[Smarshe]

I know this has been discussed before, but..

165g +P Pwerball?
230g Winchester JHP
Gold Dot Short Barrel?

Not that I can find any of it at the moment (I have some of the first two) but what runs the best in a short 1911. I'm not looking for expansion / penetration opinions. What is reliable?

 

[CURMUDGEON5]

Remington 230gr Golden Saber hollow-points; the nose of the bullet has a fat rounded shape around the cup that allows the round to feed into the breech properly. I practice with them regularly ...... never malfunction. Just remember to maintain a firm grip for that short, fast action or you'll get a stovepipe.

 

[finst3r]

Remington 230gr Golden Saber hollow-points; the nose of the bullet has a fat rounded shape around the cup that allows the round to feed into the breech properly. I practice with them regularly ...... never malfunction. Just remember to maintain a firm grip for that short, fast action or you'll get a stovepipe.

+1
I alternate between a Colt Defender <3"> and a Para Ord P-12 <3.5"> .
230gr Golden Saber is a great round.

 

[OD*]

3" 1911 what ammo is best.

That which works. :wink:

 

[bmcgilvray]

Profound in its simplicity is that answer.

 

[Cuda66]

OD nailed it.

My New Agent does fine with 230gr JHP's, but doesn't like 185's...but I know someone with a Defender that does fine with 185's.

In short, you'll need to find out for yourself.

As for the questions geared more towards effectiveness...well, I'll just beat Glockman to the pinch and say "When in doubt, go heavy".

 

[smolck]

The best round for me in my 3" Kimber is the below. Great mix of weight, velocity, and controlability (not a word).

 

[CDW4ME]

Assuming reliable feeding, I would be happy with most 230 gr. premium JHP ammo, Gold Dot, Ranger T, Hydra-Shok.
Heck, in 45 acp I would be okay with most regular 230 gr. JHP like Remington green box or Winchester white box, after all it is a 230 gr. 45 bullet.
I had a 3'' barrel 1911 in the past, here are chrono averages I got for 5 shots:
Remington 230 JHP @ 774 fps
Hydra-Shok 230 JHP @ 775 fps
Winchester Ranger T @ 814 fps

Edit: ammo can be obtained by looking here GunBot find .45 ACP ammo in stock

 

[coffeecup]

Just keep in mind that the bullet you are shooting starts out with more diameter than most smaller calibers have when expanded. Your choice should take into consideration penetration . That said, My 3" Springfield loves the Barnes DXPs in 185 gr. Standard velocity is enough--no real need for the +P loadings.

 

[SmokinFool]

That which works. :wink:

^^^Precisely this.^^^

I keep either GD short barrel or HSTs in my Ultra CDP but I have shot both of them enough to be confident in the pistol's reliability with these loads. The trick is narrowing down the choices to one or two that will function reliably in such a compact pistol. The biggest potential roadblock to reliability is the sharp angle of the feed ramp necessitated by the compact design. This sometimes causes wide mouthed bullets, and the FTX bullets from Hornady (the polymer plug can get stuck on the ramp) to get hung up on the ramp. Try a few different loads (when you can find them) to see what functions well in your pistol.

 

[bubbinator]

I shoot a Para Wart Hog( my BUG) and a Detonics Combat Master MkVI 3" with a variety of LE issue ammo because I had to qualify with them on standard APOST(AL Police Officer Standards and Training) courses of fire (50 rds). Fed 230+P Tactical, Fed HST 230gr+P, Speer Gold Dot 185 and 200gr +P,and Corbon 165gr+P JHP have all fed/functioned 100%. FMJ Ball feeds w/o issue as always. I used a Dremel Tool to polish both feed ramps to a mirror finish.