I meant Federal HST.