Talk me out of/back into .45 ACP

[throttletony]

At no point, whether you reload or not (which I know you said you aren't interested in but is a fantastic hobby in and of itself) does .45 ACP ever get cheaper than 9mm. ... You'd mentioned shooting .22 LR but unless you can find the ammo, which is starting to break free a bit, some of the better .22LR ammo out there is costing about what I can load 9mm pistol for!

in the end, you have to dedicate yourself to shooting .45 because you love the round, the history of it and the gun you shoot it out of otherwise moving to 9mm makes the most sense. it hurt when I had to do it, and I've sold off or traded all my .45 autos except for 2 and have pretty much decided to go with 9mm all across the board for carry, competition and fun.

Good luck and let us know where you end up!

This is sound advice

 

[Tombs]

That thought occurred to me, but unless some nice Ingoers are willing to make donations of this equipment to get me set up, my funds at the moment don't allow for it... Can't afford ammo, and definitely can't afford the start up cost of reloading equipment

When you end up making 45acp for a 5-10 cents a round, you'll forget that you "couldn't afford it."

Case life seems to be pretty crazy for me. I got into it so I could afford to shoot 454 casull and 45-70.

After I started loading 357 magnum and 45acp for pennies, it made them much more appealing to shoot.

 

[One Shot One Kill]

I've decided to let the .45 go for now. I shot it and my g19 some today and didn't enjoy it nearly as much as the 19. With the 19 I virtually have no real use for the k2. I had originally bought it as a range gun, but it no longer fills that role as well as I'd hoped.
I might get into .45 again, but it's just not doing anything special for me anymore.

Im thinking of getting into a revolver of some kind, I don't have any of those, and I figure I could get a snubby to replace my .380 for deep conceal carry.

 

[Leadeye]

Tough to beat 45ACP and cast lead 230 grain RN bullets, easy cartridge to reload and casting your own bullets pays off.

 

[MohawkSlim]

I have a Walther P-22 I'd trade you.

 

[Route 45]

Im thinking of getting into a revolver of some kind, I don't have any of those, and I figure I could get a snubby to replace my .380 for deep conceal carry.

Do yourself a favor before you waste any money on a snubby. If you've never shot one, find a range where you can rent one and shoot it. The kind of snubby that you are likely thinking of is an Airweight or similar model. They recoil hard with defensive ammo, and they are hard to shoot well due to the crappy double action triggers, small grips, dinky sights and short sight radius. Especially if you have no experience with a revolver, you really have to try before you buy. Or, just give me $100 and I will hit you in the hand a few times with a hammer. That's about how much money you'll lose trying to sell or trade that snubby that you really should have tried first.

Seriously, I mean it. I don't care what the old fudds on here say. Lightweight snubnose revolvers suck.

 

[VERT]

Do yourself a favor before you waste any money on a snubby. If you've never shot one, find a range where you can rent one and shoot it. The kind of snubby that you are likely thinking of is an Airweight or similar model. They recoil hard with defensive ammo, and they are hard to shoot well due to the crappy double action triggers, small grips, dinky sights and short sight radius. Especially if you have no experience with a revolver, you really have to try before you buy. Or, just give me $100 and I will hit you in the hand a few times with a hammer. That's about how much money you'll lose trying to sell or trade that snubby that you really should have tried first.

Seriously, I mean it. I don't care what the old fudds on here say. Lightweight snubnose revolvers suck.

Old fudd here. If he is looking to replace a pocket .380 then the snub nose revolver makes a lot of sense. Let's face it handguns are a compromise and there are times when a medium sized gun like a Glock 19 just is not practical. I am talking special situations here where guns are not allowed but it isn't illegal to carry them. A snub nose revolver such as a Smith Airweight is a great choice. They are difficult to shoot and are very much experts guns for all of the reasons you outlined. But little micro .380s also have hard double action triggers,recoil, small grips, dinky sights, and a short barrel. Not to mention they are often finicky to be polite. In addition the .380 launches a crummy little Bullet from a neutered cartridge. At least the 38 special +P with proper ammo is stepping the capability a bit and excluding a complete mechinacal failure or high primer has a very good chance of going boom 5 times.

Right now now the clear winner in this market are the good single stack 9s. They have been slow in coming but the Shield, G43, Walther PPS and Springfield XDs are out there reasonably priced and ready to go out of the box. That said I own several of these guns and still elect to keep my j frame Airweight with me most of the time.

 

[Sailor]

I would keep what you have, after the sale of the 45 and buy a SIRT gun and the lasrapp software.

Add training and skill level with zero future ammo costs.

