.45ACP for Standard Div Major?

Given that you would be just starting out in IPSC, I don't think you need to worry about being too competative overall, you'll be learning a lot at first. What you need is a gun which will feel good while you shoot it, and by that I mean both the size/shape and the way the recoil/etc feels. If you like your .45, shoot .45; if you like your .40, shoot .40. If you like both equally well, then chose the cheaper/easier to find one (which, I guess, is .40 - I only shoot 9mm, so I can't offer any specific .40 vs .45 advice).

People who win matches win matches because they move fast, shoot well, are excellent at target acquisition, stage strategy, etc. The fact that .40 might cycle faster than a .45 MIGHT be ONE of the TINY factors, but I don't believe that it makes any real difference. They might simply 'like' the .40 recoil/etc better, and that would make a difference. For now, go with what works for you, and if you ever get into a situation where 0.5% of the score makes a difference, that's when you can start thinking about the gun's cycling time. ;)
 
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I don't know about this "faster cycling" thing. I DO know that the reason I don't shoot my .45 is cost. Brass is more expensive, even with reloading. Bullets are quite a bit more expensive, and they use large pistol primers, which can be a pain because every other calibre I load uses small primers.

While the cost may not appear to be a serious factor when reloading, consider that most shooters who are seriously competitive are putting (on average) 35-40 thousand rounds downrage a year. This cost adds up after a while.

Look at it this way...
Last time I bought bullets for reloading, .45 jacketed bullets were about $110/k while 40cal was about $75/k. At 40 thousand rounds per year, you are talking a cost difference of $1400 per year shooting .40 cal alone, and that's just in bullets!

Granted, the cost is cheaper because many people use lead in practice as opposed to jacketed, and I'm using an example of a guy that is seriously shooting lots (I probably only put around 25 thousand rounds downrange a year, though I should be doing more).
 
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The venerable 45 acp. A true powerhouse with those 230 grain pumpkins. I shot a Glock 21 for years 80,000 rds through it (I had two of em). I found that it takes little to make it shoot good, The Norinco when tuned up properly by someone of Roger Katanko's experience will be more slick than some of the race guns I have seen.

All in all, it boils down to wanting to learn to master the gun.

For 45 ACP Brass, go to www. marstar.ca, and pick up a thousand once fired for 99 bux or less. Try out their Frontier 230 gr plated bullets. accurate , and precise in weight.

A fair number of people use the 40 today becasuse they say it cycles faster.. thats ok too. But the real reason they shoot forty is this.

back when the FBI used a full house 10 mm, it was extremely hard to control for most of their agents. The next best choice was the 45 acp, but the FBI wannabes that tried to get into the academy could not handle the 45 acp. The entrance specs like most LE areas had been dumbed down. Along comes the cartridge makers and they told the FBI that the new 40 SW approximated the ballistics of the full house 45, that it was almost like shooting a forty five.

It was almost like a 45.

well the FBI jumped on it, the rest is history. So those that shoot forty, secretly wish they could handle the 45, but because the 40 is a close cousing and it is a forty cal, thats close enough for government work.

Then again the US military dumbed down their recruit specs and because most could not handle the 45 that had served them so well through so many conflicts, they went to the bottom of the barrel and got a 9mm.

Now they are looking at getting the 45 back in a new platform.

Now before all you 45 wannabes flame my A*s, the above is factual and I am writting this tongue in cheek...firmly planted. Nothing worse than a 40 shooter with no sense of humour. Then again a KITB is no fun either have fun
 
To tame the 45, do not use those 22 lb recoil springs. go to a 13 lb , less flip, use a full length tungsten guide rod for a bit more weight, and helps to make sure the spring does not bunch and twist. Use the ISMI springs, they last several thousand rds more than the standard wolf type springs.

get some good sights Bomar or Heini or others, a good extractor and tuned trigger. You could shoot dimes all day with a tuned forty five at 25 yds.

MY pet load for the 45 was 230 gr Montana gold HP Win case, with a Win large primer (std), 4.3 gr of clays. It made major provided little recoil, and teh reduced power recoil spring provided a flat slide movement with little muzzle flip . Mind you the above load was out of a Glock.
 
hungrybeagle said:
I don't know about this "faster cycling" thing. I DO know that the reason I don't shoot my .45 is cost. Brass is more expensive, even with reloading. Bullets are quite a bit more expensive, and they use large pistol primers, which can be a pain because every other calibre I load uses small primers.

While the cost may not appear to be a serious factor when reloading, consider that most shooters who are seriously competitive are putting (on average) 35-40 thousand rounds downrage a year. This cost adds up after a while.

Look at it this way...
Last time I bought bullets for reloading, .45 jacketed bullets were about $110/k while 40cal was about $75/k. At 40 thousand rounds per year, you are talking a cost difference of $1400 per year shooting .40 cal alone, and that's just in bullets!

Granted, the cost is cheaper because many people use lead in practice as opposed to jacketed, and I'm using an example of a guy that is seriously shooting lots (I probably only put around 25 thousand rounds downrange a year, though I should be doing more).
Click to expand...

The brass on .45 ACP might be more expensive but last a lot longer than .40 major. No doupt here. The .45 ACP can use good 200 SWC lead bullet like Wolf at 55$ a thousand. I use my Club casted bullet at 50$ a thou, taxes in. For the .40 major, not much choice ( because of the speed and accuracy needed ) than go with a plated or jacketed : Frontier 180 grains are 50$ for 500 box and are what most .40 shooters use around here. Lead do not sell well for the .40

To sum it up, the difference in cost of shooting a .40 or a .45 ACP is almost if not irrelevent if you use lead bullet in the .45 ACP. I also found out that it is easier to find an accurate load with different powder/bullet combination in .45 ACP than .40. You make major easily with a .45 at low pressure. You have to pump up the speed and get the right combination to make major, and it will be at highier pressure and, wear and tear.

Another + for beginner, a .45 ACP loaded with a 200 SWC will make a nice Big clean cut bullet hole that is easy to see even at 25 yards. A 230 grains used on steel popper will get you by with less than perfect shot... nobody need that.. ever ??
 
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