Why do you own a .45?

[dialM4murder]

...as opposed to a 9mm.

[HolyRoller]

Being indecisive, I own both!

9mm will git-r-done with modern hollowpoints, and practice ammo is as inexpensive as centerfire handgun ammo can be these days. .45 will make a bigger wound, but will cost more to practice with. More 9mms will fit in the same size gun, and you can carry twice as many 9mms weight-wise, but each .45 bullet is more likely to stop the fight. I'm about equally happy with 16 rounds of 9mm or 8 rounds of .45.

I carry a .45 Springfield TRP 1911 on and off duty, because I can hit with it and I can reload in under 4 seconds, which will go down with practice. My other off-duty full-size is ye olde M9, with which I can hit well enough. If I were going on a loooong hike or camping trip, I would take it instead of the 1911 because I can carry lots more ammo, also it's less expensive if I somehow lose it. The M9 and 1911 carry and conceal about equally well with proper leather, which for me is a Summer Heat IWB holster from Wild Bill's Concealment.

.45 or 9mm? It doesn't have to be one or the other. Each has its uses.

[ST911]

Better question: Why own a .40?

[Don Robison]

Better question: Why own a .40?

+1
I've got three(2 glocks, 1 Sig) that may not be around much longer. I just don't shoot them. It's either 9mm or .45 on my range days.

[R Moran]

Because thats what 1911's are chambered for.

Bob

[RudyN]

I have both. Two Springfield Armory .45s and a XD9 Tactical. Bought the tactical as 9mm is cheaper to shoot.

[Lumpy196]

Because no one has ever had to make the argument that .45ACP is as effective as 9mm.


...and it's what 1911s are supposed to be chambered in.

[Robb Jensen]

...as opposed to a 9mm.

You question assumes that the reader only owns one or the other.

I own 3 different .45s (a Glock 21SF, a SIG 220ST, a SA 1911)
I own 4 different 9mms (a Glock 17, a S&W M&P9, a M&P9c, CZ85 Combat)

[rob_s]

Because when I used to carry a 9mm, every once in a while I would see some big-ass huge fat Buddha-looking mother humper and wonder... "is 9mm going to be enough on that guy?"

I don't have those moments anymore.

thanks for reminding me, by the way, as I recently was considering going back to the Glock 19/26.

[Submariner]

"The 1911 was the design given by God to us through John M. Browning that represents the epitome of what a killing tool needs to be. It was true in 1911 and is true now." —Colonel Robert J. Coates, USMC

And the 1911 is chambered in .45 ACP.