While at the gunshow last weekend, I was looking for some hollow point / defense ammo for my 1911 because I'm considering it as my carry. I found some Aguila IQ ammo at a pretty reasonable price. 117gr HP box of 20 for $9.95 total price.
Today, I went to the range (indoor) to get some practice with it (Kimber ProCarryII SS) and my new snubby. I was firing away with various types of FMJ and shooting OK, for me that is. At 7 yds getting mostly in a 6 inch area and making a big hole in the center. A few shots went astray, but I need to work on my concentration. So not bad. Well, I decided that was a good time to try the IQs. To get an idea how accurate they were I shot at the head of the silhoutte. The first thing I noticed was that it was much louder than the FMJs then the huge flash, about the size of a basketball, or so it appeared. And no difference in recoil, maybe even less.
A good shot to the head. The next 6 shots nestled in comfortably with the first one, within a 2 inch spacing with no paper between the holes.
First, can a bullet improve my shooting that much? Second, will it harm my gun? Seems to good to be true. What's up? I'd like to know 'cause I'm going to get more of it if I can find it.
Shooting Aguila IQ .45
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longtooth
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Never heard of that one. 
Come on SteveD, We need an ammo & balistics expert.
Come on SteveD, We need an ammo & balistics expert.
Carry 24-7 or guess right.
CHL Instructor. http://www.pdtraining.us" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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MoJo
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The lighter bullet does recoil less thus the possibility of better accuracy. I shot a box of IQ ammo a while back and wasn't impressed. The bullet's performance in ballistic gelatin is spotty at best. I would stick with something like, Gold Dot, Golden Saber, Hydrashock, DPX, or SXT for self defense. Just my $.02 - - - YMMV.
"To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
George Mason
Texas and Louisiana CHL Instructor, NRA Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Personal Protection and Refuse To Be A Victim Instructor
George Mason
Texas and Louisiana CHL Instructor, NRA Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Personal Protection and Refuse To Be A Victim Instructor
Aguila IQ's a fun, but I'd save them for the range. Your pistol will not be harmed from them. I think they recoil lighter across the board - I tried a few boxes in 9, .40, and .45. The audible report is definitely different than anything else I've shot. The muzzle flash is awesome. Someone always comments on the brilliant white flash when they see me shooting them. MoJo is right - ballistics are weak, although probably better than most frangibles. I wouldn't count on more than 6". Definitely not suitable for carry in my book. Still, though - tons of fun and the price ain't bad!
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longtooth
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+1. MoJo. All fresh out of the WR & any new to carry would do well to mark the ammo noted above. I would bet my last pair of suspenders those names fill 90%+ of the carry weapons on this forum. Cover 100% of mine. Good post. One us old timers take for granted.MoJo wrote:The lighter bullet does recoil less thus the possibility of better accuracy. I shot a box of IQ ammo a while back and wasn't impressed. The bullet's performance in ballistic gelatin is spotty at best. I would stick with something like, Gold Dot, Golden Saber, Hydrashock, DPX, or SXT for self defense. Just my $.02 - - - YMMV.
Carry 24-7 or guess right.
CHL Instructor. http://www.pdtraining.us" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Houston1944
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MoJo
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VPVenus Pax wrote:I'm a bit different. (Maybe I need to read the ballistics tests.) I just carry cheap brown bear hollow points in my .380.
Please reconsider your choice of self defense ammo - - - Brown Bear is fine for practice and target shooting. Isn't your well being worth the cost of a box of premium ammo for carry? The .380 is marginal as a self defense round at best, why limit it's capabilities with inferior ammunition?
"To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them."
George Mason
Texas and Louisiana CHL Instructor, NRA Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Personal Protection and Refuse To Be A Victim Instructor
George Mason
Texas and Louisiana CHL Instructor, NRA Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun, Personal Protection and Refuse To Be A Victim Instructor
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Stephen A. Camp
Hello. I've posted a link with observations primarily of the 9mm Aguila IQ, but some on the .45:
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Aguila.htm
Since that was written, I've tried it in .45 ACP. From a 4 1/4" Commander, the 117-gr. Aguila averaged 1410 ft/sec, but with an 80 ft/sec extreme spread in velocity, which resulted in a standard deviation of 30 ft/sec for ten shots. From a 5" Kimber, it averaged 1441 ft/sec with an extreme spread of 102 ft/sec and a standard deviation of 33 ft/sec.
I found the stuff to expand/break up erratically.
Best.
http://www.hipowersandhandguns.com/Aguila.htm
Since that was written, I've tried it in .45 ACP. From a 4 1/4" Commander, the 117-gr. Aguila averaged 1410 ft/sec, but with an 80 ft/sec extreme spread in velocity, which resulted in a standard deviation of 30 ft/sec for ten shots. From a 5" Kimber, it averaged 1441 ft/sec with an extreme spread of 102 ft/sec and a standard deviation of 33 ft/sec.
I found the stuff to expand/break up erratically.
Best.