This is a discussion on Popularity of .45? within the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; I buy a lot of practice ammo from Georgia Arms where they buy back the brass. The other day I was talking to one of ...
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Popularity of .45?
I buy a lot of practice ammo from Georgia Arms where they buy back the brass.
The other day I was talking to one of the employees about where they get most of their brass and he said law enforcement. He also added he could use all the .45 ACP he could get as there is a great demand.
This leads me to believe that LEOs don't shoot a lot of .45 but the general public does. Anyone know the relative popularity of different major calibers?
.45 seems pretty popular to me.
I see alot of it at the CHL classes that we conduct. Also,alot of the Law Enforcement around here has migrated back to the .45.
There always seems to be alot of it laying on the ground at our shooting range.
It is better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb...
AR. CHL Instr. 07/02 FFL
Maker of cool things to shoot
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It seems that alot of people that I talk to seem to fancy the .40 and I believe that this calliber seems to be geting more popular in the past years. But with more and more citizens getting a CCW and the idea of carrying the biggest calliber that they feel comfortable with the .45 has been the calliber of choice. This being said the .45 brass is in more demand.
In the U.S. vastly more 9mm is manufactured than any other center-fire handgun cartridge.
Liberty Over TyrannyΜολὼν λαβέ
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As QK said the 9mm is the most made i see a lot of people talking about the 40 be here it seems 9mm or 45 or a 357 are what most people carry i talk to
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I <3 .40
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What is it about the enduring popularity of the .45 ACP? I have here before me the latest issue (Dec 07/Jan 08) of Handguns magazine. It has reviews of no less than four (4) .45 Auto pistols. Two are DA variants (the Beretta PX4 and the S+W M&P), and two (2) are 1911s (the Kimber Raptor and the Taurus PT1911). There is also a news blurb on Kahr coming out with a new mini-45 (the TP45). In addition, the issue features an article by Dave Spaulding on the virtues of the 1911, which most people buy as a .45 Auto (although anyone who has studied the issue knows that the Super .38 cartridge is better).
So, there may be more 9mm and .40 S+W sold over the counter (which is the right choice), but the cognoscenti of the gun world continue to push the .45 ACP as the be all and end all, the ne plus ultra, of handgun cartridges. Hell's bells: People are still whining about the U.S. military going to the 9x19 round. The recent speculation that the Americans may return to the .45 ACP as a general issue cartridge has sent the gun writers and pundits into a near sexual frenzy as they salivate for the day that the 9mm Luger is sent packing back to the foreign shows from which it came.
And, dear readers, the plebes are buying it as they plunk down their hard-earned cash for yet another .45 ACP pistol that bucks and snorts, offers reduced round capacity, pounds the hand, creates a flinch, yet it has not been proven any more capable of a defensive round in any objective measure of what a defensive pistol round is supposed to do. Of course, if you follow the gun rags and the internet keyboard commandos, you will beg to differ and excoriate me to no end, in the name of Sgt. York, for my ignorance and defiance of what everyone know to be the God-given truth as relayed by his one true prophet John Moses Browning.
Heh-heh, I know, I am such a stinker.
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my belief was always that 9 was more popular, then .45 then .40 the. .38
at least that seems to be the distribution at the ranges i have gone to.
.45 is popular with our agencies here. When I was a LEO I had a S&W 4506 as my primary and a S&W 4516 as a BUG with a quad magazine pouch on my duty belt.
I know one department here who's issue is the SIG P-220. Several of the deputys in outlying areas carry 1911's.
It's just about a perfect caliber for what its designed for.
ALWAYS carry! - NEVER tell!
"A superior Operator is best defined as someone who uses his superior
judgement to keep himself out of situations that would require a display of his
superior skills."
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I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers, but...
Referencing post #7, I can only ask one thing?
At one time in your life did a .45ACP cartridge break into your home and slap you around before pouring sugar in your car's gas tank?
I recently switched from a 1911 to a HK 9mm, while the .45 is not for all, I think you're blowing things out of proportion,
Bucking and snorting? is this a bull were taling about? I've seen people shoot a .45 just as fast as a 9mm and just as accurate, it's all in how you train, likewise regarding causing the flinch, if you shoot it alot there is no flinch, that's why I liked the heavier 1911 for the round as opposed to lighter .45s like the HK USP, G21, even the Sig P220....yet another .45 ACP pistol that bucks and snorts, offers reduced round capacity, pounds the hand, creates a flinch, yet it has not been proven any more capable of a defensive round in any objective measure of what a defensive pistol round is supposed to do.
While it's not for everyone, I don't think talking about it like it's a monster coming to eat your kids is exactly on the level...
As for the Military issue, they either need to switch to 9mm JHP or back to .45ACP, lets face it, while we all know that handguns are poor stoppers, a 9mm FMJ round just won't cut it. If anyone here feels the 9mm FMJ is that great of a round, I'd like to ask you to remove the JHPs from you're mag and load up with full metal jacketed cartridges.
The .45 is going to be around for ever, as is the 9mm. As for the gun rags, that's an easy one, they are biased and don't care, they are going to write what sells.
