Me again. There are more myths about the .45 auto than its effectiveness and the first one that comes to mind is that it's difficult to shoot.
Anyone here think it's actually difficult to shoot? Now, I will admit that the lightweight Colt Officer's ACP was something of a handful to shoot, meaning you really had to hang onto the thing when you shot it and there weren't going to be any double-taps, either, not with me doing the tapping. However, I wouldn't call it unpleasant as in .357 unpleasant magnum. I don't think I've fired a 9mm in a pistol that small but a garden variety PPK in .380, as well as a Makarov, which is worse, are not really all that pleasant to shoot just for fun. But if you go up a notch to a Colt lightweight Commander, it becomes quite manageable. After using my own practice handloads for 9mm, using factory 9mm was always surprising in comparison. Overall, however, I'd rate the .45 auto easy to shoot, rather than what you sometimes hear.
Accuracy? Provided you aren't using something manufactured before I was born, which they still were when I was in the army, all the .45 autos I ever owned were equal to or better than any 9mm or .38 Super pistol. Unfortunately, I have to admit that most (but not all) of my .38/.357 revolvers were marginally easier to shoot but that was with target loads. But frankly, you really don't hear complaints about the accuracy of a .45 ACP that you can take seriously.
Reliability? More related to the pistol itself, I suppose, but after 100 years, most of the bugs should have been worked out, wouldn't you say?
So, why don't I have one? I've got a nice stash of ammo somewhere or other.