45 to only 9mm

Im a 9mm guy myself but why not just get dots for the 45s?

I have 9s, 10s and 45s and could not imagine parting with any of them.

I switched to all 9mm many years ago

While I still have a number of 9mm's, I am starting to prefer calibers larger than 9mm. Don't get me wrong 9mm is an excellent caliber. As a reloader though, reloading larger calibers feels more enjoyable.

I like reloading 40, 10, 44, 45, and 38/357 (I know, technically it's the same diameter, but the case is longer and they are still on the expensive side due to not being priority) more than reloading 9mm. With priority going to manufacturing NATO rounds and 9mm being a NATO round, I am considering reloading the other calibers and purchasing manufactured ammo as it has become more readily available and a few dollars above pre pandemic levels. It'll also help with primers as those are still hard to acquire.

As for my recommendation, I'm with C-grunt get red dots for the 45's. Afterall variety is the spice of life.

CH

Good to have a variety, if the small pistol primer supply continues to lag, at least you can load for your 45s.

ezee said:

So help push me over the edge here!!!

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Why?

I have reduced my handgun calibers and I reload for them , I have settled on 9MM and 44 Mag , I find it easier to stock up on reloading supplies running two handgun calibers
I also did the same thing with my rifles 223 and 308.

I'm good with 10mm & 9mm. 45acp is cool, I just don't need it (technically, my 45 Colt Redhawk will shoot it with moon clips, but I've never done so).

C-grunt said:

Im a 9mm guy myself but why not just get dots for the 45s?

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I think ezee's logic is this:
1. Cannot use existing 45s due to age
2. Milling slides on those 45s is undesirable for whatever reasons (they may be collector guns or rarities that nobody mills, or it's too expensive if they do).
3. If they have to go and get replaced with optics-ready guns, they might as well be replaced with 9mm equivalents.

I have never understood the concept that limiting yourself to one caliber has advantages.

Why would I want the caliber of my small pocket CCW piece to be the same as the one I carry on my hip while hunting Elk in prime bear, cat (and now wolf) country?

Why would I want wither of those to be the same as the .22 I use for punching cans?

I love the RedDot on my 1911. It is one of my favorite shooters! None of my 9mm's are really RedDot friendly.



For me a RedDot isn't practical for a carry gun. BUT RedDots are really nice at the range!


I often mount a RedDot on the Dan Wesson 744 and Desert Eagle L5. They are a lot of fun to shoot that way.

I can certainly understand moving to all RedDots but really don't understand giving up on .45's unless you have some other reason to other than just the iron site?
They aren't my guns though, you need to do what works best for you!

I've gotten out of .45 ACP multiple times, but inevitably another 1911 follows me home.

ezee said:

Here’s my reasons for considering getting out of 45s
I shoot 3-4 times a week. When I go to the safe the 45s never seem to make it into the range bag anymore. I have plenty of other choices I always seem to pick first. Years ago I shot 45 almost exclusively. Now it seems to be mostly 9mm and 556
As mentioned above I don’t feel like sending the 45s out to have the slide milled and not excited about any of the existing 45s red dot ready.
As crazy as this may sound to some of you I’m very fortunate to have some very fine 9mms that are so fun to shoot that the 45s just never make it to the range. Not to mention I’ve recently started shooting 556 as well.
This will sound crazy also but It doesn’t make sense to me to have safe space and reloading space taken up by a caliber that I hardly shoot anymore.
Not an ez decision but also not an important one in the scope of everyday life. If I regret it I can always jump back in!

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I'm with you. I have what some call safe Queens. I don't get them out all that often and they get beat out by other shiny things that catch my eye or that I'm working on. For me it's phases. One month I'll be in the 9mm phase, then I'll follow it up with the magnum revolver phase, then 1911's.... Then 45's..... Then PCCs, then mouse guns, then shotguns..... etc., etc. I completely understand why you think about it.

All that being said. I would be inclined to recommend selling the 45's you do have, and buying one 45 that is optics ready with the funds. That way you'll clear out your area of old 45's that you don't use, still maintain one 45 that is modern, and while you will not use it as often as your 9mm's, you'll still have that one 45 to keep you proficient on the caliber.

