I have been given an unfired stainless steel Colt Officer's ACP. No I don't know whether it's an old model or the slightly "upgraded" newer model of the 1990s. I have never reloaded for a semiautomatic pistol, have never owned a center fire semiautomatic pistol, and I do not anticipate reloading for it.

What I want to do is acquire perhaps 500 rounds of factory ammunition that will be satisfactory for that unlikely self-defense incident. I anticipate shooting about 300 of those 500 in breaking in the pistol and getting comfortable with it. I will not obtain a CCW, nor will I carry it in the woods.

I want to obtain ammunition that has a history of not jamming or otherwise malfunctioning in this pistol. While I'm certain there are several specific factory loads that fulfill that requirement, I have not a clue what they are. And I am comfortable using such reliable loads - despite their having a modest reputation as defensive ammunition. My attitude is that a mediocre 45 ACP load is still a 45 ACP load, so don't worry about it.

Again, reliable function in Colt's stainless Officer's ACP is what I seek. Please identify one or more.

One of the problems with barrels less than 4" is that they tend to have more feeding problems .Not to say yours will have them but spend time finding a very reliable round.Would you think of having someone tune it up a bit ? Just for better feeding .

Go to wally world pick up boxes of Remington green box 230gr fmj and go shoot should be just what your 45 needs

I've never had problems with Winchester White Box (WWB) 230 gr FMJ in any pistol.

Napthtali,

Try to get several boxes of 45 ACP ammo and see what your pistol likes. Some 1911's are finicky, some aren't.

quote:

Originally posted by p dog shooter:
Go to wally world pick up boxes of Remington green box 230gr fmj and go shoot should be just what your 45 needs

This. If your pistol wont shoot this ammo then you need to visit a pistolsmith.

Bill Wilson (Wilson Combat) wrote an article on picking ammo for barrels shorter than standard Govt length. His findings were that it is better to shoot 185gr to 200gr bullets. He listed several different manufacturers defensive ammo that he tested and which ones he recommended.

When I bought my Kimber Ultra CDPII back in 2003 I was looking for ammo to carry. In my Govt model the 230gr bullets worked great but in the 3" barrel they would sometimes cause feeding issues. I bought some of the Remington Golden Saber 185gr +P ammo and shot several boxes of it without a single malfunction. It is what I settled on for carry in that particular pistol. It wasn't until the article that Bill wrote that I understood why the gun preferred the lighter weight bullets.

Here is a link to the article on his Blog

http://blog.wilsoncombat.com/1...1911-by-bill-wilson/

Golden Sabers, Gold dots and XTPs are all good self defense bullets. Find the 185g your gun likes, then stock up.

quote:

....I bought some of the Remington Golden Saber 185gr +P ammo and shot several boxes of it without a single malfunction. It is what I settled on for carry in that particular pistol....

I have been using this ammunition in my short .45ACP for over a decade without a single failure in hundreds of rounds. It is also the most accurate factory ammunition in my pistol.


.

The Golden Saber certainly shoots well in my Kimber. The one nice thing about it is when all the ammo grabbing frenzy was going on I didn't have to difficult of a time finding the Golden Saber ammo. Still can't find many other popular defensive ammo around here.

I have never had any problems shooting any weight bullet including 230gr loads in a Colt Officers Model, a Colt New Agent, or a Wilson Compact.

However Bill Wilson is an expert on all things 1911 for sure.
The problem with a short barrel, and thus a short slide 1911 is slide velocity, which calls for a heavier recoil spring, and the fact that some people break their wrist when they shoot.
[Not break a bone, just allow their wrist to flex up with the recoil].

As a side note Bill does not recommend +P ammo in the short barreled 1911's even in the lighter bullet weights.

The bottom line is that you will just have to test what ever ammo you intend to carry, just as you would in any handgun. I would shoot around 300 rounds, to make sure my gun/ammo/magazines worked 100%.

I would try some Remington 185gr Golden Sabre, as well as some of the 185 and 200 gr Hornady ammo.

I would also shoot some 230gr ammo, especially ball ammo as that is what is most widely found, just to see if your pistol will handle it.

Quality magazines are a must. Get some Wilson magazines for your 1911...

Also lube that stainless 1911 with a product like Tetra Gun Grease, or Prolix Xtra-T lube.