I got a 30-30 lever carbine thinking that would be cool, but it runs hot enough to fry an egg after two rounds, and it kicks like a mule. There is probably something wrong with the interior geometry. The 45 WinMag pistol is supremely accurate and has 1/2 the whomp of the 12 gauge with mag slug at the muzzle, very similar to the 44 mag, but for just fun the 45 Colt single action can hardly be beat.
One of these days I'll probably get me a good 45. The 9 (Browing) is fine, but as you have alluded to, a good 45 is tough to beat. Familiar at all with Kimber's hardware?