45 Auto Ammo

45 auto and 45 ACP refer to the same cartridge of ammunition. ACP stands for "Automatic Colt Pistol" and is where the commonly-used word "auto" comes from as 45 auto ammo is referred to .45 auto ammo was originally developed by John Browning (practically the father of all modern handgun ammo!) in 1905.  .45 auto ammo saw widespread adoption very quickly, with the U.S. Ordinance Dept. adopting it in 1911 with the Colt-Browning automatic pistol.  Governments from Argentina, Mexico, and Norway (amongst others) have also adopted .45 auto ammo as their official cartridge.

Proven in combat the world over, .45 auto ammunition continues to have excellent stopping power.  Basically, it knocks the stuffing out of whatever it hits.  In addition to said stopping power, .45 auto ammo has also developed a reputation amongst precision shooters as being match-grade as its accuracy is highly prized.

For the average person, .45 auto ammo requires a bit of getting used to.  This is especially true when .45 auto ammo is fired from untuned semi-automatic pistols or handguns.  Far more popular for target practice or plinking, .45 auto ammo isn’t a great hunting ammo because of its curved trajectory when fired.  Despite this curved trajectory, .45 auto ammo is OK for using on small and medium game (primarily because of its noted stopping power).

Like all other semi-auto handgun cartridges, .45 auto ammunition is better suited for hunting when you’re using the softpoint or hollowpoint versions of .45 auto ammo.  When it comes to police departments, however, the switch from .38 special ammo to .45 auto ammo has been quite popular over the past several years.  However, the recent surge in the cost of .45 auto ammo has led to some departments scaling back their use of .45 auto ammo.

Cheap 45 ACP ammo is by far some of the most powerful combat handgun cartridges available, providing stopping power and accuracy along with moderate recoil and a low muzzle flash. The 45 ACP cartridge lengthens the lifetime of weapons in which it is because it has a low chamber pressure rating in comparison to other handgun cartridges.

The stopping power of a cartridge is generally measured based on the depth at which the bullet can penetrate, how large the expanded diameter is, and the energy that the bullet can produce when being fired. Cheap 45 ACP  ammo produces an energy ranging from 350 to 500 ft·lbf, which means it is moderately powered. However, since the bullets of the .45 ACP wide have a wide diameter, they most likely will not penetrate a target with enough energy and velocity to exit and enter another target.

The history of the 45 ACP goes back to the turn of the 20^th century when the United States Calvary requested that Colt create a .45-caliber cartridge.  The Calvary had determined that a minimum of .45-caliber was needed for all combat pistols. Colt met this demand in 1905 by introducing the cheap 45 ACP ammo that is commonly sold today. The first 45 ACP cartridge used a 13 g bullet at 900 feet per second, but after being revised several times, it eventually became a 15 gram bullet fired at about 850 feet per second.

The final version of cheap 45 ACP ammo was like the .45 Schofield cartridge, but not quite as strong as the .45 Colt cartridges that the United States Calvary used.  The 2^nd round of evaluations took place in 1910, and the Colt design underwent an extensive testing regime with no failures.  However, a total of 37 stoppages/part failures were reported for the Savage edition. This lead to the Colt design being officially accepted as Model 1911.

Since cheap 45 ACP cartridges possess both stopping power and controlled penetration, they are very practical for police and military use, but the low magazine capacity and bulkiness of handguns that are chambered for 45-caliber bullets have caused more U.S. agencies to use 9mm Parabellum firearms instead.

Nonetheless, many tactical U.S. police units (including the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team) still utilize cheap 45 ACP ammo. Handguns that are chambered in 45-caliber need wider and longer grips, so they are not ideal for females or people with smaller hands. While many militaries currently use handguns chambered in the 9mm Parabellum rather than the 45 ACP, this cartridge is still very popular in the United States amongst sport shooters and civilians.