Larger Caliber pistol

COSteve, gee thanks wise guy! Here I am trying to learn and make a decision and you go and throw a changeup at me. Honestly I haven't heard of the 45 Super. 38 Super yes and I had even thought about that round.

As a range/target gun magazine capacity hasn't been a consideration as I normally don't load more than 5 rounds at a time anyways while at the range.
 
I had a Gen4 Glock 22 that had the “Bullet-to-Forehead” problem. I replaced it with a Gen4 Glock 21, which “IMHO” is a superior firearm. This shoots every brand of “trash” factory ammo (i.e., TulAmmo steel case) just beautifully.

I had an HK USP40 which I still regret parting with, a fantastic shooting pistol that I let go of in a moment of shear stupidity. I subsequently got an HK45 which IMHO is quantum leap better firearm than the USP40, although I’d like to get another USP40 when I find a LN example at a good price.
 
kmw1954 said:
Well I know the 1911 comes in more flavors than Ben and Jerry's and long ago I'd shoot my friends Colt Combat Commander, which was enjoyable even with factory loads.
I also have a Witness Pavona in 380 and I love shooting it. It feels very comfortable in my hand and the sights are very clear and easy to pick up. The gun is also very accurate.

I have seen a number of 10mm Witness on the auctions and that isn't out of the question either. A lot to think about and sort out.
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If the Pavona is comfortable for you, the larger Witness will feel like home. My wife likes my Witness enough that she bought herself a Pavona. We are pretty big fans of the Witness platform, just ordered the 6” Hunter actually.

If I was going to buy another 1911 as a range gun, I’d be saving for a Coonan .357”
 
I agree that a full-size model 1911 chambered in .45 ACP is one of the most pleasant pistols to shoot.

I can't speak to hand loading, but I have multiple pistols chambered in both .45 ACP and .40 S&W and I enjoy shooting both calibers. Your perception of recoil for either, but especially the .40, will depend a lot on what pistol you choose. A mid to full size, all-metal pistol with some weight will go a long way to taming recoil of either.

When I first shot .40 S&W years ago, I did perceive it to be "snappy" and wasn't too accurate with it. Now, I really don't perceive it to be much more than 9mm in terms of recoil. The .45 ACP has more of a big, slow, backwards push. If you absorb the recoil instead of trying to fight it allowing the muzzle to rise and come back on target, it is very pleasant to shoot. As for .40 S&W "dying", rest assured there are plenty of .40 caliber fans who are alive and well.

You should really try shooting both before you decide. Find someone with a decent government-size 1911 in .45 (shouldn't be too difficult) and give it a whirl. Then find someone with a SIG Sauer P226 or 229 chambered in .40 S&W and try that out.
 
Handloading allows the shooter to tune their loads to what they want so 10mm or 45acp, you can't really go wrong. While I have G23 in 40s&w and use it for my CCW piece, the 10mm in something like a Glock G40 with a 6" upper would make both a great range and hunter piece. If you're into a red dot system on your piece, the G40 MOS version is killer.

While I don't own a G40, I actually made one long before Glock did. You see, they took my idea I developed way back in 2004 and copied my longslide Glock 10mm/45acp; my custom G20/21L.

You see, I developed a G21L 45acp longslide version first in early 2004 using a custom 6" German steel slide and a 6" Jarvis 45acp barrel. Later that year, I got the idea of developing a custom 10mm from it and after a number of tests, I discussed the possibility of a custom 45-10mm conversion barrel with Kevin, owner of KKM Precision. He agreed and made me the first ever KKM 45-10MM conversion barrel for my custom longslide Glock in the fall of 2004.

With it, I made up my G20/21L, the world's first longslide Glock shooting both 45acp and 10mm. Since then, I've worked with JR, owner of Lone Wolf Dist., on his excellent line of SS longslide conversions in multiple calibers but this slide is steel, not stainless steel, and predates by a few years all of the Glock longslide conversions.

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I've run over 9,000rds of hot 10mm through it and love how it shoots. The extra sight radius length coupled with the added 4¾ oz of weight at the muzzle make for a solid, performance shooter while the 1.6" longer barrel allows magnum powders like Power Pistol to develop significant velocities. Even with my 'nuclear' level 165grn 10mm loads pushing 1,589fps with a whopping 925ft/lbs of muzzle energy, my Glock, with it's low bore axis, has little to no muzzle flip; rather a strong push more straight to the rear. This makes the platform a great hunter as followup shots are straight forward.

