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Posted On: 6/25/2023
By: ARNE J. BROSTUEN
A: Thanks for reaching out Arne! Speer did record this round's 1,085 fps muzzle velocity with a 5" barrel. It is impossible to accurately predict just how much terminal performance you're forfeiting with a 4.25" barrel – only chronograph and gel testing can give us realistic figures. We did have a customer say this ammo "Shoots a 1.5 " group at 15 yards out of my 4.25" barrelled 1911," so the accuracy is definitely there. If I had to venture a guess, I would estimate that the 185gr load would still give you a muzzle velocity of ~1,005 fps, which would still deliver adequate penetration for defensive applications. All Dan Wesson 1911s are rated for +P, so if you're willing to accept the higher recoil (and slightly accelerated wear and tear on your 1911's moving parts) then you'll be well-served by the +P round as well.
Posted On: 4/26/2020
By: joey Z.
A: Speer's Gold Dot is the original bonded core handgun bullet! Speer electrochemically fuses the Gold Dot bullet's core and jacket together one molecule at a time, and it's extremely durable as the result.
Posted On: 9/18/2017
By: Scott
A: Great question. There's two things going on here. Bullet weight and bullet construction.
The 185 gr bullet is obviously lighter than the 230 gr bullet. The bullet weighs less and will also produce a little less recoil when fired from the same gun as the 230 gr.
The second issue is bullet construction. Speer makes "short barrel" versions of certain of their products because when a normal hollowpoint round is fired from a short barrel, the bullet will not build enough velocity to expand reliably when it hits the target. So the "short barrel" version of their hollowpoints addresses this issue with a different projectile, designed to expand properly even at the lower velocities produced by firing them in shorter barrelled handguns.