.45 ACP recommendations

[rdog]

The one handgun I have never been able actually like is Glock.

Me too!

 

[Forrest Halley]

You are kidding right...........

The room in unison, "Hi Michael!" Yes you're proper hooked.

S&W is Good TOO.......

I have absolutely no idea about S&W and have absolutely not spent way too much time playing with them. That right there will beat a 1911 counting to 12 but not with those nose profiles. It's a shame their quality control has slipped so much. You have to buy a Korth nowadays to get a quality revolver.

I hold no affinity for the SAA. The Vaquero is much more durable. Given the half cock modification and eliminated transfer bar, I'd say they are nearly indestructible. Well the old models at least.

 

[michael458]

That right there will beat a 1911 counting to 12 but not with those nose profiles.

Forrest...... With those Nose Profiles, you don't need 12.........Unless of course you have 12 Zombies chasing you.

I hold no affinity for the SAA. The Vaquero is much more durable. Given the half cock modification and eliminated transfer bar, I'd say they are nearly indestructible. Well the old models at least.

I have a Vaquero made for me personally, before there was such a thing as a Vaquero........ and I am so sorry to tell you, there is no comparisons between a Colt SAA and most others. A Colt is like a fine Swiss Watch, you can feel and hear it when they are cocked....... Indestructable? No man, nothing is indestructible, and fortunately, I don' t intend to destroy mine........ LOL

I have absolutely no idea about S&W and have absolutely not spent way too much time playing with them.

It's a shame their quality control has slipped so much. You have to buy a Korth nowadays to get a quality revolver.

So, I take it you must have read an article somewhere............ HEH HEH.......................

The room in unison, "Hi Michael!" Yes you're proper hooked.

Well, I have a few Colts to go with some of the Kimber's............

Take these for instance.....

A pair of Blued Commercial Colts (Before 70 Series) sporting a set of Zebra Wood grips, made for me by Accurate Innovations, I am definitely hooked on these......

Then there is my Pair of 1911 WW 1 Com guns, these were done in 1967, these were often overlooked and passed up many years ago, not sure why, but I started picking some of these up along and along, even buying one for $400 NIB, many years ago of course. Later I would pick them up from $700-$1000 or so, and they are a damn bargain, fine deep black blueing that Colt used to do in the old days...... I have probably 8-10 of these guns...... This set sports Giraffe Bone, from one of my giraffe legs.... I have carried these, and shot them a good bit, I had to change the small 1911 safety for the larger safety.... makes great BBQ guns BTW.........

Another couple of C guns, Commercial, made before the Series 70 guns....... One is a Factory Nickel gun, sporting Elephant Ivory........ the other blued gun is sporting a set of Mammoth Ivory....

I will stop here for now, I really would not want to bore the crap out of you guys....... I mean, I like Kimber's and Colts, and S&W, what do I know about anything..............

 

[Wyatt Smith]

@michael458 you have made me feel inadequate. I have a series 70 Colt and my SAA is actually a 3 screw Blackhawk, as that’s all I can afford. I pretend it’s a SAA at least.

 

[Forrest Halley]

Forrest...... With those Nose Profiles, you don't need 12.........Unless of course you have 12 Zombies chasing you...

So, I take it you must have read an article somewhere............ HEH HEH.......................

Gold dots will bounce off on the reload. Not to mention your nasty looking stuff. You running ranch products or TK or Hearthco?

With the S&W I have seen it firsthand how the QC has fluctuated. I was not impressed. The Hillary holes and mim parts are an annoyance along with the shrouded barrels. Most of my older stuff is much more enjoyable to look at and operate. I do enjoy my 929 though. Cheap to shoot and fairly accurate.

I don't even know anyone who has a Korth. At around $5k for a .357 that's a niche market. The design is very interesting from a comparative standpoint with S&W and Ruger internals. Seems like the labor is cheaper to slick up the S&W or even a Ruger before you get to the Korth. It does have that Anschutz appeal though. So Hehehe yeah I read an article on that one. A few actually.

