9mm vs .45acp revolver

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TexasPatriot.308

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Old guy here, 66, been shooting 1911s since basic training in 1972. Arthritis setting in, Im looking for a short barrel 3 inch probably, either 9mm or .45. Pros, cons....ammo choices, performance out of a short barrel. Kinda looking at the Ruger SP101 right now.
 
My hand wrist arthritis was aggravated by shooting revolvers. The higher bore to grip created more pain. After many years of competing and EDC revolvers I switched to a 9mm 1911 and then swapped out the J frame for a SIG 938. It did me good. Practice with a .22 LR pistol such as a Beretta 71 is worthwhile. SIG makes a 22 version of the 938.
Its easy to get 124 grain bullets moving at over 1000 FPS out of a pocket 9.
 
Allow me to throw you a curve:

https://charterfirearms.com/collections/bulldog/products/model-74530

Charter Arms list this in their Bulldog 44 section but it is a 45 Colt or sometimes called 45 Long Colt. I bought mine back in Feb from a Texas gun store www.g4gguns.com. A current check on inventory shows them out of stock.
I'll be 70 in a few weeks so I'm mindful when someone mentions arthritis. I reload so I make my bullets like a tailor. Recoil for me is very acceptable without compromise in areas like accuracy and barrel leading. This revolver is just plain fun to shoot.
The Bulldog 45 is a rather new offering from CA as they have been making them since 2018. Mine has a "19" at the beginning of the serial number which makes it a 2019. In the past, I've found CA revolvers to be a bit lacking in the "quality finish department" with unsightly tooling marks. However It appears as of 2019 they've upped their game. Mine looks as good as any S&W or Ruger in the appearance department. Mechanically it is great.
 
Given you're looking for a small frame relatively short barrel revolver you are going to have problems even finding one in 45 ACP. Most 45 ACP revolvers are built on the brand's larger frames. N-frames for S&W and the Redhawk for Ruger.

The smallest 45 ACP revolver I know of is from Charter Arms: https://charterfirearms.com/collections/pitbull/products/64520-pitbull-45-acp-nitride-finish

My only problem with the Charter Arms is that you cannot use moonclips. That my be a feature rather than flaw depending on your point of view. Charter Arms also makes a moonclipless version of the Pitbull in 9mm and 40S&W.

I think your going to find 45 ACP in that small of a revolver more unpleasant to shoot than a 9mm revolver.
 
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9mm in a similar platform will be better for felt recoil. My question would be why 9mm and not 38 Special? You could get a very nice S&W Model 66 in your 3" bbl configuration that would fit your bill very nicely.
 
There are some good 9mm and 45 revolver options. However, I would 2nd the 38SPC suggestion as that opens up the options a lot.

Or, if you're open to other things I would suggest looking at 32mag or better yet, the .327mag which will let you shoot 32mag, 32 long, and often 32acp in a pinch.
 
Since you're an old hand with the 1911 why don't you get a 9mm 1911? I find for me the recoil from a small revolver is harsher than a 1911 in 45 mainly because they weigh less. To me the recoil from a 1911 45 is milder. I'm currently looking for a double stack 1911 in 9mm because that heavy 1911 pistol will really soak up 9mm recoil.
 
Howdy

I also have to ask. Why not just buy a 38 Special revolver instead of a 9mm? Huge selection available. Recoil from a 38 Special in a standard K frame S&W is very mild.

Price and availability of ammo?

Regarding a 9mm 1911, I bought this S&W 9mm 1911 PRO last year and I am very pleased with it. Less felt recoil than any of my 45ACP 1911s.

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pot4kSm8j.jpg
 
Ohen Cepel said:
There are some good 9mm and 45 revolver options. However, I would 2nd the 38SPC suggestion as that opens up the options a lot.

Or, if you're open to other things I would suggest looking at 32mag or better yet, the .327mag which will let you shoot 32mag, 32 long, and often 32acp in a pinch.
Click to expand...
I agree that .32 Mag or .327 would be better for low recoil, but that would generally mean Ruger and I can say that the SP101 does not like .32 ACP. The LCR may, but I have no experience with it.

Charter does make .32 magnums, a small frame 5 shot and a medium frame 7 shot. The 7 shot has everything going for it except the sights being way off in elevation and are completely unadjustable. The 5 shot is probably fine. That said about the 7 shot, it did shoot .32 ACP without issue and neither did my .32 Mag Heritage.
 
OP, even 9mm in a revolver that weighs 30oz has a lot of snap to it. I've shot my Judge before using 9mm inserts and the snap and recoil is surprising with that. IDK if a .45 ACP will have less recoil, but I want to say yes because it's a much lower pressure round and that may help to reduce some of the snap, but as others have said to get a small-ish .45 ACP revolver you're stuck with either Charter, a Ruger single action, or a pricey S&W.

I would go with either a .32 or a .38/.357. If it's cheap ammo price you're looking for, .32 ACP and .32 S&W Long are either cheaper than or close in price to that of .38 and have nearly no recoil. Very much like shooting a .22.
 