You can't argue the history of the .45, it's been around for A LONG TIME and it's done it's job quite well.
IMHO there are three types of people that carry .45s:
1: People that are experienced with all calibers and just like the .45 and/or like the 1911 better than the other offerings.
2: People just starting out in firearms that buy the .45.
2a. Some people will realize it may be too much gun for them and trade it away.
2b. Some will shoot more, seek training, and learn to shoot it properly (slaying that evil, snorting, flinch causing beast)
3: People that are just flat out stupid and atually beileve that caliber means more than shot placement (re: any retard that udders the words: You shoot them in the arm and they're going to fly all the way to the moon etc. etc.)
Another reason is that the 1911 is nearing it's 100th year. There is going to be a lot of articels in 2011, just like when the 30-'06 turned 100 in 2006.
Are we going to knock the 30-'06 becuase it holds less ammo than a .223/5.56? Or becuase it has more "shoulder beating gonna' put you in a sling for a monthrecoil? I think not.
Think of all the calibers that have fallen to the wayside (for the most part) .38 Super, 10mm, .45GAP (fading fast) .357SIG(wait and see).
The three constants I see today are the .45ACP, the .40S&W (10mm Retarded) and the 9mm (bet you thought I was going to say .380 Long)
The 9mm is good becuase it does offer less recoil and more rounds, but if it's sooooo good, why are so many agencies using guns chambered in .40? If the .40 is so good why is it not being considered for the Military? Why is the .45 still being used by MOST *note I said most* special operations communiteis?
I don't think so much that the .45 is more popular per say, but I do think it's more.....reveared? Or more likely held in lore. As OK Shooter pointed out there is more 9mm produced in the US, but I have to wonder how much of that is under Military Contract.
On the whole I would probably guess that each of the main calibers is eually popular in certain crowds, and that no one caliber is more popular than another.
IE. The .45 caliber is more popular in the older Military veteran crowd, while most younger veterans prefer the 9mm.
Most LEOs I know like their .40s but would rather have a 9mm or .45.
Most die-hard revolver guys prefer the .357MAG.
And then you have the CCW community as a whole, I'm pretty sure in my lurking here that I spied a poll as to what (caliber) every one carries, I'm pretty sure that the 9mm and the .45 were just about equal with the .40 close behind.
There are different tools for different people, which is a good thing, just think how boring it would be if all we had were .38s
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random food for thought.
i flinch more with a .40 by far the most, next would probably be my 9, least my friends .45
who knew.
im sick of the one caliber people who claim that whatever they use is 100000 times better than anything else.
they are all good and all have their purposes. enough
I've "attended" a few shootings that were of 9MM .40 and .45 variety.
The "victims" all had one thing in common...they were dead.
FWIW, none of them had been shot less than 3 times.
The moral to the story is...never shoot just once. Put all of the "one shot stop" theorys to rest and just keep shooting.
If the 9MM is what you handle to best, by all means carry it. The same goes with any other caliber. Shoot the biggest caliber that you can safely and comfortably handle, and dont worry about the rest or what anyone else has to say about it. Just be proficient with whatever you are carrying and remember that anyone that deserves to be shot once, deserves at least two more...
It is better to live one day as a lion, than a thousand years as a lamb...
AR. CHL Instr. 07/02 FFL
Maker of cool things to shoot
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It's nice to read a EXPERTS advice such as yours. Hell man a 22 long rifle well kill, but the real trick is to stop the threat. I have seen the difference of 9mm FMJ and a 45FMJ used on drug-up weed monkey in 1968, that was my first experence. A 9mm can expand but a 45acp won't shrink! Yes,I well carry the big bore, if I could I would carry 105 mm cannon. After saying that, carry the biggest bore that you feel you can handle, and round placement!Originally Posted by Hume
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Why, yes, it's true! Everyone knows that a .45ACP will fly clean out of your hands if you don't hold it tightly. The recoil has often been compared to being kicked in the hands by a Clydsdale Horse hopped up on speed and Angel Dust. I once saw a small man try to shoot a .45ACP only to have it fly straight up and imbed itself in his forehead! Dangdest thing you ever did see! I once saw a man shoot a Sig P220 and a flame 6 feet long came out of the barrel. The walls of the indoor range cracked and plaster fell from the ceiling! He immediately dropped the pistol, began to shake his bloody and battered paws, and said..."That hurt my widdle hands!". He was led away by the range master, sniffling and crying. Not many people know this, but Clint Eastwood was actually supposed to carry a .45ACP in the first "Dirty Harry" movie. But after firing it for the first time, he soiled his trousers and ran around the set with his hands tucked under his armpits, yelling, "Owie, owie, owie!!!!". So they changed it to the .44 Mag instead.
Of course, the upside is, everybody knows if you hit somebody in the shoulder with a .45, it will blow their arm clean off!!!
Gonzo
"Skin that smokewagon!".
OK, OK, I know it's all fun and games, but lets not turn this into YET ANOTHER caliber war please....
Although I must admit several of these posts did give me a good chuckle...
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