It got me thinking though…where are the micro compact 45’s? ...They’re also just fun to shoot.
Capacity is a big deal to people but I can’t imagine it’s THAT big of a deal to most people.
Compact .45's are a fairly small niche firearm, now that micro 9mm's have become so widespread. I'm not really interested in anything shorter than my 4" Kimber 1911's, because as was mentioned, velocity really takes a hit below that. As far as recoil... everyone handles recoil different, some don't like the recoil on a certain pistol, but it may not be as big a factor on a similar but different pistol. Shooting different pistols can be 'interesting,' I don't know if I would call shooting a micro .45 'fun.'
...but, you never know. I've always had a curiosity for the Colt New Agent... an alloy-framed, 3" 1911 .45. The grip is big enough that it wouldn't be considered a micro or sub-compact, but that would work to my advantage, anyway, by giving me something to hold on to. Recoil, I'm sure, would be... a handful.
As I mentioned, I have 2 Kimber 4" 1911's... they are very similar in features, and identical in size... but one is stainless, one is alloy-framed. I'll tell you, I am not as fast and accurate with the alloy pistol as I am the heavier stainless pistol in rapid fire, and those two pistols fit my hand about as well as any pistol I've ever had. If you are carrying for SD purposes, however, I feel there is a point of diminishing returns going to a compact or sub-compact pistol... the key being able to draw, present, and fire the pistol with reasonable speed and accuracy. I don't shoot sub-compact pistols well in target shooting, let alone in draw and shoot drills, they just don't fit my hand well. Case in point... my daily carry piece is a choice between a Kahr CW9 or the smaller CM9. I quit carrying the CM9, largely because I simply suck at draw and shoot with it, vs the one round larger CW9. It's just too small... for me.
I've moved through the carry pieces over the years... from a AMT DAO .380, to a S&W Model 60, to a Colt Government .380, and finally to my Forever Gun... the Kahr CW9. Easy choice... when the loaded CW9 weighs less than the .380, and is roughly the same size.
FWIW, I used to shoot my AMT DAO .380 quite a bit, because I felt I needed to practice as much as I could with it. I shot it so much I cracked the slide... so I sent it back to AMT, who fitted a new slide to it. It was gone at the next gun show. I was actually looking for an AMT DAO .45... but after the failure with the .380, I changed my mind.
Magazine capacity is a funny thing... to some people it's a secondary factor, to others, it's 'the more the better.'