If you're considering something in the SP101 9MM class, perhaps the 9MM Ruger LCR might be worthy of consideration. While I enjoy my 9MM SP101, the LCR is much lighter in weight.
Much as I like 9MM revolvers, as TTv2 mentions, there is more "snap"/recoil than many might assume. Even the standard pressure 9MM I've chronographed exceeds the ballistics of any major manufacturer .38 +P tested in the little 2" revolvers. When +P and +P+ ammunition are used, the 9 is closer to the .357 in energy and recoil these short barrels. From comments I see on enthusiast forums, the vast majority prefer .357/.38 Spcl in these little carry type revolvers. While they don't bother me, use of moon clips with the 9MM revolvers seems to be a big negative to most. I haven't tried the clipless Pit Bull revolvers, but did have a S&W 547, two actually, that worked just fine without moon clips. But those have become "collectible$$$". While we're on the subject, another little 9MM revolver that might be considered is the S&W 940, available on the used market.
 
How about a nice snubbie in 38 Special?

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This was a March purchase, $250.00, which was just priced too right to pass up. It is the Ultra light version and hardly much wider or taller than the five shot version

uCX8yfI.jpg

Only Charter Arms makes a 44 snubbie that is not larger than a cigar box. Go handle a few S&W's and wonder how guys hide the things. I don't see the reason for a 9mm snubbie when there are beaucoup cheap 38 snubbies and little ballistic advantage between the two.
 
OK, here I go again with things I think I know:

First, I think that when two cartridges are loaded to similar levels of kinetic energy and fired in revolvers of similar weight and grip design, the cartridge that fires the heavier bullet has the greater felt recoil. I learned this by firing different 9mm loads in an S&W Model 547 revolver, and different 38 Special loads in a Model 15.

Second, 9mm factory loads for 115grain FMJ and 45 ACP factory loads for 230 grain FMJ are often loaded to about the same kinetic engery (about 335-350 ft/lbs). This I think I remember from old ammo catalogs and cartridge reference books.

Therefore, abstract theory would suggest that 9mm would have lighter felt recoil.

The problem with that is I cannot think of a 9mm revolver that weighs anything close to what a 45 ACP revolver does, except (I think) for the Charter Arms Pitbulls. When I think of a 45 ACP revolver, I think of a S&W N-frame; when I think of a 9mm revolver, I think of a J-frame, or SP-101. These are not similar in weight.

I would suggest getting an all-steel Browning High Power, for a combination of mild felt recoil and high capacity. I personally do not know of a 9mm service pistol with less felt recoil, and of course some are available with target sights. However, this is a response that does not answer the question asked, which was to chose a 9mm or 45 ACP revolver. I guess, by elimination, I would look into any 9mm revolvers that are based on K-frame type guns. Does Ruger make one, or S&W?
 
I'm not enjoying my .45 Pitbull at all. I don't have any illnesses in my hands, but I'm weak. So, I only shoot it once in a while to keep the habit. I use it as my hiking gun. It's twice lighter than RedHawk, which is noticeably when you carry it whole day. Twice cheaper, too.

Loading without moonclips is slower, but I'm not planing on a firefight with a black bear. I load it from 1911 magazines, which are way sturdier than clips and can be kept in small pockets on backpacks and such.
 
zaitcev said:
I'm not enjoying my .45 Pitbull at all. I don't have any illnesses in my hands, but I'm weak. So, I only shoot it once in a while to keep the habit. I use it as my hiking gun. It's twice lighter than RedHawk, which is noticeably when you carry it whole day. Twice cheaper, too.

Loading without moonclips is slower, but I'm not planing on a firefight with a black bear. I load it from 1911 magazines, which are way sturdier than clips and can be kept in small pockets on backpacks and such.
Click to expand...
Never thought about loading a revolver from a magazine of the same cartridge before. Thanks for the tip.:rofl:
 
nevadabob said:
Allow me to throw you a curve:

https://charterfirearms.com/collections/bulldog/products/model-74530

Charter Arms list this in their Bulldog 44 section but it is a 45 Colt or sometimes called 45 Long Colt. I bought mine back in Feb from a Texas gun store www.g4gguns.com. A current check on inventory shows them out of stock.
I'll be 70 in a few weeks so I'm mindful when someone mentions arthritis. I reload so I make my bullets like a tailor. Recoil for me is very acceptable without compromise in areas like accuracy and barrel leading. This revolver is just plain fun to shoot.
The Bulldog 45 is a rather new offering from CA as they have been making them since 2018. Mine has a "19" at the beginning of the serial number which makes it a 2019. In the past, I've found CA revolvers to be a bit lacking in the "quality finish department" with unsightly tooling marks. However It appears as of 2019 they've upped their game. Mine looks as good as any S&W or Ruger in the appearance department. Mechanically it is great.
Click to expand...

That is real interesting. Been looking for a Taurus 445 UL forever to no avail. I’ll have to give that one a look.
 
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