Low Recoil .45 loads?

V

Validpoint

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Newbie needs help...

I would like to purchase a .45 - either a 1911 of some type or Sig 220. My wife wants to buy a 9mm H&K USPc (nice gun in it's own right, we've both shot it). My question - is there a .45 round which is a little lower on recoil? One shot with a .45 at our pistol class and she is afraid. Looking mostly at range work. Like to pick up both guns but finances don't allow it right now. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Greg:confused:
 
I find the 230gr to have a very tame recoil in my 5" barreled 1911.I'm not sure how it would be coming out of a shortered barreled SIG.
 
The softest shooting "range worthy" 45 ACP load I know of is Remington 185 grn Semi Wadcutter Match load. This is an expensive load that requires your gun to be broken in well before use. Newer stiff recoil springs cause this load to jam fairly easily. I've used it in a new SIG P220 and could not get through a magazine before I would get a stovepipe jam. However, once my P220 was broken in the load worked fine. My Glock 21 fired this round flawlessly when new.

I also find Winchester 230grn Whitebox to be mild.

Hope this helps.

JJCII
 
MARRIED MAN'S ADVICE (REALLY GOOD ADVICE, BETTER TAKE IT!)

Buy WHATEVER YOUR WIFE WANTS first, then buy what you want.

Trust me..........
 
Winchester's 185gr Silvertip hollowpoint is a low recoil load as far as .45acps go.

Federal's 165gr PD HydraShok is another.


Good luck.
 
I would second the choice of buying the 9. If you can get her to go to the range and shoot she will eventually want something bigger. Once she is used to the 9 then you can get the 45. 9's are also cheaper to shoot which means more time at the range.
 
USP first

I'd probably get the 9mm USP first and start saving for the 1911 or P220. The USP would basically become her pistol, giving you more leeway in choosing your own. If you buy the .45 first, the ammo will be more expensive, especially if you look for reduced recoil loads, and your wife could develop an aversion to shooting ......... and it could be one of those things that would pop up in arguments for years to come.

If you're set on buying the .45, the best ammo deal that you'd get would probably come from a reliable local reloader, if you buy in bulk. You could tell him/her that you want a 25-30% reduced recoil load. This might be a less expensive way to buy ammo too, if you're willing to use reloads.

;)
 
If you reload or know a competent person to do this for you one of the Classic low recoil loads for the 1911 or any .45 is 3.8 to 4 grains of Bullseye powder behind 185 grain lead semi-wadcutter bullet. Accuracy is fantastic and recoil is much lower than with full power hardball.

Cost is way cheaper also. You can shoot thousands for what you would pay for hundreds of rounds of factory ammo.

My all means choose the 1911. There is no controversy about the safety in loading lead in the 1911 like there is with the new wave pistols.

Your new 1911 is easily stripped completely to the frame with little or no tools and you can often replace parts yourself or modify it with the thousands of accessories for it.

Your new 1911 will not only be a perfectly functioning tool but aesthetically pleasing as well. Something that cannot be said for the new wave pistols. W.R.
 
For a soft target load I use a 200 grain lead semi-wadcutter over 3.8 grains of Hogdons Clays. I've used as little as 3.5 grains, but that is REALLY light, but still racks the slide and is also accurate.
 
I put a Wilson Combat tungsten full length guide rod into my gun. The 3.5 oz at the muzzle really reduces felt recoil. I let a friend shoot it and he asked where I got the powered down ammo. The ammo was the same as I always use, full power 230 gr Blazer ball. Part of the reason I like shooting this load is that it produces recoil and muzzle flash comparable to my 230 gr Hydrashoks, so it turns out to be excellent training ammo and it is really cheap (not as cheap as Wolf, however). The money saved by using less expensive ammo more than covers the cost of the rod. As noted above, much of the powered down factory stuff is match ammo and it can be quite expensive.
 
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