Barnes VOR-TX 45 Colt 200gr XPB – Proven Standard Pressure Load

Description

The Barnes VOR-TX 45 Colt 200gr XPB solves an old problem with a modern bullet. The 45 Colt dates to 1873 and a great many rifles and revolvers chambered for it are not built for the heavy Ruger only loadings sold today. Barnes loads this one to roughly 13,500 psi, comfortably under the 14,000 psi SAAMI maximum, so it is safe in any sound standard pressure 45 Colt. It leaves the muzzle at about 850 fps with 321 ft-lbs. Each box holds 20 rounds.

• Barnes VOR-TX 45 Colt 200gr XPB Overview
• 200 Grain XPB Hollow Point Performance
• Why Shooters Choose 45 Colt Standard Pressure Ammo
• Specifications
• Range Notes For This All Copper Handgun Bullet

Barnes VOR-TX 45 Colt 200gr XPB Overview

The XPB is machined from solid copper with a large hollow cavity and no lead core. At 850 fps a conventional lead core hollow point often will not open at all, which is the fundamental difficulty with defensive and hunting loads in this cartridge. Barnes designed the cavity to expand at exactly these modest velocities.

When it opens, the nose peels into sharp copper petals that reach roughly double the original diameter and stay attached to the base. Weight retention is effectively total, so the bullet both expands and still penetrates, which a heavy lead flat nose does not do and a light hollow point usually cannot.

200 Grain XPB Hollow Point Performance

At 200 grains this bullet is lighter than the 250 and 255 grain loads traditionally associated with the cartridge, and that is deliberate. Copper is less dense than lead, so dropping weight keeps overall length sensible and buys the velocity the hollow point needs to function.

Recoil is mild. This is a load you can shoot comfortably all afternoon out of a single action or a lightweight Charter Arms revolver, which is not something that can be said of the heavy Ruger only ammunition often shelved beside it.

Why Shooters Choose 45 Colt Standard Pressure Ammo

The single most important thing to understand about 45 Colt ammunition is that it is sold at two very different pressure levels. Heavy loadings marked for Ruger, Thompson Center and modern large frame revolvers run far above SAAMI specification and will damage or destroy a Colt Single Action Army, an original or replica 1873, a Cimarron, an Uberti or a lightweight modern revolver.

This 45 Colt standard pressure ammo is the safe choice across that whole range of firearms. If you own a vintage revolver, a cowboy action gun or a lightweight carry revolver in 45 Colt, this is ammunition you can shoot without checking a chart first.

It also covers deer and hogs at short range from a revolver or a lever carbine, and it works as a defensive load in a gun that cannot handle anything hotter.

Specifications

Range Notes For This All Copper Handgun Bullet

Confirm your point of impact. Fixed sight single action revolvers are regulated at the factory for a particular bullet weight, and a 200 grain bullet will usually shoot lower than the 250 grain load many of these guns were set up for. Some hunters file the front sight; most simply learn the hold.

Copper needs velocity to expand and 850 fps is genuinely at the low end. The Barnes VOR-TX 45 Colt 200gr XPB is engineered for it, but expansion is less certain out of a very short two inch barrel than a four or five inch one. Out of a lever carbine velocity climbs and performance improves.

Barnes packs the load 20 rounds to a box. Store it cool and dry, and if you carry it, rotate the round that keeps getting chambered and cleared.

Lead Free 45 Long Colt Ammunition Availability

Owners of vintage and replica single action revolvers, cowboy action shooters, handgun hunters and anyone who wants a modern expanding bullet that is safe in a standard pressure gun will get the most from this lead free 45 Long Colt ammunition. Full factory specifications are published by Barnes Bullets.

Shop more handgun ammunition, compare it with our Barnes VOR-TX 44 Rem Mag 225gr XPB load, or browse the full ammunition selection at MAG5 Firearms.