.45 AARP—Meme or Misunderstood?

[Ron3]

I prefer more rounds to more bullet, generally.

How many rounds are enough for you? I have a S&W M&P 2.0 .45 and really like it. It's mainly a house / range gun. I use the S&W 14- rd mags in it. Would a 17 or 24 rd 9mm be a better weapon in case I grab it for HD? Probably wouldn't matter.

The M&P is a soft shooting gun. Firing fast and accurately at close range isnt difficult. .45 penetrates less building than 9mm generally so that may be a good thing.

Sometimes I think about getting a full-size M&P 2.0 9mm or a Beretta M9. But for what i use them for i think any will do.

I dont shoot the .45 any less due to ammo cost.

[Arik]

I'm no one important but I think people put too much energy and emotion into calibers. Pick a modern service caliber and go. The main reason I stick with 9 is price and size of guns chambered in that. If all prices were equal I'd be just as happy with 45, 45GAP, 40SW, 357sig. I always kinda like the 40sw and if I could find a decent used older 229 from the 90s in 40 I'd buy it and a 357sig barrel.

Back in the immediate post Soviet days of Eastern Europe there were gangs everywhere. My mom's cousin got involved with one and was witness to a shooting in Kiev. 3 gang members came up to a rival member who he was hanging out with. Words were exchanged and this guy dropped all 3 with a 6.35mm handgun (25acp). All 3 dropped where they stood and didn't get up. No one was thinking ballistics, ammo selection, barrel length, split times, night sights...etc.....just point and shoot. Meanwhile, maybe a decade ago NYPD shot a guy 25 times at close range and he lived

I don't think I'd be comfortable carrying a 25acp but so much goes into a shooting that's beyond our control that in my opinion one should buy something they can afford in a modern service caliber and rock on

[Ron3]

I say why use a "service / duty / military" pistol caliber when you are none of those while carrying?

I enjoy my smallish pistol that while still holding a decent number of rounds has less recoil and report than a 9mm. I know it won't do as well through buildings and auto's and such but that's more likely to be a good thing than a bad thing for non-duty carry.

Sounds like another discussion though, maybe I'll start one.

[ST911]

I do wonder why everything is so carbine centric these days - Instagram, training, marketing, forums, etc. It's 90% carbines over pistols, when the potential use case is the inverse. I'm speaking specifically of the majority of shooters being non-LE.

Cyclical. Also, user/demographic and venue specific. There isn't as much carbine-centric right not as there has been. Most new-class offerings and emerging instructors are doing more handgun than long gun.

Some folks have always had it right... fitness, physical skills, bladecraft and expedients, then handguns, but they are a minority.

Almost everyone can pass reasonable standards with a carbine, and go extended periods with less skill maintenance. Handguns are unforgiving and remind you that you suck out loud. Some can't handle that.

[Arik]

I say why use a "service / duty / military" pistol caliber when you are none of those while carrying?
.

Because the idea is to carry the best that you can comfortably conceal and shoot which has been thoroughly tested.

I can comfortably conceal a G19 all year. It's not visible and I don't know it's there. A G17 is just long enough that it starts to print a little in the summer. Whereas pocket guns are more of a convenience. They're often slow(er) to draw, harder to practice with and more costly to do so while at the same time being less comfortable to hold. I'm not going to take a class using a pocket 32 and if I'm not training with it why am I carrying it?

I do carry a Ruger LCP380 but it's very very rarely, when I can't conceal a larger size gun. I understand it's limitations but at this point it's better than nothing. Usually it's when I have to wear restrictive clothing and the only option is pocket or ankle carry

[Firefly]

Honestly .45 ACP was the first duty load I was ever formally trained on and for half a decade was all I knew before I was allowed to “branch out”.

It just made sense because I had no other context. I’m not besmirching 9mm but sometimes I think people go too far the other way thinking .45 is fuddlore.

It’s my comfort caliber insofar that I just have more time behind it.

I have more thoughts but am too tired tight now to build a thesis around it

[Ron3]

Because the idea is to carry the best that you can comfortably conceal and shoot which has been thoroughly tested.

I can comfortably conceal a G19 all year. It's not visible and I don't know it's there. A G17 is just long enough that it starts to print a little in the summer. Whereas pocket guns are more of a convenience. They're often slow(er) to draw, harder to practice with and more costly to do so while at the same time being less comfortable to hold. I'm not going to take a class using a pocket 32 and if I'm not training with it why am I carrying it?

That is true with smaller / pocket guns.

But If one still does the training and practice the fruit of that labor is the pleasure (at least not displeasure) of carrying a smaller, lighter gun with confidence.

My EDC of a G19 lasted 9 years. I'm only willing to carry a gun that size in the cooler weeks. (FL)

[556BlackRifle]

Firefly, My EDC is a G19, or a G43 if t-shirt and shorts weather. Over the years I've carried 357Mag, 9mm, 40S&W, 357Sig and 45ACP. With the new bullet technologies, 9mm is a good choice for me. I no longer carry professionally but I take it seriously and I try to shoot at minimum once per month, but sometimes I shoot every week. I usually shoot 250 rounds per session sometimes more. With 15 + 1 in my 19 and a spare mag, I don't feel under gunned. I do feel undergunned with the 43's capacity so I have a +1 extension on the primary mag and a + 2 extension on the spare. (I recently picked up a 365 and I'm in the process of vetting it now.)

ETA: I think that training and basic marksmanship are more of a core issue here than one caliber vs another.

[ST911]

Firefly, My EDC is a G19, or a G43 if t-shirt and shorts weather. Over the years I've carried 357Mag, 9mm, 40S&W, 357Sig and 45ACP. With the new bullet technologies, 9mm is a good choice for me. I no longer carry professionally but I take it seriously and I try to shoot at minimum once per month, but sometimes I shoot every week. I usually shoot 250 rounds per session sometimes more. With 15 + 1 in my 19 and a spare mag, I don't feel under gunned. I do feel undergunned with the 43's capacity so I have a +1 extension on the primary mag and a + 2 extension on the spare. (I recently picked up a 365 and I'm in the process of vetting it now.)

ETA: I think that training and basic marksmanship are more of a core issue here than one caliber vs another.

Try a G43X. Extra capacity without the compromise of mag extensions, along with a more positive master grip at the holster.

[556BlackRifle]

Try a G43X. Extra capacity without the compromise of mag extensions, along with a more positive master grip at the holster.

I tried the 43x and I like the grip width however, it's not significantly better than my G19 (butt wise) so it's kind of moot. The deal breaker for me is the slide finish. I strongly dislike a bright silver finish on a combat weapon.