…as opposed to a 9mm.
Being indecisive, I own both!
9mm will git-r-done with modern hollowpoints, and practice ammo is as inexpensive as centerfire handgun ammo can be these days. .45 will make a bigger wound, but will cost more to practice with. More 9mms will fit in the same size gun, and you can carry twice as many 9mms weight-wise, but each .45 bullet is more likely to stop the fight. I’m about equally happy with 16 rounds of 9mm or 8 rounds of .45.
I carry a .45 Springfield TRP 1911 on and off duty, because I can hit with it and I can reload in under 4 seconds, which will go down with practice. My other off-duty full-size is ye olde M9, with which I can hit well enough. If I were going on a loooong hike or camping trip, I would take it instead of the 1911 because I can carry lots more ammo, also it’s less expensive if I somehow lose it. The M9 and 1911 carry and conceal about equally well with proper leather, which for me is a Summer Heat IWB holster from Wild Bill’s Concealment.
.45 or 9mm? It doesn’t have to be one or the other. Each has its uses.
Better question: Why own a .40?
+1
I’ve got three(2 glocks, 1 Sig) that may not be around much longer. I just don’t shoot them. It’s either 9mm or .45 on my range days.
Because thats what 1911’s are chambered for.
Bob
I have both. Two Springfield Armory .45s and a XD9 Tactical. Bought the tactical as 9mm is cheaper to shoot.
Because no one has ever had to make the argument that .45ACP is as effective as 9mm.
…and it’s what 1911s are supposed to be chambered in.
You question assumes that the reader only owns one or the other.
I own 3 different .45s (a Glock 21SF, a SIG 220ST, a SA 1911)
I own 4 different 9mms (a Glock 17, a S&W M&P9, a M&P9c, CZ85 Combat)
Because when I used to carry a 9mm, every once in a while I would see some big-ass huge fat Buddha-looking mother humper and wonder… “is 9mm going to be enough on that guy?”
I don’t have those moments anymore. 
thanks for reminding me, by the way, as I recently was considering going back to the Glock 19/26. :eek:
“The 1911 was the design given by God to us through John M. Browning that represents the epitome of what a killing tool needs to be. It was true in 1911 and is true now.” —Colonel Robert J. Coates, USMC
And the 1911 is chambered in .45 ACP.
Interesting answers. I was toying with the idea of a .45, but just couldn’t answer why. So far I have a Sigpro 2022, and a Smith & Wesson M&P. Both chambered in 9mm, and I Just put a Glock 19 in layaway about an hour ago. Thanks for not turning this into a caliber war by the way, shows the class of people here compared to some other sites. Keep the comments coming.
By the way, is $499 a decent price for a 19?
(Darn sales rep kept trying to jam DPMS AR’s down my throat because they were only $650).
My first centerfire pistol was a .45 Sig P220 (Euro model Browning import), still have it and I got other brands of .45 and 9mm after that.
I learned to shoot pistols starting with .22 LR, then .38 Spl, 9mm and finally .45 from my father’s pistols when I was 13 y/o.
At the age of 16 I competed in NRA style smallbore and centerfire pistol matches at my local gun club after I completed a gun safety course and in the 80’s I competed in USPSA-IPSC combat shooting with my company’s team where I worked.
My .45 pistols: Sig-Browning BDA (P220), Colt-Wilson Combat 1911 competition with compensator, Colt 1911 Combat Gov’t, Colt 1911 SS Gov’t, Colt 1911 LW Officers Model
My 9mm pistols: Sig P226, CZ-75 (Swiss made clone), Glock 19
Why do you have both? Variety or other reason? Just curious.
Definitely because of the 1911.
I willingly choose to use any of the following pistols: .45 ACP M1911’s, .40 S&W M&P’s, and 9mm G17/19’s.
So Doc,
With out turning this into a endless calibre debate, and I have read most of posts at TF etc on calibre/bullet selection…
Are you saying absent the 1911, you wouldn’t use a .45?
I recently attended a LAV course, and he did not seem to be afan of the .40, but he wouldn’t really “endorse” the 9 or 45, just said some of the 9mm loads are very good.
I have both an M&P in 40 and 45, and considering a move away from 1911’s, and trying to decide which of the 3 calibre’s I should move to as a primary, to stock ammo, etc.
I know this can get ugly, and I’d like to avoid that. Does it just come down to what you are comfortable with?
Bob
Without meaning to sound like a smartass, mostly because I can. My Glock 17, M&P9 are mainly competition guns for USPSA, IDPA and GSSF. I carry my G21SF, 1911, M&P9c and CZ85. I do sometimes shoot the 21SF in IDPA CDP division as well. I haven’t decided whether or not I’ll keep my SIG 220ST. The 21 and 1911 I have fill that role better.
The CZ is just a work of art. I have shot it in ESP division of IDPA a little.
The first handgun I ever owned was a Taurus PT-99AF 9mm (basically a Beretta 92F copy). Within a year of this I purchased a Beretta 92f 9mm (italian made version,not US). During this peroid I read endless .45 vs 9mm debates (Saginaw,Marshall,Cooper, etc,etc,) none of which ever convinced me one way or another.
However, it was the countless conversations, advice and stories when “shootin the breeze” with numerous rangemasters, police officers and former military that eventually led me to where I am now :
1 Springfield XD .45acp compact
1 Colt Commander 1991A1 .45acp
1 Ruger SP101 “snubbie” .357 magnum
I no longer own any 9mm’s though I would never
discourage anyone from getting one. That Beretta 92F was as reliable a handgun as anyone could want.
Though it has been said…
The 1911.
I own 7 x 1911’s. All in .45. Any other caliber would be blasphemy.
I don’t own any other model in .45; as it would be a waste of ammo to put it through something else.
I also have a few 9’s. P226, G19, & a P7.
Other than a few revolvers I have always wanted, nothing else strikes my fancy.
All the M&P talk makes me want to see what all the hoopla is about though.
With that said the .45ACP is still my favorite pistol caliber cartridge.
Same here .45s 4X1911, 21SF, P220, 325PD
9mms G17, G19, G26, Hi Power, 92F, P85
Like a Texas Ranger once said: Because they don’t make a Colt 46!
Stay safe.