This is just another caliber war thread, but I haven't partook in a caliber war for a while, so here goes.
The .45 ACP is a great cartridge to reload, very easy to reload, and I frequently pick up free brass at the range to load it. That and being naturally subsonic with 230gr bullets is the only reason to own a .45 ACP pistol.
I'm not a fan of the .45 for self defense because I don't like the cost of defense ammo. That's one thing I can give the 9mm credit in that even brands like Fiocchi and Wincheter make a low cost, yet good performing hollow point for 9mm. Same can be said for .40, I stocked up a long time ago LE Bonded Winchester for $20/50 rds.
.45 tho, it seems the cheapest hollow point that work is over 70 cents a round and at that point I could use a more premium 9mm or .40 for the same price and the mag in the gun would hold more of either.
But, every time I bring up the price of ammo the inevitable replies are always along the lines of "is that all your life is worth to you?" or if it's relative to the number of rounds it's "good luck explaining why you fired off 30 rds in a self defense situation."
Pfft, I guess those people are FUDDs and only have one magazine loaded for their nightstand gun and don't bother to keep extra mags loaded or if they do they load it with cheap FMJ and not buck a round boutique ammo.
The ammo capacity is another issue, albeit a lesser one. Apart from Glock, Walter, and FN, most .45 autos are 10 rd mags or less. To me it's not worth choosing a 10 rd .45 over a 15 rd .40 or 17 rd 9mm.
As to effect on animals, I saw Paul Harrell demonstrate that generic .45 hardball is as good or better than a 10mm hard cast at penetration. For things like beer, moose, cougar, buffalo, elk, etc. I can see wanting the bigger caliber, but for something like hogs or coyote, what is the .45 going to do that the .40 or 9 can't?
So, with the OP seeming to want to tie all this in to what caliber rural folk would be best served by for a handgun, the answer is a .357 revolver. Load the .357 with 158 or 180s and it's got enough power to drop a big creature, load it with .38 +P or .357 with a 125 gr pill and it's enough to stop whoever.
If this is a semi auto only topic, then honestly I don't see anything wrong with almost any caliber .380 and up. The real limiting factor for rural people is they tend to not have as much income, so it comes down to what they can afford and what is available.
