Inexpensive .45 ACP for CC

springfield xds in 45 acp. retail is around 449 usually.

for a concealed carry gun that is smaller I would suggest this over most other stuff in that price range for 45acp.
 
Bersa vs Taurus

One positive point for Bersa is they will sell you parts. With Taurus you have to send the gun in if anything goes wrong.

Kahr also sells parts. I like having parts available for my carry guns.
 
Gruney said:
One positive point for Bersa is they will sell you parts. With Taurus you have to send the gun in if anything goes wrong.

Kahr also sells parts. I like having parts available for my carry guns.
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I prefer my guns to be as close to an ak in reliability, my experience is that a tried and known brand won't need work (before 25000 rounds). There is something to be said for the overall gained knowledge that comes with time(in general) when talking manufacture.
 
Taurus sent me a new recoil spring lat year, no questions asked. sorry for you bad CS experience, if your is actually first-hand, but they have always been extremely quick and no BS. I had a fiber-optic piece slide out of front sight, also sent a new one no questions. where do you base that you "have to send in" on?
 
I went to Cabela's last night. With the bad weather going there weren't many there and I got to really peruse the pistol counter, take my time, and hold a bunch of the pistols on the short list.
  • Kahr CM45 - didn't fit my hand at all, worst of the lot
  • Kahr CW45 - same, didn't fit my hand
  • Sig P250 - tried the 9mm and it didn't fit my hand, need to check dimensions of the 45
  • PT145 Pro - perfect fit
  • Glock 30 SF - good fit, maybe not quite as good as PT145
  • XDS - didn't fit, bummer, liked the gun
  • EAA Witness Compact - love it, but too big
  • M&P-C - love the feel but too big
  • PX4 - didn't do much more than put it in my hand, too big
  • Glock 36 - pretty much same as 30 SF

Short story: The PT145 Pro fit my hand perfectly. I mean perfectly. I could work all the controls with my thumb while keeping my hand positioned for shooting. The pistol "felt" good in my hand. The sights came right in alignment when I raised to shooting position. The only thing that (for me) wasn't great were the sights. Both Glocks came in a very close second to the Taurus. I might have bought the Taurus right then, but they wanted $360 for it used. That seemed a little steep for taking a risk on something I hadn't actually shot.

I really liked the XDS - a lot. Unfortunately it just didn't fit. I had to shift my hold just a bit to work the controls, but the worst was the sighting. When I raised it to shooting position I always had to take a moment longer than I care to get the sights aligned. It just wasn't natural. I liked it so much that if I can find one to shoot then I'll give it another try, but it's probably not going to make the cut. The same was true for the Kahrs, only worse. I was kind of hoping CM45 would work for me because of the size, but the controls weren't good and the sighting was not intuitive at all. I tried a compact Sig in 9mm (I don't recall the model number). It didn't fit me well. I'll have to look it up and compare it to the dimensions of the 45. If they are the same then that puts the Sig out of the running.

Too big: I loved the Witness and the M&P-C, but they are just too big for what I want right now. I can't say I did much more than put the PX4 in my hand. It's too big.

So I still need to search out a Thunder and a Stoeger. (I'm not seeing Canik or Tristar in .45, am I missing it?)

Conclusion: Right now the Taurus PT145 Pro is at the top of the list. Hopefully one of the local ranges will have one I can go shoot. It's happened to me before where I had a gun that "felt" great, but that I didn't shoot well. So I always prefer to put some bullets down range with something before I buy it. And I'm not keen on the PT145's sights. I'm wondering what fiber replacement options are available (and at what cost). I also have a couple of other models on the short list that I want to at least get in my hand to see how they feel.

Thanks again for all the experience, observations, and helping me narrow down the list for pistols in my price range.
 
The Canik/Tristar and Witness are all CZ copies. I wouldn't expect them to be much different - though that is only a partially-informed assumption. You could easily look up their dimensions online.

I own about a dozen Tauri and have only had trouble with one, though they are all revolvers or Beretta clones.

If you decide for sure on a certain model you may be able to find it cheaper online.
 
I can offer a few comments about the Stoeger Cougar 8045F since I own one. I also own two Beretta mini-Cougars (compact, short grip versions of the Cougar) one a D model (DAO) chambered in 9mm and the other an F version (DA/SA) chambered in .40 cal S&W.

First the advantages:

Stoeger Cougar 8045s can be found for around $400 if you shop around and sometimes appear on sale for less. I paid $415 NIB last December, delivered from Kentucky Gun Company.

There is nothing cheap or unreliable about the Stoeger Cougar. The pistol is functionally equivalent to the Beretta Cougar which retailed for hundreds of dollars more. The guns are made on the original Beretta machinery which was transferred to Turkey when Beretta decided to drop the Cougar when they brought out the polymer framed PX4 Storm which uses the same rotary barrel breech lock mechanism that the Cougars used. (Stoeger is owned by Benelli which in turn is owned by Beretta Holding.) I have detail stripped the Stoeger and since I have two Beretta Cougars (one US made and one Italian made) I think I can say with some confidence that the Stoeger is functionally equivalent to the Beretta versions. The finish on the Stoeger is arguably less nice than the Berettas, being more of a matte Bruniton finish.

A nice thing about the Cougars is that the pistol was originally designed around the snappy .40 cal S&W cartridge so that it will definitely hold up to the recoil of the .45 cal ACP in the long haul. The Stoeger 8045 is remarkably soft shooting for a .45 caliber with less perceived recoil than my Springfield Armory model 1911 and it seems to be as accurate despite the shorter (3.7") barrel and sight radius. The Stoeger 8045 has a Picatinny accessory rail if you were ever interested in mounting a light or laser.

