Five different .45 ACP handguns - Remington MC 230gr ammo - velocity results

[The Heretic]

I was messing around online and wound up looking at .45 ACP v .45 Super and decided to go out in the yard and get some real world velocity number from five different .45 ACP handguns:

Remington 230gr MC/FMJ ammo L45AP4

S&W 325 Thunder Ranch 4" barrel - 766 fps

Glock 21 with Scheumann hybrid comp 4.6" barrel - 665 fps

SIG 227 Carry 3.9" barrel - 703 fps

SIG 227 Nitron 4.4" barrel - 740 fps

SIG 227 Tactical 4.9" barrel - 784 fps

Conclusions:

1) The revolver surprised me; It did better than all the others except the Tactical 227

2) That Remington MC ammo is weak.

Maybe another day I will repeat the test with better ammo.

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[Tinman357]

Try Federal HST 230gn for the win. After all my research it's consistently better in short barrel and standard 5".

My standard load except if I carry in the woods. Then Underwood hardcast get loaded up.

 

[The Heretic]

Try Federal HST 230gn for the win. After all my research it's consistently better in short barrel and standard 5".

My standard load except if I carry in the woods. Then Underwood hardcast get loaded up.

The ammo I have in stock:

230 gr FMJ - mostly Remington MC - I have some Winchester white box I will try to compare it to the Remington
185 gr Golden Saber
230 gr Federal Classic JHP
Federal HST 230gr +P

 

[kmk1012]

I too am shocked about the lack of velocity loss from the cylinder gap on the shorter barrel revolver. One has to wonder if a larger barrel diameter or forcing cone provides less resistance and thus leading to higher velocities. I'm probably wrong but my mind sometimes works outside of the box.

 

[The Heretic]

I too am shocked about the lack of velocity loss from the cylinder gap on the shorter barrel revolver. One has to wonder if a larger barrel diameter or forcing cone provides less resistance and thus leading to higher velocities. I'm probably wrong but my mind sometimes works outside of the box.

I will dig out some other ammo and see how it does. I will probably narrow the guns down to the revolver, the Glock and one of the SIGs

 

[kmk1012]

I will dig out some other ammo and see how it does. I will probably narrow the guns down to the revolver, the Glock and one of the SIGs

It could get real interesting if you reload and use a variety of powders. If you are so inclined, I have, let's say, a "selection" of them, LOL you'd be welcome to use. I don't have time to do fun stuff like this and always enjoy hearing about it. Thank you for putting the work in and sharing.

 

[The Heretic]

Two more ball/FMJ ammo - Federal AE and Winchester


Federal AE 230gr FMJ

S&W 325 Thunder Ranch 4" barrel - 792 fps

Glock 21 with Scheumann hybrid comp 4.6" barrel - 739 fps

SIG 227 Tactical 4.9" barrel - 833 fps

---
Winchester white box 230gr FMJ

S&W 325 Thunder Ranch 4" barrel - 811 fps
consistent in the revolver; low 806, hi 819

Glock 21 with Scheumann hybrid comp 4.6" barrel - 725 fps

SIG 227 Tactical 4.9" barrel - 857 fps
not as consistent 826 -861
----
Until I get another standoff that's it for now.
I was going to test some JHP ammo.

I will note that the G21 with comp did better with this ammo than the Remington. Not sure why. I will also note that the G21 had a significantly lower recoil/muzzle flip than the others, due to the comp. It is very effective. I was looking forward to trying it with some +P ammo - It had been quite a while since I shot this pistol.

 

[The Heretic]

It could get real interesting if you reload and use a variety of powders. If you are so inclined, I have, let's say, a "selection" of them, LOL you'd be welcome to use. I don't have time to do fun stuff like this and always enjoy hearing about it. Thank you for putting the work in and sharing.

I don't do anybody else's reloads in my guns; I've had bad experiences doing that.

I do intend to buy some .45 Super and try that. I was looking at the pressures. ACP is 21K PSI, +P is 23K PSI and Super is 28K PSI . .40 S&W is 35K PSI

So I think the guns can handle it.

 

[kmk1012]

I don't do anybody else's reloads in my guns; I've had bad experiences doing that.

I do intend to buy some .45 Super and try that. I was looking at the pressures. ACP is 18K PSI, +P is 21K PSI and Super is 28K PSI . .40 S&W is 35K PSI

So I think the guns can handle it.

