The moment you've all been waiting for: the Ammo Test! (update: link added)

Warning: photos of non-photogenic blogger ahead

Yesterday, made it to the range to try out the ammo provided by Ammo For Sale. Took a few days to find a time when a friend was available to handle the camera; and(of course) the wind was sweeping down the plain something terrible when we got there. However, we endeavored to persevere, and here’s the result.

Ammo provided, all in .45acp:
Winchester PDX1 230-grain, 920fps
Hornady XTP +P 230-grain, 950fps
Speer Gold Dot 230-grain Short Barrel*, 890fps
Remington Golden Saber 185-grain, 1015fps
Magtech Guardian Gold 185-grain +P, 1148fps (all velocities listed as at muzzle**)

Here they are lined up in the order above, Winchester on the left
(Update: AfS has a 'Best ammo for the 1911' page up, wanted to add that as well as their main page)
Primary test gun was a Kimber Custom II, full-size 1911. Friend also brought two, a Rock Island GI model and one he built using a Essex frame and Israeli slide. Procedure was: five shots from a rest, then a full magazine offhand slow-fire, both through the Kimber, both at ten yards. Friend tried five of the Winchester in his build, five Hornady in the Rock Island(just to try a few in another pistol). The rest were fired through the Kimber at ten feet: two-handed fast pairs, one-handed pairs, and some while moving back from the target.


Your blogger in the seated position
And the results
I was trying to fire between gusts, not always successfully. For accuracy not much to choose between them. Winchester upper left, Hornady lower left, Speer center, Remington upper right, Magtech lower right

The offhand position

And the results,
Winchester

Hornady

Speer

Remington

Magtech

I somehow managed the feat of shooting about as well offhand as I did from the rest, apparently timing the gusts better. Except for that low-left on the Winchester, a gust hit just as the trigger broke

The rest went into this target in pairs as described above
Yes, it was stapled on top of some old targets; no, I'm not putting Robb or anyone else to heavy competition anytime soon.

Conclusions:
For accuracy, any of these would do nicely; a better shot than I, or with a machine rest, could determine one gave ½” better groups at 25 yards, but then you’re in the ‘This round shoots better in this pistol’ territory. And outside what's required for a "Oh God he's got a knife!" situation.

The Hornady and Magtech +P loads both gave noticeably sharper recoil and muzzle blast, the Magtech most of all. Nothing uncontrollable, just the difference was there.

All of it fed, fired and ejected flawlessly in all pistols. If there’s any reliability problem with any of them, it didn’t show in these boxes.

If I were forced to choose one to be my carry ammo, I’d have a hard time choosing from this test; all slid through the pistols, all went where aimed. And most current-production hollowpoints are pretty reliable in penetration and expansion(and I'm not getting into that argument: no ballistics gel and not enough jugs yet for the water tests I've already got lined up).

That's my First Official Blogger Ammo Test. And thanks again to Ammo for Sale for providing the ammunition for it.


*I checked the Speer site and didn't find the 'Short Barrel' ammo specifically listed, this is what's shown for the 230-grain Gold Dot. I did find this on the bullets; appears the big difference is in the bullet construction.
**Yes, I thought of taking the Chrony to check velocities; way it was blowing I'd have had to stake the tripod down, and it still would've been wavering in the gusts, so it stayed home.

Friend putting five Winchester through his build
and this one just because it's my first picture with a case headed for the photographer


Hmmm, while looking up the muzzle velocity for the Speer I found that they make a Gold Dot Rifle Personal Protection round in .30 Carbine; that might be a real interesting round for home defense