Best .45 ACP bullets/ammo for self defense?

Dux-R-Us · Mar 11, 2012

We have just had an excellent discussion of which .45 ACP pistol for concealed carry in the gun section. It seems to me so many of our threads are about the guns and not the bullets. In a self defense situation, the bullet would be (or is) the item to do the real work of eliminating the threat.

Having written that, what are the best choices of available ammo for CCW?

I always think this is harder to answer than for hunting bullets since we get to see more examples of what the bullets do to deer and other animals. But with a pistol, very people get that kind of experience. There would be two sides of experience: the delivering and the receiving.

Is there any imperical data to draw from? (No Youtube video of watermelons blowing up!)

Maybe the best thing is to hang out at an ER (or morgue) in OKC or other major metropolitan area??

Morosely yours,

K

Spiff · Mar 11, 2012

Good stuff in here. http://ammo.ar15.com/project/Self_Defense_Ammo_FAQ/index.htm

I've got a pile of 230gr HST, meself.

Joel Clouse · Mar 11, 2012

I run Hornady TAP and XTP 230gr in all of mine. I have used them to "dispatch" various critters - all four legged - and they have always done plenty good.

If anything I'm guilty of not shooting the loads I carry enough, it's just too costly. Never had a problem with Hornady when I have run them through.

I did reload a bunch of XTPs for a fraction of the cost and great results, but then was advised not to carry handloads. Some attorney might argue I loaded the rounds with "great vengence and furious anger" to kill somebody more dead...Jackass lawyers...

poopgiggle · Mar 11, 2012

I have no military or law enforcement experience. I've just read some books and Internet. With that said, this is my understanding of the situation:

Empirical data on what bullets do to people is hard to come by. You obviously don't want to shoot people under laboratory conditions so the closest you can do in a lab is to shoot ballistic gelatin, which is an OK simulation of living tissue but it's not perfect. The other method is to perform a statistical analysis of gunfight reports, which isn't a great method because you're relying on people to remember a traumatic event accurately and there are a ton of variables that you can't really control for.

That said, the major ammunition manufacturers have all gotten a pretty good handle on what works by now so any modern bullet (Gold Dots and later) from Federal, Winchester, Speer, etc should work. Just stay away from gimmick ammo like frangible bullets or EXTREME SHOKKKK or whatever and make sure it feeds in your gun.

Comedy option: IT'S 45 JUST LOAD FMJ THEY ALL FALL TO HARDBALL

dennishoddy · Mar 11, 2012

I'm on my phone, so I can't post links, but I've hunted game with a pistol as much as a rifle. Small game to big game.
.22RF to 30.06
I've done thousands of autopsies on game from rabbits to elk. There is a huge difference in how a bullet performs once it contacts flesh.
Back in the day, when rabbits were abundant, we started out with Hp .22 rounds. Killed them quick, but destroyed all of the meat. Round nose killed them but they could still make it back to the brush pile, where they were lost.
Bigger game. Sierra 165 grain game king Hp drops em' in their tracks with a marginal shot. 168 grain soft point kills them, but doesn't cause enough internal damage to put them down instantly.
The deer that have been taken with a pistol have been in .45acp, 44 mag, and .45 LC.
All using Speer gold dots. They do a great job on animals. I'm sure they would do a great job on humans.

TroyF · Mar 12, 2012

Ive been to every ballistic workshop out there, Remington, Speer/ATK, Hornady, etc. So as someone who gets to shoot all sorts of T&E defensive ammo for all of the big makers lemme say this:

They all perform pretty similar. Nothing out there is truly head and shoulders above the rest. The key is finding one that will function reliably in your gun.

So the answer is this....pick a brand that feeds, that you shoot well, and sleep sound at night.