.45 ammo, ball or hp

[cwilson7]

I was interested to know what everyone thought about .45 ball ammo for carry in a 1911 (my second 1911 but the first time I will actually ccw a 1911).

I usually carry a g19 but would like to carry my 1911 some. I carry speer gold dots in the 19 but the 1911 does not eat them as reliably because of the large mouth of the gold dot hollow point.

Could you recommend a good ball ammo if you feel it is acceptable and if not recommend a good hollowpoint with a smaller mouth.

By the way it is a taurus pt1911 (my second one) and if I fill the mags to 8 rounds the mouth of the first round jams on the feed ramp. I am using wilson mags. If I only fill the mags to seven rounds then there is no problem.

Thanks for the help.

cwilson7

[Dean]

CorBon JHPs might feed.
Otherwise Lawman is good ball ammo. 230 Grain lawman shot out of a .45 will kill a man.
Course, if it was me I'd throat out my 1911 so it would feed Golddots.

[reaper8154]

I'd try the expanding full metal jacket stuff or CorBon powerball.

[Aeroscoper]

I love my 1911 and the platform in general. That said, if any of my guns didn't perform 100%, I'd be highly reluctant to carry it for protection.

Pack that 19 until you find an equally running 1911. If you insist on carrying the Taurus, maybe consider those EFMJ's. Good luck.

YMMV.

Keith

[Arc Angel]

I was interested to know what everyone thought about .45 ball ammo for carry in a 1911. ....

I use it. Speer Lawman 230 grain, FMJ. (Try Ammoman. It's called; 'training ammo' but training it ain't!)

.... if I fill the mags to 8 rounds the mouth of the first round jams on the feed ramp. I am using wilson mags. If I only fill the mags to seven rounds then there is no problem.

A common complaint with a lot of 8 round magazines. Download to 7 rounds; you should be fine. Doubt, very much, that there's anything wrong with the gun. I've owned any number of really expensive Wilson magazines and had a number of annoying little problems with them, too. My suggestion would be to try Mec-Gar magazines. Ain't never had a problem with any of the expensive Mec-Gars.

[Ebb27]

If you want 8 rounders that actually work right get some of these.

http://www.trippresearch.com/CVS/products/1911/1911.html

I use them in my Kimber and Colts and they've worked great with any kind of ammo.

[fredj338]

There is no reason to carry ball ammo in any 45 unless you just can't get a JHP to feed. I would rather have an old schoold 230grJHP, like Rem., that is ball profile & feeds in anything, over ball ammo. Try the Rem. 230grGS, it has a user friendly profile. The Fed. EFMJ is alos good as is the 230grXTP.

[Ak.Hiker]

That Speer Lawman 230 TMJ is good stuff. My guns like them as well. One suggestion for a good hollow point loading is to try the Remington 230 Golden Saber. The Golden Saber is known for having a ball like feed profile.

[NG VI]

Yep, another reccomendation for Golden Saber, my CZ 97B is slightly picky about ammo but it is 100% with Golden Saber, it has a definite ball-esque profile. I'm not sure if Federal HST has an equally friendly feed profile but it also runs the CZ fine, I like the 230 +P, wicked expansion and I can't argue with ACP at 960 feet per second. I don't know anything about 1911s, but if they (yours, at least) have a tendency to choke more on lower-powered ammo the HST +P would probably only help reliability. Again not sure if I am on base or not here.

[Forgoten214]

If gold dots wont work the HST probably wont work as well. Try the Hornady bullets such as the XTP. Also as posted before Try the Remington Golden Saber. Hydra shoks MIGHT work but try the other two first.

[MrMurphy]

If I had feeding problems, the Pow'rBall. If not, Golden Sabers.

[shark_za]

Like fredj338 says, the Remington standard hollowpoint, either 230gr or 185gr have very round profiles and feed like ball in most guns.
The 185gr+P Remington was the same round profile bullet at better speeds.

I have a mate who carries an old WW2 1911 with ball, he shot out all the Remington I got him and cant find any more.

[RedsoxFan4Lyfe]

I think Golden Sabers feed well in almost any gun, very ball like profiles on those. I run ball in my 1911's cause I can practice with it and know how it feels and where it hits. BUT my guns are loaded with GS cause they feed it fine.

