doesnt anyone shoot 45acps anymore

[mdi]

I believe the influx of "Wonder 9s" with newer shooters and reloaders has cut into 45 ACP sales. Some who only reload for money reasons go with the smaller cartridge because components are cheaper. Many new 9mm striker fired, "plastic" pistols are cheaper than a full/normal sized 45 ACP. Many are recoil shy and a 380 or 9mm is much easier to shoot then a 45 ACP. The military adoption of the 9mm also had an affect on 45 ACP popularity. There are other reasons (9mm is a "cool" cartridge), but the 45 ACP hasn't gotten "worse" just surpassed by a small lighter shooting, mega magazine capacity, 9mm pistols...

[W.R.Buchanan]

I just shot 400 rounds of .45 ACP in my Glock 21SF two weeks ago at Front Sight. Plenty of 1911's in that class too. I shoot this gun much better than either my G35 or G23 in .40S&W,,, which is another caliber that people refuse to believe is better than the 9MM!

However my Glock has had only 2 Factory rounds fired in it. The other 5000+ have been my reloads with either plated boolits or my Cast and PC'd Lyman 452374 boolits. Both are plenty good for shooting at Paper or Steel Targets.

Randy

[Winger Ed.]

I believe the influx of "Wonder 9s" with newer shooters and reloaders has cut into 45 ACP sales.

At our range, there are so many pistol cases on the ground it looks like gravel.
I pick up my .45s, and all the other ones I see, plus a hand full of .38s, the .45s that I didn't fire usually will fit in my hat.
All the rest is 90% 9mm & .40S&W.

When I qualified for my CCW, I was the only one in the class with a .45 auto.
I was on the left end, and felt like Arlo Guthrie when I started shooting----
'and they all moved away from me on the group W bench'.

[Gunslinger1911]

Winger Ed - "and creating a disturbance"; And they all came back.

[Gunslinger1911]

I still see some 45 acp in the range bucket (the few times I go).
LOTSA 9mm, some 40
15 years ago it was LOTSA 40, some 9
Me thinks 40 has lost it's charm. Round count guys want more in mag, caliber guys want 45.
The 40 was a compromise, I (and others don't compromise). 40 seemed "whippy" to me anyway.
I got 2k 45 from DiamondK a few months ago (they are still flush, just checked, I may get some more, ya know - just in case).
I'm wondering if the "real" shooters (ya know, real cartridges start with 4 or end in magnum), are hoardin their 45acp cases for the coming festivities.
And a 1911 that's finicky ? Something wrong with the gun there. Guessing under spec chamber. (Buddy has a Kimber 380 with that issue)

45acp is my favorite round - full size Springfield 1911, full sized RI 1911, Colt Officers (carry gun), Smith 625, and recently I built an AR15 in 45acp - now that's a hoot boy and girls ! (Glock mags) (didja know ya could get 28 round 45acp mags for a Gock ?)
Cheap to shoot, doesn't have the ear wrenching crack of a 223, and is gods caliber as someone mentioned.
Col Cooper loves his children

Looking for a convertible Blackhawk to round out the stable.
And no, I couldn't afford the Marlin 1894 45acp conversion darn it ! Would a been sweet !

And I have a metric butt ton of large pistol primers, not so much small, for the 9; family needed to stock up the feed their crunch-n-tickers (we'll see who gets the ref). I loaded 3000 9mm in a week.
Ya try and try, to edjumicate them, they still want the tactical tupperware in 9.
Don't get me wrong, I carry a HiPower sometimes for the cool factor (and don't feel under gunned)
And sometimes, if I'm feeling sporty, a HiPower in 41AE - yea, I'm that guy.

[gwpercle]

Back in the day everyone shot 45 acp and the 9mm Luger was despised as that whimpy German round .
I stated shooting handguns in 1961 and never owned a 9mm luger until 5 or 6 years ago when my Dad gave me a WWII era Walther P38 he had for some strange reason ... my Dad wasn't a handgunner ... it lived in his sock drawer . After he gave me the P38 , I had to shoot , cast and reload for it ... but before that time it was 45 acp and in 1911 form !
Casting , reloading and shooting the 45 acp is like taking a pretty girl on a date ... nice , easy and a lot of fun !

Back in the 1970's I would get up early Sunday morning and sweep up at the local public range...I still have buckets of 45 acp brass and 38 special too !
Gary

[Kevin Rohrer]

I believe the influx of "Wonder 9s" with newer shooters and reloaders has cut into 45 ACP sales. Some who only reload for money reasons go with the smaller cartridge because components are cheaper. Many new 9mm striker fired, "plastic" pistols are cheaper than a full/normal sized 45 ACP. Many are recoil shy and a 380 or 9mm is much easier to shoot then a 45 ACP. The military adoption of the 9mm also had an affect on 45 ACP popularity. There are other reasons (9mm is a "cool" cartridge), but the 45 ACP hasn't gotten "worse" just surpassed by a small lighter shooting, mega magazine capacity, 9mm pistols...

