[Joe Btfsplk]

Back pain due to too much weight on the hip.

 

[TheDreadnought]

I’m back to .45 for the same reason I left it a couple years ago. The gun I now shoot best is now a .45 ACP (1911).

Holds 9 rounds. Plenty of capacity for a civilian gunfight. But just in case, I’ll carry an extra mag. Problem solved.

 

[Cranky old cop]

No gunfight but I should have capped the crazy lady trying to stab me with my duty 1911.
Tone down vitriol on a gun forum?? You are new here.

One can only hope……😏

 

[Cranky old cop]

You are a bit contradicting. Since none of us know what our fight will be, then why not carry the 45 if you believe in it so strongly? I used to back in the day of crappy jhp. I would hunt jackrabbits with a 9mm & 90gr jhp or sp but never trusted those tiny expanding bullets to drop people. Today though, I am just fine with any service caliber with decent ammo. If stuck with solids, then I would go back to the 45 for edc.

Any firearm is vastly superior to harsh language…….

 

[fredj338]

Any firearm is vastly superior to harsh language…….

While mostly true, the point was he believes in the 45 & carries a 9. I wont carry something i dont believe in.

 

[Railsplitter]

For those that left the .45 ACP caliber - what were your reasons why and what caliber did you choose to adopt afterwards ?

For me the .45 was always just a novelty. Never seriously considered carrying it.

 

[Thursty]

I've actually moved back to .45 recently. Pre-plandemic I invested into a lot of supplies for the .45. As my 9mm supplies dwindled down I started shooting the .45 more. So much that I picked up a few more .45s that I could carry. I've been hooked on the G30SF for a few months now. I can hit all 10 rounds in the A zone, at 10 yards, in 10 seconds. I'm sure I could do better with a 9mm, but I do fine with the .45.

A while back, in an effort to justify the .45 to myself, I turned it into a math problem. The 9mm bullets I used, which were a standard defensive load for me, had an average penetration of 18.3 inches, and an average expansion of 0.61 inches. Rounding down to 18 inches of penetration (discarding any penetration exceeding the FBI standard) I came up with an average of 10.9 inches of tissue displacement per round fired. Doing the same with .45 we have an average penetration of 14.5 inches and an average expansion of 1 inch, resulting in an average of 14.5 inches of tissue displaced per round fired. Extrapolating that out to a point in which tissue displacement is relatively equal, 4 rounds of 9mm is roughly equivalent to 3 rounds of 45; by that I mean, 4 rounds of 9mm displaces 43.6 inches of tissue and 3 rounds of .45 displaces 43.5 inches of tissue. To look at it another way, if a full size Glock 17 holds 17+1, and a full size Glock 21 holds 13+1, the Glock 17 carries a tissue displacement capacity of 196.2 inches, while the Glock 21 carries the capacity to displace 203 inches of tissue.

So, now we've got a baseline to measure. Everyone says, I can shoot my 9mm faster than I can shoot my .45, but how are you measuring that? Split times? Over an arbitrary number of rounds? How are you determining the number of rounds you shoot? 2-4 rounds seems to be the accepted standard in a gun fight, but we know 2 rounds of 9mm doesn't equal 2 rounds of .45, so that really isn't a valid measure.

For me, I can shoot 3 rounds of .45 faster than I can shoot 4 rounds of 9mm.

 

[Baldeagle0]

For me the .45 was always just a novelty. Never seriously considered carrying it.

I love .45 as a target practice round, because it's not loud and has mild recoil, but i somehow don't trust it as much as i trust .357 sig, .40 and 10mm for SD. I kinda doubt a big and slow flying ashtray like .45 acp would perform great when it encounters barriers in the form of some huge 280lbs attacker who wears thick winter clothes.
It's a fine caliber, but personally i think it's a little overrated as a SD load. Some fans like to give .45 almost mythical "knockdown" power. A big diameter doesn't mean everything if the bullet is slow and designed to be poor barrier penetrator.

Sure those HST +p loads look awesome in clear gel and expansion is superb, but how would a round that slow and that wide with almost an inch of expansion crush barriers, loads of muscle, fat tissue, bones and thick winter clothes is another question.

 

[GlockWheeler]

I have had pistols chambered in several different calibers for years. I have been carrying an HK VP9 in 9mm for some time now, but with the impending passage of Measure 114 here in Oregon, I will likely be going back to carrying my old Glock 30 or Glock 29 until they weed through the constitutional issues of the measure.

 

[BDM71]

Just had my 1.0 M&P .45 (among others) out this a.m. I added an Apex sear and springs to it a while back. 150 rounds down range. At 15 yds where ever I put the sights is where the bullet landed.

