For target practice - would you buy a 45 or a 40?

R

Rockosteel

Inactive
I'm trying to decide between a 40 or 45 for a simple target practice gun. I've been told by several gun shops that the cost difference in a 50 count box of ammo is about $10 more for the 45s but have seen both priced the same at Dicks Sporting Goods and WalMart.

I've heard the 45 is more fun to shoot since the 40 has a harder kick (police officer told me that).

So I have two questions.

1. is the price per box of range ammo considerably more for 45s over 40s?

2. is one more fun to shoot targets with than the other?


Your imput is appreciated
 
.45 ACP all the way. I've never seen a 1911 in .40, even though there may be one, I like .45 better.
 
I would get a 22lr for pure target practice. For shooting fun, Personel defense and Target practice I would go with the 45acp. I think it is a little more inherently accurate cartridge than the 40 S&W. I would look at a nice Colt 1911 with adj sights and maybe get a 22 conversion unit for it. Then you would have the best of both worlds.
 
Actually, you have three questions.

For target practice - would you buy a 45 or a 40?
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Neither, unless you plan on reloading.

is the price per box of range ammo considerably more for 45s over 40s?
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Depends on what you are buying and where you shop. I can buy 50ct blazer brass 40sw and the gunshows for around $8 a box, 50ct Blazer brass 45acp for $9 -$10 a box. Depending on how many I buy. So 10-20% more for 45acp.

is one more fun to shoot targets with than the other?
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IMHO...No

If you want to have fun shooting and it not break the bank, consider getting a good 22lr pistol. I have a Ruger Single Six and a Walther P22. They are fun to shoot and I can buy 550 rounds for $14.

There are alot of good 22lr pistols out there Browning, Ruger, etc...

Just my 2 cents.
 
Strictly for target practice? .45 ACP hands down.

The .40 S&W cartridge does not have the inherent accuracy that the .45 ACP cartridge does.
 
One issue you might consider is availability ... I don't own a .40 anymore, but I see a ton of ammo for that caliber available in catalogs and at gun shops, while .45, in the current climate, seems to be a lot harder to locate. I got rid of the .40 simply to avoid having to stock an additional caliber; I have two 1911s and love shooting them both. I also agree with others that a good .22 is a great idea; lets you shoot for hours at minimal cost, and .22LR, while more expensive than a year or two ago, is at least available.
 
If what you want is a large caliber semi-auto to just target shoot, 45ACP without question. If it a center fire pistol you want, don't over look a 9MM. Many good quality choices in a 9. If it is just plinking for target shooting, a 22 rimfire is the economical way to go. The "real gun" look-a-likes such as the Walther P22 or Sig Mosquito would be a good choice. For a greater degree of accuracy, go with a Ruger MKIII or Browning Buckmark. If you are not set on an autoloader, many good 357 Mag revolvers are out there. They have the advantage of being able to also chamber the 38 Spcl round. In the rimfire world, there are single action revolvers that can be purchased with both a 22 longrifle, and 22 magnum cylinder. The magnum giving you a little more bang for a little more money.
One more option in rimfire is soon to be introduced by Keltec this summer.
The Keltec PMR 30. A semi-auto pistol that looks much like an FN Five-seveN chambered in 22 magnum with a 30 round capacity, and a msrp less than half of the FN. I'm really looking forward to that one!

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2009/11/23/kel-tec-pmr-30-pistol/

BTW, I have both a 40 S&W, and 45 acp ( 3 of them) 2-9's, a 44Mmag a 357, 38 spcl,
along with 9mm Makorovs, 380's 32 acp's and 22 rimfires. I enjoy shooting ALL of them
 
I don't see why you would choose a .45 or a .40 stricktly for target practice when you are concerned with ammo cost. Both are good cartriges but for target practice a 9mm makes a better choice cost wise. A .22lr makes even more sense.
 
Thanks for the responses. I have a 9 and a 38 already -both cc guns. I am in the market for full size baby that I wouldn't carry but one that I could shoot for fun and not having a large cal gun, began considering either the 40 or the 45...sounds like the 45 is the choice when comparing the two.

thanks.
 
If I was limited to ONLY one gun, it'd be a .45. Since I'm not, I would think a .22lr would be the best and most practical option.
 
The .40 S&W is cheaper than the .45ACP, right now on http://www.ammoengine.com/find/ammo/.40_S&W the cheapest .40 S&W is $0.27 per cartridge and the cheapest 45ACP is $0.36 per cartridge. That does not mean there are not deals out there were you can get it cheaper. For comparison 9mm is $0.19 per cartridge. The .40 does not have a harder recoil than a .45, but it is a bit snappier. The .40s are mostly pretty accurate, i will not comment on whether the typical .45 is more accurate than the typical .40 because they are all more accurate than me. Accuracy has a lot more to do with the shooter and the gun than the cartridge, at least at normal pistol target ranges.
 
