.45 carry pistol

I use a Colt Commander, but find a range that rents and you can shoot several options and see what you like.

I like the M1911 in its various forms. I have carried an original Colt M1911, a Remington Rand M1911A1, an Argentine M1927 (an M1911A1 made in Argentina on Colt machinery under Colt supervision) and currently a Kimber Custom Classis -- one of the early guns.

I like the basic M1911 with the Kimber enhancements -- lowered and beveled ejection port, high beavertail grip safety with a speed bump, flat mainspring housing and long trigger, and the bigger, wider sights.

I'm not keen on the full length mainspring rod, but I can live with it.

Dan Wesson Valor Vbob 45 you cant go wrong

Another happy old guy with a 36.

1. Reliability
2. Reliability
3. Ergonomics

I like the HK45 compact.

As far as consealable PDW in 45 acp hard to do better that 30s. Good compromise as far as size, capacity, weight, and shootability in that caliber.

Glock 30s everyday.

For a different twist....Charter is making a snubbie revolver in 45acp this year.

Being older, my CCW for years was a Star PD. After that, it was a Colt Officer's Model, Series 80.

el Godfather said:

... In your opinion which is the EDC pistol in .45? Considering, reliability, combat accuracy, durability, capacity and concealability. ...

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Currently, I find myself, most often, carrying my 3.3"XDs.45 (5-rd mag w/ground-down-to-minimum Pearce extension). During coat season I will often carry my 30s ... and, on rare occasions (more for Old Time(r)s' Sake), one of my Star PDs.

O'course, during coat season my CA .44spc Bulldogs fit comfortably, one/each, in the pockets of a couple of my heavy coats, so ...

Old Star PD, with Pachmayr rubber grip..

here are my 45acp carry pistols.. I have a couple of others, but these are enough. The lightest is the xds at the top right, but with 5+1 it isn't the best, imo. The redhawk is too big, as is the 1911, & even the xd full size. My preferred choice was the ati fatboy, middle right, until i got the glock 30s, bottom right. With a slide clip & a kydex trigger guard, it is about as much power/size/weight perfection as you can get.

Of course, outside carry, with hot 45 colt loads, & the redhawk wins.. in distance, power, & accuracy.

Like poster #32 I carry a PM45. Truly concealable and comfortable. In my experience it's also pretty accurate. A little more muzzle flip than my P345 but I get more in the black. A CC 45 at its best.

Glock 30S.

Reliable, accurate, lightweight, concealable, durable, easy to maintain and accepts the magazines of the larger guns. Nice gun and mine has been extremely reliable.

My everywhere carry gun is a Springfield XDS .45. It's everything the 30S is and much easier to conceal but short on capacity.

^ I don't mean to nit pick but what makes the G30 substandard to the XDS for CC? the reason I ask is in my moments of weakness I've thought about ditching my steel gun for a plastic and the G30 is one I'm leaning to.

I carry a S&W CS 45 pistol. It has an alloy frame and stainless slide. I have carried it for many years and am quite happy with it. DA/SA.

I picked up a Springfield Range Officer Compact a few months ago. It's thin and conceals well, fairly light at 28.5 ounces so it's easy to carry all day but has enough weight to make it easy to shoot, has been reliable and most importantly I'm pretty accurate with it. With a 4 inch barrel, I get a little more velocity than my XDS 3.3.

I like the original Colt CCO, so, not finding one of those I have

My edc is a Springfield Armory Range Officer Compact
4" Bbl.. / SLide with fully supported and ramped barrel
on the Officers sized alloy frame.

I also have a full size 1911 as well as a Colt Commander
all in .45 ACP.

Randall

el Godfather there have been many fine recommendations made in this thread. I would just like add one factor to consider. Over more years than I care to think about, I have carried many different calibers, sizes, and syles of handguns.

What they all had in common was this: They were reliable. I was intimately familiar with their manual of arms, and I practiced with them often.

So I guess my point is this... If there is a particular handgun that appeals to you and which (through plenty of shooting) you know to be reliable, if you can carry it with reasonable comfort given how you dress and your body shape and size (and whether or not you have to conceal it or not), then carry it.

My current personal carry is as follows: Either a command-size 1911 (Ed Brown Kobra Carry) or a S&W Model 60-15 (357 Magnum). I would not go so far as to say either one of these are the best option for anyone else. Heck, this time last year I was carrying a Glock 19. It's a great gun too.

Best of luck and please do let us know what you decide!

45acp snubbie.

A 44special would be easier to find and the rounds are more or less equivelant.

340PD said:

When it comes to .45, I have carried this for years.

