Why Do You Carry A 45 ACP?

[Alaskapopo]

Originally Posted by jtkratzer

Right, I'm not arguing with physics, I said similar sized/models/whatever in my post. I just prefer the recoil of the .45 over the 9mm.



Meaning suicide attempts or accidental discharges on the shootings?

Little bit of both.
Pat

[Slugger]

If I'm going to make a hole . . . I'm gonna make a big one!
Slugger

[redtree]

The great caliber debate!!!!!! IMHO debating caliber is like debating how to have your steak grilled.....rare or well done. Hey it's still steak. Pick a gun you like and a caliber you like and shoot the he** out of it!!!!! Personal example, my bro-in-law has a little Kel-Tec pocket gun in 32auto. He loves it. I don't. I do have him talked into and XD for his next gun though!!!!!

[Bree]

I started carrying a .357 Magnum many years ago. I felt it was the most powerful purseable handgun that I could handle. The recoil on full power loads was BIG and that always bothered me. I just tried to get used to it and deal with it. I could always ratchet down to .38 +P or .38.

My greatest problem was not the caliber but the capacity. I had only 5 shots. I was never real good at speedloading my SP-101 and I didn't feel that that kind of time would be available to me in a genuine gunfight.

So I decided to go to semi-automatic to increase capacity (and the complexity of my life). I tested three Glocks... a 9mm, a .40 S&W, and a .45 ACP. I ran 50 rounds through each to see how they felt and how well I could control them. The answer surprised me.

The .40 S&W was the worst of the three for me. It had a distinctly sharp recoil, harder to handle, and less accurate in my hands. The 9mm was accurate and had an easy recoil... much less than the .357 Magnum.

The .45 ACP recoil was not a heck of a lot different than that of the 9mm. It was very accurate and felt the best of the three guns. So I bought an XD-45 Compact. This proved to be even nicer to shoot than the Glock... and I feel it to be as accurate if not more accurate.

In terms of hole size we are talking about a range from .355" in an unexpanded .380 to say .77" inches expanded in a .45 ACP. None of these are really BIG holes in a human body. Needless to say, you have to aim at something valuable and hit it to expect anything BIG to happen.

That said... bigger and deeper is better so long as it stays inside.

The .45 ACP is big, goes deep, and with the right ammo will stay inside so no energy is wasted. I can conceal it, mount it, shoot accurately, and bring the gun back on point quickly for shot #2. The mass of the gun is probably a contributor since it helps stabilize it and reduce the recoil. So .45 ACP does all that I want a gun to do.

I have a Keltec P3AT that I use as a pocket gun for backup and for summer use where the XD-45C is just too big to conceal. I have to compensate for the .355" starter hole and balance extra diameter of the hole through expansion with deeper penetration since there is much less charge behind the round.

The .380 caliber penetrates to FBI 12" only if you use FMJ type bullets that don't expand. Every bit of extra diameter from expansion of the bullet reduces penetration. So you have to make compromises with the .380. The 9mm is a bigger case and has more power and requires less compromise. The .45 ACP requires no compromise other than trying to keep it from leaving the body of the BG. And forced with the choice... I will overpenetrate to save my life any day of the week.

So the bottom line is the .45 ACP requires no compromises. It is a self defense winner for me.

[BaldyLocks]

I carry a .45 beacuse I can. But the Nazis and Cho Seung-Hui , as well as many others, had sucess with a 9mm IMHO. What do I know.

[TacBlack]

State Trooper remarked when I asked him why he prefered his 45 ACP Gold Cup to a Glock, "The side arm is only to cover my butt until I can get to the long-gun in the squad car."

Chuck Karwan in "Combat Handgunnery" titles the first chapter, "Don't Take A Handgun To A Gun Fight." Karwan notes that the optimal defense firearm is a long-gun, semi -auto carbine, or shotgun.

Recoil in a handgun isn't part of the equation for me. It's just not something I consider when shooting a firearm.

Size is what determines my carry gun, that and "potential threat." I live in a pretty much crime-free area. Certainly there are not many muggings. What I carry is a 32 ACP -- because it's small, fits in my pocket, and we don't get a lot of mugggings here. (One reason for the low crime rate is because EVERYONE locally is armed.)

I've tried carrying 45 ACP in 1911 compact, 38/357 in a J Frame, 9mm, 9mm Makarov, 380 ACP. I have a nice 9mm Kahr MK9, small, compact. But I end up carrying the 32 ACP because it slips in my pocket. It gets stashed on the seat or in the console in the car, moved around from pocket to pocket. And when I'm home, it comes out of the pocket and sits on the desk next to the door. I'll carry it. A holster gun is a hassle.

I like a 45 ACP. I carry an XD Tact. in the car, w/ a laser, also a 12 gauge from time to time, or an AK-47 -- depending on how far into the woods I'm headed. And when I'm deep into the woods, the 45 ACP is open carry on the belt. That or the 44 mag.

It's nice to have options. But mostly I think that in a "showdown" any gun that you draw on someone is pretty much going to stop the assault without firing a shot. That's been my experience.

I'm looking for a 45 ACP high cap the size of a 32 ACP semi auto. That'd be optimal.

[whitenoise]

as of yet i dont own pistol (only been 21 for a bit) but i have been in love with the 45acp since i was 14.

i had the experience of going to the range with a group of boy scouts (wasnt a scout sanctioned outing) and shooting all sorts of calibers at that time. (.22, .25, .32, .38, 9mm, 40sw, .45, 44mag, 357mag) out of all of those, suprisingly i was most accurate with the .45, .44 and 357 completely knocking out the center of each target with each while with the others id have several stray rounds on the target. i was able to do this when i weighed less than 100lbs.

since i want to have a semiauto, the .45 is what i will get first. im hoping to pick up an xd45c either this month or next.

[BaldyLocks]

Hey whitenoise you will really like the .45. I have owned a few pistols and when I finally put a .45 in my hand, that was IT!! All over.. gotta have one of them. All I own are .45s. There is nothing wrong with anybodys weapon of choice. Just put lead on target and have fun doing it. Good luck with your purchase and remember Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

Pat

[TacBlack]

One of the fundamental criticisms of the 45 ACP is that it has a "loopy" trajectory. That's been in some sense mediated these days with higher velocity ammo. Still, the nominal velocity is in the 1,000 fps realm while calibers such as the .357 mag, 9mm, 44 magnum go half again faster.

I'm good at 25 ft. with the 45 ACP. That's "defense distance" for the most part. But when I get out to 25 yds, which is "target distance," my groups go to hell on me. I think a lot of it has to do with trajectory.

[10-8XDs]

Gentlemen,

I have enjoyed this thread but I would like to offer just a couple of observations. I know emotions run high on what/how to carry and choice of caliber, but I think the "one stop shot" is a exception rather than a yardstick of performance, don't you think?

I have been taught that once a threat situation goes into the engagement mode, you continue to apply force until the threat is no longer there. To me this means that if a handgun is used I shoot until the threat is down or gone, 1 shot or 13, whatever it takes.

Anyway, I enjoy reading everybody's opinions and the 2 most important facts are:

You need to HAVE a gun and it needs to the the type/caliber that you shoot the BEST.

Mike