What made you choose the .45?

Finally picked up the P220. My first real experience with a .45. Surprised at how light the recoil felt. That might have something to do with the heavy pistol fitting my hand so well. It was slower getting back on target than my 9s though and the DA first trigger pull will take some getting used to despite how smooth it is.

It is likely my most accurate pistol when shooting in SA mode. Emptied a 10 round mag offhand into one approximately 2” almost perfectly circular splotch on a steel target at 10+ yards. Firing at a little over 1 round per second.

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Might be slow but here you go…

45 Cal .440 Lead Balls 0gr

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Like the old saying goes “Because they don’t make a .46”

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The US Army, of course.
Sometimes they get things right.

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It’s been interesting of late for me, I haven’t been carrying my P220, rather P239, P226, or P229. The 6, or 9 being double stacks - only slightly larger in the 6, and “fatter,” 9 - have become regular companions. When I go to handle the 45, being a single stack, the gun feels thinner, trimmer, lighter. Thank goodness all share a similarity of form and fit my many choices of holsters. Also, they are all the same orders of arms.

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Good point if you are shooting at one bad guy. However, many times nowadays, bad guys travel in packs. Holy slide lock Batman!

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I had the factory install the Short Reset Trigger (SRT) in my P220. What a wonderful difference it makes.

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GI specs might be difficult to aim and give you slide bite.

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Mine is a late model P220 Nitron with the rail. So assume I do not have the SRT installed on it? Have only had the chance to shoot it a couple of times and was mostly focused on getting used to the DA/SA trigger and wasn’t focusing on fast follow ups. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll have to look into it!

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Never chose. Was born with it! The .45 was placed in my hand by dear old dad. Then came the military standard issue, it’s never left my hands. Most comfortable in my hands, tried 9mm, too jerky for my taste. I prefer solid steak over veggie burgers! No offense to the veggie burger crowd, I know, I know, but what about the 9mm crowd… :sunglasses: nuff said! :innocent:

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I’m a steak guy myself. Fill the freezer every year with a quarter cow:)

I am also new to the .45 world so probably not the best judge. With all the stories of how powerful it is compared to 9mm I was surprised how little I noticed the recoil with the P220. But I can definitely get the 9mm in 147 grain back on target quicker and in much lighter guns. Agree that 9mm in 115 and 124 are snappier though. Even more so in +p.

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Bigger holes, wider wound channels. Ammunition volume restrictions is the only negative.

Stay safe out there.

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Where does shot placement figure into the equation?

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We .45 owners believe we are like Odysseus, and can shoot more than one at a time with one arrow, errr, 230 grain .45ACP, God’s caliber, the same size stone used to kill Goliath. :rofl:

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I carry a Glock30S almost daily and it is loaded with Hornady Critical Defense. I have been buying this ammo (also known as hoarding, LOL) for several years even way before the shortages and at last count(about 3 weeks ago) I have over 900 rounds of this ammo. I practice with the cheap stuff but usually fire a magazine of this every other trip to the range.

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.45 makes a hole in paper even we old guys can see.

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I like self-defense pistol calibers that do one of two things–

A) Start with a decimal caliber of 0.4" or larger, and/or

B) Run their bullets at 1200 FPS or faster, if a sub-0.4" diameter.

My most-carried arms are 1) Glock 23 (40 S&W)–2) SIG-Sauer P-220 (45 ACP)–3) S&W Model 686 x 4" (357 Magnum)–and Glock 20SF (10mm Auto). The first two arms are for city/in town carry, the latter two serve in rural and back-country usages.

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