# Ammo question



## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

I have a Colt 1911 5" What would be the correct grain for this pistol?


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## DARK1 (Oct 4, 2014)

185- 230gr will work well for you, play with it for awhile and see what works best.


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## Jakthesoldier (Feb 1, 2015)

Depends. What are you doing? 

There is a decent range of weights for a .45. 

For hollow points, I'm a big fan of federal HST.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

The 1911 in 45acp was designed for 230gn but for slightly longer distances the lighter bullets may work better.


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## Stick (Sep 29, 2014)

I believe the "correct" load is a 230 grain hardball bullet at 860fps.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

At 12 yards and in, I doubt you'll see much difference.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

budgetprepp-n said:


> I have a Colt 1911 5" What would be the correct grain for this pistol?


230 grain period! If its an old colt then use ball rounds as the feed ramps were not designed for newfangled hollow points.

So is it a 1911 or a 1911-A1

What year?

This thread is useless without a pic of the firearm in question.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

All the above are correct. For self defense, personally I want the biggest hunk of lead possible going down range to stop the threat. I am a fan for 230 grain hollow points.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

I use 230 grain FMJ (aka Hard Ball) for range use.
For self defense I have 185 grain Winchester Silvertips and CorBon +P 230 grain JHP's.
I have found that simple cast lead 230 grain semi wad cutters feed just fine thru an unmodified Colt Government Model.

I have found that most feeding problems with my Colt brand 1911's can be attributed to cheap magazines.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

rice paddy daddy said:


> I use 230 grain FMJ (aka Hard Ball) for range use.
> For self defense I have 185 grain Winchester Silvertips and CorBon +P 230 grain JHP's.
> I have found that simple cast lead 230 grain semi wad cutters feed just fine thru an unmodified Colt Government Model.
> 
> I have found that most feeding problems with my Colt brand 1911's can be attributed to cheap magazines.


One of my prized possessions is a 1942 Colt 1911-A1 It was designed for use with ball rounds. I know you know this stuff but for fun and newbies I'll throw it out here.

Take any old 1911 or 1911-A1 and compare the slope of the feed ramp to a modern 1911 And the difference is easy to spot. Will my old 1911-A1 run hollow points ? Yes it will run some fairly well. Do I need to run hollow points for self defense in my old 1911?
Hell no! The ball rounds did just fine making people dead in the era that that firearm was designed. If you have a old 1911-A1 and you must run Hollow point I recommend "Gold dots" they run real nice.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

The two hollow point loads I mentioned above are what was available to me locally. I have never tried any others. I really prefer not to order online if I can help it. Sometimes that can't be helped, for example JHP's for my 44 Special belly gun. Actually, the only Gold Dots I have ever tried were some CCI 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (commonly called simply 22 magnum). And they work good!
Ammo manufacturers have made great strides in projectile design, so nowadays even the 9MM is a viable option, where once it was not.

But like ya say, Hawg, the 45 caliber, 235 grain hard ball has been an excellent round since it was designed in 1904.
History brief - the 45 ACP was designed to take the place of the 45 Colt. The 45 Colt was the most powerful handgun cartridge available from its inception in 1873 until the 357 magnum came out in 1935. The 45 ACP came very close to matching that power.:joyous:


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

rice paddy daddy said:


> The two hollow point loads I mentioned above are what was available to me locally. I have never tried any others. I really prefer not to order online if I can help it. Sometimes that can't be helped, for example JHP's for my 44 Special belly gun. Actually, the only Gold Dots I have ever tried were some CCI 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (commonly called simply 22 magnum). And they work good!
> *Ammo manufacturers have made great strides in projectile design*, so nowadays even the 9MM is a viable option, where once it was not.
> 
> But like ya say, Hawg, the 45 caliber, 235 grain hard ball has been an excellent round since it was designed in 1904.
> History brief - the 45 ACP was designed to take the place of the 45 Colt. The 45 Colt was the most powerful handgun cartridge available from its inception in 1873 until the 357 magnum came out in 1935. The 45 ACP came very close to matching that power.:joyous:


The Gold dots are available in my area at the police supply gun stores and other fine gun stores. Me too I don't order any ammo online. I agree ammo design has greatly improved and its easier now to find JHP's that will run in older firearms. Hint Look for the Hollow point rounds that closely resemble the old ball rounds as far as the shape and more than likely you'll do OK with them.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

rice paddy daddy said:


> I use 230 grain FMJ (aka Hard Ball) for range use.
> For self defense I have 185 grain Winchester Silvertips and CorBon +P 230 grain JHP's.
> I have found that simple cast lead 230 grain semi wad cutters feed just fine thru an unmodified Colt Government Model.
> 
> I have found that most feeding problems with my Colt brand 1911's can be attributed to cheap magazines.


RPD is right, most 1911 problems are mag related. 
I use Wilson Combat SS mags. only, I do have about a 100 new USGI mags in reserve.
They will feed everything from round nose ball to SWC's with no problems.
I have throated every 1911 I own, the sharp corners would sometimes catch an edge of a case mouth.
The throating eliminates the probability.


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## Stick (Sep 29, 2014)

I think that .45 ACP replaced the .38, which had replaced the .45 Colt, but due to lack of stopping power (notably in the Philippines), returned to .45 Colt, which was THEN replaced by the .45 ACP. I'm pretty sure, but then my memory is not what it used to be for stuff learned fifty years ago or more. Hehe.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Stick said:


> I think that .45 ACP replaced the .38, which had replaced the .45 Colt, but due to lack of stopping power (notably in the Philippines), returned to .45 Colt, which was THEN replaced by the .45 ACP. I'm pretty sure, but then my memory is not what it used to be for stuff learned fifty years ago or more. Hehe.


The US Army tried to replace the 45 Colt Single Action Army with a double action revolver. Colt made the Lightning, but for some reason it never "took off".
By the Philippine-American War of the 1890's, the service handgun fired the 38 Colt. It was found to be less than effective against determined aggressors, so the 45 Colt was brought back out of retirement.
Shortly after, the Army began testing a new round, with a new auto loading pistol to fire it. The testing protocol used would cause modern liberal's brains to explode - used to study effectiveness were dead human bodies, and live cows at the Chicago stockyards.
The result was the Colt Model 1905 pistol firing the 45 ACP round. ACP standing for Automatic Colt Pistol.
The 45 ACP was not quite as powerful as the 45 Colt, but close enough for government work.

FWIW - the 45 Colt is my favorite handgun cartridge, especially when fired from a single action revolver. I just have absolutely no attraction to modern polymer pistols firing 9MM rounds. Yes, I agree they work just fine. But laying a Single Action Army next to a Glock is like parking a Ferrari next to a dump truck. One is beautiful and elegant, the other is strictly functional.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

This gun was originally developed for 230 gr FMJ/Ball ammunition at 850 fps as per mil-spec. Your gun should digest a wide variety of ammunition from 185gr to 260 gr at standard power loads if the ammunition will feed through the gun. Many flat point and hollow point bullets will hang up on the feed ramp and occasionally to often times misfeed. That being said before you settle on defensive ammunition I would suggest blasting through several 50 round boxes of it before settling down on that as your defense ammunition. Unless your gun has been designed to handle +P loads I would keep the use of that type ammunition to a minimum to prevent pre mature wear and tear on it.

I wasn't a 1911 fanboy until I shot a nice one (nice being defined as one not in my armory that had been shot and beat all to hell), by the end of the week, I had one! The more I shoot that bad boy the more convinced I am its a professional working mans gun.


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## Salt-N-Pepper (Aug 18, 2014)

Jakthesoldier said:


> For hollow points, I'm a big fan of federal HST.


Good choice!


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## alterego (Jan 27, 2013)

You clowns all suck. I do not have a 1911 and I was in the store yesterday all lascivious lusting after its luster.





Want.