It's now been updated from just a hunter to a more competition version with a hardchromed slide, magwell, and slicked up action and custom trigger. It's a joy to shoot steel plates at 200yds, standing with a Weaver stance, as configured below. For walking in the Rockies as a protection rig, I simply remove the magwell to reduce carry weight. Then I load it up with 17+1 rds of my handloaded 180grn hardcast handloads producing 1,479fps or 200grn hardcast producing 1,383fps. With it I'm ready to deal with any 2 or 4 legged issue as I have 3 times the ammo of a revolver on board and much less muzzle rise than a revolver. All in a package that is slimmer and weighs less than a 6" S&W 686 357mag revolver with only 6rds on board.

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However, the OP is leaning towards a 1911 style so I suggested to him he consider one of Springfield's excellent 'NM' s/n 1911s in the classic 45acp. As he handloads, he could work up some great 200grn loads for one and have a classic 1911 to enjoy for a lifetime at a reasonable cost to shoot. I have both a Mil-Spec and a Range Officer and both are excellent.

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With a forged frame and slide, excellent accuracy, and super reliability right out of the box, I can't recommend them too highly. Both mine will eat anything, ball, plated, coated lead, HP, or even some old Speer Flying Ashtray ammo, they just keep on shooting.

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Whatever the gun turns out to be it will be a metal frame unless of course a plastic Witness shows up at a price I can't refuse.

Would be nice to find a place to actually shoot the Witness in at least one of those calibers along with a 1911 and do a side by side. I will be looking for that.

Thanks everyone you all have been very helpful. All suggestions are being taken to heart.
 
I'd go with the .45 acp, mostly because it's easier to reload. Finding brass is easier, finding bullets is easier, handling brass while reloading is easier, .45 acp brass is pretty much infinitely reload-able (.40 S&W is not), .40 S&W is more finicky about powders/powder charges, and so on.

I do have two .40 S&W caliber pistols and reload for them (about 3,000 rds/year), and I like the cartridge a lot, but IMO, it's just a lot easier to reload .45 acp. If you decide later to get a .40, at least you'll have some experience reloading .45 acp to fall back on.
 
I find the .45 more enjoyable. It is more pleasant for me to shoot than .40, 9mm, or .380 and I have guns in all those calibers and respect them all. It is just that the recoil of .45 is slower, so it is more of a push than a snap. Plus it is a good defensive round. The only downsides are the cost (9mm is cheaper) and firepower - for defense, bigger rounds means fewer rounds you can carry (firepower, stopping power, portability - you can only have two)
 
Thanks everyone. The wife and I were just talking about guns yesterday because she has seen a S&W SD9VE while at a show that she has kinda fallen for so I was trying to explain that it is pretty much the same gun as her XD Mod2 4.0 in size, shape, weight and capacity and wouldn't see like to try something else! She responded with, well maybe a different caliber. I already know she doesn't like the 380 so that could mean maybe a 22 or something bigger than a 9mm.

Anyways I've convinced her that we will go out and rent/test some of the bigger guns. Also BTW she is refusing a revolver of any kind.

Now this new gun will most likely have to wait until after the New Year as I just found out I will be going in to have surgery on both my legs again a week before Christmas.
 
K_Mac said:
A full size 1911 in .45 acp is a classic handgun. For fun at the range I don't think you can do any better.
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+1
There are a lot of sweet shooting 45s out there.
The Ruger P90 is a tank, but it shoots well.
The FNX 45 also is a fun shooting gun, and you can get
tacticool stuff for it.
Or you can get a 1911 long slide.
 
.40 in a small pistol is definitely snappy. A .45 in a 1911 has a recoil, of course, but is still comfortable and fun to shoot.
 
I have seven 1911 45's and three 40's I say you will be right with either.My 40's are S&W 40VE ,S&W M&P 40 Shield,and a Taurus Millennium G2 PT140 40
 
A quick update.
I was able to get together with a member friend from another forum today and was able to shoot his Taurus PT1911 and his EAA Witness Compact 45acp. I will honestly state that I think I fell in love with the Witness. It just fell into my hand naturally and was very pleasant to shoot.
 
The Witness line is second line of guns, the first being the PPQs, that I’ve picked and it just felt right. And it’s true for the both the polymer and steel frames, found that odd given how different they are.

I currently have a Witness Elite Limited Pro & a Witness Hunter, both are steel frames & 10mm. My wife has one of the Pavonas in 9mm, polymer frame. All three are great to shoot. I’ve been considering picking up one of the polymer 10mms.

The only things I can say against them are the importer, EAA, can be atrocious to work with and there were some issues with slides cracking a few years back, that seems to have been resolved. I haven’t needed to contact EAA yet, but the stories are mixed bag. Some people have a good experiences and others have horrific experiences, doesn’t seem to be a lot of in between.

Given you were thinking about a range gun, I would hold out for one the Match models in the caliber you want is available. The Matche models are talked about well by the competition guys, over on the Brian Enos forum, as a great entry level option. Would make for a nice range toy. They do seem to arrive in batches from Tanfoglio, so it could be out of stock for awhile and then you buy it when one shows up.
 
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