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"My name is Dad, and I carry a m1911A1 pistol in caliber .45acp."
It started when I was just a kid, sure I had a Woodsman, but all the cool kids seemed to have pistols with "big bullets" like .38s and .44s. My father always said that when I was ready "old enough" I would be able to make an informed decision on caliber choice. I didn't listen, I would save my nickels and dimes, sneak down to the hardware store and buy some big bullets. There I'd be, lurking at the shooting range, asking to try out some "friends" pistol, trading ammo for shots. It wasn't long before I was doing extra chores, cutting the neighbors lawns, anything to afford those big shiny rounds!
I was turned on to the .45acp one summer by a family "friend", y'know, "Call me Uncle Tom!" * , he said things like, we don't have to tell your parents about this, you can't tell your friends! The minute I held that 230 grain Full Metal Jacket marvel in my hand I was hooked. Soon I was working harder and more often to be able to buy those beauties and to acquire my own M1911!
Trying to balance school, saving for a car and feeding my .45acp jones was exhausting! When I told my parents that I was considering not playing football the following year, they started getting suspicious. By then it was too late. They tried to help, but I was too far gone.
And so it went, buying and trading pistols, reading the classifieds, going to gun shows, learning to reload ammo, hanging out at "gun shops", all through the years of high school and my college years as well.
I even went so far as to marry a girl that I met at shooting match! **
When I was still unsure of my path in life I entered gov't service and wowsah they gave me a M1911A1 pistol to carry and introduced me to even bigger guns. Seems those math classes I took gave me the ability to understand the arcane science of ballistics! *** I studied the mysteries of the M102 and the M198, heaven.When I returned to civilian life I still had my .45acp jones and it's with me to this day.
Don't let your life turn out like mine, buy .32s or 9mms. I hear .380s are nice or those .40SW anything but a .45acp! I can help, I'll buy your old, solid steel. clunky, heavy, hard to carry M1911s at 40% of book and remove the foul things from your presence, lest you slip into darkness. It's too late to help me, but it may not be for you!


* He really was my uncle, and he didn't care who I told. lol
** 36 years of wedded bliss come August. My FIL had 1 son and 4 daughters, he trained 'em all up right.
*** Covering your ears with your palms and opening your mouth while turned away from the gun, not only looks silly, but it's not an effective way to protect your hearing.

Here is the full video. It is hilarious!

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=po4nZTO3ES4[/youtube]

ROFL. That bit about a .40 being between a 9mm and a .45 and allowing you to have it both ways had me rolling....

gthaustex wrote:ROFL. That bit about a .40 being between a 9mm and a .45 and allowing you to have it both ways had me rolling....

The .45 kills your soul.......................................................................................

Dadtodabone wrote:*** Covering your ears with your palms and opening your mouth while turned away from the gun, not only looks silly, but it's not an effective way to protect your hearing.

WHAT? YES INDEED, VERY NICE WEATHER WE'RE HAVING.



Dadtodabone, not having ever been an arty guy myself, I had to go look up the M102 and M198 designations to see what they are. At first, I thought to myself "Man, those things look like a LOT of work just to emplace and load before you can even 'pull the lanyard' so to speak"...........and then I thought, "Yeah, but I'll bet it's all worth it just to fire the thing." Tell me if I'm wrong. Do gun crews hate or love their guns.....or both?

KC5AV wrote:The .45 kills your soul.......................................................................................

Mr. ColionNoir wrote:Wait a minute.....will the .40 make me "bi"????!!!!

Self inflicted GSW recorded on video, with a .45 ACP pistol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... YvAxLX6OzE. The idiot/victim was not immediately vaporized. WARNING: the idiot/victim uses a couple of choice words immediately after shooting himself in the leg.... Don't click on this link if you don't want to hear them, but the video content is instructive, and it is pertinent to people who carry a 1911 with a certain kind of holster.

I carry .45s because it is a sufficiently effective round. I carry a 9mm because it is a sufficiently effective round. I carry a .357 because it is a sufficiently effective round. I do not carry .22 LR, .25 ACP, .32 ACP, or .380 ACP pistols because I lack confidence in their being a sufficiently effective caliber. I don't carry my .44 magnum because I don't want to set any innocent bystanders on fire.

Of all of those which I do carry because I have confidence in their effectiveness, I am best with the .45.....so that is why my primary carry guns are .45s, and my backup/alternate carry guns are either 9mm or .357 magnum. And I chose those two calibers in those two guns specifically (Kahr PM9 and a S&W M&P340) because they are tiny and will easily slip into a pocket, and both will holster carry with minimum printing issues, and both are very lightweight guns.

But whenever OWB carry is practical and I am not as concerned about deep concealment, I go with one of my .45s. Yes, I have an emotional attachment to the caliber for previously stated reasons, but I carry it for reasons having little to do with my attachment to it. My emotional attachment to 1911s notwithstanding, I rarely ever carry one anymore, because—for me, YMMV—I have other alternatives that work better as carry guns.

