.45 Colt STHP bullet change

[J Miller]

Since many of us have lever guns chambered for the .45 Colt, and some of us use the Winchester STHP ammo, I thought I'd share this.

Last March I purchased a new box of Winchester .45 Colt 225 STHP ammo. I purchased the previous box in August of ’02. I shoot very little factory ammo, and even less of the fancy STHP stuff. That is relegated to my home defense guns. My normal routine is to buy a new box every year or so and shoot up the old box. Well when I opened the new box the ammo looked different.
The new box of STHPs has a different bullet. The first thing I noticed was its color. Not the dull aluminum the old STHPs were made from, but a smooth polished plated silver look. Almost like nickel plating. The next thing I noticed was the hollow point was different. Instead of a wide opening tapering down to a narrow bottom, this one was wide all the way down. Right about 3/16” all the way down.

So I decided to do some comparisons. I took one of the new factory loads apart to compare the bullet to one I have in my bullet collection.
Here is what I found:
The bullet is copper jacketed with a silver colored plating; you can see the copper in the cuts at the edges of the hollow point. There is no lube grove as with the older aluminum bullet.


The base is however open like a FMJ bullet, just like the old bullet.


And the hollow point itself. I can’t get close enough with my camera, I hope it’s visable.


I haven’t shot any of the new ones yet, at $23.99 per box they won’t get shot very fast.
So I have no idea if they will perform as well as the old style bullet.

But as soon as I can afford it I’ll pick up another box and give them a try.

As an aside I checked the powder charge and it was 8.6grs of a dull grey round disc shaped powder that looked a lot like Bullseye.
These new .45 Colt bullet look like the ones in the box of .357 Magnum STHPs we bought in November of ’06.

I thought this was interesting enough to share.

Joe

[CowboyTutt]

Joe, that is interesting reading, thank you! How do you think you will test them? I still have a few of the older rounds like you do. My interpretation of what they were designed for is short-fat wound channels like you would need on a two-legged varmint. They don't strike me as being suitable for my "camp gun" 45 Colt loads. My personal prefered home defense load is a Hornady 45 Colt 300 XTP JHP (not XTP Mag) at around 850-900 fps. I figure it will stop a guy right quick, but not over penetrate. I'd be curious to see what you learn. Thanks for posting the change of bullet.

-Tutt

[Jaguarundi]

Interesting change in Design.I recall that the ol' 357 magnum 125gr Silvertip suffered from aluminum jacket/lead core seperation(guess thats why Winnie only offers the 145gr ST now).From my experience the Aluminum Jackets in a high humidity environment('Bama in summer combined with concealed carry for example) will start to oxidize(all the way to the point of the jacket visibly (deeply) pitting).I load my 45 Colt Handguns with Corbon loads-200gr HP for PD.I eagerly await your tests !

[J Miller]

I've been doing a little bit of research in the 2008 Winchester Products Guide. It has pictures of the various bullets they use in the pistol section. I was comparing the pictures of the bullets and this new STHP bullet is very similar to the SXT bullet they show. It has a copper jacket, open on the bottom, with a tapered hollow point cavity and fluted opening. Other than the shape of the hollow point cavity and lack of plating it could be the same bullet.

I also noticed there's been a ballistics change. The last time I remember checking the STHP velocities they showed 920fps from a 5" barrel.
Now they show 920fps from a 5.5" vented test barrel. I wonder if that will make any difference in their performance?

As for testing the new bullets I was thinking of asking a couple of my neighbors to line up in front of me and the........................ naw that wouldn't work.
The last bullet I shot and recovered, the one in the forth picture, was shot into moist rock less dirt, IF I remember right. It's been a long decade since I did that. I've decided to keep my old STHPs for future testing against the new ones.

Joe

[ceb]

That is interesting, like you, I shoot very little factory stuff. I do have some old and some new silvertips in 45ACP that I'll check out when I get home.

[Andrew]

That thing looks naz-tee! I have been thinking about putting the Blackhawk somewhere in my bedroom and keeping it stocked with something like that, so, I may have to give them a try.

[JerryB]

Joe,I have two of the twenty round boxes that I bought years ago. I loaded up my old Colt SAA 5 1/2 inch .45 and carried it for a week or so. Then I sez to my self, self I sez why are you carry that 'ol big .45 with them little bullets when I got them big old 255 grain hard cast chunks of lead loaded up with a gob of Unique. I put them back in the ammo can and there they are. Looking forward to hear what you come up with.

Jerry
REV. 22:20

[J Miller]

Joe,I have two of the twenty round boxes that I bought years ago. I loaded up my old Colt SAA 5 1/2 inch .45 and carried it for a week or so. Then I sez to my self, self I sez why are you carry that 'ol big .45 with them little bullets when I got them big old 255 grain hard cast chunks of lead loaded up with a gob of Unique. I put them back in the ammo can and there they are. Looking forward to hear what you come up with.

Jerry
REV. 22:20

Jerry,
I'm in a very small frame house. It's maybe 20' wide by 30' long at the most.
My neighbors have kids and I am very concerned about where a solid bullet might go if it missed the BG. And I'm sure a solid .45 wouldn't slow down much in the walls of this house. Maybe if it hit a wall beam, but otherwise not.

Not to mention that I've gotten into the habit of loading my defense guns with factory ammo, and nobody makes a standard pressure 250-255 gr SWC.

It will be some time before I can afford more of those things. They are just too expensive now. So you might want to shoot yours and see what happens. Or send them to me.

Joe

[scr83jp]

Since many of us have lever guns chambered for the .45 Colt, and some of us use the Winchester STHP ammo, I thought I'd share this.

Last March I purchased a new box of Winchester .45 Colt 225 STHP ammo. I purchased the previous box in August of ’02. I shoot very little factory ammo, and even less of the fancy STHP stuff. That is relegated to my home defense guns. My normal routine is to buy a new box every year or so and shoot up the old box. Well when I opened the new box the ammo looked different.
The new box of STHPs has a different bullet. The first thing I noticed was its color. Not the dull aluminum the old STHPs were made from, but a smooth polished plated silver look. Almost like nickel plating. The next thing I noticed was the hollow point was different. Instead of a wide opening tapering down to a narrow bottom, this one was wide all the way down. Right about 3/16” all the way down.

So I decided to do some comparisons. I took one of the new factory loads apart to compare the bullet to one I have in my bullet collection.
Here is what I found:
The bullet is copper jacketed with a silver colored plating; you can see the copper in the cuts at the edges of the hollow point. There is no lube grove as with the older aluminum bullet.


The base is however open like a FMJ bullet, just like the old bullet.


And the hollow point itself. I can’t get close enough with my camera, I hope it’s visable.


I haven’t shot any of the new ones yet, at $23.99 per box they won’t get shot very fast.
So I have no idea if they will perform as well as the old style bullet.

But as soon as I can afford it I’ll pick up another box and give them a try.

As an aside I checked the powder charge and it was 8.6grs of a dull grey round disc shaped powder that looked a lot like Bullseye.
These new .45 Colt bullet look like the ones in the box of .357 Magnum STHPs we bought in November of ’06.

I thought this was interesting enough to share.

Joe

Looks something like Golden Sabre or Black Talon with the petals