What's your favorite flavor of ammo?

**bacon ops** · 04-02-2009, 04:03 PM

I've tried out a bunch of different kinds of ammo to see which functioned best in my gun.

From Hornady defense stuff, Federal, Speer, blabalabl.

These opinions are all based on .45 acp.

I would take them to the range, to see which got the best groups and which felt the best in my gun.

I didn't like the Hydra Shok at all. It kicked like a mule, and to be truthful, wasn't all that accurate in my gun.

The Hornady is alright, but kicks too much for what it's worth.

Speer makes some good stuff, and performed well all around.

My two favorites have been Cor-Bon DPX and Taurus Hex, with the taurus ammo edging out the cor bon slightly.
These things are laser accurate in my 1911 and even the +P Cor bon kicks manageably.

The Taurus, on the other hand, is a sweetheart to shoot compared to the rest. Sadly, I don't think it is still in production.

So, what are your favorite fancy loads?

**pandar** · 04-02-2009, 04:39 PM

bacon flavour

**bacon ops** · 04-02-2009, 06:23 PM

mmmmmm.

Little known to liberals, the true purpose of a hollow point bullet is to stuff your favourite meat in the cavity.

giggity

**smith357** · 04-02-2009, 06:37 PM

I reload my own ammo, just got done loading up 500 .38 wadcutters. 2.7 grains of Bullseye under a hard cast 148 grain HBWC.

I reload .45 colt, .45acp, .38/.357, .223, .38-55, .45-70, .30-06, 6.5 Swede, 8mm Mauser and 12 gauge. I like Nosler balistic tips, Hornady V-Max bullets, and CCI Primers. I also cast my own bullets for my handguns and the .38-55 and .45-70

In my .22 rimfire rifles nothing out shoots Eley Tenex though RWS R50 and Lapua Midas L come close. Wolf Match Target makes a good cheap practice round.

**Anonymous D** · 04-02-2009, 09:09 PM

I keep some Federal Hydra shocks in my .40

For my .45 Ill probably just keep some heavy FMJ in it. The ball ammo was what gave teh .45 ACP its reputation as a man killer anyway.

And for my AR, you cant go wrong with Federal. I use it at the range, and its my self defense round.

**bacon ops** · 04-03-2009, 12:08 AM

Originally Posted by smith357

I reload my own ammo, just got done loading up 500 .38 wadcutters. 2.7 grains of Bullseye under a hard cast 148 grain HBWC.

I reload .45 colt, .45acp, .38/.357, .223, .38-55, .45-70, .30-06, 6.5 Swede, 8mm Mauser and 12 gauge. I like Nosler balistic tips, Hornady V-Max bullets, and CCI Primers. I also cast my own bullets for my handguns and the .38-55 and .45-70

In my .22 rimfire rifles nothing out shoots Eley Tenex though RWS R50 and Lapua Midas L come close. Wolf Match Target makes a good cheap practice round.

I've been putting off buying that Lee press for too long, and everytime I see you post I get the jones to buy one.

**Syme** · 04-03-2009, 06:04 AM

Originally Posted by Anonymous D

For my .45 Ill probably just keep some heavy FMJ in it. The ball ammo was what gave teh .45 ACP its reputation as a man killer anyway.

Uhhhh... you know that good hollow points will still give you much better performance, right? .45 ACP has enough bullet diameter that it can create a decent wound channel even with ball ammo, but for a self-defense weapon, you want the best performance possible, not just "decent" performance.

**bacon ops** · 04-03-2009, 01:19 PM

Originally Posted by Syme

Uhhhh... you know that good hollow points will still give you much better performance, right? .45 ACP has enough bullet diameter that it can create a decent wound channel even with ball ammo, but for a self-defense weapon, you want the best performance possible, not just "decent" performance.

.45 needs to be going stinkin' fast to reliably expand, though(read: +p)

**Anonymous D** · 04-03-2009, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by Syme

Uhhhh... you know that good hollow points will still give you much better performance, right? .45 ACP has enough bullet diameter that it can create a decent wound channel even with ball ammo, but for a self-defense weapon, you want the best performance possible, not just "decent" performance.

I dont really use the .45 for defense though. If I was serious about rounds for it, Id get some gold dot or some shit. Basic hollow points with +p if I could.

Anyone ever use the glasser safety slugs? I have heard they suck.

