Question about PNW Arms and HAP ammo

[ruchik]

I'm looking at picking up some of PNW Arms' low recoil 185gr .45 ammo to try out for training purposes, as well as some of Wilson Combat's Match 200gr HAP ammo. I'm just starting out on the .45, and find that the regular loads in 230gr are a bit much for me (I'm shooting a Kahr P45, not exactly a heavy gun), so I'm working my way up the ammo power chain, so to speak. I don't have the money to afford a .22 on top of the P45, so I figured I'd just start with what I have. In any case, I saw that their 185gr .45 ammo uses the Zero JHP, and that Wilson uses the HAP JHP round. They don't have the cannelures and folds that regular JHP rounds have. So my question is, if one did use this kind of ammo in a defensive role, how would the bullet behave once it hit the target? Would it just kind of haphazardly split open? Stay in one piece and act like a FMJ?

[okie john]

I'm looking at picking up some of PNW Arms' low recoil 185gr .45 ammo to try out for training purposes, as well as some of Wilson Combat's Match 200gr HAP ammo. I'm just starting out on the .45, and find that the regular loads in 230gr are a bit much for me (I'm shooting a Kahr P45, not exactly a heavy gun), so I'm working my way up the ammo power chain, so to speak. I don't have the money to afford a .22 on top of the P45, so I figured I'd just start with what I have. In any case, I saw that their 185gr .45 ammo uses the Zero JHP, and that Wilson uses the HAP JHP round. They don't have the cannelures and folds that regular JHP rounds have. So my question is, if one did use this kind of ammo in a defensive role, how would the bullet behave once it hit the target? Would it just kind of haphazardly split open? Stay in one piece and act like a FMJ?

The fact that you’re looking for low-recoil ammo because you have trouble with duty loads in your pistol makes me think that you’re going around your elbow to get to your thumb. But I’ll set that aside and focus on the question you asked.

For $30/box, you should be able to do a lot better than PNW. There’s nothing special about their ammo—anything with a 185- or 200-grain bullet will kick less than full-power 230-grain loads, no matter who loads it. You might try to find a local company that loads 45 ACP with a 185-grain bullet in bulk and go with that.

Also, 185s and 230s may have very different POIs, so try a box or two of a test load before you invest in a $600 case of anything. (Don’t ask how I know that.) Then be ready to fiddle with your sights to some extent to get it hitting where it should.

Finally, you don’t have to use 185-grain ammo in a defensive role. DocGKR’s list contains ONE 185-grain 45 ACP load—everything else is 230.

That should tell you something.


Okie John