So all I concentrated on was the Federal HST because that just so happens to be the ammo I carry in all three of my .45 ACP business guns. I have two S&W 1911, one 5″ and one 4.25″, and of course the snubbie PM45 that has a 3.1″ tube.
You always have to wonder how these bullets perform. The reason why I carry the +P ammo in the Kahr is because it’s the ammo EVERYTHING runs well on, and when I shot a few mags of the hot stuff through the little gun when I first got it the recoil difference was noticeable, but only academically. If the gun went from a soft-shooting gun that was easy to get back on target to feeling like I was handling a live python going for my throat, I would have bought maybe some Speer Gold Dot 230 grain standard pressure loads. As it turns out the gun eats everything of good quality (the tight chamber on this gun is known to choke on steel-cased ammo, so I’ve never attempted to shoot that stuff, and it has gummed up pretty bad on reloads where the crimp might have been a bit off) so why not just load the same ammo into all the guns?
Still what does that short pipe do to the terminal performance. In Bobbie’s 3.75″ she was experiencing velocites slightly better than most factory Standard Pressure loads. I’m sure the half-inch of barrel is going to lose some velocity, but not a ton. That’s awesome, given that standard pressure loads have a lot more to lose.
Also what’s REALLY interesting is in both loads she didn’t see much difference in the 5″ up to the 6.5″. Makes me think that modern people aren’t loading .45s for the standard 5″ 1911 that was one ubiquitous in this caliber, but to the 4.5″ plastic guns that are now the go-to hater to toss 230 grain ball down range. **NO DUMMY SHE TESTED GUNS IN 3.75″ 5″ AND 6.5″! IT’S WEER’D WHO OWNS THE COMMANDER, NOT TAM!**
And in the end those of us who carry stumpy .45s aren’t dealing with huge loss of performance. That being said I am reminded of these ammo tests:
Now what Tam saw was a 100 FPS difference, and Andrew saw 200FPS, and with that drop in performance Andrew saw the round go from expanding to failing. Still his ammo was carbine ammo, and we’re ONLY talking pistols. I hope Federal took that into account, and I hope more I never find out either way.
“Makes me think that modern people aren’t loading .45s for the standard 5″ 1911…”
Really? Because the 5″ gun I tested seemed to wring most everything out of the cartridge. There was a ~100fps difference between 3.75″ and 5″. You think all that 100fps came in the first half inch of that inch-and-a-quarter?
Grahhh!!! My eyes crossed, between talking about my guns, and the guns you used suddenly a commander-length gun appeared in your review in my head.
Would have made sense, only your “Mid Length” gun was the 5″. OK now I need to edit that to make me sound deceptively less stupid!
Thanks for the save.
You might find this relevant Weerd.
I did some testing on some Fed White box on my 3″ Karr PM45, a 4″ 1911 and a 5″ S&W 1911.
Average velocities
3″ = 725 fps
4″ = 755 fps
5″ = 820 fps
So, if I told you I was now rocking a micro 45ACP, would you still love me ?
I’m not giving up the 357Sig (aka 9mm Fatass) but now there’s a true big bore in the EDC mix !
Why would I not love you? Tell me more about this gun!
Also I’m starting to warm to the .357 SIG now that I’m thinking about it not as a fatass 9×19 +P (which it is more powerful than) and a rimless short .38 Super, which is really a cool round that is stuck in the early 20th Century.
After swearing for years at my AMT380 Backup, I did the next stupidest thing and bought an incomplete AMT45 backup. Pieced it together and it runs like a champ.
Your 38 super analogy is a good one. I truly run the same bullet, powder type, and powder charge in my 357sig and 38super loadings.
And once upon a time, a 38super cartridge made it into a 357sig mag, and I didn’t notice it until I was reloading. It fireformed nicely, although the base remained at the smaller 38super size 🙂
I’ve shot an AMT45 Backup, and it was a POS. Of course that gun was made by AMT not the renowned gun wizard of York County!
You know they made an AMT Backup in .38 Super, right? 😉
Yes, and they made one in 357sig as well.
Balistically equivalent, I’d lean towards the bottleneck, esp in a system like that
I do believe that ammo is for a rifle. Hence why they developed critical defense ammo.
It is 100% designed for rifles.