I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation as to why 40S&W is a less accurate cartridge than 45ACP. It seems like another gun store clerk "fact" that gets repeated without anyone ever questioning its validity. If I am talking out of hand, please feel free to slap me down with some facts. I'm not being sarcastic, I would love to hear them.
I know that it is a much higher pressure round than 45ACP. The first caliber I started loading for was 45ACP for this very reason. Perhaps if you are a bullseye shooter, the difference in accuracy between the two calibers could be determined, but I don't think the average (or even above average) shooter will ever notice a difference.
I think a lot of the grief the caliber gets is that it is a compromise, and a lot of folks here and elsewhere don't like that. Up until recently I never owned a gun in 40S&W. I figured that between my 9mm and 45ACP pistols, I was pretty well covered. The last year's ammo shortage convinced me to buy a CZ 75B Compact in 40S&W. It was the one caliber that everyone seemed to have in stock and/or wasn't price gouging on. It is a snappier round than the 45ACP, but I think you just need a gun of sufficient weight to offset the recoil. I had tried a Glock 23, but it was a bit light for the round, in my opinion. The CZ is an all steel beauty and makes 40 feel like 9mm. Good luck with your search.
By the way, around here in New Jersey, boxes of target load 40 run around $18. Boxes of 45ACP are $6 to $8 more. You will get a lot more practice in with the 40S&W.
 
Thanks for the responses. I have a 9 and a 38 already -both cc guns. I am in the market for full size baby that I wouldn't carry but one that I could shoot for fun...
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Why not get a full-size target gun in .38Spl then? Ammo is cheaper than .40S&W and .45ACP, either factory or handloaded. (Smaller bullets = less $$ for a handloader.)

Then there's the gun. Most .40S&W handguns are semi-autos built for police and military applications that require a high degree of reliability but not a high degree of accuracy; 3" groups @ 25yds is adequate for these users, and that's what most of these guns deliver. Very accurate high-end .45ACP semi-autos are more widely available but tend to be expensive. OTOH you can buy a used but still serviceable S&W Model 14 K-38 Masterpiece or Colt Officer's Model Match for about the same price as a "combat accurate" .40, but it will shoot groups about half the size without really trying, and it will equal a match-grade .45ACP 1911 at half the price. :D

FWIW my opinion about the ".40S&W is inherently less accurate than .45ACP" myth is that it has less to do with the cartridge and more to do with the guns and the shooters. .40S&W is a "new kid on the block" and most .40S&W handguns are geared towards police and military applications that emphasize putting lots of rounds into a silhouette-size target as quickly as possible. This doesn't demand a high degree of accuracy from the gun because the number of holes is more important than the distance between the holes. ;) OTOH .45ACP has been used by serious Bullseye target shooters for decades, so there's a lot more cumulative know-how about what it takes to make these guns shoot tiny groups, and there's a larger market for target-grade guns.
 
Find the gun first.

I like .45 acp imho it is more fun to shoot than .40. But if I found a great target gun at a good price that was only chambered in .40, I'd go with that.

Luckily that are a lot of great guns chambered in .45
 
I don't think the OP asked about platforms - just calibers ...

But Wilson Combat and others make 1911's in 9mm, .40S&W and .45 acp of course. I happen to have 1911's in all 3 calibers ...

In a 1911, I like all three calibers - and I practice a lot with 9mm and carry a .45 acp ... / but if you are really focused on ammo cost then I think you have to go .40S&W of the two. Is the .40S&W as much fun to shoot as a .45 acp / sure ..... I don't find that much difference in them in terms of accuracy for sure / but on recoil either ..

If you do the recoil formula / in .40S&W for 180gr bullet at 978 fps vs .45acp 230gr bullet at 818 fps / in the same gun, weighing 43 oz ... the .45 acp will give you about 13% more recoil.
 
I'd buy whatever caliber I usually shoot. What's the point of using a .45 for a target gun if you use 9mm for carry and/or home defense? Or, if your carry / HD piece is .45, then get a target gun chambered for .45.

I've come to realize that I like 9mm for HD and in a carry gun. My next gun will probably be a target 9mm, and the next one after that will probably be a very small carry piece in 9mm.
 
I'd also vote .22 target gun like a Ruger MK III.. However, if you already own a 9mm and 38 CC gun, you might consider a full sized 38. Ammo is cheaper and will fit either gun. IMHO, there is no better range gun than a 4-6" 38/357 S&W revolver with adjustable sights. Super accurate, reliable as a hammer, feeds ANYTHING and it won't beat you up with recoil or ammo costs.

That said, between the 40 and 45, I'd go 45 hands down. 45's are know to be accurate (especially in a nice 1911). While the 45 is a bigger cal I find it much more recoil friendly than the 40. The 45 has a PUSH and Bark while the 40 is more of a SNAP and BLAST. I never cared for the 40 and believe the cal ( much like the 45 gap) wouldn't even exist if it weren't for gun companies desire to put more umph in a double stack Mag. IMHO, if you can hit what your shooting at, you don't need ( and shouldn't be allowed to carry) 17 rounds to begin with.
 
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