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I did a quick search of the forum to find out if this question had been asked before. If it has, then apologies but I did not find any previous thread.

Up until now my day to day carry weapon has been 9mm. I am now considering switching to my 1911 (once I get a better holster). When I do make the switch I would be interested in opinions as to whether .45acp expanding bullets are really necessary. I don't want this thread to become another 9mm vs 45 bash and I accept the consensus that with 9mm expansion is the way to go. However with 45acp is that really needed. the projectile already makes a bigger hole and carries more mass but with it's lower velocity does an expanding bullet risk an undesirable reduction in penetration.

Put simply will ball rounds be good enough for defence, while reducing the risk of a miss-feed that can happen with HP.

Do you have issues shooting HP in your 1911?

I would not use ball ammo for defense in any gun. There are those with much more experience with 45 ACP, and 1911, in general, who can point you in the right direction for good defensive ammo. FMJ 45, even at lower velocity, will not expand if it doesn't strike bone or something dense enough to slow it down. It is not just the expansion you want, but the expending of energy inside the body cavity, to prevent over penetration. JMHO

I agree with Jusme. I've carried a 1911 for years and always use HP (and train with my carry ammo as well).

In short, if I have to use my weapon, I want the bullet to expend its energy in the target. I am not a LEO and my training practice involves people: not cars, not shooting through cover, and not dealing with multiple assailants. I sincerely work to avoid dangerous situations and have no pride if I can run away.

Choose your EDC based on your needs and something you can use with confidence and certainty. The only problem I have with the 1911 is failure to feed if I get lazy and limp wrist the gun. Hope that helps.

Happy Trails!
Nick

I would use a HP if possible BUT I have seen 1st hand what ball ammo will do and it will work very well.

I spoke to a gentleman who used ball ammo in Vietnam Nam. He said it worked fine.

WTR wrote:I spoke to a gentleman who used ball ammo in Vietnam Nam. He said it worked fine.

I can positively confirm yes it did work very well, never had any complaints

Better, most likely. Necessary, probably not. Lots of things to consider but I would use whatever feeds reliably in your carry gun and whatever you can most quickly and accurately put on target.

Given the fact that handguns in general aren't great people stoppers why wouldn't you want the best ammo you could shoot? fmj may work fine sometimes but HP's will perform better. Even if they fail to expand, they are still fmj-ish.

There are many good HP's that penetrate well so you just need to do a little research and see which ones your gun shoots well.

If I ever have to shoot, I want every possible advantage (regardless of how big or small) to be in my favor. So I shoot HP ammo in my 45's and 9mm's

With today's modern HPs, I carry them for every percentage of advantage I can gain.

I would use Federal HST's if I carried a 45. I used to carry a 1911 and and also a glock 30 from time to time when I wasn't carrying glock 19. When I carried a 45 that's what I found fed very reliably in my guns. It's close to ball ammo shape and I never had a hang up. I quit carrying 45 and sold them to stay with 9mm. With today's modern HP's in 9mm they are plenty sufficient especially in +P configuration. In the weight that you have in a standard 7-8 round steel 1911 that weighs over 40 ounces loaded you can carry a glock 19 or M&p C for less than 30 ounces loaded and have twice the capacity and less recoil which means faster follow up shots. Don't get me wrong I know 45 has some good umph to it but I just prefer 9mm for carry.

AndyC wrote:

Noggin wrote:However with 45acp is that really needed. the projectile already makes a bigger hole and carries more mass but with it's lower velocity does an expanding bullet risk an undesirable reduction in penetration.

Put simply will ball rounds be good enough for defence, while reducing the risk of a miss-feed that can happen with HP.

Sounds like you've made up your mind - go for it, then. Me, I want every edge I can get.

I would be more concerned about over penetration than expansion. After all, the shooter is responsible for the entire flight of the bullet.

How about both expansion and proper penetration?

Just make sure they run in your gun.

Screenshot from Lucky Gunner

Remington 185 gr Golden Saber +P for the win!