November 2005

.45 Auto Frangible Loads: Our Pick Is Winchester Ranger

Our tests of cartridges from Remington, Winchester, and Speer had excellent to marginal accuracy results with acceptable recoil — and the most over-penetration we have ever seen.

Above: We selected the Rock River Limited Match .45 ACP, which has an accuracy guarantee of 1.5 inches at 50 yards. In the gun, we shot three .45 Auto roundnose loads: Speer’s 155-grain Lawman RHT Frangible CF (Load No. 53395); Remington’s 175-grain Disintegrator Plated, Frangible (Load No. L45APA), and the round we liked the best, Winchester’s 175-grain +P Ranger Frangible SF (Load No. RA45SF, top). If you are considering using frangible ammunition for self-defense, don’t. All three rounds exceedingly over-penetrated and could be very hazardous to innocent bystanders. There was also no expansion.

Frangible ammunition has been around for more than 15 years, but many shooters are unfamiliar with it. We were introduced to frangible ammunition at the Sigarms Academy (www.sigarmsacademy.com>) in New Hampshire. Sigarms Academy uses lead-free non-toxic ammunition exclusively; in fact they provide all the ammo their students can shoot as part of the course fee.

Frangible ammunition is available in most standard pistol calibers and two rifle calibers (.223 and .308), but the .45 auto is one of our favorite calibers, so we choose it for our test. We selected the Rock River Limited Match .45 ACP (www.rockriverarms.com>), which has an accuracy guarantee of 1.5 inches at 50 yards. At the…

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