Question for anyone that CC's a 45 ACP.

The only.45 I carried was an XD 3.3 in .45

Good gun. Sold it and stil kick myself.

chicharrones said:

When I can actually wear a jacket...

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Florida (OP), or Texas gulf coast... guayabera or a linen sport coat. If you're rougher than that, Domke vest.

I will sometimes carry a full size 1911 in a shoulder rig. Put on a breathable windbreaker or sports jacket and you are good to go.
The key to carryability (did I make up a word?) is thickness, not length. A single stack 1911 is eminently concealable.
The main reason I don’t carry the 1911 full time is that I like it to much and don’t want to risk it sitting in an evidence locker for months.

Muzzle flip is nasty, you'll not be doing double taps with it, but it's small, and holds 10+1.

I have CC'd my PT1911 also. Matter of fact, I just bought a Crossbreed holster for it.

Nowadays I prefer to go with a micro 9mm. When I use to carry a .45 it was usually a Colt Combat Commander (I also have a Colt Lightweight Government which would work fairly well for concealed carry). Still have the Bianchi Askin's Avenger holster for it if I ever get a bit nostalgic for the "good ol' days" of CCW!

Ive been carrying a my&p shield 2.0 in 45acp for about 3 years now.I don’t have anything negative to say about it. It’s accurate and reliable.

Retired MSG said:

I'm shocked at a couple of other oddballs like me carrying a G36, the Glock you never hear about. I use the 1 round mag extension too. Great pistol imho

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What can I say? I like the oddball guns.

For me the G36 is a perfect fit for size and capacity (same as a 1911). It is accurate and shoots cast bullets like a target gun (just don't tell anyone......)

EMC45 said:

What can I say? I like the oddball guns.

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Nothing wrong with that. I still want a Star Firestar M45 (45ACP) to round out my Firestar collection. I have the 9mm (M43) and 40 S&W (M40) and enjoy shooting them. The Firestars are in-between a compact 1911 and the micro 9's like the Kimber Micro and Sig P938 as far as overall size is concerned.

Carried my C-Bob on a regular basis for years.
It's been mostly replaced by my EMP (9mm) of late.
A good holster and belt makes a big difference.

12Bravo20 said:

Nothing wrong with that. I still want a Star Firestar M45 (45ACP) to round out my Firestar collection. I have the 9mm (M43) and 40 S&W (M40) and enjoy shooting them. The Firestars are in-between a compact 1911 and the micro 9's like the Kimber Micro and Sig P938 as far as overall size is concerned.

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My older brother had a Star 9MM. Built like a TANK!

I don't enjoy lugging around a heavy gun all day every day which is why I like the Springfield XD line. The XDs in .45acp is small light and thin making it disappear when carrying. I.e. I am not constantly reminded throughout the day that I am carrying a .45acp. I also really like my XD mod 2 .45acp 3.3" subcompact. It is wider and heavier than the XDs but still a fraction of the weight of a metal gun. I love that I get 10 rounds of .45acp with the flush magazine and 14 rounds with the full length magazine.

The XDs has a good bit of recoil to it but I have never had a problem handling it and shooting it well. The XD mod 2 has a wider grip which really tames the recoil nicely. With the extended magazine it is like shooting a full sized 45. I can easily go through several boxes of .45acp with the XD mod 2. With the XDs a box of 50 and I have had enough for the day. I own the original XDs which has a quite aggressive grip. I would recommend going with XDs mod 2 in which Springfield made the grip texture much more friendly. A grip boot helps tame my mod 1 grip considerably.


The green one is the XD mod 2 3.3" in .45acp. The black one directly below it is the XDs in .45acp.

For me it doesn't make sense to carry a heavier .45acp metal gun which holds fewer rounds, but everyone has their own preferences.

