@rodfac, you have just made my decision making process more difficult by answering a question I was pondering:
If the goal is to shoot 1911 but with reduced recoil and noise, why 9mm? Why not just load .38 Super down? Is it some trouble with the twist rate of the barrel vs “low” velocity? I think your answer is “just load some 124 grains and shoot em.”
I’m just going to type this out because it helps me think...
1. It bothers me a little to no longer have a “proper” 1911 in .45acp. There are many reasons .45acp is desirable. One of them, for me, is exactly the BOOM, FLASH and PUSH of lighting it off, and the practice needed to overcome the psychological urge to pull the shot or flinch the shot. Loading light target loads, as I used to, it’s still a big bass BOOM and recoil is really more in the mind, but.. that’s real when shooting.
2. .38 Super (super auto, super .38) was always loaded “full tilt boogie hypervelocity” in the old days and the report could get downright un-neighborly and just plain “plugs under big can muffs” nasty. No need to go crazy major power factor loads for me, I was wondering how a nice old easy .38 subsonic load would shoot. Somehow in my mind .38 super is a “well, it’s not a ‘proper’ .45, but ya know... it has a rich history and a lot of competition guns were made along the way, I guess it’s okay...”
3. A .38 Super to 9mm swap is as easy as replacing the barrel and maybe tuning the ejector, often no need for that I have read. Other than having cheap ammo and all the kids are in to 9mm these days... and feeling sheepish about my pistol... sort of like showing up with an electric Ford Mustang... well... .38 super is cool since a set of dies costa about 2 boxes of ammo and lasts a lifetime...
4. Speaking of mall ninjas, it seems they are already getting tired of their 1911s in 9mm around here. I expect it’s because you can’t load half a box of ammo in to them and if you want to blaze away fast there are better platforms.
5. If I was going to go 9mm... maybe a CZ75 is better in my mind as it was built for that cartridge, has it’s own history, and their variants run at the top of the “shoot fast” games that are popular now. I’ve fever owned one... (but I don’t have the real itch to get a nice one, either) If I just wanted a 9mm to chuck in the pocket of my field jacket, it’s hard to beat a Glock 19 or one of it’s many honorable competitors.
Unfortunately, I think I know the solution to my conundrums... get a mid grade 1911 or steel frame pistol in a small caliber at a good price if it appears, get a plastic striker fired pistol from a kid who needs to get the next latest greatest thing, and get an heirloom grade 1911 in .45acp. In short, get them all because otherwise one ends up with a moped... not a good bike, not a good motorcycle.