Nice gun! I wish the M&Ps still had the extended beavertail (merely my preference).

 

[44bulld0g]

I left the .45 because of my life experiences. I seen that they most certainly do not all fall to hardball. I seen what a properly placed 9mm will do. I learned that the definition of firepower is capacity, not caliber. I'll take 15 rounds of 9mm any day over 7 rounds of .45 just like I'll take 30 rounds of 5.56 over 20 .308. Arguing over caliber is one of the most stupid past times.

@George Kaplan well a properly placed 45 auto will do the same if not more damage than a 9mm.. I get capactiy is "important" but one good shot from any caliber surely beats 6 leg shots

 

[Railsplitter]

I love .45 as a target practice round, because it's not loud and has mild recoil, but i somehow don't trust it as much as i trust .357 sig, .40 and 10mm for SD. I kinda doubt a big and slow flying ashtray like .45 acp would perform great when it encounters barriers in the form of some huge 280lbs attacker who wears thick winter clothes.
It's a fine caliber, but personally i think it's a little overrated as a SD load. Some fans like to give .45 almost mythical "knockdown" power. A big diameter doesn't mean everything if the bullet is slow and designed to be poor barrier penetrator.

Sure those HST +p loads look awesome in clear gel and expansion is superb, but how would a round that slow and that wide with almost an inch of expansion crush barriers, loads of muscle, fat tissue, bones and thick winter clothes is another question.

Back when the choice was limited to the 9mm or the .45 the .45 was very much a relevant caliber. But now with the .40, 357 Sig and 10 mm to chose from there is little need for the .45. The 9mm now fills the cheap low recoil niche that is popular.

 

[CanyonMan]

Back when the choice was limited to the 9mm or the .45 the .45 was very much a relevant caliber. But now with the .40, 357 Sig and 10 mm to chose from there is little need for the .45. The 9mm now fills the cheap low recoil niche that is popular.

Sorry Rail... But there are 'far more' 45 acp's on the planet than any of these other calibers you've mentioned here... Not relevant you say?! It's still a 'Very relevant' caliber for SD, and Comp shooters as well... It will 'Always be a relevant caliber..'

You said it all in the sentence..."The 9mm now fills the cheap low recoil niche that is popular.."

Amigo, Folks always gravitate to cheap and easy... But this, does not alienate, or make irrelevant, the 45 acp. Never will.


ssaw

CM
✝

 

[Cranky old cop]

While mostly true, the point was he believes in the 45 & carries a 9. I wont carry something i dont believe in.

I got the impression he prefers 45 , in LE you carry what they say you will carry no matter what you believe. It is nice if both line up , if not there is always barber school 😉

 

[Cranky old cop]

Sorry Rail... But there are 'far more' 45 acp's on the planet than any of these other calibers you've mentioned here... Not relevant you say?! It's still a 'Very relevant' caliber for SD, and Comp shooters as well... It will 'Always be a relevant caliber..'

You said it all in the sentence..."The 9mm now fills the cheap low recoil niche that is popular.."

Amigo, Folks always gravitate to cheap and easy... But this, does not alienate, or make irrelevant, the 45 acp. Never will.


ssaw

CM
✝

I sort of doubt your estimate of the numbers of 45’s in circulation

 

[CanyonMan]

I sort of doubt your estimate of the numbers of 45’s in circulation

Well, I'd bet there are more 9's and 45's out there than the others mentioned, 'was my point..' I was wrong once before though!

But at three o' clock in the morning amigo, I forgot to mention the 9mm, and was to tired to edit it.

Stay safe out there..

CM
✝

 

[Cranky old cop]

Well, I'd bet there are more 9's and 45's out there than the others mentioned, 'was my point..' I was wrong once before though!

But at three o' clock in the morning amigo, I forgot to mention the 9mm, and was to tired to edit it.

Stay safe out there..

CM
✝

I hear ya , 3am posting sometimes is problematic. Been there. 👍🏼

 

[CanyonMan]

I hear ya , 3am posting sometimes is problematic. Been there. 👍🏼

LOL... Especially when I have been gettin to bed about that time for several some nights now!

ssaw

CM
✝

 

[fredj338]

I sort of doubt your estimate of the numbers of 45’s in circulation

Certainly more 45 than 40 or 357sig or 10. 75y Military cotracts alone almost guarantee that. I would wager more 9mm than all others combined but for the 45.

 

[CanyonMan]

Certainly more 45 than 40 or 357sig or 10. 75y Military contracts alone almost guarantee that. I would wager more 9mm than all others combined but for the 45.

Yes amigo... Thanks for helpin me get that out of my mouth straight...!
I

ssaw
(stay safe and well)

CM
✝