 

[michael458]

You running ranch products or TK or Hearthco?

LOL....... I don't even know what you are talking about..........I am pretty sure I can get a reload done if required, no, probably not as fast as throwing 6 RN FMJ in the hole, but good enough....... Nasty, yes, wicked is more like it........But even MORE interesting in that particular S&W, 3 inch barrel, with the Auto Rim Cases, I run that 120 Lehigh at over 1600 fps.........The 150 Raptors are running 1379 fps. I actually like the Auto Rim brass better for that gun. But one could back up with a couple of moon clips I suppose.........

I have absolutely no idea about S&W and have absolutely not spent way too much time playing with them.

With the S&W I have seen it firsthand how the QC has fluctuated. I was not impressed.

Ok.......however that works........again, like the Kimber's, I have not had those issues, of course most of my guns are older, not new. That S&W 45 ACP I inherited from a shooter friend of mine several years ago. I only recently started shooting it some, it laid around for a few years. I found I rather enjoyed shooting it, very mild. I can no longer shoot heavy loads in revolvers, pulled some tendons in my hand doing test work with a 4 inch 500 S&W for a friend of mine, and they never healed back properly, today my max limits with revolvers is 250 gr 45 pills at 1000 fps, anymore than that starts to bother me seriously. So the 45 ACP gun is very pleasant for me to shot, 120s/150s at high velocity is not a bother, and even better is 200s at 850 fps.........

I don't even know anyone who has a Korth. At around $5k for a .357 that's a niche market.

I reckon I am glad I missed that article, that seems rather asinine, ridiculous to me. $5k for a 357 is akin to wasting metal on a 375 I reckon.......... You know, I don't read much of that garbage anymore.

@michael458 you have made me feel inadequate. I have a series 70 Colt and my SAA is actually a 3 screw Blackhawk, as that’s all I can afford. I pretend it’s a SAA at least.

Wyatt, no worries, you are in good shape and have good stuff................ Remember, I have had 40+ years to collect this stuff.........Think about this. Back in the late 70's I bought what we call the Swenson Gun. It was actually my very first 1911 45 ACP. I was a young chap, and I honestly didn't have two nickels to rub together, much less buy a gun like that. Well, at that time, the gun was owned by a friend of my best friend. My best friend is my elder by 12 years. We drove an hour to look at, and bring this gun home. The guy wanted $500 for that gun! OMG, that was more money than God had at the time, and I certainly did not have that kind of money. I borrowed it from my Pal. This thing worried me to damn death for weeks, months on end, until I could finally scrape enough together to get him paid back. And then it still worried the hell out of me for a long time, $500 was a lot of money....... I think I got my money out of that gun over the years, I wore many parts out that had to be replaced several times, and the slide blued so many times it has about worn most of the writing off, had to remove the Swenson Extended Safety in those days I kept bumping it until I learned better. I was a One Gun Fellow for a long time. I suspect you got many years to go to add to what you want..........Be patient.

 

[typilotguy]

I'd suggest getting either a Kimber or a Springfield Armory Commander size 1911 with an aluminum frame. You'll have a full size 8 rnds magazine with a shorter barrel, and easily to conceal, without breaking the bank.

I would also suggest the Kimber. I have a Crimson Carry II, and LOVE it. I have been carrying concealed regularly for the last 15 years, and this is my choice. I have owned and carried S&W MPs full size in both .45 ACP and 9mm, a compact one in 9mm, and an FNX .45 Tactical. While all are GREAT pistols, I shifted to the Kimber for several reasons. Shootability is paramount, followed by concealability, and finally availability of accessories, magazines, etc.

As the name implies, this model comes equiped with the Crimson Trace Laser grips. I opted for this version because I could get it for $100 more than the "standard" version. I had always thought that the Crimson Trace would be a nice feature. I priced out the grips themselves, and found that they retail for $400. For me, it was a no-brainer to pay a little more up front that 4X the amount out back.

