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Today I tested 3 kinds of premium defense ammo under the closest conditions to reality that I could re-create. I obtained 5 - 150 pound goat carcasses, intact (not gutted) but skinned. The freezer went out temporarily at the Wylie processing plant, so these could not be sold as Cabrito. I put two cotton weave polo shirts on them and a cotton/nylon blend insulated vest. The "target" was then hung by the neck with the torso (sternum) facing on to the firing line. The vest was open in the front so the bullets did not hit the vest upon entry but did encounter them upon exit from the torso. The first four were shot once each at 21 feet from the muzzle. The fifth was shot 62 feet from the muzzle. The ammunition was all 230 grain 45 ACP fired from a 3" STI pistol. The ammo was Winchester PDX1 (812 fps MV), Remington Golden Saber (763 fps MV) and CCI Gold Dot (788 fps MV). The Golden Saber was expected to be the best based on it's reputation as the FBI ammo used in the Springfield Pro 5" 1911 that the HRT and ERT carry. It actually fared the worst! The Golden Saber penetrated 12.25" and made it just into the vest on the back of the torso. The jacket and core seperated and the two pieces together weight 229.1 grains. The widest part of the lead was .618". The Win PDX1 penetrated 16" and was about to exit the vest but for the jacket of the bullet hanging up on it. The jacket peeled erratically but stayed on the core, with an expanded diameter of .646". Weight was 231.0 grains. The CCI Gold Dot was the clear winner in my opinion. The penetration for the two fired at 21 feet were 14.25" and 14.5" and those bullets made a perfect intact "flower" for .724" and .712" respectively. I set up the test to repeat whichever bullet fared best at 21 feet twice for consistency and once again at 62 feet for comparison. At 62 feet you can hardly tell the Gold Dots apart. This one went 13.0" and expanded to .698" and again made a perfect "flower". All the Gold Dots weigh 230 grains. If you are looking for 45 ACP ammo, and in particular if you need something that'll work in a short barrelled 45ACP - look no further than the standard CCI Gold Dot 230 grain!
Left to Right - Winchester PDX1, Remington Golden Saber and CCI Gold Dot
Gold Dots at 21 feet from muzzle
Another view of Gold Dot 21 feet from muzzle
The Gold Dot on the far right was fired at 62 feet - compared to the other two at 21 feet - almost the same!
Thanks, Joe. Looks like great performance from the Gold Dots. I am a little surprised they didn't exit a 150 lb. goat though. Those Gold Dots look just like some 230 gr. Hornady XTP bullets that I tested in some wet phone books a while back from my 45 acp. Wonder how they would have done on the goat test?
I carry the Federal 230 grn HST 2. However, my recoved bullets look almost identical to the Gold Dot pictured. I did not have any goats for medium, I used gallon milk jugs. The HST2 was located just inside the 4th jug of water. It leaked the water out rather than had a big explosion from the impact.
“Gun control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it tougher for sober people to own cars.”
Joe - Excellent tests, and in a realistic medium too. Got one question for you: Were these your handloads, or were these velocites from store bought ammo ? Just curious. Thanks again for posting this. Good stuff. - DixieBoy
When the People Fear Their Government There is Tyranny; When the Government Fears the People There is Liberty.
Is the Gold Dot bullet the new plated up copper over lead bullet from Speer? Replacing the old Ash Cans which were traditional copper jacketed? If it is plated, it's pretty clear from this that it's not going to separate from the jacket.
... I love poetry, long walks on the beach, and poking dead things with a stick.