Yes, there is a definite lack of testosterone in this generation, along w/ using guns that allow "spray and pray" shooting. Sad.

[Winger Ed.]

along w/ using guns that allow "spray and pray" shooting. Sad.

Every time I hear that phrase, I'm reminded of the S&W team shooter who said, "You can't miss fast enough to win".

[richhodg66]

I love my old 1911. It shoots quite well and gobbles up anything I load for it. It's sad that we are so susceptable to fads in both guns and cartridges.

I also love my .357 Black Hawk and S&W .44 mag. Both are highly accurate and, like the .45 ACP, they shoot well above the league of current pop-gun cartridges. In fact, the highly hyped 9mm wonder gun is little more than a .38 +P with light-for-caliber bullets!

I believe a .357 revolver is still the best all-around rig for all shooters and all purposes on the market; it far out performs the 9 and 10 mm.

Reloads that won't easily chamber rises from ONE problem; they're too big in one or more dimension - find that and fix it. Perhaps the most common cause of jamming is reloading oversized cast bullets.

Agreed, a .357 revolver is the end all to the handgun argument about what's best, but I'm kind of opinionated there.

[1hole]

Agreed, a .357 revolver is the end all to the handgun argument about what's best, but I'm kind of opinionated there.

It's hard to not have an "opinion" when you're honest with the facts! I know of nothing a handgun can do that isn't equalied with the old reliable .357.

[Winger Ed.]

Agreed, a .357 revolver is the end all to the handgun argument about what's best, but I'm kind of opinionated there.

My wheel guns are almost all gone, but my Marlin lever action in .38/357 is still a 'go-to' favorite
any time I want to shoot anything smaller than a deer or hog and inside of 100 yards.

Casting and re-loading, it doesn't cost much more to feed than the price of premium/decent .22LRs.

[Harter66]

I feel like Banger Jim may have intended for that to have been in purple .....

I have a few cases in the prep'd bucket and a few that need to be . I also have a few in clips and some more in mags . Probably more than that boxed and canned .
The Auto Rim sister isn't the answer that it seems like it should be .

A touch of blasphemy here ...... I ran a whole bunch of brass , ala' push through , through a gutted Lee FCD because I had chambering issues with the bottom 1/10 inch of the cases . The High Point Carbine doesn't care but the 1917 and Ruger BH ACPs were cranky about it . A quick pass through and no problem .

As for 9/40/45 I don't know what the big deal is .
The only advantage that the 9 has over 38+p especially over 130 gr is 8-14 rounds vs 5-8 .
The 45 is in fact the hammer that men in harm's way trusted for 60 years and the Corps for another 35 or so . It also makes the best part of a half inch hole and even if it doesn't make a hole it's hard to breath with broken ribs . A 900 fps 230 is a formidable impact no matter what shape it is .

I'll tell what I like about the 40 . The XD 2.5" I had would run a 175 LBT or RCBS RNFP and the TC/SWC thing at 940 fps and is just stupid easy to shoot . It'll run as hard as as any heavy 9mm will out of a long slide +P ever advertised . It's just not that far behind the 45 ACP in a similar package . 12 rd mags are nice also .

Cost to load is pretty close across all 3 , although you do get twice as many bullets per lb in 9mm vs 45 Colts .

I've got it the ultimate 9mm edge !
There aren't any LPP brass to throw off the flow !

[Der Gebirgsjager]

It's hard to not have an "opinion" when you're honest with the facts! I know of nothing a handgun can do that isn't equalied with the old reliable .357.

Aye, Lad, may well be true, but nothin' warms the cockles o' me heart like the ol' four an five. Just feels good, it does!

DG

[Winger Ed.]

Back in the day everyone shot 45 acp and the 9mm Luger was despised as that whimpy German round .

Reminds me of a buddy. When you came up all proud and wanted to show off your new acquisition:
He wouldn't tell ya he didn't like it or approve.

Instead, he'd say something like, "Yeah, my sister really likes hers".
Or, "I'll bet they sell a lot of those in San Francisco".

[Baltimoreed]

I usually shoot .45 something at any match that I go to, zombie, ipsc, Wild Bunch or cas. And while at 69 I’ll probably not ‘run out’ I still police up my brass and any other that left behind. Stuff that I can use will get cleaned and prepped while the stuff I don’t need becomes recycle brass.

