Loadout Match
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.45 ACP Drop Chart

Big, slow, and subsonic — .45 ACP lobs a heavy bullet on a rainbow arc; a carbine barrel adds little speed but a steadier sight radius for 100-yard plinking.

Updated

Load
Barrel
Zero
Units

230 gr FMJ · 890 fps · G1 BC 0.195 · 5″ barrel · 100-yard zero · 2″ optic height · sea level.

RangeDrop (in)Hold (MOA)Hold (MIL)Velocity
25 yd+2.9——872 fps
50 yd+4.9——855 fps
75 yd+4.0——839 fps
100 yd0——824 fps
150 yd−17.811.33.3794 fps
200 yd−49.323.56.8767 fps

This load is subsonic — quiet and superb suppressed, but it drops fast and is a short-range proposition.

Estimate — confirm at the range. These figures are computed for the selected load, barrel, and zero at sea level — the barrel setting shifts muzzle velocity by a typical per-inch rate from published cut-down tests, so it’s an estimate too. Your real drop also depends on your exact ammo and lot, altitude, temperature, and conditions. Use this to get in the ballpark and to pick the right optic — then verify your actual holdovers on paper or steel before you trust them.

What this means for your optic

By the time you're holding several MOA or MIL of holdover, a plain dot stops being enough. That's where a reticle with marked holds (a BDC or MIL/MOA grid), an exposed turret you can dial, and a first-focal-plane scope earn their keep. Pick a rifle below to see the optics that fit it — and how they mount.

.45 ACP rifles in our catalog