 

[shootamc58]

I go back and forth between 9mm and 45. I love 10mm but its too expensive to shoot regularly like 9mm/45. I alternate between the two depending on availability and price of ammo. Just my two cents but I don't like to be bound to one type of ammo or platform in case one becomes hard to get.

 

[Route 45]

Right now now the clear winner in this market are the good single stack 9s. They have been slow in coming but the Shield, G43, Walther PPS and Springfield XDs are out there reasonably priced and ready to go out of the box. That said I own several of these guns and still elect to keep my j frame Airweight with me most of the time.

Yeppers! I don't have anywhere where I could hide a snubby that I couldn't hide my Ruger LC9S Pro, or even my Shield. And 8 rounds of 9mm +P beats 5 rounds of .38 +P any day of the week. He also wouldn't have to stock another caliber. Snubnose revolvers do work, that's for sure, but I feel that the new crop of single stack 9mm pistols is a better option for pocket carry/concealment. And my LC9S Pro in particular has a sweet trigger that no revolver can match.

 

[VERT]

And my LC9S Pro in particular has a sweet trigger that no revolver can match.

A trigger that the current crop of stock factory revolver can't match. I can tell you that a good gunsmith can do quite the number on a Smith J frame. You might be surprised what an experienced shooter can accomplish with a properly tuned revolver.

 

[Route 45]

A trigger that the current crop of stock factory revolver can't match. I can tell you that a good gunsmith can do quite the number on a Smith J frame. You might be surprised what an experienced shooter can accomplish with a properly tuned revolver.

I've shot some revolvers with pretty sweet triggers. My dad has a Colt Python, the trigger is smooth as glass. It still isn't as light or short as the LC9s trigger.

 

[Toolman500]

You can't beat a 45 acp for knock down power

 

[Bfish]

You can't beat a 45 acp for knock down power

This is the first post after being a member since 2012! That makes this post 10 times better!!!

 

[Route 45]

You can't beat a 45 acp for knock down power

 

[88E30M50]

You can't beat a 45 acp for knock down power

Knock down power is an ambiguous term, but you are right about a .45 having a greater level of capacity to damage than smaller calibers. If you calculate wound volume with expansion and penetration, it shows that a .45 will have a greater capacity to damage which gives a greater chance of a stopping shot. If you look at the numbers to see what the wound volume is for the first three (most critical and usually only) rounds fired, a good .45 round gives nearly double the capacity to damage over common 9mm SD rounds. Even the best 9mm SD round comes up 30% short of a .45 in capacity to damage in the first 3 rounds.

So, why do I choose a .45? Statistics show that the chances of getting into an extended gun fight are minimal for the average non-criminal citizen and that in an SD situation, the first three rounds are likely to be what decides the outcome of the gun fight. Given that, I am all about making those first three rounds count the most, so I carry .45 normally with an occasional jump to a .40. As luck has it, .45 is what I shoot best, so it's a win-win.

 

[ajeandy]

You can't beat a 45 acp for knock down power

I've got your knock down power right here...



Any of the previous have more "knock down power" than your .45....Don't get that confused with lethality though...I do crack a mean whip though....

back to the thread.....get a .45 if you can accurately put quick rounds center mass at 7 yards...if you're getting it for SD...and if you have $ to shoot it....if you're going to carry it for SD then you should be as proficient with it as possible.

 

[88E30M50]

That's pretty much what it's all about. Carry what you shoot best. Not what you like best, but what you shoot best. The big advantage to a 9mm is that it's cheaper to run. If that allows you to run a 9 more, letting you become proficient with it, then it has a advantage over the .45 that you cannot afford to practice with, never becoming quite proficient.

In other words, even though the .45 causes more damage to what it hits, it does not make sense to carry it unless you can shoot it enough to become good with it. But, if you are a 50 round a month shooter, no matter the caliber, then go as big as you can.

 

[One Shot One Kill]

Appreciate the feedback, but this thread was never about a carry gun, but a range gun. The g19 fills both roles amazingly and therefore I decided to let the .45 ACP go until I have more to spend on ammo. I did use the money for a sw 638, and despite a stout recoil, I love it. It'll make a great deep concealment gun, and my glock will continue to make a nice range/oc/winter carry gun!
Thanks again for all the input!

 

[Dosproduction]

45 ACP is the round of gods. Don't mess around with that wussy 9mm women stuff be a man shoot a mans round. The dinosaurs where whipped out by a 45 dropped from space. Remember that David and Goliath story. Yep the sling shot had a 45 bullet in it. Shot heard round the world at the beginning of the Revolution, you guessed it 45 ACP. Hiroshima and Nagasaki just a little 45 from high altitude. Osama died from what. 45 ACP baby.