If you are set on 45 ACP, you might look at a Kahr TP45 (45 ACP, 8 rounds). I recently got one and am very happy.
About the same form factor as a Commander, but slimmer. Carries extremely well. Striker fired like the Glock, but totally different trigger; more like a smooth, well tuned revolver trigger.
Unlike some of the more temperamental smaller Kahr models, this one has been flawless in break-in and beyond. It just “feels” like it is going to run smooth & strong.
And for some reason it is priced relatively less than many Kahr models.
Holsters and sights are limited.
I owned, and sold, an HK45. I liked the gun, but I wasn’t a fan of the high axis of the bore, and while the grip felt GREAT (the HK45C really didn’t fit my hand at all), I just didn’t like how much flip there was comparative, plus the cost of spare mags and parts and the like was off-putting. The biggest thing i had issues with was the safety also being a decocker, and being a 1911 shooter for a long time that uses the thumb-high grip, I kept decocking the pistol and keeping the decocker depressed. :ph34r:
I went and fondled/shot the G17, G19, G20, G21, and G22. My thoughts are that the 9mm glocks are definitely far better to shoot than the 20/21. The .40 Smith is so snappy that it really doesn’t appeal to me to shoot a lot of.
What I REALLY didn’t like with the glock that I really had issues with was the ergos of the grip. My problem was mostly the same as I have with most pistols with a round butt: they hit my palm where I DON’T want it to, and they leave a gap in my palm where I want it filled.
I shot, and ended up buying, an M&P45 pre-configured with a Storm Lake 5" threaded barrel, thumb safety, and Apex Duty/carry kit. This gun shot as close to a 1911 for me as could be, and I liked the way it worked.
The only downside of the M&P45 was the grip, again. I found that I disliked having the grip be wider at the rear than at the front, which felt awkward in my hand.
Several of my cop buddies shoot and carry the 21, or 21sf on SWAT. I have seen them do things like that hogue grip (I think its called) that slips over the glock grip. It is very tight on the gun and fills their hand well. Also I have seen other brands and then there is the grip tape etc. There are even threads online of people “re-shaping” glocks with vatious tools. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THAT AT ALL. However it has been done. For years I shot the 1911. I still do at times. I feel that if you focus on the fundamentals of grip, stance, sight picture and trigger control, you can transition to glocks very easy. I was tagging 12x24 inch steel plates the other day at 50 meters with my 21sf.
I really like the 19 too.
Here is my recent 9mm story. So last Thursday around 1700 hours I shot a nice little 4x4 Whitetail Buck at about 180 yards with my Ruger M77 .270. I hit higher than I wanted and took out his spine just above his shoulder on his left side. He fell down in his tracks and wasn’t going anywhere. I think he was paralyzed. Well he was still breathing and eyes blinking. I wanted to save the skull for a European mount. I thought of slicing the throat, but instead pulled out my 26 and fired from about 4-5 feet directly into his heart (just behind Left leg and above sternum). In field dressing I found that both the Atriums in the heart had been taken out.
The bullet was the 124 grain Speer Gold Dot 9mm. When I got my deer back from the butcher this weekend he handed me the 9mm round. He told me he found it under the hide on the right side of the buck. It had smashed through his left hide, heart and lungs and some ribs, fully mushroomed and caused significant bruising to meat in the Right shoulder. I was bummed at the minor meat loss. The 9mm round and especially the Speer gold dot load really impressed me. The buck weighed a little over 180 pounds. Most men weigh that.
I really do believe that a 9mm defensive load is adequate in stopping a human threat.
With the ammunition available to us for self-defense today, I fully agree with you.
And yes the 19 is a bad-ass pistol 
My problem with the 19 is that the grip is a tad short for my hand.
I like the functionality of the Glock. It just does not fit in my hand well.
If your used to shooting 1911’s and already have a lot of 45 ACP stuff I’d seriously consider an HK 45 full size.
Same here. But after a few thousand rounds, I learned that it works just fine despite feeling kinda strange.
Okie John
As stated, I owned one and sold it. It really didn’t work very well for me overall.
A S&W M&P .45 midsize with APEX FFS (or FSS, whatever the initials are) installed with an ambi safety, and 10-8 sights would be ideal.
If it were me, I’d also consider a BarSto threaded semi-drop in barrel, and send it off to be Melonite coated.
I’d get an FDE frame too, if possible, because that’s fuckin’ ballin’!
In that case you might do well with the 17. I have the opposite problem, having small hands. The grip of the 19 fits my hand much better than the 17 did.