.45 acp revolver vs 9 mm pros and cons

To me a big plus is that you can shoot bullets that won't feed in a 1911---a LWC of any weight or a 250gr LSWC or others.

TexasPatriot.308 said:

I would think the revolver would handle hotter loads.

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Why do you think that, and what exactly do you mean?

Lots of personal preference. If you go SA you can get convertibles for 45LC and ACP (think Ruger may make a DA to handle both now) or with a 9mm you can get the Blackhawk in 357 with a convertible cylinder. However, I think the 9mm's don't have a reputation for accuracy from a .357 gun so keep that in mind if you go that way.

Revolvers are more ammo tolerant which is a gain.

I like 9mm but see less point to it in a revolver. Nothing against it, just less so my thing there. Do have that 9mm cylinder for the Blackhawk as a back up option though.

fxvr5 said:

Why do you think that, and what exactly do you mean?

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If you have a single action (like a .454 Casull) with a 45ACP cylinder you could load that ACP cartridge up way past what one should for a semi auto pistol. It can be done, best to move to the correct cartridge though rather than hot rod another one.

I can't see any advantage to a 9mm revolver unless you simply don't have any ammo but 9mm. I do have a 9mm cylinder for one of my old single actions but have never found it accurate or reliable.

A 45 Auto semi-auto can shoot 45 Super and 450 SMC with minor modifications. (recoil spring)

Ohen Cepel said:

However, I think the 9mm's don't have a reputation for accuracy from a .357 gun so keep that in mind if you go that way.

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9mm shoots fine in those revolvers. I found no difference in accuracy between 9mm and 38/357 factory ammo in my conversion blackhawk. The most accurate load was a 9mm handload that put 24 rounds in under 1.5" at 25 yards from a Ransom Rest.

jar said:

I can't see any advantage to a 9mm revolver unless you simply don't have an ammo but 9mm. I do have a 9mm cylinder for one of my old single actions but have never found it accurate or reliable.

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I know what you mean. With 9x19mm automatics available in so many sizes, pretty much all of them holding more ammo and offering quicker reloads than any 9mm revolver (and many of them lighter to boot), it is hard to see why anyone would want a 9mm revolver.

Yet if someone prefers revolvers over automatics, for whatever their purpose is, then a 9mm revolver can make sense. It uses ammunition with more kinetic energy than any 38 Special +P load, yet not as much flash, blast, and recoil as 357 Magnum, in a revolver that does not need to be much, if any, heavier or bulkier than a small-frame 38 Special. It's a niche role, I grant you, but it's one that seems to be big enough for several manufacturers to find worth serving.

Of course, they don't find it worth tooling up to make a revolver designed JUST for 9x19mm, which could have a shorter cylinder and frame than a 38 Special. But worth it enough to offer their 38/357-size guns with cylinders for 9mm. I guess that points to it not being all that big a niche either.

All this is just off the top of my head. I hope I have not missed something stupidly obvious.

The single advantage a 9mm revolver would have over a 45 ACP revolver, at least where most DA's are concerned, is the 9mm would probably be smaller. That said, I have an old S&W 1917 in 45 ACP and really like it. The moon clips are a bit of a headache to load, but nice for reloading and transporting ammunition. I use 45 AR brass for some of my handloads, mainly those with heavy SWC's.

35W

When it comes to .45ACP in a revolver, I prefer one
that requires half or full moon clips for headspacing
the rounds. That means I don't care for the Blackhawks
because handloads can vary which causes problems
unless the handloader if meticulous.

And an option for .45ACP guns is the wonderful Auto Rim
cartridge which was by design and brass thickness able to
handle pretty heavy loads. See Speer handloading book.
Of course the Auto Rim is for DA revolvers that usually take clips.

Monac said:

I know what you mean. With 9x19mm automatics available in so many sizes, pretty much all of them holding more ammo and offering quicker reloads than any 9mm revolver (and many of them lighter to boot), it is hard to see why anyone would want a 9mm revolver.

Yet if someone prefers revolvers over automatics, for whatever their purpose is, then a 9mm revolver can make sense. It uses ammunition with more kinetic energy than any 38 Special +P load, yet not as much flash, blast, and recoil as 357 Magnum, in a revolver that does not need to be much, if any, heavier or bulkier than a small-frame 38 Special. It's a niche role, I grant you, but it's one that seems to be big enough for several manufacturers to find worth serving.

Of course, they don't find it worth tooling up to make a revolver designed JUST for 9x19mm, which could have a shorter cylinder and frame than a 38 Special, but worth it enough to offer their 38/357-size guns with cylinders for 9mm. I guess that points to it not being all that big a niche either.

All this is just off the top of my head. I hope I have not missed something stupidly obvious.

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My issue was with the cartridges themselves. I found the bullets would walk forward in the cases at times as I fired. It seldom created a real problem but I noticed it when unloading a cylinder that still had unfired cartridges.

TexasPatriot.308 said:

I recently posted about looking for a 9mm revolver. I already own couple of 1911s so I love the .45 acp. I prefer the knockdown power of a .45 as I carried one almost 50 years ago. Do the ballistics vary from an automatic .45 to a .45 acp revolver? I would think the revolver would handle hotter loads. I plan on buying as soon as the market settles down, hopefully soon. I want one to carry maybe even concealed.

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The ballistics are the same for a .45 ACP revolver and a .45 ACP automatic. I happen to be in the midst of loading up a batch of .45 Auto Rim for use in an M1917 Colt, and I use t he same bullet and powder charge as I do for .45 ACP.

And you can load the revolver a bit hotter. The M1917 will digest +P rounds easily. You can also load different bullet configurations, such as full wadcutters, in the revolver.

