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228 Posts
Hello. Over the past several months I've been shooting a heck of a lot of this stuff in factory trim for a project I've been working on.
When the Golden Saber line first came out, I bought some in various calibers including .45 ACP and tested it over the chronograph, shot it for group, did informal expansion tests (water & super-soaked newsprint) and have now seen quite a few animals shot with it. I recently shot quite a bit more from different lot numbers and got very good accuracy from the five-inch pistols I tried it in as well as more consistency in velocity.
For example, from a 5" Kimber the average velocity was 870 ft/sec with a standard deviation of 10 ft/sec. A STI Trojan averaged 853 ft/sec with a SD of 19 ft/sec and a DW Patriot got 869 ft/sec with a SD of 10 ft/sec.
More importantly, feed reliability has been excellent in Colt, Kimber, STI, Norinco, Springfield Armory, and others I've tried it in.
POA vs POI is almost exactly equivalent to most inexpensive factory 230-gr ball rounds used by many shooters. Groups have been very satisfactory.
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This is typical performance when firing the 230-gr. into super-saturated newsprint or water.
I have not used this load against laminated windshields, etc, and understand that Remington has a bonded version of this round now available to law enforcement. Some who have used it say that it's better while others express an opposing view.
Me? I don't know. I do know that I've been very pleased with this ammunition.
The cartridge has an overall length that works well in every magazine for 1911's or other .45 ACP I've tried them in. The bullet's ogive is condusive to reliable feeding and is not overly long...as in 9mm. (I've seen two STAR BM 9mm's that simply would not feed the Golden Sabers, one being my own.)
Animals I've seen shot with it included numerous javelina where the bullets expanded nicely, penetrated deeply on diagonal quartering shots. On broadside shots penetration was almost always completely through and through on these 10 to 14" thick animals.
I have observed no bullet/jacket separations as is sometimes observed in shooting water for expansion checks.
In years past, Remington .45 ACP cases were not my favorites as they were so thin that reloaded cases sometimes did not get a good grip on cast and particularly, jacketed bullets. I've been having a .45 load fest lately and have loaded JHP's, ball, as well as cast bullets with no problems at all in the fired Remington GS cases.
Reports from those who monitor this ammo's use against two-legged nasties have been very favorable. I can say that a buddy has cleanly dispatched a couple of feral hogs with this ammo from his Kimber 5". One was a smaller hog in the 100-lb range. The other was a bit larger. He's also applied the coup de grace on some monster hogs he trapped and skull penetration was not a problem at all.
Is it the equivalent of the vaunted Winchester Ranger T 230-gr. JHP that is designated RA45T? I don't know, but frankly I do not think there will be any significant difference on the receiving end. I've shot both loads and the Winchester load is a little bit more uniform in velocities in most guns I've tried...but not enough to matter. Velocities have been very similar. If you have been trying to buy the Winchester and cannot get it, I truly think the Remington 230-gr. GS would be a very satisfactory substitute.
At this moment, my .45 is loaded with the Ranger T's, but it wouldn't bother me one wit to use the Golden Sabers.
Best.
When the Golden Saber line first came out, I bought some in various calibers including .45 ACP and tested it over the chronograph, shot it for group, did informal expansion tests (water & super-soaked newsprint) and have now seen quite a few animals shot with it. I recently shot quite a bit more from different lot numbers and got very good accuracy from the five-inch pistols I tried it in as well as more consistency in velocity.
For example, from a 5" Kimber the average velocity was 870 ft/sec with a standard deviation of 10 ft/sec. A STI Trojan averaged 853 ft/sec with a SD of 19 ft/sec and a DW Patriot got 869 ft/sec with a SD of 10 ft/sec.
More importantly, feed reliability has been excellent in Colt, Kimber, STI, Norinco, Springfield Armory, and others I've tried it in.
POA vs POI is almost exactly equivalent to most inexpensive factory 230-gr ball rounds used by many shooters. Groups have been very satisfactory.
This is typical performance when firing the 230-gr. into super-saturated newsprint or water.
I have not used this load against laminated windshields, etc, and understand that Remington has a bonded version of this round now available to law enforcement. Some who have used it say that it's better while others express an opposing view.
Me? I don't know. I do know that I've been very pleased with this ammunition.
The cartridge has an overall length that works well in every magazine for 1911's or other .45 ACP I've tried them in. The bullet's ogive is condusive to reliable feeding and is not overly long...as in 9mm. (I've seen two STAR BM 9mm's that simply would not feed the Golden Sabers, one being my own.)
Animals I've seen shot with it included numerous javelina where the bullets expanded nicely, penetrated deeply on diagonal quartering shots. On broadside shots penetration was almost always completely through and through on these 10 to 14" thick animals.
I have observed no bullet/jacket separations as is sometimes observed in shooting water for expansion checks.
In years past, Remington .45 ACP cases were not my favorites as they were so thin that reloaded cases sometimes did not get a good grip on cast and particularly, jacketed bullets. I've been having a .45 load fest lately and have loaded JHP's, ball, as well as cast bullets with no problems at all in the fired Remington GS cases.
Reports from those who monitor this ammo's use against two-legged nasties have been very favorable. I can say that a buddy has cleanly dispatched a couple of feral hogs with this ammo from his Kimber 5". One was a smaller hog in the 100-lb range. The other was a bit larger. He's also applied the coup de grace on some monster hogs he trapped and skull penetration was not a problem at all.
Is it the equivalent of the vaunted Winchester Ranger T 230-gr. JHP that is designated RA45T? I don't know, but frankly I do not think there will be any significant difference on the receiving end. I've shot both loads and the Winchester load is a little bit more uniform in velocities in most guns I've tried...but not enough to matter. Velocities have been very similar. If you have been trying to buy the Winchester and cannot get it, I truly think the Remington 230-gr. GS would be a very satisfactory substitute.
At this moment, my .45 is loaded with the Ranger T's, but it wouldn't bother me one wit to use the Golden Sabers.
Best.