The Annoyed Man wrote:

Dadtodabone wrote:*** Covering your ears with your palms and opening your mouth while turned away from the gun, not only looks silly, but it's not an effective way to protect your hearing.

WHAT? YES INDEED, VERY NICE WEATHER WE'RE HAVING.



Dadtodabone, not having ever been an arty guy myself, I had to go look up the M102 and M198 designations to see what they are. At first, I thought to myself "Man, those things look like a LOT of work just to emplace and load before you can even 'pull the lanyard' so to speak"...........and then I thought, "Yeah, but I'll bet it's all worth it just to fire the thing." Tell me if I'm wrong. Do gun crews hate or love their guns.....or both?

It's both. Feeling your innards squirm around on the shot takes some getting used to. And, there is rarely any payoff, we shoot at stuff we can't see, the only feed back we usually got was of the negative nature, lol.102s are fun to shoot, they're light just over 3000 lb., the trails are aluminum and allow for easy movement(good thing when you need to shoot and scoot), and the on carriage traverse is so great,6400 mils angular, that once you orient the gun towards the target you don't need to muscle the gun. The humps not bad either 30-35 lbs. but you can wear down quick in a max fire rate exercise, 10 per minute X 3 minutes.

The muzzle of almost every 9mm I've ever fired tends to "flip", making it more difficult to require the target for the next round. It's just too....."snappish". .45 ACP, OTOH, just pushes back into my hand. Especially with the 1911s. My sights stay on target through subsequent shots. All in all, it's just a more comfortable round for me. I'm far more accurate with a 1911 in .45 than I am with any other handgun.

RottenApple wrote:The muzzle of almost every 9mm I've ever fired tends to "flip", making it more difficult to require the target for the next round. It's just too....."snappish". .45 ACP, OTOH, just pushes back into my hand. Especially with the 1911s. My sights stay on target through subsequent shots. All in all, it's just a more comfortable round for me. I'm far more accurate with a 1911 in .45 than I am with any other handgun.

That is more about the differences between guns than the actual round.

Shoot a 9mm in an all-steel 1911 and you won't feel much muzzle rise or snap.

Heck, when I open a gun store, I'm going to HAVE to carry a 1911 on my hip. Not because I think the 45ACP is superior, but because....well, cmon, would you trust a gun shop guy that didn't keep a 45 on his hip?

Customer: "What's that on your hip?"

Me: "Oh, that's my trusty Ruger LCP, it's a great........ hey, wait, don't leave!"




Note: The Ruger LCP was chosen for dramatic effect. In no way do I endorse or encourage the use of any .380ACP firearm, which is only suitable for scaring mice and anemic cats.

OldCannon wrote:....well, cmon, would you trust a gun shop guy that didn't keep a 45 on his hip?

No.

For those that carry 9mm.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=zHkqOWzDAZI[/youtube]

The Annoyed Man wrote:

KC5AV wrote:The .45 kills your soul.......................................................................................

Mr. ColionNoir wrote:Wait a minute.....will the .40 make me "bi"????!!!!

Self inflicted GSW recorded on video, with a .45 ACP pistol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... YvAxLX6OzE. The idiot/victim was not immediately vaporized. WARNING: the idiot/victim uses a couple of choice words immediately after shooting himself in the leg.... Don't click on this link if you don't want to hear them, but the video content is instructive, and it is pertinent to people who carry a 1911 with a certain kind of holster.

I carry .45s because it is a sufficiently effective round. I carry a 9mm because it is a sufficiently effective round. I carry a .357 because it is a sufficiently effective round. I do not carry .22 LR, .25 ACP, .32 ACP, or .380 ACP pistols because I lack confidence in their being a sufficiently effective caliber. I don't carry my .44 magnum because I don't want to set any innocent bystanders on fire.

Of all of those which I do carry because I have confidence in their effectiveness, I am best with the .45.....so that is why my primary carry guns are .45s, and my backup/alternate carry guns are either 9mm or .357 magnum. And I chose those two calibers in those two guns specifically (Kahr PM9 and a S&W M&P340) because they are tiny and will easily slip into a pocket, and both will holster carry with minimum printing issues, and both are very lightweight guns.

But whenever OWB carry is practical and I am not as concerned about deep concealment, I go with one of my .45s. Yes, I have an emotional attachment to the caliber for previously stated reasons, but I carry it for reasons having little to do with my attachment to it. My emotional attachment to 1911s notwithstanding, I rarely ever carry one anymore, because—for me, YMMV—I have other alternatives that work better as carry guns.

TAM,
We watched his video in our CHL class while discussing gun safety. The one you posted was an updated, remastered version. Originally, he blamed the ND (which he called an accidental discharge) on the holster itself. He was way more arrogant and dumbfounded that THIS would happen to HIM. I was pleasantly surprised to see him accept responsibility. That made his video truly educational.

baldeagle wrote:Why do I carry a .45? Oh, wait, I don't even own a .45......

Seriously reconsider.

With any decent defensive load, you get at least 0.60 expansion. For CQB purposes, it's hard to beat the .45 ACP.