.45 Slim carry? Any reason to?

[m4brian]

Lets boil it down to the Shield 2.0. 9mm vs. 45.

If I sampled folks 3 years ago, there would be many touting the 45 over the 9 shield. Now, that the "45 vs 9mm debate has been settled" is there ANY reason to take the 45 over the 9 given the same gun and almost the same size, with a one round advantage to the 9????

[MegademiC]

Lets boil it down to the Shield 2.0. 9mm vs. 45.

If I sampled folks 3 years ago, there would be many touting the 45 over the 9 shield. Now, that the "45 vs 9mm debate has been settled" is there ANY reason to take the 45 over the 9 given the same gun and almost the same size, with a one round advantage to the 9????

No. I can shoot my shield almost as fast and accurate as my g19.
All the 45 compacts were too wild in recoil to get good splits with accuracy. Especially one handed.

My personal rule of thumb is anything less than a g19 in size- stick with 9mm.(i use 9 for all pistols, but performance is almost uniform in fs handguns regardless of caliber.

[Uni-Vibe]

9mm is as effective, or as ineffective, as .45. I know this goes against all received wisdom, but if you study autopsies and reports of shootings, and talk to MEs and ER doctors, it's the truth. They can't tell what a person was shot with until they recover the bullet. They don't know if it's a .45 or a 9, and indeed whether it's a FMJ or the latest dollar-a-shot nuclear personal defense ammo.

Especially in small guns, with .45 you give up capacity, and considerably increase muzzle-flip-induced recovery time, for zero gain.

My .45s are cool range toys. When I go forth into the big city, I'm packing a nine.

N.B.: Molly (see avatar) is carrying a .45.

[sevin8nin]

I see no reason to go with a .45 in anything outside of a 1911. I just can't bring myself to have a 40+ ozs steel, single-stack gun in 9mm. I'll get there I'm sure...

[RHINOWSO]

The only reason I have 45s anymore is (1) Suppressed pistol host in the form of an HK45C, (2) Red Blooded American need in the form of a Colt 1911, and (3) Nostalgia in the form of my first handgun a SIG P220 back when they were awesome.

They rarely get shot or carried and I'll choose 9MM any day of the week and twice on Sundays when given the choice.

[Ron3]

.45 ammo is heavy.

Load a S&W Shield with seven rounds of 230 gr bullets and your at 28 oz. A loaded G19 is 31 oz (16 rnds). A G26 is about 27 oz loaded (11 rnds)

I will say the Shield .45 is the least recoiling of any small, lightweight .45 I've ever shot by far. Best trigger too. The trigger was actually so light it made be nervous to carry it. It was certainly under 5lbs. It was easy to hit A zones at 25 yds with it. Big sights, easy trigger, recoil was like 9mm +p. Sold it to a friend.

For the weight savings alone, I'd get the 9mm.

[m4brian]

Roger. What I did. Wanted something a tad larger than PM9 which I like. Always need a pocket gun. Ended up with the TIG ST9 (Kahr). In a Hume it hugs up to your side and disappears. Full grip makes controlling 9 rds of 9 a breeze.

When I can and 'need' 16 rds, my P07 is fine, but when I need something slimmer profiled, the ST 9 makes a nice package.