**bacon ops** · 04-03-2009, 04:43 PM

Originally Posted by Anonymous D

I dont really use the .45 for defense though. If I was serious about rounds for it, Id get some gold dot or some shit. Basic hollow points with +p if I could.

Anyone ever use the glasser safety slugs? I have heard they suck.

Never used 'em.
Check the Box-o-truth website, as I'm sure they've tested them at least once.

I'd like to see Glaser make them available in .45/70, now that would be something.

**Syme** · 04-03-2009, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by bacon ops

.45 needs to be going stinkin' fast to reliably expand, though(read: +p)

Totally depends on bullet design and manufacturer. You can't just make a blanket statement that X caliber needs Y velocity to expand reliably; it will vary from round to round. That said, yes, most (but not all) reputable .45 ACP defensive hollow points have a fairly high minimum velocity for reliable expansion.

***

GSS is an ultra-low-penetration frangible round, totally inappropriate for self-defense use. It does not have the penetration needed to reliably incapacitate a person. Even the Air Marshals don't use them anymore; they realized that there's no point having a round that wouldn't penetrate an aircraft fuselage if it also wouldn't stop the skyjacker. A .45-70 loading wouldn't be much different, either.

**bacon ops** · 04-03-2009, 07:06 PM

So basically you said this:
You can't say that, but you're correct.

LOL, I think a 400 grain bullet going well over 2,000 FPS is a different thing than a 230 doing 900, IMO.

**Syme** · 04-03-2009, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by bacon ops

So basically you said this:
You can't say that, but you're correct.

Hah, no. I said that what you said is true of many .45 ACP hollowpoints but not all. So it's inaccurate to say that ".45 needs such-and-such velocity to reliably expand". Again: No given caliber always needs a given velocity for hollowpoints of that caliber to reliably expand. It depends 100% on bullet design.

Originally Posted by bacon ops

LOL, I think a 400 grain bullet going well over 2,000 FPS is a different thing than a 230 doing 900, IMO.

It's still going to disintegrate on impact. It's a frangible bullet. They do make GSS rounds in rifle calibers, you know; they make them in .308 and .223. The rifle-caliber GSS bullets have the same problem that the pistol-caliber ones have. They don't penetrate well, because they turn into a spray of smallshot on impact. Cranking up velocity (and/or bullet weight) isn't going to change that; the penetrating power of a heavy rifle round is largely lost when that big heavy fast-moving round explodes as soon as it hits the target. I'm sure a .45-70 GSS round would do more damage than a .45 ACP one, but it's still probably not going to give the kind of penetration you need for reliable self-defense use.

There's a reason GSS rounds aren't widely used.

EDIT: Just for the record, here is why GSS rounds suck:
http://www.firearmstactical.com/imag...m%20Glaser.jpg

12 centimeters of penetration in gelatin with a .357 Magnum? That's shitty performance. You need a minimum of 30 cm penetration for a good self-defense round. GSS bullets just make big, ugly, bloody, shallow flesh wounds. When I'm paying twenty times more than I'd pay for a good hollowpoint, I'd want a bit more performance than that.

**smith357** · 04-03-2009, 08:47 PM

One of the big problems with frangible and other specialty defense ammo is the cost Glaser ammo is about $20 for six rounds. We all know that it is very important to function test any carry ammo through your firearm. Who will or can afford to run 50 or 100 rounds of this stuff through a firearm to be sure it functions without a hitch? Then there is the practice, general rule of thumb is to practice with what you plan to use. The high cost of these specialty rounds prevents most folks from shooting 100+ rounds every month or two. You are much better off to use a high quality HP from an established manufacture.

**fm2176** · 04-04-2009, 10:02 AM

I like the 185-grain Cor-Bon +P ammo for my Para. I've also used some Remington and Federal ammo. Federal 9BP 115-grain Hi-Shoks are my preferred 9mm ammo, while Silvertips or Hydra-Shok feed the .32s. Speer Gold Dots work great for my 9mms as well.

**Syme** · 04-05-2009, 10:57 AM

Yeah back to the OP.... I keep Golden Saber in my Glock 21. My 1911 isn't really for defensive use, so it just gets WWB or whatever other ball is cheapest. The P3AT gets Gold Dot and the snubnose gets Corbon DPX (110-gr. solid copper HP), since it's probably one of the most reliable expanders out of a 2" barrel.