GL

CH

I doubt that logic alone determines most gun purchase/sales. For me, some of my .45ACP pistols are emotionally special. The special .45s are all 1911s. I can and will sell my Glock 21. I like red/green dots, but I can't bring myself to do this to any 1911. I'm pretty attached to some of my revolvers and ARs . .22 LR pistols and rifles and over/under shotguns are fun. Logically, I would have my Shield Plus in 9mm and a couple of Tavor X95s..one for each floor of my house. That is it. So, now, logically, I must sell a lot of guns.

I shoot mostly 9X19mm but also still occasionally shoot the 45ACP. With that said I have two Dillion SQD-B reloading presses. One set up for 9X19mm and the other 45ACP. The virtue of the 9X19mm it is more cost effective to reload.

Well, you can still shoot a 45 with small primers so if you want out, sell the 45’s then, assuming you own no other pistols that use LPP, they will be useless to you.

Pistols are like kids in that you can love more than one. If you don’t like your current .45’s then by all means sell them. But when you look to replace them, keep an open mind for both .45’s and 9’s and buy what makes you happy.

One of the things to think about is the availability of ammo and reloading components during shortages. It gives you at least one other option in case 9mm ammo or reloading supplies are not available.

ezee said:

This will sound crazy also but It doesn’t make sense to me to have safe space and reloading space taken up by a caliber that I hardly shoot anymore.

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That doesn't sound crazy at all to me. I've mentioned several times here on THR that my wife and I are both into guns, shooting and hunting, and because of that, we don't have room in our safes for any more guns, and we don't have room in this house for any more safes.
We're not going to buy a bigger house either - THAT would be crazy! We're in our '70s for crying out loud! And we, like you, don't shoot some of the guns we already have very often any more. Consequently, for a long time now, whenever my wife or I have a new/different gun in mind, we usually (but not always) think about which gun we're willing to sell off, or trade in.
Crazy? Naw, not in my opinion.
BTW, at my wife's and my respective ages, we're also thinking about which guns to give to which kids, and which grandkids.

ezee said:

Here’s my reasons for considering getting out of 45s
I shoot 3-4 times a week. When I go to the safe the 45s never seem to make it into the range bag anymore. I have plenty of other choices I always seem to pick first. Years ago I shot 45 almost exclusively. Now it seems to be mostly 9mm and 556
As mentioned above I don’t feel like sending the 45s out to have the slide milled and not excited about any of the existing 45s red dot ready.
As crazy as this may sound to some of you I’m very fortunate to have some very fine 9mms that are so fun to shoot that the 45s just never make it to the range. Not to mention I’ve recently started shooting 556 as well.
This will sound crazy also but It doesn’t make sense to me to have safe space and reloading space taken up by a caliber that I hardly shoot anymore.
Not an ez decision but also not an important one in the scope of everyday life. If I regret it I can always jump back in!

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All very valid reasons to drop .45acp from your line up. It sounds like you have pretty much made your decision and it sounds like your decision is what is going to work best for you!

I have shot (and reloaded) a number of calibers over the years but am focused on 9X19 1911's now. (I have a Colt 1908 .32 ACP and a S&W J Frame .38 Spec too).

The 9mm is just easier to shoot (for me).

And, I reload 9X19 plated (Berry's and Xtreme) for about half of the price of commercial 9X19 (e.g., 9X19 commercial FMJ generally runs around .34 cents per round).

So ezee's choice to move away from .45 ACP makes sense to me!

The cool thing is that (so far) we all have choices in what we own and shoot. If 9mm floats your boat, have at it and enjoy.

I have one 1911 chambered in .45, one 10mm/40 S&W conversion built on a STI 2011 frame and slide, the other is a single-stack 1911 built on a Jem 80% frame and naked slide. And one Ruger Mk III .22. I currently have no use for a 9mm as I see no purpose for it from a personal perspective, but that's just me. I recently built the separate slide/barrel combo in 40S&W for the 2011 frame specifically for concealed carry, using a small direct mount Holosun and tiny front sight.

The .45 does nightstand duty, and the two 10mm/40s are for defensive purposes wherever I may be. The .22s (I also have a modified 10-22) are for target practice and working on fundamentals. All have RDS sights with backup fixed sights except the Mk III (RDS only). I'm faster and more accurate with a RDS, probably because I shot them in USPSA competition for 15+ years.

Maybe if I had a bunch of money I might have more though.