One of the reasons I go with .45 Auto Rim brass is so I don't mistakenly load "revolver only" loads in my Kimber M1911.

fxvr5 said:

A 45 Auto semi-auto can shoot 45 Super and 450 SMC with minor modifications. (recoil spring)

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One thing to look out for is damage in counter-recoil -- I was shooting .45 Super in an M1911 with a heavier spring, and suddenly my recoil spring plug and recoil spring disappeared down range -- the counter recoil force broke the legs off the barrel bushing.

I have a snub nose alloy S&W AirLite .45 app that takes the same moon clips as my 625.

I can't get 12 shots out of it on target in 2.99 seconds like Gerry M.

More like 4 seconds. Good enough for me. LOVE that revolver, one of my favorites!

I own both, use the ACP ones for gun games the others just for fun. Never CC’ed any of them. A N frame, is a pretty big hunk of metal for 6 rounds of 45 ACP. Never found the 9mm’s to do anything a 38/357 couldn’t, except shoot 9x19 cases.

IMO you waste all the potential of a revolver by shooting semi auto calibers through one. All you have to do is look at the ballistics data for 9mm/45acp vs any of the magnum calibers. It's a no brainer for me. I have semi autos for 9mm and 45acp. I want to shoot 357-41-44 magnum or 45LC in a revolver. It's a free country (for now), you do you.

Vern Humphrey said:

One thing to look out for is damage in counter-recoil -- I was shooting .45 Super in an M1911 with a heavier spring, and suddenly my recoil spring plug and recoil spring disappeared down range -- the counter recoil force broke the legs off the barrel bushing.

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This is often attributed to the heavier weight recoil spring being compressed completely before the slide has moved all the way to the rear. That will break the legs off the bushing.

Damage by return recoil from too heavy a spring is blamed on breaking the lower lug legs.

A 45 ACP revolver is going to be much larger in most cases. S&W only makes them on the N-frame and Ruger on the Redhawk both larger framed revolver and 6-shooters. You can have a 9mm on a S&W J, K, L, and N-frame holding 5,6,7, & 8 respectively. Ruger I believe is only doing 9mm on the SP101 frame (5-shot) and the Super GP100 (modified Super Redhawk frame, 8-shooter).

You will be hard pressed to find a faster reloading revolver than the 45 ACP on moonclips (JM used it to set his world record reload), the nice short fat cartridges and larger diameter chambers with little flat space between them makes for some of the fastest and most fumble free revolver reloads going. You can be as fast with a 9mm on moonclips but the smaller charge holes makes it slightly more fumble prone.

Neither are going to be power-houses compared the revolver cartridges of similar caliber but that is not the point of a revolver in rimless cartridges. They are chambered in proven self-defense cartridges and the rimless cartridge allows the use of thicker more robust and less finicky moonclips than rimmed cartridges typically allow. If your after more power go to a proven revolver cartridge 357 Mag, 44 Mag, 45 Colt etc.

I think the only good comparison is to compare the S&W 625/325 and 45ACP Redhawk vs the S&W 929 and SGP100. They are similar size revolvers. The 45 ACP is going to be a big bore and slightly easier/faster reloads. The 9mm is going to have 8-shot capacity and be a little bit easier to shoot due do less recoil (assuming typical factory ammunition for both). If you want a smaller revolver than these big revolvers then 9mm rapidly runs away with the contest.

JMHO but if your not using Moonclips for 45ACP or 9mm revolvers then there is almost no reason to consider these cartridge for a revolver. Moonclips Rule!!!

mcb said:

The 9mm is going to have 8-shot capacity and be a little bit easier to shoot due do less recoil (assuming typical factory ammunition for both).

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You can shoot 38 Special (and 38 Long Colt and 38 Short Colt) in a 357 revolver, and they have less recoil than 9mm.

TexasPatriot.308 said:

I already have .357 mags, .44 mags and .45 colts but in longer barrels, larger frames.

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My 625’s use the same N frames as my 44mag/LC S&W”s.

What firearms in particular are you looking at choosing between?

fxvr5 said:

You can shoot 38 Special (and 38 Long Colt and 38 Short Colt) in a 357 revolver, and they have less recoil than 9mm.

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Agreed but 38 Short and Long Colt are not easily available or as inexpensive as 9mm is in today's market (pre or during covid) and they are also not typically considered a good self-defense cartridge compared to 9mm, especially with the plethora of good self-defense loadings currently on the market for 9mm.

9mm also allows the use of thicker more robust moonclips that are significantly less finicky about pairing brass to moonclip than 38/357. I have a S&W 627 that I use for USPSA competition (bought just before the 929 came out) and it took a fair bit of effort and experimentation to get a combination of moonclip and brass that worked well enough for competition. I finally settled on Revolver Supply moonclips and Remington 38 Short Colt brass.

The groove for the moonclip on rimmed cartridges is not part of the SAAMI cartridge dimension specification. That groove started out as an artifact of the manufacturing processes and occasionally you will still find makers that do not include that groove, CCI Blazer Aluminum being the first to come to mind. This means that each case manufacture has their own take on the width and depth of that grove and this causes a lot of issues with getting brass and moonclip to fit snug enough to retain cartridges firmly (not to floppy) but not so snug as to distort the moonclips On the other hand rimless cartridges like 9mm and 45 ACP the extractor grove is part of the cartridge's SAAMI spec and thus from manufacture to manufacture that grove is pretty consistent and thus once you have found a good moonclip it is likely to work with a wide variety of brass manufactures equally well. 9mm and 45 ACP moonclips usually come in one size where I know for the S&W 627 TK custom offers five different sizes/thickness for the 627/327.