Small Carry 45acp

[jwalker497]

There really seems to be only one option in the small carry .45acp dept and that is the Kahr PM45. I like Kahr and think they make a solid gun but I wanted to know if there are or will be any newcomers in the making that will compete for this under 6inch 45 market?

 

[Claude Clay]

not sure about the 6" but carried IWB at 4 oclock it feels reassuring and all but dissapears

 

[Knightrider03m]

Good luck on a small 45. 5-6 inches or more on that size with me.

 

[DHart]

The Glock 30 isn't exactly "small", but I can easily conceal mine and this Glock is incredibly accurate, reliable, and a dream to shoot (very comfortable). I can very highly recommend the G30 as a .45acp carry gun. 11-rounds of reliable potency on tap. The bore design conserves velocity remarkably well. Visit the Glocktalk forum folder on the G30 and read all the raves. Great choice.

 

[chris in va]

Many problems with the PM45 from what I've read. The PM9 seems to have quite the following though.

 

[joustin]

I have Kahr CW 45 and have not had any issues with it so far.

 

[PAPACHUCK]

My 3rd gen Taurus PT145Pro was a perfect small 45 for CCW, until I used it to fund a Sig I fell in love with. I'll probably buy another PT145Pro.

 

[Nuke8401]

S&w cs-45

My ccw is normally a S&W CS-45, IWB, 3.25 " barrel, 6 round mag, Traditional DA with manual safety. Most importantly, it shoot every time, more accurate than I am, I shoot it in IDPA CDP at the Expert level. Only down side is it might be a little on the fat side,,,,, But so am I.

 

[Kind of Blued]

Dan Wesson has a new CCO 1911 coming out.

And what exactly do you mean by "this under 6inch 45 market"? Overall length?

Keep in mind that with compact handguns, shorter OAL usually means a shorter barrel, and with the .45 ACP cartridge, you can start losing performance really fast below 3.5" or so.

 

[earlthegoat2]

The Glock 36 IMO is hands down a better concealment pistol than the G30. I would probably even take it over the Kahr. I like Kahrs but in a gun that small I will stick with 9mm.

 

[distra]

I had a P45, sold it. I was not too fond of the gun. I carry a Springfield 3" micro compact 1911, G36 or M&P 45c instead. All of these conceal very well and are fare superior to the P45 in reliabilty and accuracy. Kahr may make some good metal guns, but my experience with them tunred me off their products.

 

[CWL]

Glock 36 seems to be the best available in terms of reliability and compactness.

Too many reliability stories regarding polymer Kahrs to trust your life with.

Even though I'm a 1911 fan, I just don't trust the reliability in the small "Officer" 3" versions made by anyone. -And I own one.

 

[DHart]

Before buying my G30, I considered the G36. Decided to go with the G30 because of the much greater capacity, ability to use G21 mags, better record of reliability, and I can conceal it IWB no problem. Yes the G36 is smaller, but smaller size is it's only benefit... with that you trade away some things that are more important to me. As usual, there's always a price to pay for every choice you might make; with every gain comes a trade off of something! There is no perfect gun.

 

[nbkky71]

I don't think you're going to get much smaller than the Springfield Micro-Compact 1911.

The ATM Backup in .45ACP might edge it out, but not by much.

As for me, I have an older Kimber Combat Carry (fore-runner of the CDP series). 4" slide and a officers frame

 

[KBintheSLC]

I am a Glock and Sig lover, but I really like the small 1911 Ultra Carry .45's by Kimber. If I was to carry a .45, I would really consider one of their little single stack 3" barrel models. A bit pricey, but nice little guns.

 

[KaliS-Pugilist]

+1 on the Taurus PT145 PRO

the PT145 PRO (3rd Gen.) is a fine firearm and highly underated as well as looked over. truth be told it is probably the best small carry 45acp you can get when it comes to capacity, size, recoil, comfort, and price. i dont have mine anymore but may get another in the future.

the XD45compact deserves a mention here too and if it wasnt a lil bigger than the PT145 PRO i would say that it would be the better small carry. that being said, i do carry my XD45c and dont own the PT145 Pro (currently).

i have also moved away from the philosophy of only considering small firearms for concealed carry. i regularly carry my FNP45 (14 rd mags) and it conceals with no problem. it is one of the larger full sized guns you cant get in 45acp and it simply dissappears with the bladetech UCH holster. so you may want to look at full sized 45acp and a decent carry set up if that is what u want to do. why sacrafice capacity if you dont have too.

 

[DHart]

There tends to be a general desire to move toward the smallest possible form factor for carry guns, and understandably so.

But I think some people don't realize that it's not only possible, but actually pretty easy to conceal and carry guns which aren't necessarily the smallest/lightest choice, but which offer the great advantage of higher capacity, larger caliber, and better shootability.

Just because you can go "micro" doesn't necessarily mean that's the best choice.