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first encounter with a .45 ACP

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AJC1 said:
Just wait till your in a booth with an ar pistol with an 8" barrel. Makes me just want to leave.
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I do just leave. The last experience with a compensated AR in the next lane over left my ears ringing for two full days after I left early…and I plug and muff indoors every time. :thumbdown:

Stay safe.
 
An inside range is going to amplify noise and concussion.

OTOH, there are a lot of variables, on whether it was custom loaded ammo, or if the pistol was ported, etc.
Standard 45ACP, by comparison to many, is relatively mild. Now if the guy had been shooting 44 mag, or 454 Casul,
that's a party.
 
As already mentioned, there are a lot of factors. If you were about 10 yards apart, does that mean he was close to a wall? If so, the wall would reflect concussion your way as well as the blast from his gun. Was there a compensator on his barrel? Indoors shooting contains the blast much more than shooting outdoors and, as mentioned in another post, you were shooting a .22 versus his .45. That's a BIG difference.

.45 isn't that bad. I prefer the recoil and concussion of a .45 over the recoil of a .40 S&W. Even with a pistol with great ergonomics and a low bore axis, the .40 was much snappier to me. A .45 certainly has more recoil and concussion than the .22 you were shooting, but it's not unpleasant. Give it a try...
 
My first experience with the 1911A1-45ACP was at MCRD Parris Island SC in1964. Hearing protection was rather quaint cotton balls inserted in the ears. Todays hearing protection is more sophisticated. I simply don't see the 45ACP cartridge to be intimidating be it sound, concussion, and or recoil. I've jokingly stated I've fired enough 45ACP to fill several 55Gal drums with the empties. I'll admit I receive from the VA a payment each month for hearing impairment and exposure to Agent Orange. Such is life experience's.
 
I have never found standard-pressure .45 ACP to seem concussive, compared to .40 S&W and the various revolver Magnums. .38 Special varies quite a bit, with some being concussive, and some being mild. For a number of years, .45 ACP was my go-to home defense cartridge, even when it was not my usual duty or street-carry cartridge, because of its lack of a concussive effect.
 
The Ronin 9mm may be the
nicest or nearly the nicest 1911
Springfield has produced.

Like the new "muted" markings
on the gun instead of the
billboard ones of old.
 
AJC1 said:
It's not the gun it's the powder. I would bet a buffalo nickel he was shooting power pistol which sounds like a cannon going off. One pound was more than I ever wanted of that powder.
Click to expand...

yes, i wonder if it was something like this. it sounded more like artillery than a handgun. to me, anyway.
 
MikeInOr said:
My guess is that the .45 had a compensator on it which will redirect the blast from going forwards to going to the sides making itself known to others at the range. My friends don't really like it when I am shooting my compensated 1911. But the people around it will get a much bigger blast wave from a compensated gun than the person actually shooting it. In an enclosed range the blast will be different from an open range and bounce off the walls so it might not have been a compensated gun.

I honestly can't remember the first time I shot or experienced a 45. But I think pretty much every cartridge I ever shot was pretty unique the first time I shot it or was standing in the vacinity when someone else was shooting it. I do know that the more I have fired a particular cartridge the more natural it seems. I do have memories of thinking the 9mm being a big powerful round 35 years or so ago.

Personally the .45acp is my preferred self protection cartridge of choice. A big fat slug of lead coming from a handgun that is quite controllable wth practice makes it a great round. When handloading the .45 can be compiled from mild to wild making it a very versatile round. For me the asnwer to the question of when is a cartridge big and powerful enough to feel secure when packing it equals a .45acp.
Click to expand...
 
thunderbyrd said:
yes, i wonder if it was something like this. it sounded more like artillery than a handgun. to me, anyway.
Click to expand...
To me it has a very distinct sound, but hay the military only trained me and employed me in that profession for 23 years. Maybe not as distinguishable to others. The range master shure thought something was different, and asked if I was loading heavy.
 
As a person who'd never shot indoors before, I was unprepared for the difference in sound and feel the first time I did shoot at an indoor range. Plugs and muffs but it was still obnoxiously loud...and I was the only person shooting.

My .45 with a 3.25" barrel is pretty loud. 5" 38 Super with a case full of VV N105 or near max load of PP or AA7 is really loud. Neither compare to upper end .357 Mag out of a 4" barrel though, no matter what powder is in it.
 
thunderbyrd said:
i believe that i will hunt up a 1911 in 9mm whenever i get ready to move up from .22. or a .380. though i would at least try a .45, if i got a chance, and find out what it's like.
Click to expand...
.45acp in a full size steel frame 1911 is a real pussycat. Not a tame pussycat however.
 
MikeInOr said:
My guess is that the .45 had a compensator on it which will redirect the blast from going forwards to going to the sides making itself known to others at the range. My friends don't really like it when I am shooting my compensated 1911. But the people around it will get a much bigger blast wave from a compensated gun than the person actually shooting it. In an enclosed range the blast will be different from an open range and bounce off the walls so it might not have been a compensated gun.

I honestly can't remember the first time I shot or experienced a 45. But I think pretty much every cartridge I ever shot was pretty unique the first time I shot it or was standing in the vacinity when someone else was shooting it. I do know that the more I have fired a particular cartridge the more natural it seems. I do have memories of thinking the 9mm being a big powerful round 35 years or so ago.