For summer/warm weather carry, I carry a XDs in .45 just like a previous poster. Unlike him, mine has been 100% reliable with whatever ammo I have loaded in the magazine. I tested several premium carry versions of ammo for both reliability and acceptable accuracy at about 15 yards and decided on Hornady Critical Defense. I carry it AIWB and don't have any problems. The reason I chose that gun is because I got a chance to shoot my brother's first and enjoyed the trigger (for a polymer gun) and sights while the recoil wasn't bad. It is a light gun, so recoil might be a bit much for someone who is sensitive to recoil. I also carry a 7-round mag to reload if necessary. A vast majority of the time I wear cargo shorts during warm weather, so concealability isn't difficult for either the gun or spare magazine. I've even used it in a BUG match, although it's difficult to compete with 9mm pistols. It is fun, however.

G30 OWB in a Desantis holster under an untucked tee shirt. Has worked for years for me.


I always thought 36 was more than 30, but my 30 is 4 more at only 6oz over in stock configuration. So I never went to get an oddball 36 with less.

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LocoGringo said:

For summer/warm weather carry, I carry a XDs in .45 just like a previous poster. Unlike him, mine has been 100% reliable with whatever ammo I have loaded in the magazine.

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My XDs has also been 100% reliable. I have had a few different types of ammo through it over the years but it usually has Gold-dots that I load myself in it.

My XD mod 2 has also been 100% reliable from day one. They have both been so reliable that I don't even think of mentioning how reliable they have been in my posts.

MikeInOr said:

My XDs has also been 100% reliable. I have had a few different types of ammo through it over the years but it usually has Gold-dots that I load myself in it.

My XD mod 2 has also been 100% reliable from day one. They have both been so reliable that I don't even think of mentioning how reliable they have been in my posts.

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Post #13 mentioned he had reliability issues until he did a little polishing, etc. I only say that because I'm not sure if you think I was referring to you in my post about reliability issues.

LocoGringo said:

Post #13 mentioned he had reliability issues until he did a little polishing, etc. I only say that because I'm not sure if you think I was referring to you in my post about reliability issues.

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I did. Thank you for the clarification.

Kahr. CW 45, easy to shoot, reliable, light weight

My Light Carry Summer 45acp is a Nehemiah Sirkis designed DAO Republic Arms Patriot 45. Had to tweek it a little but its never failed since after many. many rounds. Runs on 1911 magazines.

+5 on the XD Mod 2 in 45. The perfect carry. Stone cold reliable. Shown with a S&W 380 and a 1911 for comparison.

My Kahr P45 was never reliable enough. It always had annoying, nagging FTF once in a while. Factory mags, converted 1911 mags, all new springs - nothing helped. It also dropped magazines. My followers had marks on them where the barrel lug whacked them. I replaced the Kahr with a S&W 45 Shield, which was completely reliable, smaller and/or held 1 more round in the same size. Sadly I'll never get back the time I spent trying to fix the Kahr.

I carried a West German SIG P220 for a few years. It was easy in the winter, harder in the summer, but still doable with a good belt and appendix holster. I got a good deal on a Beretta PX4 45. I converted it to a decock only with stealth levers and it made a good gun into a great gun.

Six months ago or so I set out on the same path, to find a 45acp semiauto pistol that I could use for CC if needed.

I don't carry large pistols. After looking around a lot and reading and getting feedback from board members, I narrowed it down to one of the Kahrs, the small Springfield Armory, or possibly a Taurus PT145.

My preference was the Kahr, especially the stainless steel model. I have the 40 caliber version and it's reliable and pocketable.

Then I won this Taurus on a ridiculously low bid. Some idiot had let the stainless steel slide actually rust and even pit a little bit, so I got it for next to nothing. The trigger is mushy, but it's been reliable and accurate. It's not a pocket pistol, but it's a nice little belt pistol.

The only problems I've had with my Shields was with 200gr swc bullets, 200gr rn and rnfp fed great as did 230gr rn, so I've designated the rest of the swc to only be used in certain guns that will feed them reliably or as training for ftf since I purchased 500 of them