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Recently I posted a similar piece about 9mm. My intent was to find out what the difference in delivered energy was between common bullet weights from different common barrel lengths. Is there a reason 185gr, 200gr, and 230gr all simultaneously exist? What are we gaining or losing with a non-standard barrel length?
Remember, when Browning created 45acp his task was to modernize 45 Colt using smokeless powder to fit a shorter case, with an end result of a 230gr projectile moving about 850fps from a 5" barrel. While the 1911 is credited with two world wars, that projectile was replicating performance developed in the 19th century!
The concept was to find the same branded load from the same manufacturer in order to minimize chances of a specialization. For example it's possible that Federal's HST's are best in one weight, but not another, or not available in all weights, so I didn't want to mix manufacturer or brand type. For 9mm I was able to accomplish this with Sig's Elite Defense. Since I was already ordering from Sig I shopped their 45acp offerings and got close.
185gr Sig Elite Performance Ammunition $59.99/50 direct from Sig
200gr Sig Elite Performance Ammunition $59.99/50 direct from Sig
230gr Sig Elite Defense $59.99/50 direct from Sig
Sig did not sponsor this article in any way, I purchased this ammunition at full retail.
All three loads use Sig V-Crown projectiles, what the difference is in powders we do not know. For barrel lengths the Springfield XDm 3.8", Bersa B1911 5", and Extar EP45 6.5" were chosen.
Diclaimers /Known Flaws
It would be unfair to see or use these results as an absolute. They do get us started in a direction and should be used as a general guideline for your own deeper exploration. Below is a list of known flaws or factors you should consider before taking this (or any) ammo test as an absolute.
Altitude and Temperature play a role. These results were obtained at 200' elevation and 80f.
Results are from an average velocity of five shots, measured at 7 yards. A higher round count from multiple production lots would yield fairer results, but also require significantly more time and funding.
While many loads offer the same projectile weights, some are loaded specifically for certain barrel lengths. SAAMI specifies a 5" barrel for 45acp loading, but there are specialty loads out there.
This test was only one branding of one manufacturer. It is possible others might have different results like we saw in the multi-load test seen HERE.
This test shows us energy delivered, not terminal performance. It is possible a bullet causes more damage with less energy or the opposite, but since there are too many variable to fairly test that we're sticking to the one thing we can fairly measure: energy.
This test uses the common bullet weights of 185gr, 200gr, and 230gr. Other weights, as we've seen, will have different results, some of which counter results seen here.
Springfield XDm 3.8" was chosen to represent the short end of the stick. I carried this gun long before I understood anything about ballistics and it wasn't until a 4" 9mm was hitting bowling pins harder than I could that I realized caliber isn't everything.
The 3.8" barrel really shows us what happens with 45acp when fired from a sub-optimal barrel. The 230gr load barely met low 9mm energy levels; a waste when considering the increased weight and cost with decreased capacity.
Bersa B1911 5" represents the classic, not only as a 1911, but more importantly the barrel length around which 45acp ammunition is primarily developed. This barrel length was once the standard but may now be considered "too much" for carry by some. That does not, however change the fact that this is the intended barrel length for the caliber.
Here we see 230gr as it was intended. We also see that modern lighter bullets moving faster offer real benefits. The 185gr hit harder than some 10mm loads.
Extar EP45 with it's 6.5" barrel is included because this firearm made me reconsider the entire caliber. Many have moved away from 45acp because it costs more, weighs more, and gives less capacity in the same amount of space than 9mm. For a home defense or truck gun however most of those factors don't matter aside from the cost of practice ammunition.
The EP45 really showed us what a little extra barrel can do for 45acp. The weakest from the Extar practically matched the best we saw out of the 3.8" XDm.
What Can We Conclude? There are a few take aways from this data that I found interesting:
A short 45acp can be weaker than a good 4"+ 9mm.
45acp from the right barrel length, with modern ammunition is a serious load of energy (Extar EP45 with 185gr)
Browning's original 230gr accomplished the task of recreating 45 Colt in a smaller, auto-loading cartridge, but ballistic science has advanced a lot since then. It seems lighter and faster 185gr is the way if you want to deliver more energy on target.
Despite being an old cartridge replicating an even older cartrdige, modern ammunition can certainly offer good effectiveness.
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