Why does everyone say ".45 ACP"?

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Knockdown power.... unless you can carry a 12 ga in your pocket. A 9mm even with a double tap will not stop a crankhead doper who wants to kill you a 45acp will ,thats why, its a beast ...dont shoot me with one but for home defense I use a 12 ga with 000 buck mag loads
 
I checked three times and I still don't get where that came from. ^^ Did I miss a post somewhere?

The first handgun I bought for myself was a Beretta Cougar 8045F, and when I asked the person who had just sold it to me for a box of "45", he handed me a box of 45LC and began ringing me up. Ever since that moment, I have said "45 ACP" just to make sure there was no confusion.

Amusingly, in my job, pretty much everything is named for the function that it performs. And you had better be darn specific when you are giving orders to operate equipment.

I ask for what I want, specifically. And as stated above (I forget who, and I'm not in quick reply, too lazy to check), it really, really matters when you are buying in bulk and paying shipping if you are buying bullets that you can't shoot out of your gun.
 
Knockdown power.... unless you can carry a 12 ga in your pocket. A 9mm even with a double tap will not stop a crankhead doper who wants to kill you a 45acp will ,thats why, its a beast ...dont shoot me with one but for home defense I use a 12 ga with 000 buck mag loads
Click to expand...
Had a lot of run ins with doped up crank heads have ya? There is absolutely nothing wrong with 9mm. And in some cases 9mm has deeper penetration than 45.
And yes I carry a 45 everyday, but would have no reservations about carrying a 9 or even a 40.

You want real stopping power get a rifle or a 10mm.
 
I just bought a S&W 45 ACP. Looking for ammunition I find 45 ACP, 45 GAP, and 45 long colt. Better to be specific than get something you do not want.
 
You guys (and gals) are all great. This is my first post and I've laughed my arse off reading these, especiall the one talking Klingon.....

Thanks

kev
 
All you have to do is buy a gun that shoot, acp, LC, 45-70, gap, all the other variations of 45 so when you go to buy ammo no matter what they sell you, you can shoot it.
 
Okay...

Let me try to clarify this. 45ACP....can be 45 Auto, 45 Automatic and SHOULD be. What we are discussing are two calibers that carry designations that of COLT. So in reality, long ago there was no 45 LONG Colt... There was simply 45 COLT used in 45 single action Colt revolvers. There is 45 Auto Colt Pistol to differentiate from the revolver round 45 Colt.

In reality it would make more sense to many folks if 45 (Long) Colt was simply called 45 Colt ....and then 45 ACP would be easier to understand as the AUTOMATIC offering from Colt. There is no need and should not be the word LONG in .45 Colt. There Should be .45 Automatic. The word Automatic IS the clarifying term between the two calibers.. NOT the word LONG.

As for 45 GAP....45 Auto Rim... and any other odd ball variants; they are irrelevant as they are solutions to problems that don't exist. 45 Colt and 45 Automatic are the only two that are of any significance

The issue is an interesting discussion and really stems from marketing. You see there have been too many people exploring EVERY potential size and volume of case / bullet combination. Some poor bugger invents a "New" cartridge and wants in the worst way to prove that HIS cartridge does something every other round doesn't. Many are named after the inventor and as such we have dozens of variations of the same caliber with slight adjustments that don't mean squat. There are a lot of irrelevant cartridges that some folks are really passionate about.

Metric cartridges should be designated as diameter and length. Where as 40 Smith and Wesson SHOULD have been designated 10x22SW if S&W needs the credit for the round. 10mm should be designated 10x25. 9mm should be 9x19. Simply calling a 9mm ...9 emm emm doesn't designate WHAT cartridge you speak of. There for...if you are going to not use the metric measurement of the cartridge then proper terms would be 9mm LUGER or Parabellum.

.357 SIG poses a problem in designation. Glock makes such a gun...but would HATE to use a competitors name on their gun. So they stamp .357 on it. OOOOH! Does that mean it uses 357 Magnum? The bottleneck case makes the diameter and length designation hard to do. But seeing how 357 Sig is a 9mm bullet in a necked 10x22 case. One could keep the metric designation and stamp bottle necks (9)10x22 for 357 Sig..... or 9/10x22.

So to answer your question. 45 ACP or 45 Auto are both appropriate ....it is .45 *LONG* Colt that is an improper term and should never have been created nor should be used today. It is simply 45 Colt.

Cheers
Mac.
 
Who says 9m/m OR 9mm? :confused:


I like to carry my nine mike mike over a fortyfive ACP because of the extra capacity!
 
Interesting observation: prior to 1902, there were NO 9mm Lugers. All Lugers were chambered for 7.65mm. This magazine is one of the original 9 m/m Luger magazines. Note that the original designation was "m/m".
 

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DeafDave...

That is a nice looking magazine. I can't say that I have seen too many like it. I don't know if it adds any value to that piece...but certainly seems unique. I have looked at / worked on a number of Lugers and most I can recall are not marked like that.

Cheers
Mac.
 
"ACP" refers to the first gun which was designed to shoot 45 ammo. That would be the Automatic Colt Pistol. The correct name for the ammo is "45 automatic". But who cares if it's widely referred to as 45acp. It works just as good no matter what it's called.
 
Because I've had to give a quick lesson on function the last time I dealt with an uneducated clerk and asked for '.45 auto', when they slammed the shelf closed and pronounced they 'could not sell me anything for an automatic.' :rolleyes:
 
They call it the .45 ACP because John Browning designed it for an automatic pistol he was developing with Colt.

9mm (9x19, 9mm Parabellum0 is also known as 9mm Luger because it was developed by Georg Luger for his new automatic pistol.
 
First one lots of folks over 50 owned was a 911 Colt and naturally I, like others called it 45 acp which I have for 60yrs. Old habit I guess.
 
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