Here's a link to the source I referenced about Sgt York. Very interesting to say the least.
https://youtu.be/vbxh2aivmgQ
https://youtu.be/vbxh2aivmgQ
Kinda similar thing happened with the .41Mag. It was supposed to be a LE/SD cartridge that ran 200 something grain bullets at 1000 something fps. When the gun companies were done with it, it turned out to be nearly a twin of the .44Mag.
By the time the "police load" was readily available, the police market had already ruled thumbs down on the cartridge.
By the end of WW-2 the military was disappointed with both the 45 and 1911.
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The pistol and cartridge you choose is personal preference. The truth is that they all work, use what you like.
Jacketed ball ammunition labeled as target ammo is a means for manufacturers to sell expensive hollow point ammunition.The pistol I favor as a carry piece lately is a Colt LW Commander .45 ACP
My carry ammo is 230 grain ball. Sometimes called range ammo or target practice rounds, I have come to this conclusion because it has been the most reliable in the three 1911s I have owned.
I think a lot of the JHP 45 recommendations are more sales hoopla and not necessarily better defense rounds than 230 ball.
Jeff Cooper said it was good enough defense ammo and York supposedly killed seven Germans in a fire fight in France, WWI with a 1911 and ball ammo. So who to believe, facts or hear say?
Nearly everything you wrote is incorrect for the period after WW2. I knew the PM for the Army's selection of the 9mm pistol. The main reason the 9mm was procured was compatibility with NATO. Had it not been for that reason, the Army would have purchased new 1911s to replace its older inventory.Here is the truth. By the end of WW-2 the military was disappointed with both the 45 and 1911. My dad served in Europe during WW-2 and told me most of the troops didn't much care for the pistol.
After the war the military tested 9mm and 45 side by side using FMJ ammo and found no difference in lethality. Both were effective at one shot stops 65-70% of the time. They did find 9mm penetrated barriers much better. The 45 was bouncing off steel helmets at ranges over 10 yards while 9mm continued to penetrate at ranges over 100 yards.
That combined with greater mag capacity, less recoil, and better accuracy led the military to recommend changing to a hi-cap 9mm pistol in 1946. But with thousands of 1911's in inventory, budget cuts, and no war, the plan was delayed for 40 years.
Most of the 45 and 1911's legacy came about from the creative writing of Cooper and other gun writers long after the war ended. That doesn't mean that York didn't do what he is credited with. I have no reason to not believe it.
With modern HP ammo all of the common cartridges have proven to work around 90-95% of the time. It matters little if you're using 9mm, 40, 45, or 357 mag they all do about the same.
For the average person the difference between a round that is 70% effective and one that is 90% effective probably doesn't matter. Most of us will never shoot anyone, and only a handful will ever shoot more than one. But you do put the odds in your favor by choosing modern HP ammo.
The pistol and cartridge you choose is personal preference. The truth is that they all work, use what you like.
I'd like to learn more about this. Do you remember where you heard/read that claim?To add some sweet with the bitter, we promised NATO that when we replaced our 1911A1 pistols the replacement would be in 9mm NATO.
I like to think of it as a one-shot hit that goes down verse a double tap.And, when the too-big, and too-hard-to-shoot M1911A1 was replaced, it was with an even bigger, and harder to shoot (DA/SA) 9mm!