[steveh]

I've been unfortunate enough to be next to someone shooting a .44 Magnum at an indoor range. The concussion when they fire is pretty disturbing. I thought they would make a great defensive weapon- even if you missed the bad guys, you would probably knock 'em over with the muzzle blast. And at an indoor range, the muzzle flash is like a flash bulb going off- it lights up the whole range for a brief moment. This got me to thinking- what .45 ACP load would produce the largest bang & flash? (I know that the .44 Mag case holds a lot more powder than the .45 ACP, and that a fully supported case as in a revolver can withstand a lot more pressure than a 1911-type pistol.)
For a 1911-type pistol, would this load require more than an 18 lb. recoil spring?

- Steve

 

[Peter Loron]

One way to do it (I think, please correct if I'm SNAFU) would be to find a safe load with a slow burning powder...if the powder is slow enough, you'll wind up with some of it still burning as it leaves the muzzle.

 

[rhyrlik]

Alliant Blue-Dot will produce what you want at low pressures, and with wonderful accuracy, especially with Nosler bullets.