[468]

.45 ACP FOREVER!!! LOL

It’s a great round. Comfortable to shoot. Easy to reload. The recoil is milder than a .40 or 10mm. There are about a bazillion good recipes. You can go basic traditional 1911, high capacity in steel or alloy, or composite. Compact to longslide...

“.38Spec., .357Mag. as well as .45ACP is drying up”...my three preferred calibers!

That being said, I pretty much enjoy shooting everything. But .45ACP, with it’s history, will always be a favorite.

[kevin c]

The pistol brass found at my range is driven by different things. The public line leavings reflect what Joe Public shoots, and that's quite a mix, mostly auto pistol and that mostly 9mm, though .40, .45 and revolver are there too. The action range bays are for police training, private self defense schools and action pistol competition. For all those, 9mm and 40 S&W make up almost all of what is shot. Even in a limited capacity magazine state, for agencies and the military standard capacity magazines are the norm, and grandfathered versions are common in competition. For all those users, the extra rounds in the mags, the greater controllability of recoil and for non competition use the similar terminal ballistics available through bullet design have made the 9mm much more common than 45 ACP, though JMB's SA design still dominates many action pistol divisions, just in smaller bored versions.

So, lotsa 9mm, a good amount of 40, and a little .45 ACP. Each year there's less .45, and 40 used to be more common than 9, but in recent years that's reversed.

[Lloyd Smale]

I still see some 45 acp in the range bucket (the few times I go).
LOTSA 9mm, some 40
15 years ago it was LOTSA 40, some 9
Me thinks 40 has lost it's charm. Round count guys want more in mag, caliber guys want 45.
The 40 was a compromise, I (and others don't compromise). 40 seemed "whippy" to me anyway.
I got 2k 45 from DiamondK a few months ago (they are still flush, just checked, I may get some more, ya know - just in case).
I'm wondering if the "real" shooters (ya know, real cartridges start with 4 or end in magnum), are hoardin their 45acp cases for the coming festivities.
And a 1911 that's finicky ? Something wrong with the gun there. Guessing under spec chamber. (Buddy has a Kimber 380 with that issue)

45acp is my favorite round - full size Springfield 1911, full sized RI 1911, Colt Officers (carry gun), Smith 625, and recently I built an AR15 in 45acp - now that's a hoot boy and girls ! (Glock mags) (didja know ya could get 28 round 45acp mags for a Gock ?)
Cheap to shoot, doesn't have the ear wrenching crack of a 223, and is gods caliber as someone mentioned.
Col Cooper loves his children

Looking for a convertible Blackhawk to round out the stable.
And no, I couldn't afford the Marlin 1894 45acp conversion darn it ! Would a been sweet !

And I have a metric butt ton of large pistol primers, not so much small, for the 9; family needed to stock up the feed their crunch-n-tickers (we'll see who gets the ref). I loaded 3000 9mm in a week.
Ya try and try, to edjumicate them, they still want the tactical tupperware in 9.
Don't get me wrong, I carry a HiPower sometimes for the cool factor (and don't feel under gunned)
And sometimes, if I'm feeling sporty, a HiPower in 41AE - yea, I'm that guy.

yup primers will have me shooting more 45s next summer. Ive got a ton of loaded 9s and 40s but am finishing up my 9 loading and will be down to two bricks of primers. Ive got two cases of large pistol so ill be much more apt to shoot my 45 stash because it can be replaced.

[gnappi]

I just shot 400 rounds of .45 ACP in my Glock 21SF two weeks ago at Front Sight. Plenty of 1911's in that class too. I shoot this gun much better than either my G35 or G23 in .40S&W,,, which is another caliber that people refuse to believe is better than the 9MM!

>>SNIP<< Randy

For sure!!! Go to a match on a windy day where they're forced to set up pepper poppers or other steel reactive targets at a steel match to not fall down from the wind and see the nines go...

Bang, clang, Bang, clang, Bang, clang, Bang, clang, on one popper or other steel target that doesn't fall and see the shooter abandon the poppers and take mikes, OR see their "tactics" of Bang,bang,bang,bang----clang,clang,clang,clang THUD (That's hysterical) and then watch a .40 go Bang, THUD --- next popper Bang, THUD... one shot each, one down steel.

Or a pin match where 18 round 9mm guns are leaving five pins on the table spinning around AND reloading while .45's .40's, 10's and .357 mags shoot five times and have no dead wood, and yet they STILL are delusional about the "power" of the 9mm.

I've seen that too many times.

Sorry don't mean to start a caliber war, but if you shoot a LOT and say you haven't seen this, you're ahem, looking the other way too much.

[Kevin Rohrer]

Yes, any case as small as the Wonder-9 has no room to grow, and it is definitely undersized and underpowered. Pass.

"The 9mm Punibellum. A cartridge fit only for women and Europeans." --Me