powerball for 1911s

[charlie]

Has anyone tried an ammo called Powerball? I understand it has a bb or something similiar in the nose. The ads say the bb makes for more reliable feeding as the nose configuration is rounded like hardball.

Also, there is supposed to be another style ammo on the market that has a rounded nose similar to 45 hardball. It too is supposed to be more reliable than hollowpoints. The nose is supposed to collapse into some sort of expanding mode upon impact.

Any comments on the above two rounds?

I have one 1911 (colt defender) that is troublesome and three 1911s (2 fullsize and 1 officer)that function reliably with HPs.

The defender is only reliable with hardball. I've read that the short barrelled 1911s are best loaded with hardball and don't function well with hollowpoints because of a shorter slide cycle.

It's my hope to find something, not too expensive, that has a rounded nose for reliabiity and will expand.

Any feedback is appreciated.

[bauerdj]

I have a 3" barrel Rock Island Compact 1911 that is 100% reliablewith both hollow point (Winchester white box 230 GR JHP) and hardball. It did take about 100 - 150 rds to break in before it started to like the HP's, was ok with hardball out of the box.

I do find the extra weight over the G36 I hav been using bothers my arthritic hip though - guess I need to try some different holsters.

Dave B.

[txinvestigator]

Has anyone tried an ammo called Powerball? I understand it has a bb or something similiar in the nose. The ads say the bb makes for more reliable feeding as the nose configuration is rounded like hardball.

Also, there is supposed to be another style ammo on the market that has a rounded nose similar to 45 hardball. It too is supposed to be more reliable than hollowpoints. The nose is supposed to collapse into some sort of expanding mode upon impact.

Any comments on the above two rounds?

I have one 1911 (colt defender) that is troublesome and three 1911s (2 fullsize and 1 officer)that function reliably with HPs.

The defender is only reliable with hardball. I've read that the short barrelled 1911s are best loaded with hardball and don't function well with hollowpoints because of a shorter slide cycle.

It's my hope to find something, not too expensive, that has a rounded nose for reliabiity and will expand.

Any feedback is appreciated.

The amo is made by Corbon, and it is called Pow'rBall. Click on the link, select "products" and scroll down to it. http://www.corbon.com/

I have heard of it and I would certainly try it for a gun that would not feed HP.

[Johnny]

I'm not a 1911 expert by any means, more of a hobbyist, but if a gun won't reliably feed good quality JHPs, something isn't right. I could see a shorite having serious issues with a severely truncated type of JHP, but a hollowpoint like an SXT or probably a HydraShok should work fine. I am curious to know just exactly how it is jamming. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the cartridge is coming up the breechface, and then the nose of the bullet is smacking square into the barrel ramp and stopping dead right there.

Shorties do have all kinds of wacky feeding and RTB problems because of their short length. The problem isn't so much the length of the cycle (which isn't really that different), but rather the very steep angle of the barrel at linkdown. If you think about it, the angle between the muzzle and the throat on a government length gun is fairly shallow. Shorten up the available length by 35% for an officer's model (or even more for an ultra-compact), and you're getting into very steep barrel territory. As a result, if the barrel ramp and chamber throat are not carefully machined, the cartridge will not glide into the chamber. Steepen up the barrel ramp too much, and it stops dead. Shallow it out too much, and it will chamber and fire, but a lack of case support will leave you searching for your fingers. Compound that with the possibility of an extractor or breechface problem at the tail end, and it's a rather tricky procedure to get a cartridge in there at all.

The FMJ hollowpoint ammo you mentioned comes from Federal. It is basically a wadcutter HP that is filled with silicone and placed inside a standard hardball jacket. There are, however, significant problems. It should feed more reliably, and Federal makes quality ammo that goes bang every time. The issue is the way that the round expands. Normal HPs expand when the edges of the cavity are dragged open by resistance from the fluid they are penetrating (that's WAY oversimplified, but you get the idea). This gives good expansion like an SXT. Expanding FMJ rounds, by contrast, expand by the collapse of the nose of the bullet and the extrusion of the silicone filler through the fissures in the collapsing jacket. It doesn't expand with the "musrooming" effect we're familiar with. The problem this creates is that the round will begin to expand very quickly upon impact, and will dump all of its energy very early. Basically, the round becomes a .70 caliber slug at .45 velocity within the first inch of the target. This, of course, completely ruins any chance of good penetration. (it's actually more complex than that, but that's as much as I can understand without going back to college for a physics degree) Add in a bone structure, thick muscle tissue, or a high degree of deflection, and you end up with a round that will not penetrate deep enough to stop anybody thicker than a bean pole. A few police departments went to this new round to alleviate feeding problems with JHPs, but were forced to quickly abandon the round when it was discovered that a hefty leather jacket was almost as good as kevlar.

