Buffalo Bore 45 ACP +P 230gr JHP – Proven Traditional Weight Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 45 ACP +P 230gr JHP takes the bullet weight the 45 Auto was built around and loads it the way the cartridge can actually handle. 230 grains at 950 fps produces roughly 461 ft-lbs, and Buffalo Bore measured 979 fps from a five inch Colt Gold Cup, which is about 489. Flash suppressed powder. Twenty rounds per box, item 45-230/20.

• Buffalo Bore 45 ACP +P 230gr JHP Overview
• 45 ACP +P 230 Grain Ammo Ballistics
• Why The Traditional Weight 45 Hollow Point Still Wins Arguments
• Specifications
• Recoil Spring Notes For This Deep Penetrating 45 Auto Load

Buffalo Bore 45 ACP +P 230gr JHP Overview

230 grains is the original 45 ACP bullet weight, dating to 1911, and it remains what most shooters have the largest amount of practice with. Recoil springs, magazines and sights in most 45s are set up around it.

The bullet is a conventional lead core jacketed hollow point. At 950 fps it has enough velocity to open properly, and a heavy bullet does not need much speed to expand because it carries the momentum to keep working afterwards.

Buffalo Bore loads it to +P. Standard 230 grain 45 ACP runs about 850 fps, so the Buffalo Bore 45 ACP +P 230gr JHP is a hundred feet per second faster from the same bullet in the same gun, which is a meaningful gain without changing anything else about how the pistol behaves.

45 ACP +P 230 Grain Ammo Ballistics

461 ft-lbs nominal, 489 from the five inch 1911 Buffalo Bore chronographed. A standard 230 grain load at 850 fps makes about 369, so this is producing roughly a quarter more energy with exactly the same bullet weight.

Against the lighter loads in the same line, the 185 grain makes 543 ft-lbs at 1150 fps and the 200 grain 490 at 1050. On the energy chart this sits last of the three, which is precisely the wrong way to read it.

Momentum is what matters once a bullet has expanded, and momentum scales with mass. 230 grains at 950 fps carries more of it than 185 grains at 1150, which is why 45 ACP +P 230 grain ammo penetrates deeper despite showing a smaller number on the energy line.

Why The Traditional Weight 45 Hollow Point Still Wins Arguments

There is a reason the 230 grain bullet never really went away. A big heavy bullet that expands modestly and keeps going has been the 45’s whole proposition since the beginning, and nothing since has made a convincing case for abandoning it.

Depth is the practical argument. Through a winter coat, through an arm, or at an angle where the path to the vitals is long, a traditional weight 45 hollow point has more in reserve than a lighter bullet that spent some of its energy opening up early.

Familiarity is the second argument and it is underrated. Most 45s were sprung, regulated and proofed around 230 grain ammunition, so a heavy bullet 45 ACP ammunition load tends to feed, cycle and print exactly where the pistol expects, which is one less thing to verify.

And the recoil is the shove people already know. A heavy bullet gives a slower, rolling push rather than a sharp snap, and because it is the impulse most 45 shooters trained on, the transition from practice ammunition to carry ammunition is close to seamless.

Specifications

Recoil Spring Notes For This Deep Penetrating 45 Auto Load

Consider a heavier recoil spring for regular use. Buffalo Bore suggests roughly four to six pounds more than factory for a steady diet of +P, plus a shock buffer for longer sessions. Sensible advice for any 1911 fed high pressure ammunition.

Confirm function with a box. The bullet weight is what your pistol expects but the pressure is not, so slide timing will differ slightly from standard ball even though everything else is familiar.

Point of impact should be close to right. Fixed sight 45s are generally regulated around 230 grain ammunition, so a deep penetrating 45 Auto load at this weight usually lands where the sights are looking. Confirm it anyway.

Practise with standard 230 grain ball and carry this. The recoil difference is small enough that your training carries over almost perfectly, which is the quiet advantage of staying at the traditional weight.

Heavy Bullet 45 ACP Ammunition Availability

This heavy bullet 45 ACP ammunition is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need case quantities or another Buffalo Bore 45 ACP load, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. For faster expansion see the 45 ACP +P 185gr JHP or the 200gr JHP. For an all copper bullet, compare the 45 ACP +P 185gr Barnes TAC-XP.