Latest Loads: Speer Gold Dot Personal Protection 230-grain HP

by
posted on December 4, 2015
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
standard.jpg

An original offering is sometimes difficult to top, and that’s exactly the case with the .45 ACP. For more than a century, 230-gr. bullets fired from the “forty-five” have proven to be the gold standard for personal protection. With its consistent, reliable expansion and high retained weight through “FBI protocol”-prescribed barriers, Speer’s Gold Dot (GD) Personal Protection hollow-point (HP) makes the bullet/cartridge combination even better. Using 6.6 grs. of Alliant’s new clean-burning, low-flash BE-86 propellant, and fired from the 4½" barrel of a Ruger P90DC, the 0.451"-diameter, 230-gr. GDHP attained 887 f.p.s., producing more than 400 ft.-lbs. of energy. With such ballistics and a stellar reputation, it’s little wonder why fervent .45 fans are loathe to deviate from the original.

Latest

Stoeger STR-45 Combat pistol
Stoeger STR-45 Combat pistol

New for 2026: Stoeger STR-45 Combat Pistol

For 2026, Stoeger adds the .45 ACP chambering to its Combat line of STR handguns.

Battle Of The Kit Guns: .22 Long Rifle vs. .22 WMR

When it comes to the .22 Long Rifle or the .22 WMR, which of these two popular rimfire calibers is the better fit for a small-frame revolver? To find out, we put a Taurus 942 in both chamberings to the test.

Preview: American Hunting Rifles Ruger Reflex Sight

Designed and built by a custom riflemaker, and applicable across a broad range of Ruger platforms that feature that company’s distinctive integral scope mount dovetails, the American Hunting Rifles Ruger Reflex Sight Mount is available in either RMR or Shield red-dot footprints.

Barnes & Sierra Launch Free TrueData Ballistic Calculator

With Doppler-verified ballistics, precise environmental inputs and tools that match real-world performance, the TrueData Ballistic Calculator equips hunters and shooters with the ability to make accurate shots.

New for 2026: Benelli Ethos Cordoba Shotguns

Benelli expands its Cordoba line of shotguns with six new models.

New for 2026: New Products from Magpul

Magpul announces new metal-magazines, new stocks and pistol frames.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.