And, as usual, I agree with CH. The 165gr bullet is too light to achieve adequate penetration. It does one of two things: it either expands and gives 8-9" of penetration, OR the hollowpoint gets clogged and it fails to expand and gives around 14" of penetration with a narrow wound channel. Neither situation is ideal.
The GoldDot and Ranger loads (the new ones, not the SXTs) are top performers across nearly every caliber they're made for. They are the most advanced designs on the market today, and it would be VERY difficult to beat them in any gun.
The Hydra-Shok is a generation behind these. Having said that, they are still very GOOD bullets, just not the best anymore. But for a .45, I would recommend either the 200gr +P load or the 235gr load (from any of the top manufacturers) for sub-4"-barreled pistols. Note that Dr. Robert's load testing specifically uses 4" barreled guns to reflect the trend over the last decade or so of using more compact pistols, so performance from a 3.5" barrel aren't going to be significantly worse.
-Troy