Recoil of .40S&W vs .45ACP

CanuckShooter

CanuckShooter

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Anyone care to chime in on the .40S&W vs the .45ACP when it comes to recoil?

I have shot a Glock 22 and my dad's S&W 4006 (both are 40cal obviously) and I did not find the recoil an issue at all, maybe a bit on the snappy side but quite easy to shoot nonetheless.

My question is.... how would the recoil on the Glock 22 and 4006 feel vs a fullsize 1911A1 in .45ACP? Is there much more kick to a .45? I have read that .45 has a softer less snappy recoil but that's about all I can find. I have not had much looking finding anyone at the range with a .45 I can shoot (hopefully this week though :D).

Thanks
 
A lot of people may think .45 has a heavier kick, but in fact the kick is solid but not snappy and is manageable. I am only 106 LBs and found .45 is blast to shoot. Love to get myself a 1911 too.

Trigun
 
I shoot a G22 & S&W 4006 in .40 cal & 1911's in Commander and full size in .45ACP. The .40 is "snappier" in felt recoil.
 
First of all, we have to define that one gun is chambered for both calibers. If you start comparing a Glock .40SW to a 1911, thats a whole different ball game.

I have an XD .40 and .45. Being a polymer framed gun, recoil is a little harsher than a steel gun, but I prefer the .40 to the .45 in terms of manageability. The .45 kicks a little higher than the .40, but again, this is hard to quantify.

When I first got into handguns, everybody was talking about how powerful the .45 Auto cartridge is compared to the 9mm, too which I agree completely. I feel that felt recoil is a mental conditioning problem. If people tell you it's going to kick hard, you hold on tighter and expect the worst. To this day I remember shooting my buddies Glock 17 for the first time and thinking that as soon as I pulled the trigger, this thing would be no stronger than a cap gun. When I did shoot it and the bloody thing almost came out of my hands, I was in shock that such a little bullet could produce such punch.

With this being said, the .40 is the more manageable load, in the same gun shooting the same ammunition. With time at the range, I think that most eventually feel that there is a very negligible difference.
 
CanuckShooter said:
NAA... how do you find recovery time for follow up shot for the .45 vs the .40?
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With the high grip to bore axis of the G22 I can stay on target easier than the S&W 4006. In the .45ACP, same with full size 1911's vs Commander size. I will say I shoot the G22 .40 cal better than a 1911 .45 ACP but I do love my 1911's... With lots of practice neither are a problem, however... ;)
 
you should be comparing different calibers in the same gun or the same calibre in different guns .
Apples to apples , compare a G22 to a G21 Glock . The G21 has less percieved recoil ( pushes ) than a G22 ( snaps ) . The G17 " snaps" harder than the G22 . These opinions are for factory ammo . If you reload you can taylor any of them to be a pussycat .
Apples to oranges , a 40 in a 2011 is real sweet .
 
Recoil characteristics depend as much on the gun as they do on the caliber. A light polymer pistol in .40 S&W will no doubt have more perceived recoil than a full-size 1911 in .45 ACP. This has a lot more to do with weight (1911 being 60% heavier than Glock 22) than caliber. If you want an apples to apples comparison, try shooting both calibers in the 1911 platform. Personally, I can hardly tell any difference.
 
I realize that the mass of the gun is a huge determinant of recoil, but those are the only two guns I had ever shot in .40S&W.

Rupzuk: I have found the same in the Glocks... I think I actually liked shooting the G22 over the G17.
 
IPSC shooters have abandoned the 45ACP as they note that getting back on target in rapid string shooting is easier/quicker with the 40S&W.
As noted in the above preceding posts, 45ACP gives a longer, stronger 'push' and the 40S&W is a sharper, shorter 'snap'........
Horses for courses.......
 
Of the Glocks I have shot ( G17,21,22 ) The 22 is to me the nicest to shoot .
The 40 in ipsc is the more popular caliber as it is a little quicker to get back on target but I think 75% of shooters can't tell the difference recoil wise .
But 100% of the shooters can find 40 brass easier and cheaper .
Just my opinion , your milage may vary .
 
The recoil pulse of .40 vs. .45 is a subjective thing, but suffice to say that with all things being equal and the variables in load specs accounted for, most people would be hard pressed to tell the difference. In fact many people have said that the primary difference was in the percieved amount of torque that the larger diameter .45 slug imparted to the shooter. Having said that, I never really noticed any extra sensation of twist and could shoot just as quickly with the .45 as I could with the .40. And FWIW; Rob Leatham still prefers the .45 to this day, but will shoot .40 because he doesn't have to pay for it.

A large part of the drive to change from .45 to .40 came from the law enforcement world. Departments looking for better stopping power than the old .38 special revolvers, but greater capacity than the .45 ended up selecting .40 S$W as the cartridge of choice. The practical difference was clear: 2 speed loaders + 6 rounds in the gun = 18 rounds carried for a revolver, v.s. 2 extra 15 round mags + one in the gun for a total of 45 rounds in a typical semi auto loade with .40 S&W. Easy math. The FBI did extensive research on all of this and if I remember correctly, more or less spear-headed the change. As a result of that, for competitive shooters the supply of .45 brass all but dried up whereas, the available stock of .40 brass out there is now huge. Accordingly, .45 brass is now brutally expensive to buy. The upside for competitors (in the U.S. of course) is increased capacity in a gun with the same hitting power as the .45, so there's no problem making major with it and no significant recoil penalty to be paid for doing so.
 
40SW snaps more than 9mm

45acp is more of a push

the cost between 40SW and 45acp is minimal.....my choice would be 45acp:cool:
 
foxbat said:
IPSC shooters have abandoned the 45ACP as they note that getting back on target in rapid string shooting is easier/quicker with the 40S&W.......
Click to expand...


I beg to differ. The .40 S&W dominates over the .45 ACP in IPSC predominantly for reasons of magazine capacity.....
 
I'm thinking of getting a 1911, probably a Kimber, and while I would prefer to have it in the classic .45, I'm wondering if I would have a much more enjoyable gun in either .40 or the meek 9mm.

It almost seems blasphemous to have a 1911 in anything other than .45 however...
 
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