Like the more familiar 90 series Berettas, the Stoeger 8045F is a DA/SA pistol with a slide mounted safety/decocker. Unlike the Beretta 92FS the Cougar F can easily be converted to a "G" model in which the lever acts as a decocker only without any slide modification. The DA trigger pull can be easily and cheaply lightened by installing a so-called "D spring" which is the stock mainspring that comes in a D model (DAO) Cougar which will not compromise ignition. The DA trigger pull does remain long, much like that of a Beretta 92/M9 if you have any familiarity with that weapon.

Now for the disadvantages:

The Stoeger Cougar is felt by many to be larger than ideal for a carry weapon. Although it has a shortened barrel, it essentially has a full-length grip. Like many Berettas, the grip is also a bit on the thick side so it is not the easiest to conceal without printing. It is also an all-metal pistol so it is not particularly light, although the mass helps absorb recoil very nicely.

The magazine capacity is also somewhat limited (8 rd mags) although it has better capacity than a model 1911.
 
SerenityNetworks said:
I went to Cabela's last night. With the bad weather going there weren't many there and I got to really peruse the pistol counter, take my time, and hold a bunch of the pistols on the short list.
  • Kahr CM45 - didn't fit my hand at all, worst of the lot
  • Kahr CW45 - same, didn't fit my hand
  • Sig P250 - tried the 9mm and it didn't fit my hand, need to check dimensions of the 45
  • PT145 Pro - perfect fit
  • Glock 30 SF - good fit, maybe not quite as good as PT145
  • XDS - didn't fit, bummer, liked the gun
  • EAA Witness Compact - love it, but too big
  • M&P-C - love the feel but too big
  • PX4 - didn't do much more than put it in my hand, too big
  • Glock 36 - pretty much same as 30 SF

Short story: The PT145 Pro fit my hand perfectly. I mean perfectly. I could work all the controls with my thumb while keeping my hand positioned for shooting. The pistol "felt" good in my hand. The sights came right in alignment when I raised to shooting position. The only thing that (for me) wasn't great were the sights. Both Glocks came in a very close second to the Taurus. I might have bought the Taurus right then, but they wanted $360 for it used. That seemed a little steep for taking a risk on something I hadn't actually shot.

I really liked the XDS - a lot. Unfortunately it just didn't fit. I had to shift my hold just a bit to work the controls, but the worst was the sighting. When I raised it to shooting position I always had to take a moment longer than I care to get the sights aligned. It just wasn't natural. I liked it so much that if I can find one to shoot then I'll give it another try, but it's probably not going to make the cut. The same was true for the Kahrs, only worse. I was kind of hoping CM45 would work for me because of the size, but the controls weren't good and the sighting was not intuitive at all. I tried a compact Sig in 9mm (I don't recall the model number). It didn't fit me well. I'll have to look it up and compare it to the dimensions of the 45. If they are the same then that puts the Sig out of the running.

Too big: I loved the Witness and the M&P-C, but they are just too big for what I want right now. I can't say I did much more than put the PX4 in my hand. It's too big.

So I still need to search out a Thunder and a Stoeger. (I'm not seeing Canik or Tristar in .45, am I missing it?)

Conclusion: Right now the Taurus PT145 Pro is at the top of the list. Hopefully one of the local ranges will have one I can go shoot. It's happened to me before where I had a gun that "felt" great, but that I didn't shoot well. So I always prefer to put some bullets down range with something before I buy it. And I'm not keen on the PT145's sights. I'm wondering what fiber replacement options are available (and at what cost). I also have a couple of other models on the short list that I want to at least get in my hand to see how they feel.

Thanks again for all the experience, observations, and helping me narrow down the list for pistols in my price range.
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The Sig 45 gripframe is fatter and to me more comfortable, especially the p250 and p320
 
Wasn't the Taurus PT145 discontinued a few years ago and NOT because it sold well, was ultra reliable, and everyone liked it?
 
What I'm seeing currently on Taurus' web page is a couple different models of the 24/7 in .45, in a compact size. Still a 12 round gun.

(They're site is soooo annoying, to actually try to find something on.)
 
pblank: Thank you for the very useful information. I will see if I can find a Stoeger Cougar 8045F that I can handle. Although if it's too big that will throw it out of the running regardless of how much I like it.

gbc123: Thanks for the note on the Sig. I'll make a point of checking it out.

L-2: Yes, they were discontinued. But I don't know why. I know that's about the time Taurus was recovering from some huge quality issues, but the more I've looked it up I don't see that the "Pro" model (the last generation) had any quality issues.

lee n. field: You are so right; their site is designed horribly. My rub with the 24/7 is that it is a full 1/2" bigger. But I might have to try it.
 
I might have missed if you decided against a 1911, but in case that's a possibility for you.... I bought a RIA 5" G.I. .45 acp in 2004, the only shooting mod I've done to it was change to an 18.5 pound recoil spring. it shoots like a higher end gun, far more than the $340 I paid for it.

I'm impressed by the RIA line up, they have "G.I" models as well as tactical versions without breaking the bank and have been great guns in my experience. I find that because of how flat/slim the 1911 is I can carry even the full sized guns in the summer with minimal effort for concealment.
 
LarryH: Thanks. I'll keep an eye there. But I still have a few more models to check out and I'll want to fire the ones that seem to 'fit' well.

Jerry: I like 1911's and shoot most models well, but I didn't even consider them because I thought they would all exceed 7" OAL. 6.5" is pushing it for my purposes.
 
Dashunde: No, not a 9mm for CC. I have something similar I use. I know if this were a 9mm question then there would be a huge array of quality pistols in this price range.

I generally do not post about specific weapons I own due to big brother. On occasion, yes; mostly, no.
 
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