I need a 45 auto with a rail

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Why'd you sell your P220? I recently bought a SIG P220 Carry (Equinox version), and it is an absolute tack driver, a super soft shooter, has a really great trigger, and the sights are easy to acquire. It's my new "nightstand gun." I really like it. I'm down to 1 1911, this is really something :evil:

If you just want something new, go USP45.
 
I don't like the XD .45 because the grip is TOO big for me. That thing is freakin huge! lol... I love the other caliber XDs probably more than any other polymer pistols though. Just something about how easily they point and shoot right on target each and every time with 100% reliability. I have medium/large hands and the 9/.40s feel great in my hand, but the .45 feels too big. If you think the XD .45 4" service model feels too small in your hands, you probably aren't going to find anything else that feels bigger. I really can't think of anything else though... Sig 220 as already mentioned, 1911 is always an option, Glock??? Personally, id keep the 9mm w/ a full 16rd mag of some nice +P ammo and throw some night sights on it... you'd stay on target better and faster, and you probably will never have to worry about running out of ammo in a freakishly long gun fight. But like you said, if the grip feels too small and you want to step up the caliber, i still think you should re-consider the .45. That is, unless you are bored with the XD platform and want to try something new:p
 
There are a lot of good guns on the market meeting your criteria. Most of us will just give you our favorites, and here are my thoughts:

If you like the Taurus Milennium Pro series, look them over at the gunstore before ruling them out due to no rail. Taurus has put these out with both configurations on and off for a while (my PT 140 Milennium Pro does not have a rail, but at the time almost all of them on the market did have a rail). Look around and you may find one with a rail. My PT140 M. Pro (the older DAO version) is one of my best guns and I have a couple SIGs, a CZ, and several other high quality guns.

If the Milennium Pro won't work for you, the 24/7 is mostly a larger version and it does have a rail.

Depending upon why you sold the SIG you may want to reconsider another. I love my SIG 229 (.40) and 226 (9mm). A 220 or 220 Combat is definately on my wish list. They are good guns and if it is a trigger issue, they have several options (regular DA, regular DAO, DAK, the short trigger in DA, and they have a SA version out now as well).

If you like the 1911 design, the SIG version can be had with a rail.

A couple people have suggested the Ruger P345. I was in the market for a .45ACP for home defense just like you (I actually prefer .40 for CCW and general defensive use, but the combination of decent power, lower decibel levels than just about any caliber other than .38spl, lowish recoil for quick follow up shots, and lower overpenetration issues than .357mag, 9mm or .40 make the .45 tops in my book for HD). I ended up buying a Ruger KP345 for that purpose. It is the first Ruger auto that I can say actually looks good. Ergonomics were great- it just felt good in my hand. It may not be a 1911 trigger, but the trigger pull is actually pretty decent. To top it off, Ruger has a great reputation for reliability. So I bought one. Mine is a total piece of crap, it is truly the least reliable gun I've owned, and researching the net I see a lot of people have had trouble with theirs (a lot of people love theirs too, so consider that too). I've never been able to actually add mine to my roster of home defense guns, which is what I bought it for, and I'll sell it if I ever get it more than 75% reliable. Because of my experience I have trouble recommending the gun to others (though I'd love to be able to). I've replaced it with a S&W 1911SC (commander sized scandium 1911) which if it proves reliable (I haven't shot it yet) will be my home defense pistol and will probably compete with my Taurus PT140 Milennium Pro and SIG 229 as my primary carry pistols when I'm in VA or PA.

Other than those thoughts, there are a lot of good guns out there that will probably work for you. Just about any from HK, Glock, SA, Taurus (the PT 945 or the 24/7 are in .45), etc. will probably be a good gun. However, I limited my advice to guns I have experience with.
 
If you want just plain reliable and a good shooter get an HK or a Ruger. The XDs and M&Ps can't touch the HK or Ruger line for reliability. :scrutiny:
 
Thank you

I guess it has come down to a few choices.

