Interesting... The Marines thinking of carrying semi-wadcutter 185 grain .45 ammo in their newly issued (re-issued?) M45 pistols. I know Jeff Cooper had studied that type of .45 round and discarded it. But he preferred hardball ammo. At least at one point in time. The stuff I read about Coopers choice may have been overcome by events as better 1911s and better hollow point self-defense ammo came out.
But then I see in the Update that the ammo wasn't for combat use, but target competition. Why wadcutters for target use? That type of bullet punches a neater hole than round nose.
I've tried those semi-wadcutter rounds. The pistol kicks less, and that can be good for accuracy and follow up shots. I had no feed problem but I only shot 50 of them.
I wonder what the self-defense statistical effectiveness is on that type of round, too...
But then I see in the Update that the ammo wasn't for combat use, but target competition. Why wadcutters for target use? That type of bullet punches a neater hole than round nose.
I've tried those semi-wadcutter rounds. The pistol kicks less, and that can be good for accuracy and follow up shots. I had no feed problem but I only shot 50 of them.
I wonder what the self-defense statistical effectiveness is on that type of round, too...
I used that 185-grn load when shooting IPSC. Using a pretty standard Springfield Government, I shot thousands of rounds and any feed problems I had were strictly due to cleaning, or most ignominiously, no powder in the case.
ReplyDeleteThat was a definite fail.
I loaded 200gr LSWC for my 5"1911 when I was shooting a lot of IDPA. It was a bit tricky fixing up the load but one I found the magic power load, it worked fine. I'd load a thousand rounds before a meet. Used half for practice and half for the meet itself. As long as the round met the required power factor, no one cared.
ReplyDeleteAnd it did make grading the targets easier.
SWCs have been shot in competition for years... I 'think' the ammo was actually bought for the pistol team.
ReplyDeleteAh, makes me warm and fuzzy all over knowing Marines are using JMB goodness to kill our enemies. Let us all face Ogden, UT and bow.
ReplyDeleteIt'll knock you further back onto your ass, that's fer shurrr.
ReplyDeleteI use 200 Grain SWC riding on 4.3 grains of Clays. (your milage may vary, shoot at your own risk, yada, yada, yada)
ReplyDeleteMild recoil and meets power factor for IDPA.
I shoot lots of that recipe. As far as a defense round I am not so sure as I doubt there would be very littl expansion of a SWC
And yes it does make the scoring easier for IDPA. You often get accused of shooting quarters at the target...
The semi-wadcutter is superior to the hardball in that the wound channel is larger; it does the same thing to flesh that it does to a paper target. For expansion, a hollow tip is still best. Personally, I keep hydro-shocks in my 45.
ReplyDelete