ammo preference

[fatherbear]

I am fairly new to the 1911. In the past I have mostly owned revolvers. During my last trip to the local gun show, I stumbled across what I considered to be a couple of good deals. I purchased a Springfield GI full size and a Springfield V-10 Ultra Compact. The V-10 performs flawlessly with ball ammo, but when I tried the Federal XTP's, they will not chamber. They stop at the ramp every time. Is there a fix for this problem, or do I just need to stick with the ball ammo? I am going to the range today to try out the GI. As of yet I have not fired it. Any advise would be appreciated greatly.

[fatherbear]

I went to the range yesterday and tried out my new GI 45. This is a very good shooting pistol. Straight out of the box, I started at 25 yards with very pleasing results. I had no problems with ammo, I used two different types of hollowpoints and Remington ball with no feeding problems to report. It continued to be accurate out to about 85 yards. Still havent got a fix for the ultra compact though. Im considering trying a new barrel maybe? Oh well anyway, I am very well pleased with both of my new Springfields. I am off today with my other two Springfields, an 03-A3 and an 1873 Trapdoor Rifle, but that is another forum.

[Big Sky Rancher]

The best feeding hollow point I've come across in .45 is Remington's 230 grain Golden Sabre. I think that the rounded bullet profile has a lot to do with this. I also like Winchester RA45T and it feeds well in all of my 5" 1911s, but I'll be damned if I can get it to feed as well as I would like in my Kimber Compact CDP. Fortunately the Compact feeds perfectly with the Golden Sabre.

http://www.remington.com/ammo/pistol_revolver/goldnsaber.htm

http://www.winchester.com/lawenforcement/testing/testing_t.aspx

[fatherbear]

Thanks for the advice, I will try the Golden Sabre and see what it will do. I was originally looking at Kimber and Para-Ordnance in the compact models, but I ran across this pistol at a local gunshow and my eyes started twinkling. I really like the looks and the feel of this pistol and it shoots really well with ball ammo. I guess I just have to find the magic combo.

[harytaint]

hmmm a GI pistol out at 85 yrds. My Super Tac could make 2 inch holes out that far, problem is that it is impposible in the shooters hand. Just have never heard of a pistol being "accurate" at that range. Last trip with my TRP I went to shoot cans for the first time in the woods and challenged my friend with his 22 rifle at 75 yrds. I couldnt believe it took my 1-2 full mags to hit the can out that far. I consider that pretty damn good "skills" but sure the heck not accurate. This is not something that can be done shot for shot. If you can I would love to join your camp to give me some lessons. I sure wouldnt classify it as accurate or ever think twice about shooting that far unless its for screwing around. Besides your POA must be aimed so much higher than your POI due to bullet drop.

I would find a ammo that feeds and not attempt to use any pistol, let alone a GI, at 85 yrds for ammo testing. Funny part will be when you try the compact out that far.

[cottontoptexan]

I have to say 85 yards is a long way for a 45 auto. I myself have tried some things like this and did it for fun. I was suprised years ago when at the IHMSA (200 meter silhouette) range i could hit the chicken at 50 meters quite often with a 45 auto. The size is about 12" or so if you can measure the size of one of these swinging chickens.
As for the 2 inch groups by 45's at ranges extended past 25 yds i would say more are done with a keyboard than with a handgun. It is easy to understand that for the intended purpose of the 1911 it would not be out of line for a shot at 100 yds at a man size target. I guess this is what John Browning had in mind, along with durability and being reliable.
Good and safe shooting gentlemen and keep it fun for when it becomes a chore it is no longer enjoyable. Curt

[fatherbear]

Harytaint,
When I say accurate out to 85 yards I dont mean MOA accurate, sorry for the miss-communication. I actually started at 25 yards, with no rest. The 14 shots that I fired grouped within a 4" radius circle. The 85 yard attempt was similar to your 75 yard experience, my son and I were shooting .22's for score on some 8.5x11 targets that I printed off from the computer. I was shooting a Kimber SVT, he was shooting a Browning Buckmark Target Model. After each of us had shot a 5 shot group, I loaded up the GI and tried my luck. Out of the 7 shots that I fired, 4 of them hit paper, 1 barely clipped the edge, and the other 2 were lost in the mass of other holes that make up our needs to be replaced because there is too many holes in it backboard. (These were fired from sandbags placed on the hood of my truck) My POI was about 6" above the center of the target. I hadn't thought about the compact at that distance, but I did watch a man on the American Shooter popping balloons at 250 yards with a S&W M36 Chiefs Special. Now thats accurate!!! And by the way, my son smoked my hide with the Browning.

[harytaint]

Yeah anything is possible but man I to saw that balloon special it was damn funny. As I recall he didnt do it on the first or second shot though, lol. Still that is crazy. It is fun to screw around like that at times but bad guys dont stand there and I would assume this would be a difficult task to over come at even short distances. That is with the bad guy moving around at even 25 yrds.
Like I said my 75 yrd clay pigeons were free hand and that was the first time I tried it and shocked they hell out of myself. I hit many of them over and over but not with one shot every time. It took about 7-14 shots per pigeon out at that distance. Better than that my buddy now goes around bragging on my behalf, lol. I didnt mention that there are really good days where a person can shoot dead on and others where throwing the gun might be a better choice. Next time I go I will see how I do.
I will say shooting the metal plates out at 35-40 yrds is resonable and I can hit a 12 by 12 inch plate 95 percent of the time. Of course this all has nothing to do with "accurate" ammo. I would assume any factory ammo you buy will show less error than you will holding the gun. In other words if the ammo is holding you back from being a hole for hole robin hood shooter you need to join up in some competitions. It is much much much more likely that your first concern is to find a reliable ammo that your gun likes and not worry about more than that.
I reload so this is of course another topic where finding a reliable and "accurate" load may be more of an issue. Factory stuff is going to be opinions of what is better but if I tell you Hydra shock and it wont cycle in your gun then well you have to find what does.

[fatherbear]

harytaint,
Thanks for the advise, that is the main issue. It don't matter how good of a marksman you are if your pistol won't chamber a round. These 2 pistols are the first 1911 style firearms that I have owned. Both of them feel well in the hand, and the full size feeds anything that you put in it. I will try a variety of ammo and see what I can get that will feed every time in the compact. Thanks again for the input. :)

[Big Sky Rancher]

I shoot at 75 yards every now and then from a standing two hand hold and make pretty good hits, better than nine out of ten anyway. Shooting a steel FBI Q target I set the top of the front sight on the top of the head and hit high in the upper torso.

What's interesting is that using a steel target really gives you a feel for how slow the big 230 grain bullets are moving - bang.......ding. :)

[harytaint]

That is very true but I still dont think you can out run one, lol. :p