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This is my EDC... Kimber Ultra carry 45 ACP with combat defense package... Meprolight nights sights , and Crimson trace laser grips, from Kimbers custom shop

Gordyt is absolutely correct. This is what I learned while doing what he recommends...

When I first decided that it was time to really carry every day, I read the gun mags and talked to friends at the range, and started out by buying a Glock 36 and a Kimber Custom Classic. I shot and carried both guns a lot, both for practice and in IDPA.

After a couple of years, and one Gunsite class, I decided to see if my speed and accuracy favored one gun, or one carry mode over the others that I commonly used. I went to the range with my timer on several successive days, and shot hundreds of presentations to test both speed and accuracy for 1) G36 versus 1911, 2) IWB versus OWB, 3) Kydex versus leather, and 4) no cover garment versus vest with a weighted pocket versus shirt.

The timer and targets told me:

1) There was no speed or accuracy difference between Kydex and leather for the same carry mode (IWB versus OWB).
2) Inside 7 yards, there was no accuracy difference between the G36 and the 1911. Outside 7 yards, the 1911 had a slight accuracy advantage (both wore stock sights).
3) OWB Kydex was 0.04 seconds faster than IWB leather on average (time from beep to first shot).
4) Splits between first and second shots were exactly the same (G36 stock trigger versus Kimber stock trigger).
5) Having hand on the grip at the beep was fastest to first shot, followed by hands at the side with no concealment garment (0.50 seconds slower than hand on gun), followed by hands at the side with vest concealment (0.60 seconds slower), followed by hands at the side with shirt concealment (1.01 seconds slower).
6) My personal reaction delay is 0.24 seconds (measured by gun on target, finger on trigger, time between beep to one shot).

Of course, your mileage may vary.

This was terrific exercise for me, however. Based on these results, I decided to carry the G36 all the time, IWB (in Milt Sparks Versamax 2 Horsehide), and to focus my tactical mindset on ways to get my hand on the grip before having the draw if at all possible. I knew that this decision penalized me a little at distance and minimized firepower, but I figured that the extra concealability was worth it. I also decided to carry a spare magazine with a +2 round extension that would help both issues.

I would still be carrying that G36 today, except that it broke four times in my hands. Three times a pin holding the trigger assembly in place sheared (each time inspected and repaired by a Glock armorer), and once the entire recoil spring assembly failed. Each time I was left with a club in my hands. I also slowly realized that I was getting good at performing malfunction drills because I was experiencing too many FTEs and FTFs in practice and IDPA with the G36.

After slowly realizing that the G36 wasn't reliable enough, I looked around at the IDPA shoots, and realized that those who were shooting full size or compact XD were not having ANY malfunctions or breakage. I tried a full-size XD45, found that it fit my hand, and bought one. After really testing the XD and getting holsters/magazines/etc., I sold the G36 (and all of the mags and holsters I had accumulated) and have stuck with the XD45 since. I now have two XD45s and an XD9 that I shoot a lot.

I have NEVER had any breakage OR a SINGLE type I, II, or III malfunction with any XD45 or with my XD9 with factory ammo or my reloads even though the round count is much higher with these guns than I had on my G36 or Kimber. I now carry a 4" XD45 compact (10+1 versus 13+1) every day IWB in a Sparks V-MAX 2 with a 13+1 spare magazine, and couldn't be happier with my choice.

I apologize for the long response, but I figured that just giving you my choice, and not including the rationale, wouldn't be worth much.

The XD isn't sexy and doesn't photograph well, but it fits me perfectly, shoots a serious round, has adequate firepower, and has always performed reliably, with a broad variety of ammo types. I couldn't ask for anything more.

I've found that the most valuable accessory in my range bag is my shot timer. If you're serious about carrying, and being effective with your choice, get some professional training, and practice, PRACTICE, PRACTICE with your equipment, with a timer, so that you get real feedback on your performance.

.45 and EDC being in the same sentence is amusing. .45's a good round, but technology has made 9mm and .40 S&W better carry calibers. You get more energy, higher capacity, and thinner pistols.

If you absolutely must have a .45 for carry because you shoot best with .45 or only reload .45, then I would say a Glock 30 and find JHP that's designed for short barrels.

Other than capacity, PM45 is a great carry. Six is enough for me, but if not for you then I would consider an XD MOD 2, XD Compact, or the Glock 30. SIG makes the P227 now with a 10 round mag. I've never shot one, but good folks I know swear by the compact HK .45s.

For me it's a 4516/4567 frankengun. Kind of a DA/SA CCO.