Getting a .45 pistol

[RobertN]

I've finally talked the wife into letting me get another pistol. This time I am looking for a.45. I'm trying to keep the price under $1,000.

Here is my 2 cents...

Check out you local ranges. Some rent guns. Go try a couple different ones. Get a feel for the different styles before you buy something.

I have a Glock 30. I used to have a couple 1911A1 variants; one cheapo and another a custom build on a Para Ordnance 13+1 frame. I have shot Glock 21's, and a few others.

My personal expierience is I can pick up a 1911A1 style .45acp and shoot pretty well. I can not do that with my Glock-30; although it shoots well, I need much more practice with it. I shoot a Glock 21 better the second I pick it up, but still need practice to shoot as well as a 1911A1.

I still want to eventually get another 1911A1.

And another Desert Eagle... The grip feels like a big 1911A1. And, they are tack drivers. UPS lost mine in shipment; I have not replaced it yet. But, that thing was amazingly accurate! It is one of the best pistols I have shot. I used to shoot steel for fun, at 100M(112 yards). From a standing position, unsupported... That Eagle was great!

I do have big hands; I like the Glock-30 double stack for the size of the grip. That is one reason I liked the Desert Eagle too...

 

[Podunkadunk]

While I don't know alot about brands .If you shoot someone with a 45 ,I don't think they will be around to know what brand he / she was shot with.

I have a taurus pt 145 that I carry. While not a high priced hand gun. I'am sure It would hurt if you were shot with it

I wouldn't want to get shot with a .22 caliber! The rest is just icing on the cake.

Police in this area and Jacksonville, FL where I was prior to here, use the Glock .40, (Glock 22). Sigarms mentioned that Glocks have the highest amount of accidental discharges. That would be true. The SAFETY IS THE TRIGGER, as with the way all firearms should be handled. That being said, I just don't keep one in the chamber. Only takes a split second to put one there though

I like this thread, and I really love Kimber's.
Podunk

 

[gsganzer]

Get the Kimber. A good place to shop for guns is on gunbroker.com

 

[kenmac]

I wouldn't want to get shot with a .22 caliber! The rest is just icing on the cake.

Police in this area and Jacksonville, FL where I was prior to here, use the Glock .40, (Glock 22). Sigarms mentioned that Glocks have the highest amount of accidental discharges.


That's why I bought the tauras. It is a double action semi auto. making it a little safer or less prone to accidental discharge if you have 1 in the chamber

 

[dmccarty]

If you want a .45 see if you can buy a used SW 4506. Its a single stack .45 and it might fit your hands. If you can find one now that SW does not produce it except of large orders.

A .45 or any other round is not a guaranteed stopper. I know someone who shot a person twice and that person kept moving after him with a knife. The second round did cause the person to sit down. Yes sit down. The attacker was a big women who was crazy. She was ticked off that her NASCAR driver lost a race so she wanted to carve up a friend of mine with a kitchen knife. She only spent a day or two in the hospital.

The reason I brought this up is why limit yourself to one caliber especially if you have small hands. I don't think the .45 really has much of a kick but it depends on the shooter, the round and the weapon. A full blown 10mm has a heck of a kick to me. The .45 in a SW 4506 is pretty tame. Its far more important that you practice so that you can shoot accurately and fast with what you have. Find what you can handle easily for your hands. Then worry about the caliber.

I don't like Glocks for two reasons. My understanding is that the trigger has to be pulled to take the weapon apart to clean it. The trigger should do one thing and one thing only. And it ain't taking the pistol apart.

The one time I handled a Glock the empty magazine would not fall out of the pistol without being swept out of the well with the weak hand. Not good. This was just one pistol and I don't remember the model so maybe its not a Glock thing.

These two things may not matter to you but they matter to me. Try out the model and see if it matters to you.

The Glock does have a very good trigger pull from the first to last round.

I'm biased to SW Third Generation pistols and I have fired thousands of rounds in SW 9mm, .45s and 10mms. I don't really like the heavy first trigger pull but it is what it is.

Just try out as many models as you can, don't get hung up on the caliber, and pick the one that fits you best. Then practice. AND find out the law for your state on the use of a weapon for self defense which pretty much means taking a good CCW class.

Have Fun.
Dan

 

[weldingisfun]

Glock 38.'Nuff said.

 

[KubotaSteve]

I'm not hung up on that caliber, but there are two types of guns I have always wanted: a .45 and a AR-15. I'm hoping to add more guns but the wife is a little leary of them. Before she quit work (was a bank teller) and was pregnant with our second child, a guy came in and pointed a gun at her belly and robbed her. The guy was caught and convicted and sent to prison. But after the incident the other day with a possible rabid racoon in the yard, she is warming up to me getting more guns.
I've all ready got a .22 Beretta pistol and a .380 Makarov (which needs repaired right now). I would love to get a .357 Ruger, a.44 Desert Eagle, etc. but I'm being patient. When I bought my .380 several years ago, I could have bought a SKS for under $100 but didn't do it and now I could kick myself.
Anyway thanks for all the help. I'm also thinking about adding a laser sight as well. I noticed that LaserMax can be used on the Sig but didn't see anything for the Kimber. I kinda like the laser sight being out of the way.
Please keep the suggestions coming as I'm going to the gun shops tomorrow to get a better feel of the actual weapons.

 

[weldingisfun]

Glock 38.'Nuff said.

Whoops, typo. Glock 36, now 'nuff said.
Just Glocks

 

[Sigarms]

Forgot to add, Sig has their P220 out in a SINGLE ACTION! Think about it, you can carry a Sig cocked and locked.

Flame suit on, so flame away. I think a laser for civilian handgun defensive use is a waste of money. You get lax on your sighting/shooting skills, relying on the laser, and if your at the point where you have the laser "pointed" on someone, at that point you'd probably have to shoot to kill anyway or be killed yourself. You don't have the advantage of being an LEO having your gun out pointed at someone with the red dot on them to "scare them" into submission. Night sights may be a must, perhaps a rail light as well, but stay away from porting the barrel because of close quarter shooting and shooting in the dark (IMO).

I've got an extra layer of flame retardent material on

 

[archerynut]

My vote GLOCK. I have a lot of confidence in that gun because it fits me well. I think a lot of the confidence comes from what just feels right in your hand. With most of the recommendations you can't go wrong, you just need to go to a dealer that has a large selection and fondle them all.