.45 acp

[1911 now!]

with a .45 acp, what type of rounds do you usually use in competition? is the 230 gr standard or a much lower gr?

[Carlosa]

I shoot 230 grain...
honestly i think if your shooting a 45 in competition your wasting time thinking to much about your loads, bullet weights etc...
i think the most important thing is to shoot a consistent load that will allow you to naturally learn the timing of your gun....
specially if your mostly shooting club matches... very few times will you have any thing further than 25yards, and if you do they tend to be good size targets.
all this is assuming that by competition you mean ipsc/idpa..
cheers,
Los.

[NRAhighpowershooter]

depends on what competition were're talkung about... for PPC it's usually 200gr SWC lead

[9mmepiphany]

posted by Carlosa
very few times will you have any thing further than 25yards, and if you do they tend to be good size targets. all this is assuming that by competition you mean ipsc/idpa..

this reminds me of a story when the top IPSC shooters were transitioning from the 200gr H&G .45 load to the overloaded .38 Super loadings. they was a stage where a target was out some 50+ yards and would swing into view and back behind cover.

my teacher was still shooting a .45 and Brian Enos asked him how fast he had loaded his cartridges. when he answered, Brian thought a moment, shook his head and said, "nope, can't be done"...meaning by that by the time the target showed itself and the shooter could press the trigger (he was a Grand Master), there wasn't enough time for the slug to travel the distance to the target before it swung away. the stage had been set up for a .38 Super shooter

[Carlosa]

this reminds me of a story when the top IPSC shooters were transitioning from the 200gr H&G .45 load to the overloaded .38 Super loadings. they was a stage where a target was out some 50+ yards and would swing into view and back behind cover.

my teacher was still shooting a .45 and Brian Enos asked him how fast he had loaded his cartridges. when he answered, Brian thought a moment, shook his head and said, "nope, can't be done"...meaning by that by the time the target showed itself and the shooter could press the trigger (he was a Grand Master), there wasn't enough time for the slug to travel the distance to the target before it swung away. the stage had been set up for a .38 Super shooter

lol nice...
Well if you are shooting at that level then knowing the specifics of your load is very important
I'm a low b class so I'm still learning to shoot, I keep it simple.

[1911 now!]

well for me, i'm about to start this sport.. ipsc/uspsa.. but i want to know how to shoot more effectively since i just got my gun 2 weeks ago and shot it once. hehehe.. thanks for the tips!

[Enter_the_Dragon]

Shot IDPA for the 2nd time last week. Used 230gr FMJ RN w/4.8 grn. I have to tweek my powder charge a bit for targets at a distance of 25-30yds.

[Carlosa]

cool! Your gonna love this sport!
If you are just starting just get as much cheap stop as you can find and shoot shoot shoot.
I shoot about a 1000 rounds a month and let me tell you for me that still not enough.
If your buying factory ammo this can get preaty expensive so just get what ever is the best bang for your buck (pun intended ), and don't worry to much about the details.
They won't make a diffierence to you until you've become a good enough shooter and even then they'll be marginal.
My 2 cents

[BerKim]

I shoot 230 FMJ RN.

I've tried 185's, 200s.. and like the 230s. As you lower the weight of the bullet, the speed has to increase to get the same power factor, and the lighter bullets are 'snappier'.

Either way, I'd pick whatever bullet profile is going to give you 100% feeding reliability.

[TMC]

my teacher was still shooting a .45 and Brian Enos asked him how fast he had loaded his cartridges. when he answered, Brian thought a moment, shook his head and said, "nope, can't be done"...meaning by that by the time the target showed itself and the shooter could press the trigger (he was a Grand Master), there wasn't enough time for the slug to travel the distance to the target before it swung away. the stage had been set up for a .38 Super shooter

???????

Not that I doubt the story but.....

So you can set up a moving or disappearing target at less than 15 yards to expose quick enough that only a bullet traveling 1,400 fps can hit it but one going 760 fps will not. WOW, that's some incredible stage building there. I've shot hundreds of matches with all sorts of moving and disappearing targets and I've never seen one that could only bit hit with an open gun.

[BerKim]

The bullet from the 45 takes 6/100ths of a second to get there, the super, just over 3/100ths..

that's a mightly fast drop turner.. a 3/100th, or less second exposure?

[gose]

The bullet from the 45 takes 6/100ths of a second to get there, the super, just over 3/100ths..
that's a mightly fast drop turner.. a 3/100th, or less second exposure?

6/100s of a second to travel 150 feet? Damn you load your .45s hot!

(150 ft in 0.06s would mean 2500 fps...5000fps for the .38 super..)

[BerKim]

>> 6/100s of a second to travel 150 feet? Damn you load your .45s hot!


The target is 15 yards..in the US that's 45 feet

Did I mess this up somehow.. that may be liekly

[gose]

>> 6/100s of a second to travel 150 feet? Damn you load your .45s hot!
The target is 15 yards..in the US that's 45 feet
Did I mess this up somehow.. that may be liekly

his reminds me of a story when the top IPSC shooters were transitioning from the 200gr H&G .45 load to the overloaded .38 Super loadings. they was a stage where a target was out some 50+ yards and would swing into view and back behind cover.

Looks like its your reading skills and not your math skills that are lacking...

[BerKim]

I used the 15 yards TMC quoted..