Reliable JHP for old Series 70 1911?

[JAD]

The polymer tip tends to hang up and stick as the round is being fed into the chamber. I wouldn't count on it to feed well in an older 1911.

sometimes. I never played with Critical Defense but I do like Critical Duty, and have fed it to a lot of my guns many of which are similar to OP’s. In my examples the polymer area of the bullet didn’t touch the barrel, but the bullet shape may be different between Defense and Duty.

In my experience there has been no issue feeding *230* HST or Gold Dot to these guns. 200 has been hit or miss with a couple of them.

Generally, if it feeds H&G68s well it will feed reasonable Defense ammo; and if it won’t, it needs fixed.

[Caballoflaco]

230 gold dots ran well for me too in a Springfield mil spec I had with an un modded from factory feed ramp.

ETA: that was also the gun that taught me about both bullet setback and that repeated loading/unloading peens the cavity of a hollow point bullet into a smaller cavity.

[Ed L]

In my experience there has been no issue feeding *230* HST or Gold Dot to these guns.

I have had problems with the Federal 230 Grain HST feeding reliably in 1911s that are throated to allow the feeding of modern hollow points--including a Springfield Professional.

[314159]

The pistol in question is actually pretty good with JHP designs, but certainly not a "feed anything" 1911. I do recall it would feed the 200gr Speer Flyng Ashtray bullets of that era. These answers are very helpful in finding a good load. I have some ETM magazines and will take those for the test session.

I really don't see throating this piece, findind/co-ordinating a good gunsmith in another state while on a family visit just isn't in the cards. Additionally, the pistol and barrel are 1976 vintage Armoloy. I really want to keep it as it was when I stuck it in my flight gear to fly against the Commies (version 1.0).

[JAH 3rd]

Just wondering how many rounds you have personally fired through the Colt. Not talking exact number, but enough to say it functions 100%.

I have a Dan Wesson A2 government model. It has been 100% in all aspects of function. I use Checkmate 7-round magazines, DW factory 8-round magazines, Wilson Combat 7-round magazines (47?), Chip McCormick railed and power mags, and Springfield factory 7-round magazines that came with my Springfield Loaded 1911. My point here is to settle on one or two manufacturers whose magazines work in your Colt. If you want an 8-round magazine, get one designed from the jump for 8 rounds.

Hate to sound like a broken record, but my Remington Golden Saber, Speer Gold Dot, and Federal HST, all 230 grain JHP, have been 100%. Like has already been said, get a bullet profile that mimics a FMJ.

In the end, it's a matter of finding the right combination of ammo/magazine that functions in your Colt. The only way you can do that is to shoot it and see what happens. Once you find it, stick with it.

All the best in your endeavor!!

[theJanitor]

Don't discount the 185's. Moderate recoil, and I feel they offer reliability benefits. For awhile I was using them solely in commander length pistols, but for simplicity's sake, I now use them in all my 1911 without issue

[03RN]

Don't discount the 185's. Moderate recoil, and I feel they offer reliability benefits. For awhile I was using them solely in commander length pistols, but for simplicity's sake, I now use them in all my 1911 without issue

Besides the Barnes are there any 185s that reliably penetrate >12"?

[JAH 3rd]

Seems like I remember someone writing that 185 grain bullets lightened the load on the spring, allowing it to push up the next round quicker, aiding in reliability as stated above.

[theJanitor]

Seems like I remember someone writing that 185 grain bullets lightened the load on the spring, allowing it to push up the next round quicker, aiding in reliability as stated above.

Bill Wilson

[theJanitor]

Besides the Barnes are there any 185s that reliably penetrate >12"?

Dunno. I generally don't care. I buy ammo from reputable manufacturers and run with it. Currently, it's old school Silvertips, cause that's what I could get enough of