What caliber 1911 do you prefer for carry?

What caliber 1911 do you prefer for carry?

  • .45 ACP

    Votes: 104 81.3%

  • .38 Super

    Votes: 7 5.5%

  • 10mm

    Votes: 6 4.7%

  • 9x19 Parabellum

    Votes: 9 7.0%

  • 9x23 Winchester

    Votes: 1 0.8%

  • .357 Magnum

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other

    Votes: 1 0.8%
  • Total voters
    128
  • Poll closed .
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Sergei Mosin

Sergei Mosin

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I'm sure everyone can predict the most popular choice, but I'm curious about the rest nonetheless...
 
Well, I am sure that .45 will be the resounding answer, but a while ago I was given the advice to try out a 9mm 1911, and boy, thats nice. I don't own one yet, but it is near the top of my fairly long wish list.
 
If its not a 45ACP, its not a 1911
If its a double action, its not a 1911
If its a widebody, its not a 1911
If its hammerless, its not a 1911
If its plastic, its not a 1911
and so on and so forth.:cuss:
 
For the record I have been looking at a RIA doublestack 9mm sounds like a sweet shooter.
 
.45 is what the gun was originally designed to shot if my memory serves me right ...I was never one to mess with a good thing plus.....bigger holes leak more fluid...:what:
 
Lately I've been shooting 9mm with better accuracy, and with prices these days I can practice more with it.

So 9mm.
 
I voted .38 super because I would have voted 9mm, except that I think if you want a 1911 and you want 9mm... go .38 super.
 
If I am going to carry an M1911, it will be in 45 ACP.

I enjoy shooting my 38 Super M1911 and 38/45 Clerke M1911.
 
The Army Ordinance Corps adopted it in .45ACP. That's the original, all others are imposters.

Don't do this to John M. Browning...
 
I voted even though I don't carry a 1911. If I were to carry a 1911 why would I carry less firepower than the most that is available commonly ("Commonly" because I won't argue about hyper .45 wildcats)?

All that said, if I were to carry a full sized 1911 it would probably be because I was entering a high risk area, and therefor I would choose my DW 10MM, because the 10MM is said to have more energy at 100 yards than the .45 ACP does at the muzzle. However, I don't understand why anyone would choose a caliber with less overall stopping power than the .45 ACP. Many of us believe that a large bullet with equal energy shown in a calculator to a smaller cartridge will still have more stopping power than the smaller bullet with suposedly equal energy.
 
However, I don't understand why anyone would choose a caliber with less overall stopping power than the .45 ACP.
Click to expand...

Smaller caliber = less recoil and (sometimes) greater capacity.

As I get older, recoil is starting to become more of an issue, so I can see the appeal of a 9mm 1911 for certain folks.
 
However, I don't understand why anyone would choose a caliber with less overall stopping power than the .45 ACP. Many of us believe that a large bullet with equal energy shown in a calculator to a smaller cartridge will still have more stopping power than the smaller bullet with suposedly equal energy.
Click to expand...

At advertised velocities, most .45 ACP loads stay under 500 ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle. My .38 Super has about 525. They are about equal, but my Super also gives me a couple extra rounds.... But let's be honest, if I had a .45 1911, I would carry it just as much as my .38 Auto.

Mine is a Colt .38 Automatic (Super).... There's just something about a 115 gr projectile leaving the barrel at over 1,400 fps that gives me some confidence.

2012-10-05234702.jpg
 
I don't understand why anyone would choose a caliber with less overall stopping power than the .45 ACP. Many of us believe that a large bullet with equal energy shown in a calculator to a smaller cartridge will still have more stopping power than the smaller bullet with suposedly (sic) equal energy.
Click to expand...

Because some people prefer a gun that they can drive faster and make faster followups with. They believe that is likely to count for more in a gun fight than the relatively marginal difference between say 9x19 and 45 ACP or even 10mm. They also see the added mag capacity as a potential advantage. One more advantage is the cost of ammo. Shooting time and training is also more likely to be outcome determinative in a gun fight than the ballistics of common pistol rounds.

These videos treat some of those ideas:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMAQ1BnCuY8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYrSFRkue3Y
 
Most of my M1911s are in .45ACP but I do have a Lightweight Commander in .38 Super with a 9mm. conversion that will find its way into the carry rotation soon enough.
 
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