One gripe that I do have with this setup. The iron sights supplied with the Crimson Carry are...lacking, at best, in my opinion, for a defensive pistol. They are black. Difficult to aqcuire let alone line up in a dark environment. The "regular" (sans laser) version is supplied with decent "dot" sights. While the laser does an incredible job at illuminating and entire room in the dark, it is dependant upon batteries. Batteries can and will fail at the most inopportune times. That being said, I went ahead and had a set of tritium night sights installed. Cost for sights and install (they have tritium filled glass vials in them, so you can't just "tap" them in as you would standard irons) was roughly $160.

That being said, for roughly $260 over the price of a "standard" model, I was able to get a lazer and tritium sights. These options would have cost $560 had I initially opted for said plain jane pistol.

 

[Forrest Halley]

LOL....... I don't even know what you are talking about..........I am pretty sure I can get a reload done if required, no, probably not as fast as throwing 6 RN FMJ in the hole, but good enough....... Nasty, yes, wicked is more like it........But even MORE interesting in that particular S&W, 3 inch barrel, with the Auto Rim Cases, I run that 120 Lehigh at over 1600 fps.........The 150 Raptors are running 1379 fps. I actually like the Auto Rim brass better for that gun. But one could back up with a couple of moon clips I suppose.........



Ok.......however that works........again, like the Kimber's, I have not had those issues, of course most of my guns are older, not new. That S&W 45 ACP I inherited from a shooter friend of mine several years ago. I only recently started shooting it some, it laid around for a few years. I found I rather enjoyed shooting it, very mild. I can no longer shoot heavy loads in revolvers, pulled some tendons in my hand doing test work with a 4 inch 500 S&W for a friend of mine, and they never healed back properly, today my max limits with revolvers is 250 gr 45 pills at 1000 fps, anymore than that starts to bother me seriously. So the 45 ACP gun is very pleasant for me to shot, 120s/150s at high velocity is not a bother, and even better is 200s at 850 fps.........

Those are brands of moon clips.

I've shot tens of thousands of rounds through a 625 and also same of the .38's. Your idea of auto rim to start is a flawed idea. The reliability of ejection is diminished with rimmed loose cases over a full moon clip. A couple of really savvy revolver shooters tested this theory in .357s and found that the chance of catching a spent case under the extractor is eliminated with moon clips. The first cylinder ejecting flawlessly is critical. Depending on the caliber would dictate the use of a speed loader or moon clips. In your case I would rather have a speed loader that controlled the auto rim cases because of the aggressive bullet profiles chosen. And by speed loader I mean Safariland not HKS.

 

[michael458]

I have absolutely no idea about S&W and have absolutely not spent way too much time playing with them.

I've shot tens of thousands of rounds through a 625

@Forrest Halley ........ Thank you for your insight.........

 

[Saul]

Unfortunately, it looks like S&W has stopped making their 45 ACP revolvers.

 

[Velo Dog]

The one handgun I have never been able actually like is Glock.

+1.

 

[wvhunt]

You'd think if you had such a discerning eye for 1911's you'd pick something other than a Kimber.

I hear there's a company in Texas that makes really good 1911's that stand up to 10's of thousands of rounds. STI...

Btw they say to change the recoil spring every 1500 rds on those guns.

I noticed there were a lot of Kimber fans on here. I've owned a few over the years, but just never warmed up to them. I do know that the resale on them suck (at least in my area) compared to Colt or some other brands of 1911. I never had any issues with the ones I owned, but there seems to be enough talk to hurt the resale value. I'm sure someone will tell me how their Kimbers are worth double what they originally paid. That may be true in your area. I'm just talking my area and my experience.

 

[Ares]

I own a couple Rock Island Armorys both 1911's one a plain jane 45acp that I put some good parts in and is my EDC, and a twin stack 10mm that makes for a very powerful semi auto. Both shoot very well and come with a lifetime warranty.