I have carried ball and right now my 1911 on my hip is running ball in the mag and a GS in the chamber. Im not worried. .45ball works just fine if you need it.

[CanyonMan]

I use balll 230gr in the G30, and JHP's in my 1911's.
It ain't popular, with most folks around here, but I am not here to win friends. Through My test and experiments, on the ranch, and over several decades, this is my choice for short 2 1/2" barrels (ball), and the gov, and commander length gets the JHP's, either Remmy GS, 230gr. or Winchester Ranger T 230gr.

FWIW

CM

[MSgt Dotson]

FIll them to seven, load the chamber via the mag, safety on, remove mag, and load the last 2!

Function test to see if it happens under firing conditions with 8+ 1 as well....

[Sniperfox]

I prefer a JHP round, but would have no reservations about carrying a .230 gr. FMJ. There is an old saying that most of the younger shooters have probably never heard, but it goes like this when referring to the .45acp FMJ round.
"Everything falls to hardball!"

[MURRAY]

I would go back to the glk before I carried the ball

[James Markov]

I would go back to the glk before I carried the ball

The facts are that for 9 decades .45 hardball has killed countless enemies on the spot. Troops like it, say it takes down an attacker so why argue with bullet salesmen who say the latest "hollow point" is the best? :shocked:

[RedsoxFan4Lyfe]

The facts are that for 9 decades .45 hardball has killed countless enemies on the spot. Troops like it, say it takes down an attacker so why argue with bullet salesmen who say the latest "hollow point" is the best? :shocked:

True that. I think in this age of "Wonder" bullets people lose sight of the facts. .45ball is a BIG and very heavy slug moving pretty slow, its going to do very bad things on the receiving end. There ARE failures with it as ANY round has had, just not many it seems. .45 and .357 magnum are my choices for self defense. 90% of the time its my 1911 with .45 ball ammo. Sometimes I use the 2 1/2" .357 but I feel great with either. I have a .44 Mag but thats a little much. :supergrin:

[Agent6-3/8]

If you're 1911 will not feed a modern JHP's using Wilson mags, then IMO, its not reliable enough for carry. With that said, Some 1911's don't like the profile of the Gold Dot. Give Hornady TAP or Remington Golden Sabes a try. They may work.

I'm currently carrying 230g HST in my 1911.

[SIGShooter]

I was interested to know what everyone thought about .45 ball ammo for carry in a 1911 (my second 1911 but the first time I will actually ccw a 1911).

I carry 2 types of ammunition in my Wilson...230 Gr. Ranger JHP and 230 Gr. WWB FMJ (Ball). I like the JHPs for summer and the Ball for winter. It comes down to personal choice. I know what my weapon likes and I know what it shoots well. I know what I like and what I shoot well. I will be changing over to the GDHP because they are more available then my current carrying rounds (Except of course for the WWB).

I usually carry a g19 but would like to carry my 1911 some. I carry speer gold dots in the 19 but the 1911 does not eat them as reliably because of the large mouth of the gold dot hollow point.

Could you recommend a good ball ammo if you feel it is acceptable and if not recommend a good hollowpoint with a smaller mouth.

Winchester White Box for ball ammo
Hornady XTP, Winchester Ranger, Remington Golden Saber for hollow points

By the way it is a taurus pt1911 (my second one) and if I fill the mags to 8 rounds the mouth of the first round jams on the feed ramp. I am using wilson mags. If I only fill the mags to seven rounds then there is no problem.

Try Wilson's #47DC magazines. I'm a firm believer in Wilson Mags. Mainly because they are the only ones that I use and they have never failed me in over 14,000 rounds.

[bagballa]

Ranger T's have pretty narrow tips and shoot 100% in my 1911's. Pow'r ball is also pretty decent but i'm not sure if its 230gr's. I wouldn't feel under gunned with 45 FMJ either.

[BigPhil]

My taurus (with wilson mags)has been reliable with any ammo I put through it for about 1300 rounds. I have total confidence in it and carry it daily. I load it with gold dots. Maybe you have an older model or something?

[Preußen]

this one's a no-brainer....


JHP > FMJ