Talk me out of/back into .45 ACP

[One Shot One Kill]

Ok, so here's my dilemma. I currently have one .45 ACP handgun, a great Sar K2 double stack that holds 14 rounds a mag, but weighs your typical 1911 weight + weight of extra 6 rds. Love the gun, but hate the cost of ammo... I find myself carrying and shooting 9mm over this monster nearly everyday.
My thoughts, should I ditch this gun and .45, and maybe get back into 45 later in life when I have more money to spend on ammo. I also don't own any .22 pistols and would like to get into one of those, since I have a lot of shooting to do to refine my pistol skills.

Edit: Would sell the 45 for the .22 (to clarify) and I am currently making crap wage (less than 15K/yr, until I find a better job)
So money is not just tight, it's scarce.

Thoughts?

 

[Spyco]

Buy a press, powder, bullets, and start reloading. Takes a little time to make some plinking grade 45acp.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Buy a press, powder, bullets, and start reloading. Takes a little time to make some plinking grade 45acp.

That.

Or just keep the gun for when you 'get back into it' later on. It's not costing you much sitting there, is it?

 

[One Shot One Kill]

Buy a press, powder, bullets, and start reloading. Takes a little time to make some plinking grade 45acp.

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

 

[BehindBlueI's]

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

You can get a turret press and everything you need to start for $200-ish. Lee turret, dies (which you can probably find used), a Lee powder dispenser, and a tri beam scale or electric scale. You don't even need a reload manual any longer, the powder manufacturers have it all online.

 

[gmcman355]

The cost of a .22 pistol will also buy a fair amount of ammo or pay for the better part of a single stage reloading setup. There can probably be as much gained doing dry fire drills to increase your skill as there is shooting a .22 and then expecting that to transfer to your ability on other handguns. I only say this from experience and the lightening of my own wallet to just end up pretty much back where I started

 

[BogWalker]

You can get a turret press and everything you need to start for $200-ish. Lee turret, dies (which you can probably find used), a Lee powder dispenser, and a tri beam scale or electric scale. You don't even need a reload manual any longer, the powder manufacturers have it all online.

Replace turret with single stage and get even cheaper.

Heck, if you're patient drop $30 for a Lee Loader and have the whole setup. Lee Classic Loader 45 ACP

Reloading is only as expensive as you want to make it.

 

[Spyco]

Here's a single stage press that comes with more stuff than what my kit had, all for $130.
Lee Challenger Kit:
Lee Challenger Breech Lock Single Stage Press Anniversary Kit

 

[bstewrat3]

Sell the 45 and get a 9mm. If reloading isn't something you are fully commited to you shouldn't do it. The recommendation of a Lee Loader is a great place to start if you want to give reloading a shot with very little investment. I started with a Lee Loader in 38 Special almost 30 years ago and it would still make ammo as good today as any equipment I own.

 

[One Shot One Kill]

Hm.. Still not sure I'm interested in reloading really. It's definitely a viable option, but it never really appealed to me for couple of reasons. I'll mull it over some more, but at this point I think I may just keep an eye for aluminum ammo, which runs the same price as a box of brass 9mm.

 

[nra4ever]

Get a glock 26 or 19. It would be irresponsible of me to suggest .45 over 9mm...

 

[HamYankee]

if you can only have one gun right now, a midsized 9mm, such as a Glock 19. Ammo is cheaper, but also effective. I would not sell a .45 and only have a .22 pistol.

 

[One Shot One Kill]

Ah, I should mention this .45 isn't my only handgun, I do have a glock 19, which I love!

 

[Leo]

If weight is an issue and money is tight, you could carry fewer rounds. There is no law that says you cannot carry with only 7 in a 14 round magazine. That will lighten the pistol 5 or 6 ounces.

 

[Shift Zombie]

There are several things you can do. Have you shopped around for .45 ammo? I can find it regularly around 15 a box at Walmart, sometimes cheaper when they run sales on Tula. I used to buy federal bulk packs for 32 a box of 100. It was reliable and accurate. 9mm is still running 9-11 a box of 50. From the reviews I've read and people I've talked to at various shooting events, most hold the K2 in high regard. Have you considered selling/trading it for a G21? They're nice pistols and weigh roughly half as much as the K2 with only a slight reduction in capacity.

 

[GIJEW]

Regarding the .45, I'd think that the size of the pistol would be a bigger issue than the weight of 6 cartridges.

As for reloading equipment, if you intend to get into a progressive press, I'd stay away from Lee. I had a single stage which functioned well but their automatic powder dispenser is plastic and grains of powder would bind it up. I'd start with RCBS if you want to start with a single stage--I believe their's can be upgraded to a progressive.

 

[Route 45]

Sell the .45. The .45 is a caliber for those who just like the .45, there is no real reason to choose it over a good 9mm for defense. Your Glock 19 is a solid self defense gun. Buy some target 9mm ammo and a couple of boxes of your favorite defense loads. Forget the .22, if you want to hone your defensive shooting skills, you need to do it with the actual pistol you will be using. I'd rather shoot 50 rounds a month of 9mm than 200 rounds of .22, because I don't feel that .22 in a different platform is all that valuable with regards to skill building with a 9mm. You could maybe buy a .22 conversion kit for your Glock, but again, there's nothing like training with the actual recoil and dynamics of the actual caliber. Maximize your investment. A .22 is good for plinking, pest control and small game hunting, and that's about it.

 

[VERT]

Au Contraire! 22 pistols are a blast. Plus sight alignment and trigger control are always a good thing. But .22 is hard to find and not exactly cheap anymore. Many Rimfire pistols can be quirky with cheap ammo and the better ammo prices seem to be stabilizing at 12 cents per shot. I can reload 9mm for that price or buy new for roughly double. Gone are the days of plinking all day for a couple dollars. So I have a hard time recommending .22 for solely for practice right now, but not because it has no benefit.

On the cheap dry fire is your friend. Hard to beat a couple 9mm Glocks if you only need a handgun on a budget. My recommendation is sell the .45 so long as you have no attachment to it and use the money to gear up around your Glock. Second gun, good holster, magazines, sights, trigger, etc.

 

[DustyDawg48]

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. Not for carry, not for self-defense, not for target shooting or competitive pistol sports. You have to love the .45 and be willing to shoulder the cost or move on to more 9mm. I love .45 ACP and at one time I had more .45 pistols than any other gauge or caliber of any other weapon I own but cost kept me from shooting it more seriously as prices rose higher for bullets. 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!

 

[throttletony]

Ah, I should mention this .45 isn't my only handgun, I do have a glock 19, which I love!

This is good to hear.
Since that's the case, I'd say ditch the .45 unless YOU absolutely love it.
.22 is still a pain to find most of the time, but any trigger time is better than none.
I think everyone is trying to sell you on the reloading equipment because in the long run it is a lot cheaper and/or you can shoot a lot more for the same $$. I got into reloading a couple years ago and now can reload .38 spl or .357 for about $0.12-14 with coated bullets, and way cheaper with just plain lead. Eventually, you should seriously consider reloading.

For now, I can appreciate the tight funds, and would suggest the importance of doing as much practice (of any kind) as you can. This can include dry firing, drills with an empty gun, etc.

If you WANT a .22 (and you already have another centerfire handgun for SD), then I wouldn't talk you out of a .22 pistol.