I wasn't offering any type of reloads, I said that the test would be interesting with different powders, hence the reason I asked if you reloaded. I was simply offering a selection of powder if you were so inclined.

 

[The Heretic]

I wasn't offering any type of reloads, I said that the test would be interesting with different powders, hence the reason I asked if you reloaded. I was simply offering a selection of powder if you were so inclined.

I sometimes reload, but not a lot. I only reload what I can't buy - e.g., really light loads, special projectiles, etc.

I am not setup for reloading right now. When I move I will probably setup my reloading bench again.

 

[The Heretic]

Federal Classic 230gr - claimed 850 fps

S&W 325 Thunder Ranch 4" barrel - 830 fps

Glock 21 with Scheumann hybrid comp 4.6" barrel - 761 fps

SIG 227 Tactical 4.9" barrel - 855 fps



CORBON (at least 20 years old - back before they went bankrupt) 230gr +P claimed 950 fps

S&W 325 Thunder Ranch 4" barrel - 909 fps*

Glock 21 with Scheumann hybrid comp 4.6" barrel - 818 fps

SIG 227 Tactical 4.9" barrel - 936 fps

*Sticky extraction

 

[The Heretic]

Knowing the actual real world velocities to expect from a gun/ammo combination is a good thing IMO.

I was pleasantly surprised that the 325 did as well as it did, disappointed by the Remington ball ammo, surprised by the Glock comp dropping that much velocity, but I did note while shooting it that the comp was working as expected and as I had previously experienced.

I look forward to seeing what .45 Super will do in these pistols.

 

[oremike]

This thread is a good example of why I don't list the velocities I get on my packaging. There is no industry standard for harvesting the data. The best I or anyone can do is "on this day with my test fixture, which in my case is an appropriate caliber gun, I got these numbers."

 

[The Heretic]

This thread is a good example of why I don't list the velocities I get on my packaging. There is no industry standard for harvesting the data. The best I or anyone can do is "on this day with my test fixture, which in my case is an appropriate caliber gun, I got these numbers."

with this chrono

I am sure the chronos that the ammo manufacturers have are more accurate than mine

just the same, it is interesting to see the 'real world' numbers and to know they will vary, sometimes a lot, depending on the gun.

My next project is to compare 180gr .40 S&W to 185gr .45 ACP; I have often said that the former has about the same ballistics as the latter, but the .40 has less recoil.

I would also like to know the actual velocities of some of the .44 mag ammo I got, and compare it between my revolver and my carbine.

 

[oremike]

It's not so much the chronograph they use, it's the test fixture. If they get their 38 special data from a locked breach 14" barreled test fixture and you get your data from a 1-7/8" stubby the numbers will be (or should be) wildly different. Even looking thru a load book they use different test fixtures thruout the book, so not constant that way either. Looking into my Lyman book they used a 4" S&W for their 44 mag data and a 10" barreled universal receiver for the 45 Colt data. I have a 6" model 629 for my 44 special and mag test fixture and a 7-1/2" Ruger Blackhawk for the 45 Colt data gathering.
That being said, your data is good data for you and I find it interesting the longer but compensated barrel of the Glock shoots slower across the board than the revolver. I'd have expected the opposite.
One place I find the chronograph particularly useful is so I can plug real world data into a ballistic calculator. Case in point, my 300 Win mag shooting a 180 gr Partition has a M/V of ~3000 fps. That bullet is made to double in caliber and retain 90% of it's weight down to ~1800fps. Plugging that data into the ballistic calculator I see that gives me an effective range of about 400 yds for the bullet to do what it's supposed to do. Looking at the ballistic chart I see if I zero 4" high at 200 yds I'm 4" low at 400 yds so I have a point and shoot max effective range of 400 yds for this rifle/load combo.

 

[The Heretic]

That being said, your data is good data for you and I find it interesting the longer but compensated barrel of the Glock shoots slower across the board than the revolver. I'd have expected the opposite.

This is what the comp looks like:

 

[kmk1012]

This is what the comp looks like:

View attachment 1272439

That looks like a 2" barrel and a 3" comp

 

[The Heretic]

That looks like a 2" barrel and a 3" comp

It is a full length barrel with a 5 port :hybrid" comp attached to the top of the barrel.



The ports are EDM drilled. It is quite effective in reducing muzzle flip and somewhat effective for recoil.