First the reasons for rejecting some guns:

S&W - I have two of these pistols and like I said, I had a bad experience with their customer service and I won't buy another one; :banghead:
Sig - Had the 220ST and a 226 and it just "wasn't there" for me; :(
SA Operator - I would buy it in a heartbeat (I am a big 1911 fan) but it is too expensive; :eek:
Glock - I hear it is a good gun but for some reason I just don't like them; :barf:
XD - had one and the 45 is still too small for my hand; :rolleyes:

So as I see it I am left with three contenders in this order:

1) HK USP45/USP45c
2) Taurus 24/7 Pro
3) Ruger P345

I want to thank all of you for your input and even though I may not have picked the gun you suggested, your input was a great help to me in narrowing down my choices. Now I just have to find some shops that stock these weapons so I can make my decision.
 
Don't forget to add a 1911 to your list. I saw a S&W 1911 w/rail for $699 recently, so you can have some w/rail for a competitive price.
 
a word (or fifty) about Ruger's p345

Mine is a total piece of crap, it is truly the least reliable gun I've owned, and researching the net I see a lot of people have had trouble with theirs (a lot of people love theirs too, so consider that too). I've never been able to actually add mine to my roster of home defense guns, which is what I bought it for, and I'll sell it if I ever get it more than 75% reliable.
Click to expand...

Chaim, what I'm going to say might just make your day. :cool:

When I first got my p345 I had similar reliability problems. There was a seemingly random failure to feed. I did my homework (as I'm sure you have) and found many complaints about the same problem.

Here's the solution:
Ruger apparently didn't deburr these weapons as well as they should have. I took a fine-grit sandpaper to the sharp edges of the chamber opening and top of the feed ramp, and smoothed them out just a bit. Now my p345 is 100% reliable.

Here's how I knew that was the problem:
When I'd have a failure to feed I'd carefully inspect the round that jammed. They all had a deep scratch in the brass where the edge of the chamber grabbed onto them.

This problem would probably have corrected itself eventually as the sharp edges would have rounded out a bit from normal use, but I didn't want to put hundreds of rounds through it before it began to work properly.

I'm convinced that this solution will work for the majority of p345s having failure to feed problems. That's why I do strongly recommend the p345.
 
One more vote for the P345 (and from a local no less). I carry mine everyday, and I shoot it better than almost all of my other firearms. I actually usually shoot in Orange County (Master Class range in Monroe.. I think that's orange). If you wanted to join me for some shooting out there one day.. or if you have a better location, you'd be welcome to try mine. By the way, mine has been 100% reliable with 0 failures in 2100 rounds. This is with 7 different loads of factory ammo, both FMJ and JHP.
 
I just bought a Taurus 24/7 Pro in .45, but if you find the XD-45 too small, I'm afraid the Taurus will be too small as well.

Glock 21 or HK USP seem to be your best bet for a hand-filling .45 with light rail... I'd go with the Glock simply because they use the standard weaver/picatinny rail, rather than HKs proprietary set-up, for which you'll need to buy an aftermarket adapter.
 
I like the hk usp full size in 45, with an adapter the TLR-2 works well with it (I use the TLR-2 with my usp). The usp is lighter than something like SIG, but its still not super light.
 
I think I'd be inclined to try one of the 1911's with a rail (S&W, Kimber, Springfield, etc.)

You may also want to try a GLOCK as then tend to have a bit larger frame than the XD.
 
XD .45 with a hogue grip or something (cut off bike tubes work GREAT) to better fit your hand.
 
the para hawg series double stack are nice and thick if you have larger hands.
the 'lite' hawg has 10+1 in .45, night sights and rail. XD .45 fits in my hand great. i'd love to get one of these hawgs but just can't wrap my hand around the big double stack:

here's the page:
http://www.paraord.com/product/product.html?catid=20
model: RHX1045E

sorry, couldn't get a pic to attach.
 

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