A new .45 ACP load from Federal is the Personal Defense Punch. The 230-grain JHP bullet has a skived jacket for penetration and expansion and leaves the muzzle of a 5” barrel at a reported 890 fps. Another .45 Auto entry from Federal Premium is the 230-gr. HST. This one is a +P load clocking 950 fps at the muzzle with 461 foot-pounds of energy.
Among my favorites is the Federal Hydra-Shok 230-grainer. This spoonful of nastiness leaves the muzzle at 900 fps with 414 foot-pounds of energy, and when it stops, something drops.
I’ve used the Sig Sauer 230-grain V-Crown JHP load and it’s consistently accurate out of my full size and Commander pistols. It clocks at an advertised 830 fps from the muzzle with 352 foot-pounds of energy.
Winchester offers a couple of solid choices with 230-gr. bonded JHPs, the Defender and its Train & Defend loads. The Defender load leaves the muzzle at an advertised 920 fps with 432 foot-pounds of energy, while the Train & Defend launches at 850 fps from the muzzle with 369 foot-pounds of punch.
Remington’s selections include the 230-grain Ultimate Defense load moving out of the barrel at 875 fps with 391 foot-pounds of energy. There’s a Golden Saber bonded 230-grain JHP with identical ballistics also available.
From Hornady, there’s a 230-gr. +P XTP load delivering an impressive 950 fps at the muzzle with 461 foot-pounds of energy.
Cold Carry
Why the .45 ACP Wins in the Winter
Dave suggests the .45 ACP for daily carry especially during the winter months,
when even thugs might be wearing several layers of clothing.
The late Jackson Beard, who rose through the ranks of the King County, Washington Sheriff’s Department, once observed during a conversation about stopping power he was “a firm believer in a big, slow-moving bullet.”
In the Pacific Northwest, where most people, including bad ones, layer up for most of seven or eight months of the year, it does not take long to figure out that lightweight, fast-moving smaller-caliber projectiles may not make the impression necessary in an emergency.
Jack was talking about the .45-caliber 230-grain bullet, a projectile accounting for more terminated misbehavior than probably anyone would care to document. Thanks to today’s advances in bullet design, one could easily be talking about some of the sizzlers now available from Federal, Winchester, Hornady, Remington, Sig Sauer, Speer/Lawman, Black Hills and other ammunition companies.
Today’s factory ammunition choices are numerous and thanks to research and development, ammunition companies have produced some of the best defensive loads one could imagine.
My personal carry choice is a Colt Commander or a full-size Model 1911. They fit my hand when set up with a flat mainspring housing, shoot straight and carry rather well, which means flat against my side in a good holster. Cocked-and-locked, they’re ready for action.
When I was a teenager, two guys I knew at the time killed rather large black bears on different occasions with .45s, both Model 1911 pistols. Even in my youth I quickly deduced anything that can knock a 350- to 400-pound bruin down for the count is going to immediately get some thug’s undivided attention in a defensive emergency.
And, since I live in a region where running into a bear, mountain lion or something else with teeth is a genuine possibility, I’ve never felt under-gunned while traveling off the pavement with a .45.
Let’s talk about ammunition for a moment because it’s the important link between your muzzle and the intended target, and it’s also what ultimately separates you from one or more attackers.
Dave’s preference is for the 1911 platform, such as this Springfield. A gun is only
as good as its ammunition and there are reliable loads from Sig Sauer and Federal for defensive work.
This well-worn Colt Combat Commander has traveled a lot of miles with Workman,
and it can digest Black Hills 230-gr. FMJ ammunition all day long.
Why the 230-grain emphasis? Heavier bullets will be more likely, in my opinion, to deliver the goods against someone wearing multiple layers of heavy winter clothing. For many years I’ve done something that has brought sneers from some people, but maybe they haven’t thought this through: I load magazines with 230-grain FMJ every other round. As it turned out, late Texas Ranger Joaquin Jackson, with whom I became friends while serving together on the NRA Board of Directors, did the same thing and he wrote about it in his great autobiography “One Ranger,” with David Marion Wilkinson. (University of Texas Press, 2005.)
Jackson explained about halfway down on Page 79 if penetration “became an issue at some inopportune moment” he would load one round of ball (230-gr. FMJ) ammunition alternately with one hollow point. If this strategy is good enough for a Texas Ranger, it’s good enough for me in a much colder environment 1,400 miles to the northwest.
Of course there are loads with lighter 185- and 200-grain bullets, but we’re talking winter applications here.
Your mileage may vary of course, but for concealed carry in a semi-auto, the .45 ACP loaded with modern ammunition is a formidable piece of emergency survival equipment. I’d certainly trust my life to its performance. Hell, I already do.