Personally the .45acp is my preferred self protection cartridge of choice. A big fat slug of lead coming from a handgun that is quite controllable wth practice makes it a great round. When handloading the .45 can be compiled from mild to wild making it a very versatile round. For me the asnwer to the question of when is a cartridge big and powerful enough to feel secure when packing it equals a .45acp.
Click to expand...
I agree 100% with you, the 1911 45ACP is my go to caliber for SD plus hunting small game where legal, best times was visiting a friend who grew alfalfa as a business, evening came out would come 100'S of Jackrabbits açting like mowing machines on 4 legs.I somewhat thinned the herd, fireing more than 2,000 rnds over a five day period, stopping only after running out of ammo. I cannot Remember my hands causing any discomfort at all.
 
fxvr5 said:
I love how people make stuff up.

It must have been XX gunpowder.

It must have been ported or had a compensator.

It must not have been a 45.
Click to expand...
Now you are getting sarcastic, but in a funny way, but you still make very good points.
 
thunderbyrd said:
i went to an indoor firing range this past weekend with my walther-colt 1911-22. there was one other customer at the other side of the range. we were about 30 feet apart, i'd guess. the other guy was firing a .45 glock.

i have never fired a .45 handgun and never been in the vicinity of one being fired. every time he fired it, it seemed like the building shook! i could feel the concussion in my chest. i couldn't help but think, "Man, i would not want to get shot with that thing!" i think if i was in some combat situation and somebody was shooting at me with that gun, i would become unmanned very quickly. it would be like having a howitzer aimed at you personally.

i also thought about the recoil. i fired some .38 through my sw 65 and i noticed that the recoil from that was making me a bit uncomfortable (getting old and haven't shot much the past 6-7 years). but how much worse would that .45 be. i wonder if i could manage it at all.
Click to expand...

Shoot rifles much?
 
Just something you are going to have to get over if you are going to shoot at public ranges with random strangers shooting random guns all around you.
 
AJC1 said:
Just wait till your in a booth with an ar pistol with an 8" barrel. Makes me just want to leave.
Click to expand...

A buddy of mine has one. We had a rule. He could shoot it when he went to the range by himself. He could shoot it when I went to the bathroom or, got a drink of water. He was to scan 360 degrees to make sure I wasn’t near him when he fired it.

It was, quit literally, like being beside a Thunderflash when it went off. And, I have a lot of experience with those. I threw those like rice at a wedding when we were hitting meth dealers and crack house.

Which is why I say: “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” A lot now.

I told him I’d buy a can for that miserable little piece of crap if he insisted on bringing it to the range.
 
sgt127 said:
A buddy of mine has one. We had a rule. He could shoot it when he went to the range by himself. He could shoot it when I went to the bathroom or, got a drink of water. He was to scan 360 degrees to make sure I wasn’t near him when he fired it.

It was, quit literally, like being beside a Thunderflash when it went off. And, I have a lot of experience with those. I threw those like rice at a wedding when we were hitting meth dealers and crack house.

Which is why I say: “I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” A lot now.

I told him I’d buy a can for that miserable little piece of crap if he insisted on bringing it to the range.
Click to expand...
I find it very disappointing that the atf and other agencies are against the hearing protection act. It serves a purpose beyond protecting the trigger jerk and I appreciate guys that use them.
 
The powder used can make a big difference in how "boomy" it is, usually the slower burning the power the more boom it has. But yeah I've heard guys shoot .45 that didn't sound any different than anything else and others shoot .45 and it sound way louder, it's the powder. My first time shooting a .45 was at the range years ago when a guy asked if I wanted to shoot his 1911, I shot a few through it, I think it was a Colt Gold Cup. Nice gun and very accurate. I've never found .45 ACP recoil to be problematic at all.
 
Sometimes I think the frequency of the report has a bearing, to me a 9mm has a sharp / snappy report a .45 has more of a low report. The report of my loads seem to have the same loudness verses sharpness. I'm more sensitive to low frequencies (feel more than hear) , my son cannot handle the higher ( snappy ).
 
If you shoot .45 ACP out of a decent all-steel gun like a 1911 it's not really all that much more recoil than a 9 mm out of a plastic wonder gun like a Glock.
 
thunderbyrd said:
i went to an indoor firing range this past weekend with my walther-colt 1911-22. there was one other customer at the other side of the range. we were about 30 feet apart, i'd guess. the other guy was firing a .45 glock.

i have never fired a .45 handgun and never been in the vicinity of one being fired. every time he fired it, it seemed like the building shook! i could feel the concussion in my chest. i couldn't help but think, "Man, i would not want to get shot with that thing!" i think if i was in some combat situation and somebody was shooting at me with that gun, i would become unmanned very quickly. it would be like having a howitzer aimed at you personally.

i also thought about the recoil. i fired some .38 through my sw 65 and i noticed that the recoil from that was making me a bit uncomfortable (getting old and haven't shot much the past 6-7 years). but how much worse would that .45 be. i wonder if i could manage it at all.
Click to expand...
.45’s, at least in a full size gun, it’s more of a push than a hard kick- I could shoot my 1911 all day, much more pleasant than my Model 19 with .357 magnum loads
 
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