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200 or 230 Grain

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  • Mr Larry

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    Witch is the best and y? I have a 1911 and an XD in 45 ACP and have shot both well. Some like the 200 grain and say it is the best and on the other hand some say the 230 Grain is best. So how likes what and y. Would like your thoughts on this. Thanks
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    Charlie

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    One is not "better" than the other. And, IMO, any differences would be hard to identify. Individual guns like certain loads and bullets, etc. I hand load both and both have performed great. I would guess that it would be very difficult if not impossible to tell the difference in shooting a hand loaded 200 gr. Silvertip (for example) and a hand loaded 230 gr. Silvertip. Just my two bits.
     

    rsayloriii

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    Depends on how recoil sensitive you are. 230 gr is going to recoil more than 200 gr. For ever action there's an equal and opposite reaction... larger mass to move = more recoil towards you.

    sent from deep space
     

    Vaquero

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    Depends on how recoil sensitive you are. 230 gr is going to recoil more than 200 gr. For ever action there's an equal and opposite reaction... larger mass to move = more recoil towards you.

    sent from deep space


    Not exactly true. Most of the .45 rounds carry powder charges to create the same amount of energy.
    While the 230 is heavier and will travel slower, the 200 will travel faster. This results in near equal muzzle and downrange energy, also equal felt recoil.

    As stated before, not much difference, other than point of impact relative to point of aim.
     

    Charlie

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    Not exactly true. Most of the .45 rounds carry powder charges to create the same amount of energy.
    While the 230 is heavier and will travel slower, the 200 will travel faster. This results in near equal muzzle and downrange energy, also equal felt recoil.

    As stated before, not much difference, other than point of impact relative to point of aim.

    Exactly!^^^
    And even so, I would guess anyone (short of a new shooter or very small person) could tell any difference in recoil between the two when shooting.
     

    Andy

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    I cast both styles.

    With that said, it depends what you're concerned about - accuracy, reliability, powder or lead.

    Accuracy - in my 1911, the 200gr seems more accurate than the 230gr when bench-rested at 25 yards, but it's a work in progress and I'm loathe to say this definitively yet.

    Reliability - while I love the 200gr SWC (H&G #68 as well as a Mihec clone), they don't feed well in all pistols - so if you want a "no muss, no fuss" bullet that will feed in almost anything, get the 230gr RN.

    Powder or lead - A heavier bullet uses less powder. However, heavier bullets cost a little bit more - or if you cast your own bullets like me, they dig into your lead stash a bit more. For example, a pound of lead gets me 35 of the 200gr bullets - that same pound of lead only gets me 30 230gr bullets. So - are you more concerned with the cost/availability of gunpowder or the cost/availability of lead? :)

    Recoil has been mentioned by competitive shooters - Rob Leatham, for example, prefers heavier bullets - he says that they recoil less. Damned if I know - feels the same to me *shrug*
     
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    Dawico

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    I agree with the fact that 230 gr rn bullets feed extremely well.

    Technically lighter bullets have more recoil but in standard pistol rounds you may not notice.
     

    deemus

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    I prefer the 230's in my 45 ACP. I like how they feed and the recoil is manageable.
     

    rushthezeppelin

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    Depends on how recoil sensitive you are. 230 gr is going to recoil more than 200 gr. For ever action there's an equal and opposite reaction... larger mass to move = more recoil towards you.

    sent from deep space

    Tell that to my 150gr SWCs I use in my 9mm, they think they are 22 magnums :P Velocity and burn rate of your powder has just as much to do with recoil as bullet weight, if not more.
     

    rsayloriii

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    Tell that to my 150gr SWCs I use in my 9mm, they think they are 22 magnums :P Velocity and burn rate of your powder has just as much to do with recoil as bullet weight, if not more.

    Of course there's always other variables involved. Powder charge, powder burn rate, gun mass, slide mass, revolver vs semi auto, recoil spring rate, etc etc etc. I was merely talking purely from a physics standpoint. The more mass you have going in one direction, according to Newton's 3rd law, you have the same energy going the opposite direction (out the barrel force = force applied to the shooter). That force is always there, but when you add in the different variables like recoil springs, those mitigate the force into a different action than into the shooter.
     

    shortround

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    Short history lesson. Original loading was a 230 grain RNFMJ loaded to about 850 fps.

    Worked well for about 100 + years.

    I stick with what works in the original design. Anything else is purely up to you.

    Switch bullet weights/powder grains and you will have to make adjustments with recoil springs, even main springs.

    If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
     

    Dawico

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    Tell that to my 150gr SWCs I use in my 9mm, they think they are 22 magnums :P Velocity and burn rate of your powder has just as much to do with recoil as bullet weight, if not more.

    They are actually tied together. A lighter bullet has more velocity and therefore more recoil. Energy = mass x velocity (squared). Velocity increases recoil exponentially.

    The difference is really noticable with big magnum rounds.


    Back on topic, I have had feeding issues with SWCs. RN bullets are much more forgiving.
     

    Army 1911

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    Recoil may be calculated but felt recoil varies shooter by shooter.
    Many bullseye shooters, if not most, prefer the 200gr LSWC of the H&G 68 pattern. They also shoot medium power loads and work their loads up for accuracy.

    Now if you are talking SD loads, then the 230gr is the way to go.
     

    deemus

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    Suppositions are never good for concrete data. Here's a calculator for recoil that will tell you what you are really experiencing. Recoil Calculator

    The recoil in my old 1911 is very different than my Glock 21. The 21 has less perceived recoil, shooting the same rounds.

    And rsaylor is right on. The load affects it too. For example, my 44 mag loads loaded with Blue dot seem to have much less recoil than those loaded with other powders, using the same bullet and similar FPS loads.
     

    Texasjack

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    I've loaded all varieties of .45 ACP rounds and never had a problem with them. Some pistols do get sensitive about loading certain bullets - esp. hollowpoints - but none of my 1911s ever gave me problems.
     

    Deavis

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    Velocity increases recoil exponentially.


    Squaring is not exponential and while FRE may be equal to 1/2 MV^2, that is the velocity of the WEAPON, not the projectile. Lighter bullets going faster will have less recoil than heavier bullets. If you look at something like the SAAMI page

    http://www.saami.org/PubResources/GunRecoilFormulae.pdf

    You will see that V, while squared, is actually dependent upon variables that are not squared. Specifically, you are focused on We and Ve, which are equivalent in their contribution. If you put in some numbers you'll see that at the velocities that each projectile typically runs, lighter bullets have less FRE in general.
     

    Younggun

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    Some of you are forgetting that there is more to the release of energy than just how much is released. Namely, the speed at which the energy is released.

    That is a very important factor when judging "felt recoil" and the reason some say .40 S&W has more felt recoil than .45 ACP.

    The .40 releases the energy very quickly due to the high pressure of the round where as .45 is a slower lumbering recoil even though there is a larger energy release involved. Hence the "snappy" .40 recoil.
     
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