best .45 handgun

zeeshan

[China Clipper]

Well, I hafta say that weighing in on this issue myself a few years back, I settled on the Sig Sauer P220. Pretty much has all the attributes you "axed" for, and then some.

Give a look!

[BooBoo1000]

Man, that is one bad looking gun, someone used the barrel to change a tire or something, but I still love Wheel Guns, way to go

[woollyone]

sweeeeeeeeeeet.

Added much value to this gun porn thread

[MCF]

Kirkwood is correct about the Para LDA. There are 3 models in 45 ACP; the PDA with a 3” barrel the, CCO with a 3.5” barrel and the CCW with a 4.25” barrel. Their weights are 24, 32, & 34 oz. respectively.

[woollyone]

...and...maybe...
...add slight radius to all sharp edges
...Beef up the recoil spring ( I like 18.5lbs)and firing pin spring
...ambidextrous thumb safety

[woollyone]

...and...maybe...
...add slight radius to all sharp edges
...Beef up the recoil spring ( I like 18.5lbs)and firing pin spring
...ambidextrous thumb safety

[MarkL]

you can hardly go wrong with a Wilson Combat.

Wilson Combat is excellent. I've shot some pistols they've done, and I've used their 1911 magazines in the past (I switched over to Chip McCormic though).

Avoid Kimber.

I've never heard this, and I'm quite surprised: All the work I've ever seen by Kimber, and everything I've heard or read about Kimber has led me to believe otherwise.

Mark

[woollyone]

oops...double-tap...my bad

[woollyone]

Problem I heard on new Kimber is the crap steel.

[MarkL]

S&W M625 Mountain Gun,

I've got a 625-5, and a mutual friend of Ron Power convinced him to do a combat action job on it for me, even after he had retired to the Ozarks.

It's the second sweetest shooting revolver I've got... The first is a 629 Power Custom Grand Master.

Mark

[Uri’el-2012]

1. extreamely reliable and very durable 3. ejection port to the right (not extended upwards).

4. decocker and manual safety(with safety on the pin should be blocked and not just the trigger).

5. fast target accquisition sights ( eg 3 dots or glock type sights , and perferrably night sights to glow in dark)

6. medium or just compact size for concealed carry( but in no way the compactness should compromise the reliability and durability factor. meaning, size factor can be compromised but not the reliability and long service life factor of the gun).

7. smoothest and lightest trigger pull possible as in my experience trigger pull adds considerably to acccuracy.

8. light weight if possible (but not at the stake of any traits mentioned above).

Except for number 4, I carry a Glock Mod 30.

Extremely reliable out of the box and very accurate combat sights.

I have 3 1/2 lb trigger, and tritium and da-glo light pipe sights.

Safety is all in your head with good training.

[OKSooner]

Welcome to FR...

[VR-21]

"I've got a 625-5

Sweet! I love mine too, and my other two .45 ACP wheelguns. In addition to the .45 ACP, I also load my own cast Lyman 452429 255gr. swc's over 6.2 gr. of Unique in .45 Auto-Rim cases. It effectively duplicates the original .45 Colt numbers, and shoots superbly out of my 22-4 (Thunder Ranch N-frame). I'm strongly considering one of S&W's new 1917's.

[MarkL]

I hope that I don’t get flamed too badly here, but I’ve posted this opinion before, and while it’s not really worth anything, other than to myself, I think that it’s something that’s worth saying. What you do with it is up to you.

I can be pretty certain that a lot of replies will tell you to go with a pistol based on a Colt 1911. I think that for most people, this isn’t a very good choice for a personal defense or carry weapon. Please don’t get me wrong. I love these pistols, and in fact, I’ve got 3 of them, in varying states of customization.

IMHO, John Browning designed the finest combat handgun ever to see the light of day. But that’s also why I claim this isn’t be best handgun for most people to carry on a day to day basis. It’s designed for “combat,” and as such, it will require a much higher degree of training and familiarity to use safely in stressful situations. Frankly, most people aren’t willing to make that commitment.

