Kind of new to .45

[Rollo]

Well, Not really. I'm new to CARRYING a .45. My bedside gun is a Colt 1911 series 80 which I keep loaded with Speer gold dot 230 grain. my old carry piece was a S&W 908 which I loaded with 147 grain speer gold dots. Again, every thing worked fine. I just purchased a Taurus PT145 pro as a new carry piece and am a bit torn when it comes to ammo. being a light weight compact gun I expect a bit more recoil out of it then my 1911. Since shot placement is king and I belive that anything worth shooting once is worth shooting three times my prime concern when it comes to ammo is the accuracy of follow up shots.

From what I have heard 180g has less recoil then 230g. Seeing as this is a compact pistol less recoil sounds great in practice but what am I giving up in terms of performance going with the lighter bullet?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[varob]

Congratulations on the new gun.

I don't think I would go any smaller than 200 gr bullets.

[MoHawk]

I'm a 230g fan. I target 185g just because of the cost difference

[Munch]

Just make sure the 185s are good performers e.g. DPX.... Link below.

Cor-Bon DPX .45 ACP

Available here.

Ammunition To Go : 20rds - 45 ACP Corbon DPX 185gr. +P HP Ammo [DPX45185/20] - $32.49

[retsupt99]

I doubt that the dirtbag who receives two to the center of mass would be able to identify which one was 230gr...and which one was Speer GD 185gr. OMO

[JCooper]

I doubt that the dirtbag who receives two to the center of mass would be able to identify which one was 230gr...and which one was Speer GD 185gr. OMO

This.

I too prefer 230 but have a couple of mags of 180 golden sabre because the shop happened to be out of 230 and its not a religious affiliation I have with 230.

As far as recoil - uhm - try it out!? You should be shooting some SD ammo through your carry piece anyway. My guess is though that the energy is roughly equivalent between the two - the 180 is going to go faster but with less mass. So recoil difference is *probably* negligible.

[OldVet]

Ditto!

A miss with a 230 grn. isn't near as effective as a hit with a 185 grn. Anyone who thinks otherwise should shoot themselves in foot with each and then tell us which one was "ineffective." Try both at the range. Go with whichever shoots best in your gun.

[booyah]

Have you shot your 145 yet? Reason I ask is the slightly larger 24/7s recoil is really quite mild. It gets your attention, but its not at all hard to get back on target with full power 230s

[farronwolf]

Its going to cost you some money, but you really are going to have to shoot some of each type to find out if your gun has a preference between the two, and if you shoot the two any differently.

I would try to find some practice ammo that has the same type bullet shape as what you think you want to carry in the 185 thru 230 gr weight and shoot some to see if there is any noticable differnce in recoil or followup shots.

Then if you find you have a preference for one weight bullet, I would get some good proven SD in that weight and see if the gun will run it without problems. Then you should be good to go.

Good luck and enjoy your new carry piece

[bgriffin70]

How is everyone's experience with the DPX ammo? I've been a fan of the 165gr. Federal Hydroshocks, but I'm mighty tempted to move to the Corbon DPX. Those bullets look darn impressive in expansion!

Thoughts ???

[RebelRabbi]

Try the 185 Gold Dots, they are effective and shoot soft comparably.

[sigmanluke]

I also won't go under 200gr. I prefer the Speer GDHPs in 200+P

I have found this to be the "perfect" (used loosely) combination of size, speed, and energy. I have a friend who studies ammunition and ballistics, it is his life's work. He's been at it for over 40 years, he also carries the Speer GDHPs in 200+P.........I'm just sayin'

[BigRAM]

i have shot all types of ammo through my defender

magtech 230gr hardball
golden saber 185 gr jhp
winchester silvertips 185 gr
corbon 160gr jhp
speerdot 230gr jhp

and well the corbon felt recoil was less it was not much different from the other

the golden saber performers the best but the other are very close. the worst was the speer dot.

i have 3 mags and 1 has corbon and loaded in the gun second in the house main flooe loaded with golden saber and last one in vechile with winchester silvertips.

[alfack]

I tried some of the Hornady XTP 185 grainers and was surprised at how much difference there was in felt recoil, compared to the 230.

[hayzor]

Like you said - shot placement is KING.
Either round in the right spot is going to be effective. Either round in the "not so right" spot won't be a showstopper.

Shoot ammo that runs flawless in your gun and you can shoot accurately to hit the right spot.
The rest is trivial.