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## Quip (Nov 8, 2012)

I can't speak to 1911's as my koolaid of choice is Hk for my 45's.

Regarding the ammo. Federal's ball ammo from Walmart is what I mostly store and practice with, 230gr. Avoid the aluminum cased stuff. For edc I like the Winchester Ranger Talons or the +p version. Both are 230gr. Those I do buy online because no store in a 60 mile radius carries them and if you buy by the 1/2 or full case the cost isn't nearly as bad as 1 box here, 2 boxes there. These things are just plain nasty. (I do still have some of the original Black Talons for my .44 ).

Avoid the Winchester White box if you can. I believe that to be some of the worst ammo out there. Just my opinion on those. It could be just that we had bad luck with all of 9, .40. and 45's we tried. Every time we get something new we get 8-9 different types of ammo to find out before hand if the weapon just doesn't like brand_______.


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## budgetprepp-n (Apr 7, 2013)

hawgrider said:


> 230 grain period! If its an old colt then use ball rounds as the feed ramps were not designed for newfangled hollow points.
> 
> So is it a 1911 or a 1911-A1
> 
> ...


Ok this is the gun we are talking about - Love this thing


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

budgetprepp-n said:


> Ok this is the gun we are talking about - Love this thing


Very Nice!

Much newer than the one I play with. Here is mine and a couple other pony's right before the boat capsized on my spring fishing trip.

You will probably have a wider variety of hollow points that will run thru yours than mine.
Mine was a 1942 1911-A1


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

budgetprepp-n said:


> Ok this is the gun we are talking about - Love this thing


Nice.
Remember, a gen-u-wine Colt 1911A1 needs about 200 rounds through it to break it in and smooth it out.
Stick with good magazines - factory Colt, Chip McCormick, and Novac are the ones I'm familiar with, I'm sure there are a couple others.
Avoid the $7.99 magazines.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

rice paddy daddy said:


> Nice.
> Remember, a gen-u-wine Colt 1911A1 needs about 200 rounds through it to break it in and smooth it out.
> Stick with good magazines - factory Colt, Chip McCormick, and Novac are the ones I'm familiar with, I'm sure there are a couple others.
> Avoid the $7.99 magazines.


I run the shooting star 8 rounders from McCormick flat base plate. They work great and it gives me a extra round.... one for good measure. Also run the original factory Colt 7 rounders no issues.

Edited: Also note My old war horse is a frankin Colt that more than likely saw some service time. Still runs like a top though.


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## dsdmmat (Nov 9, 2012)

budgetprepp-n said:


> Ok this is the gun we are talking about - Love this thing


Beautiful piece of art work. Like everyone else has said 230 grain round nose or hardball is considered the perfect round for it. If you want to shoot lead there is also 230 grain round nose loads that should work.

Most of the time when you get into feeding problems it is with the semi wad cutter or a really aggressive conical shaped bullet. The magazine feed lips on the original GI magazines were not designed to feed semi wad cutters but a majority of the newer and after market mags have had the feed lip geometry changed to accommodate different bullet designs. Your feed ramp angle may have to be changed or polished to feed them as well.

If you are trusting your life to it and want to shoot hollow points, I would recommend shooting at least a box of your choice through it to make sure there are no feed issues. If there is even one you know that is not the kind your gun likes and need to try a different brand/style or shaped bullet.

I sold off my Colts years ago. Now my 1911 collection consist of Springfields, Paras and a Sig. All but one is chambered in 45 ACP the outlier is chambered in 40 S&W.


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## alterego (Jan 27, 2013)

budgetprepp-n said:


> Ok this is the gun we are talking about - Love this thing


Moderator please take down this post. Pornigraphic nature.


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## TacticalCanuck (Aug 5, 2014)

230 grain projectile. Lighten up the powder a touch with 200 and less. I just tamed my 45 and got the crimp right. Good luck and have fun!


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

I came across this history lesson today, about the Colt Model 1905, the forerunner of the 1911.

Gun Review: Colt Model 1905

Interesting read.


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