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dicion wrote:From what I've read, various ballistics testing, denim plug tests, wound channel tests, etc... Federal HST's are considered the cream of the crop for .45ACP SD rounds.

Good luck finding them though.

I recently started carrying HSTs in my .45s, in the standard pressure loads. I've got a box on hand - thanks to killerfly128 - but only just recently. But for years I've kept my HD pistols, and my carry pistols, stoked with the old Federal Hydro-Shoks, and I didn't feel under-armed or anything. I suppose that, as newer and better technologies come along, it's not a bad idea to upgrade, but that doesn't mean that old school won't be extremely effective. Lotsa guys been shot with Hydro-Shoks with pretty good results.

I've also got 3 boxes of Speer Gold Dot 230 grainers that look like a well designed bullet, but I don't know anything really about their performance. Even so, I wouldn't have a problem carrying them.

Having seen gunshot patients probably numbering in the hundreds over a 5 year period working in an ER, I can safely say that I've only ever seen ONE wound caused by a hollowpoint in which the bullet exited the torso - and that guy was shot with a .41 magnum. Other than that, every single hollowpoint bullet, and even most FMJ bullet wounds I saw were not through and through.

Honestly, while overpenetration is a legitimate concern and should be a consideration in your calculations, unless you're carrying a high velocity magnum load, I would feel comfortable with almost any hollowpoint from a safety standpoint, and given slower calibers like the .45 ACP, even FMJs are not really that big of an overpenetration risk at any distance over a few feet. My bullet choices would be more centered more on how terminally effective (and incapacitating) the bullet design would likely be on the bad guy.

All of this assumes that you're hitting the guy dead on in the torso. If you hit him in the arm or neck or head, or miss entirely, all bets are off anyway.