I have carried a 1911A1 in one form or another - old rattletrap Army issue, Combat Commander, stainless Officer's Model - for most of my adult life. Recoil has never been a problem, and I'm a relatively small woman (5'6" and at the age of 47 I wish I still weighed 140!). The straight sides of the 1911 fit my hand better than the rounder grips of a revolver.
I recently picked up a SIG P245 and I like the double action feature. Once I got the bugs worked out of the magazine (heck of a spring - didn't want to accept that last round) it works like a charm.
I also like the .44 Special and if I carried a revolver that would be it. One of our more famous judges, Charles "Two Gun Charlie" Worrill, an ex-Texas Ranger and Industrial League baseball umpire (both high risk occupations), used to preside on the bench with two loaded .44 Bulldogs. He used one for a gavel (with an empty cylinder under the hammer - my dad asked him and the response was along the lines of "Think I'm a derned fool?") If it was good enough for Judge Worrill, it's good enough for me.
Gotta love the story of "Two Gun Charlie"! The world's a smaller place for not having folks like that anymore.
My interest in CCW has been mostly hypothetical (except for a short stint in DC's war zone where I carried a 2.5" Smith Mod. 19) but it looks like New Mexico is going to pass it this year. I'd better start thinking it over more.
Couldn't agree more, Mom! An old cop friend of mine carried a .44 Special 2-inch Smith as a backup in an ankle holster (He was a large fellow and pants were full cut in those days) years ago in the Houston area. He walked into a robbery at his cleaners where the perps got the drop on him. When Jim saw the two hoods were going to snuff him and the owner, he went for broke.
He took five hits from their two pistols, two 9 mils and three .38s in his body cavity. He returned two rounds. Both were deadly accurate, one through the heart of one bad guy and the other lost the right side of his head. Jim survived and finished out his 20 to retire to fish for anything that swam and play stud poker until a heart attack took him at 70 five years ago.
Jim was a Christian gentleman, a stud player without peer and a crack shot who only pulled his piece to serve and protect his fellow citizens. I miss him every day.