anyone still worship at the .45 acp alter?

.45 is my favorite round to shoot. For some reason I seem to shoot better with a .45 than a 9mm and I own several of each.

I’m not religious about it, but if offered the same gun in any common caliber, I’d go with .45 all day long.
 
greencobra said:
just curious, no judging. i still shoot a bunch of it. reload a ton also. 230 gr. lead rn. i do reload 180 gr semi wadcutters also, but just depleting the stock from my competition days. for defense, i've always liked the idea of a wide body bullet going low and slow into flesh, maybe crashing into a bone here and there. that impact should make one unsteady on their feet.
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I don't believe in any appreciable ballistic difference.... I still carry and use some 45 acp handguns... /just because I like them/ not because I believe it's some kind of magical talisman. Although when it comes to kinetics versus bowling pins the 45 is King.... you won't get any argument with me on that.... but when shooting bad humans most of that goes right out the window.....
 
I remember 20 years ago, my Aikido teacher saying 9mm is OK, but when the bad guy looks up and sees that .45 bore pointing at him, he knows something bad is coming his way. Or something like that.
 
whacko said:
I have had 2 debates with "newbs" that worship the 9mm and claim the 45acp is an antiquated cartridge. I found it necessary to inform them that 9mm came out in 1901......well before the 45acp. Both cartridges are very old.....and I'll concede that modern 9mm loads are much more potent due to reliable expansion than original 9mm......and it has its place due to extra capacity. But both newbs for some reason were surprised that 9mm had been around since the turn of the last century lol
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Im surprised that as well... i thought it was 1908..or 1913 stick in my brain i thought it was a lot closer to ww1
 
Although I am a 9mm and 10mm guy, as a relatively new reloader i have taken to 45 auto because it’s super easy to load. I acquired several thousand pieces of small pistol primer 45 brass which allows me to load for cheap as I don’t even need LPP. I’ve been able to run 800+ rounds through my 1911 this past summer without having to spend insane $$ on factory ammo.

for handgun cartridges I’ve found 45 auto, 357 mag and 44 mag to be PERFECT for handloading and super cost effective. I loaded like 150 rds of 9mm and realized that was dumb since I could have just bought factory for about the same price without burning my time and small primers!
 
92G said:
Although I am a 9mm and 10mm guy, as a relatively new reloader i have taken to 45 auto because it’s super easy to load. I acquired several thousand pieces of small pistol primer 45 brass which allows me to load for cheap as I don’t even need LPP. I’ve been able to run 800+ rounds through my 1911 this past summer without having to spend insane $$ on factory ammo.

for handgun cartridges I’ve found 45 auto, 357 mag and 44 mag to be PERFECT for handloading and super cost effective. I loaded like 150 rds of 9mm and realized that was dumb since I could have just bought factory for about the same price without burning my time and small primers!
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If you are reloading 9mm for the cost of factory ammo, you are doing something wrong.

I broke down the costs in other threads, even with one of the most expensive powders (N320), and some of the most expensive bullets (BAYOU), you can still reload for under the cost of the cheapest steel cased ammo, and you are getting match ammo.

But, at the caliber goes up, so do the savings compared to factory. 45acp = big savings.
 
I have more pistols, revolvers and subguns in 45acp than any other caliber. It's a very good balance of power and recoil. It's a great self-defense round, and probably the most that many people can shoot without flinching. I shoot thousands of rounds of it every year. I'll second everything Broc said and if it's costing you as much for 9mm reloads as factory ammo, you're doing something very wrong.
 
drgrant said:
I don't believe in any appreciable ballistic difference.... I still carry and use some 45 acp handguns... /just because I like them/ not because I believe it's some kind of magical talisman. Although when it comes to kinetics versus bowling pins the 45 is King.... you won't get any argument with me on that.... but when shooting bad humans most of that goes right out the window.....
Click to expand...
lol_its_ok_its_only_9mm.jpg
 
My carry nowadays is either an LC9 in 9mm or a Springfield Compact Comp 1911 in .45. Same 7 round capacity for both. The Ruger is more comfortable, but the 1911 is more comforting.

Unless I’m in the woods, then it’s a Blackhawk in .45LC.
 
Ill always own a G21 and a 2 or 3 1911's.

I do carry the G17 or G22 .......more now than the .45's

Reloading 9mm sucks compared to .45
 
Broc said:
If you are reloading 9mm for the cost of factory ammo, you are doing something wrong.
Click to expand...

yeah I mostly loaded 9mm for funzies. If I ever load 9mm again it would be for 158 or 165 gr subsonics to optimize for the suppressed cz evo carbine. However that’s the type of project I load once and probably never again.

fancybrass sold me a bunch of SPP 45 auto brass and it’s been incredible cost savings to load with small primers. It is annoying though to sort by primer size. I use a pocket gauge because inevitably my eyes will mis-call some and create a headache later.

I’ve been using titegroup since I have a few Lbs of it but im wondering if this super fast powder causes more leading? I’m using gallant polymer coated bullets. I’ve since cut back from light to no crimp but still using the crimp die to reshape the flared mouth. This seems to have helped in terms of leading. I think perhaps i was applying too much crimp and it was causing leading? ive made a habit of running a few factory jacketed rounds at end of range session and that’s also helped clear out the rifling a smidge. The barrel is a Tisas 1911 so some of the leading could be the barrel.

so in my case 45 auto had been awesome for the purposes of learning a pistol cartridge. At some point I may get into 10mm.
 

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