Do you have your heart set on a semi-auto? S&W has made some wonderful .45ACP revolvers over the years, and using full moon clips, they can be reloaded every bit as quickly as a semi-auto. And the actions CAN be improved to the point where they’re completely smooth (although they’ll never have the short stroke or light pull of a single action semi-auto). The down side is that an N-Frame revolver can be hard to conceal if you’re small.

I have to admit that I can’t tell you who to send a S&W or Ruger revolver to since Ron Power retired... I trust Bill Laughridge at Cylinder & Slide up in Nebraska, but his shop is known to specialize in Browning High Powers and Colt Pythons - Don’t get me wrong - they do terrific general gunsmith work on just about everything else, but C&S is probably the best in the country for those 2. I’d guess for work on a S&W, sending it to the S&W custom shop would be the best idea.

Mark

[Petruchio]

That's what I did.

This started as a Rock Island GI style .45. I had a smith add Fiber Optic sights, Ambi Safety, Bevertail, Bobtail, and Custom Grips.

I think of it like a mid 60's Chevy Nova . . . Cheap to buy, but fun to trick out! [grin]

[MarkL]

Sweet! I love mine too, and my other two .45 ACP wheelguns. In addition to the .45 ACP, I also load my own cast Lyman 452429 255gr. swc's over 6.2 gr. of Unique in .45 Auto-Rim cases. It effectively duplicates the original .45 Colt numbers, and shoots superbly out of my 22-4 (Thunder Ranch N-frame). I'm strongly considering one of S&W's new 1917's.

I guess if you're using auto-rim cases you wouldn't have this problem, but I found myself avoiding Hercules powders like Unique, because I found them to be rather dirty, and if I wasn't careful on ejecting the cases and FM clip, I would get powder residue under the ejector that could keep me from being able to load a new FM clip and get the cylinder into battery.

I didn't have this problem using Olin 231 or Scot powders. Sorry, I don't remember the load, but I think that I did use the sort of bullets you mentioned. I didn't cast them myself, but IIRC, I used to get them from Bull-X. They were hard cast 255 gr truncated cone - flat nose - not really SWC, and they dropped into the cylinder beautifully, and they fed like a dream in my 1911s, and they'd take a bowling pin off a table like nobody's business!

Mark

[BwanaNdege]

“It’s a 45 that never jams.”

I toted a USMC issue Model 1911 while clearing tunnels on the Batangan Peninsula in RVN 1969. It was covered with mud half the time, but I never worried about it firing at least once. I worried more about blowing out my eardrums in the confines of the tunnels. :-)

Thankfully, I never had to test either the reliability of a mud covered M1911, or the strength of my eardrums.

[chaosagent]

Bookmarked

[VR-21]

Unique is certainly dirty. They've even cleaned it up some but it's still dirty. I've never had any difficulty (in terms of affecting a guns reliability) from residue though and it gives very good accuracy and stability over a range of cartridges (and 20ga. shotgun). I just remember to wash my hands before I use the head. I realize that there have been a lot of new powders out, and I'm sure that many are excellent...but well, I'm old.

I also use Alliant Red Dot in my 12ga. trap loads, and it's never let me down. The only other Alliant powder I use is 2400. I use it in .357, .45 Colt and .44 Magnum loads for both rifle (Winchesters) and pistol, and I also use it in cast bullet loads in 7x57, .303 Brit, 8x57, 7.62x54R, 30-30, .308 and .30-06 rifles. I love the stuff. Also, I'm old.

The only Alliant products I've never liked are Bullseye and Blue Dot. I've never been very successful with either.

You mentioned that you've got a 629. I load 8.5 gr. of Unique over an RCBS 44-250-K(ieth) which gives 1005 fps out of my flat-top and a friend took an elk (very quick and humanely) last season in Idaho with one of those loads in a Marlin lever gun.

[mefistofelerevised]

Glad to hear your story. I had some model of a 1911, that I foolishly got rid of. It seemed they were made intentionally lose to avoid jamming. Your testimonials would sell them again. How many 1911’s were made? It is the gun that started it all. I liked to get my hands on another one. Know of any remakes that are as good?