[Jeff Higgins]

There are a lot of "non-canister" grades of powders available to the ammunition industry that are not available to hand loaders. These first showed up in the "light magnum" rifle loads, wherein the .30-'06 achieves near 300 Win Mag velocities without exceeding SAAMI allowable pressures. It was only a matter of time before similar advances were made in pistol powders.

1000 fps in a 230 grain .45 is a formidable load. I've killed game with black powder .45 Colt loads, with a 250-is grain bullet going under 900 fps. A hard cast semi wadcutter will exit the biggest mulies in the west on broadside shots, even breaking one shoulder.

With that in mind, I actually kind of question the veracity of this hot .45 ACP load as a "defensive" round. I think it actually has too much power. The standard .45 ACP strikes a very nice balance of plenty of power, controlable recoil, minimal muzzle flash, and relatively low noise. This new load must buck and bark a good deal more. That, and regardless of pressure levels obtained, it is going to be damn hard on any 1911. Recoil velocity of the slide has nothing to do with pressures generated - it's purely a function of bullet weight and velocity. As we discovered over two decades ago with the hot 10mm auto, that old 1911 can only take so much.