Thread: short-barreled .45 ammo

I use Cor-Bon 165gr +P in all .45s that will feed it. At over 600 ft-lbs of muzzle energy it is nearly 2x as powerful as the 'legendary 230gr .45acp "hardball" GI load.

Originally Posted by JBodnar39

I recently purchased an S&W .45 auto with a 3-3/4" barrel that I load with 230gr hydroshocks. I wanted to know if anybody has any definative data on what loads consistenly expand at the lower velocity offered by the 3-3/4 barrel vs the standard 5" barrel (I hope my hydroshocks will)

Thanks in advance

I have heard that an early batch of the 230 grain Hydrashock was slightly defective and loaded to a lower than spec MV but it still consistently expanded when used in Panama.

That was industry scuttle butt in the early 90s; let me see if I can track down the guy who told me that and clarify.

Regards,

William

Originally Posted by M21Sniper

I use Cor-Bon 165gr +P in all .45s that will feed it. At over 600 ft-lbs of muzzle energy it is nearly 2x as powerful as the 'legendary 230gr .45acp "hardball" GI load.

M21,

I have no experience with that loading but it sounds HOT.

I tend to be a bit conservative when recommending carry ammo but have always been impressed with Remington's 185 grain +P .45 ACP loading.

The combination of ball spec ogive with a case cannelure resolves the problems that have plagued many commercial hollow point loads.

Of course, hot is as hot does. If I told you how many grains of Blue Dot we used to put under a Speer #4473 for shits and giggles in 5 inch 1911s and Ruger P90s, you would probably call me a liar .

Regards,

William

Originally Posted by Swift Sword

M21,

I have no experience with that loading but it sounds HOT.

I tend to be a bit conservative when recommending carry ammo but have always been impressed with Remington's 185 grain +P .45 ACP loading.

The combination of ball spec ogive with a case cannelure resolves the problems that have plagued many commercial hollow point loads.

Of course, hot is as hot does. If I told you how many grains of Blue Dot we used to put under a Speer #4473 for shits and giggles in 5 inch 1911s and Ruger P90s, you would probably call me a liar .

Regards,

William

Well i agree that the Remington .45ACP 185gr +P JHP is a FANTASTIC loading, and has the added benefit of feeding reliably in almost any good quality .45 handgun ever made. The 165gr Cor-Bon uses the highly agressive Sierra JHP, and is more prone to a failure to feed in M1911 pattern weapons, but in those that feed it, it is SERIOUSLY nasty stuff....about 20% more powerful than even the Remington 185gr +P!(just going from memory, i think the Rem stuff is about 530fpe and the Cor-Bon stuff is about 650fpe, but id check those figures if you want to be sure about the exact specifics)

IIRC,

The Corbon is 573 ftlbs of knockdown. The Remington is 534# and it worked great in my Officer's model. It was also extremely accurate at 25 yards with it. I also remember the slide slamming back awfully hard. You might want to consider changing the recoil springs to protect the weapon and also to improve reliability. I say the latter because it seems like the slide would occasionally close on an empty magazine because of the speed of the slide closing.