Winchester's 185-grain FMJ is the light bullet in a caliber built around 230s. It leaves the muzzle at 910 fps with 340 ft-lbs, a power factor of 168 that clears the USPSA major floor of 165 by about 3 points. From a 25-yard zero it prints 2.3 inches low at 50 yards and 15.7 inches low at 100. The light bullet shows up in recoil: in the same pistol it produces about 26 percent less recoil energy than Winchester's own 230-grain ball.

Against the 230-grain loads in this set it is faster at the muzzle and softer everywhere else. It runs 75 fps ahead of Winchester 230 and 73 fps ahead of Magtech 230, and 20 fps ahead of American Eagle 230, the hottest of the three at 890 fps. In the same pistol it produces about 26 percent less recoil energy than Magtech 230 and about 33 percent less than American Eagle 230. The 230s also make major with room to spare, at power factors of 192 to 205, where this load's 3-point margin can disappear over a chronograph from a shorter barrel.

Buy it for high-volume range work and for a shooter new to the .45 who wants the softest full-jacket load in this set. Do not buy it as a stand-in for a carry load. Speer Gold Dot 185 JHP leaves at 1,050 fps, 140 fps faster than this load, and produces about 27 percent more recoil energy in the same pistol, so a session with this ammo will not feel like the carry ammo; Magtech 230 at 837 fps lands within about 6 percent of the Gold Dot's recoil and is the closer rehearsal.