45 ACP selfdefense ammo question

[john wist]

I am going to stock up on 45 SD ammo and I am looking for the best value. I am thinking of getting the WWB 230 grain JHP or Remington 230 grain JHP. My question is are they equal in quality, penitration and expanison comparied to the Gold dots, Golden Sabers ECT. Your opinions and advise are most welcome.
Thanks

[Forker45]

Personally, I think money for that expensive ammo is better spent on target ammo to practice your shooting skills. Any well placed 45 ACP shot is gonna stop most humans. I am confident in my abilities as a shooter that I will be able to place a few out of 14 shots in the center mass or central processing unit (head) of the bad guy. I think good old 230 grn FMJ will get the job done, if not, I've got plenty of shots to make sure it does.

[the_gunman1]

Here's a place to get Gold Dots darn near the same price as WWB or Rem.
Gold Dots are IMHO top of the ladder.
https://s13711.gridserver.com/index....a5a37638023339

[Alaskapopo]

Originally Posted by john wist

I am going to stock up on 45 SD ammo and I am looking for the best value. I am thinking of getting the WWB 230 grain JHP or Remington 230 grain JHP. My question is are they equal in quality, penitration and expanison comparied to the Gold dots, Golden Sabers ECT. Your opinions and advise are most welcome.
Thanks

I rank 45 acp in the following order.
1. 230 grain HST
2. 230 grian Winchester Ranger
3. 230 grain Remington Golden Saber
4. 230 grain Speer Gold dots.

They are worth the cost. Don't skimp on self defense ammo. Ball ammo sucks no way around it. Don't use it unless you are forced too.

Here are some pics.

[Glenn]

Originally Posted by Forker45

Personally, I think money for that expensive ammo is better spent on target ammo to practice your shooting skills. Any well placed 45 ACP shot is gonna stop most humans. I am confident in my abilities as a shooter that I will be able to place a few out of 14 shots in the center mass or central processing unit (head) of the bad guy. I think good old 230 grn FMJ will get the job done, if not, I've got plenty of shots to make sure it does.

I couldn't agree more. If your shot placement is on, it don't matter at all what the gun is loaded with.

[vafish]

Originally Posted by Glenn

I couldn't agree more. If your shot placement is on, it don't matter at all what the gun is loaded with.

I disagree.

While I agree that shot placement is most critical and no fancy JHP is going to make up for a poorly placed shot, there is a big difference in terminal performance between FMJ and JHP's. For stopping people JHP's work much better, and some JHP's work better than others.

I think if you are going to carry ammo to defend your life you should carry the best you can afford. yes you should practice, and I have no problem with the plan of practicing with FMJ and carrying JHP as long as you have proven the JHP's reliable in your gun.

To answer the original posters question, the cheap generic JHP's are not the equal of the premium rounds. They generally do not have flash suppressed powder and their bullet designs are usually a couple of generations older, and they don't have the quality control of the premium ammo. They don't perform quite as well as the premium bullets in gelatain tests.

Now they aren't too bad and I myself have carried them on occasion when I've run out of premium carry rounds. I think they are a much better choice than FMJ.

If you are looking to stock up on carry rounds, get the best you can afford. If you are looking to stock up on SHTF ammo that you will use in practice a bit and keep around "just in case" then the cheaper JHP's will probably be fine.

[the_gunman1]

Here is some samples of HPs that were recovered from deer I killed.

[deepdiver]

Originally Posted by the_gunman1

Here's a place to get Gold Dots darn near the same price as WWB or Rem.
Gold Dots are IMHO top of the ladder.
https://s13711.gridserver.com/index....a5a37638023339

Thanks for the link. I may not carry these loaded in the pistol, but for that price but they are definitely worth carrying in my extra mags and keeping a few boxes around for SHTF.

[the_gunman1]

Alaskapopo: I'm not trying to start an argument here but in my{many}tests the Gold Dots have been more consistant than the Golden Sabers{by a decent margin}.

[invssgt]

John,

I think they are a lot more equal than most people think. I might have answered at least some of your questions here.

I like the WW/USA/230/JHP well enough that I carry it for a duty load. I find it substantially more accurate than the Remington/UMC and it feeds slicker, too.