IMO, we should get your pistol running with a quality JHP instead of switching to some exotic ammo. I will be happy to give you any advice I can, and then to refer you to smarter men than me when I give up in frustration.

[MoJo]

I have used some Pow'RBall in 40 S&W I was impressed with it's performance but, it didn't shoot to the sights on my gun so I went with something else. The other loading you are referring to is Federal EFMJ (expanding full metal jacket) It's an OK load if you can't carry hollow points. Of the two, I'd pick Pow'RBall because of it's almost 100% reliable expansion.

[G.C.Montgomery]

...Expanding FMJ rounds, by contrast, expand by the collapse of the nose of the bullet and the extrusion of the silicone filler through the fissures in the collapsing jacket...

Federal's EFMJ round really isn't comparable to the Pow'rBall. Their construction is totally different. EFMJ, is as you described...Just a thin, perforated jacket over a silicone ball with a wadcutter behind it. Jacket seperation and poor expansion are common issues with this round. The EFMJ has pretty much been a marketing failure and did not perform as hoped. Having said that, I'm not going to stand in front of an EFMJ, because my undertanding is it's performance is simlar to plain hardball with respect to penetration into softer tissues.

The Pow'rBall bullet is MUCH more akin to a "ballistic tip" rifle bullet than it is Federal's EFMJ. Pow'rBall features a traditional hollowpoint with the familiar "ball" from the Glazer Safety Slug in it's nose. As is the case in the rifle bullets, the ball promotes smoother feeding and intiates expansion. It's expansion isn't spectacular but it's not quite the limp noodle Federal's EFMJ round has turned out to be in that area. Pow'rbBall's performance as far as wound channels, penetration, etc is more like that of many bullets designed in the late 80's to early 90's like Federal's own HydraShok.

I've never seen a test or evidence to suggest the Pow'rBall round would easily stop in a heavy leather jacket as I have seen in tests of Federal's EFMJ round. I can't say that wouldn't happen with any bullet. Depending on the velocity and bullet constuction, I suppose there are conditions in which any bullet might stop in a heavy leather jacket.. Having said that, all the evidence and testing I'm familiar with say that Pow'rBall is a good choice for guns that don't feed hollowpoints well.

When I carried my Commaders, I tried both Pow'rBall and EFMJ. I chose Pow'rBall because felt noticeably smoother when feeding. A friend also did some informal testing on feral hogs in a place that shall remain nameless and found the Pow'rBall gave better, more consistent results which moved me more toward Pow'rBall. But I don't carry my Commanders anymore and I use Gold Dot for carry in all my carry guns these days, including my Government Models.

[charlie]

Thanks for all of your responses. This site is a valuable source of information. Thanks Charles for your hard work in putting it together!

I'll try the pow-r-ball. I wish it wasn't so expensive.

The Defender had one problem that contributed to the ftf situation. The mag lock would'nt holt the mag flush with the bottom surface. The mags would protrude about a 1/16th or so. Vandenberg says this was not uncommen on the Defenders. He fixed it and it improved the ftf problem.

I'm still getting about 1-2 ftf per 100 rounds which seems excessive to me. I'm going to try new mag springs next.

I love the Defender. It's light and easy to conceal and shoot. I just feel uneasy with the occaisional hiccup.

[Greybeard]

I've tried some of the Powerball in guns rangeing from 9s to 45s and had no manlfunctions whatsoever.

However, the old budget did not permit the requisite "200 round minimum with no malfunctions" for me to rely on it for daily carry purposes. Ranger +P+ and Gold Dots ain't cheap either, but they run fine in my guns and are more affordable for the "200-round assurity tests".