{"id":1529,"date":"2025-03-07T14:04:48","date_gmt":"2025-03-07T14:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/?p=1529"},"modified":"2025-03-07T14:04:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T14:04:48","slug":"45-acp-first-among-equals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tactical-dailynews.com\/?p=1529","title":{"rendered":".45 ACP: First Among Equals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The FBI said that 9mm is just as good as .45 ACP, but we\u2019re here to make the argument that sometimes bigger really is better.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Back when John Browning fine-tuned the .45 ACP (he didn\u2019t invent it, but he did make it perfect), the premier arm of the military was the cavalry. Part of their job was stopping opposing cavalry\u2014even if it meant stopping horses. (As horse lovers, that had to hurt.) That\u2019s why the U.S. Army insisted on something .45 back then, when Roosevelt the First and Taft were presidents, and they would not accept the newfangled .30 and 9mm pistol cartridges that were gaining popularity in Europe.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward a century, and the FBI kicks the .45 to the curb, as the 9mm is \u201cas good as the .45\u201d because of \u201cbullet construction improvements.\u201d Basically, they said the decision was made because they couldn\u2019t see a difference.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said this before, but I\u2019ll say it again: Once he got over the shock of smokeless powder and self-loading pistols, Sir Isaac Newton would have told the FBI to stuff it. Oh, he\u2019d have been polite, and it would have been written in Latin (because all learned discourses back then were done in Latin), but he\u2019d have given them a smackdown, because more is always more.<\/p>\n

That the FBI cannot see it, or will not see it, matters not one whit to physics.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019m not as blinded by excess enough to say that .45 hardball is a 95 percent stopper (which was once the given, virtually dogma, in practical shooting circles a few decades ago), but it does better than 9mm ball.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut with expanding bullets, the 9mm does it better.\u201d Hmm, yes, perhaps \u2026 and perhaps not.<\/p>\n

But if we\u2019re going to compare, we have to compare like to like. Comparing .45 hardball to the latest expanding 9mm is, in the words of a long-gone radio broadcaster friend of mine, like \u201ccomparing apples to cinder blocks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apples, Meet Oranges<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A matched set of hollow-points in 9mm and .45 ACP? OK, the 9mm might expand to as much as the .45 starts out with, maybe even a bit more in perfect conditions. But the .45 is not going to shrink, and it will not be less than 0.451 inch in diameter. And any expansion that happens only makes the difference greater.<\/p>\n

\"45
Anyone who makes hollow-point bullets in pistol ammo makes it for the .45 ACP. There\u2019s no such thing as a \u201c9mm exclusive hollow-point.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Keep in mind the word potential<\/em>, because bullets are not guaranteed to expand. I have talked to a number of people in the various aspects of practical, tactical and law enforcement shooting, and the percentage of pistol bullets that fail to expand is almost depressing to consider. So, if expansion doesn\u2019t happen, then we\u2019re back to comparing 0.355 inch versus 0.451 inch as the baseline consideration.<\/p>\n

The differences can be dramatic. There was a recent shooting in Dearborn Heights, a suburb that\u2019s contiguous to Detroit (and all that entails). The homeowner realized there was an intruder, and when challenged, the intruder started shooting. So, the homeowner responded with gunfire. After a few seconds, everyone involved had been hit by projectiles, even the sleeping girlfriend. The girlfriend and the homeowner were treated at the hospital, while the intruder, hit in the leg by a single round of .45 hardball, required more care. He eventually had to have his leg amputated. And that was with .45 hardball, no expansion.<\/p>\n

Not to be gruesome, but ballistic gelatin is a uniform and consistent media, and people are not. It\u2019s just that we can test in ballistic gel in a consistent and safe and legal manner.<\/p>\n

\"45\"45
Thorough testing of bullets has produced the best designs ever, but even at that they cannot be depended on to expand each and every time. Since that is the case, starting with bigger gives you more leeway when production is, shall we say, underwhelming. (Yes, that\u2019s auto glass used in the testing treatment.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Good old hardball, a jacketed 230-grain round-nose has been the standard for over a century, and with good reason. It\u2019s accurate enough, and it\u2019s ultra-reliable. Most pistols fed most 230-grain hardball loads are going to be more accurate than the shooter is capable. However, if you really need an extra dollop of accuracy, then you can invest in some Hornady XTP loads. They are brilliantly accurate, and they expand.<\/p>\n

Now, it\u2019s a rare 1911 these days (and I think of the 1911 for reliability problems more as a historical thing than a current thing) that will balk at .230 jacketed round-nose. And, with the fierce competition in the marketplace these days, everyone makes a reliable pistol, so you aren\u2019t \u201cstuck\u201d with hardball. However, if you want expansion, or at least the potential, then you can go with Gold Dot.<\/p>\n

\"1911\"1911
The Rock Island Standard Full Size comes with an eight-round magazine. The current crop of 1911 magazines is the best that have ever been made and at great prices as well.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One reason you might want to go with a hollow-point bullet is when you are indoors. All handgun bullets penetrate too much on interior walls, but hollow-points penetrate less than hardball does. That\u2019s worth a thought and some planning. When using a firearm indoors, Rule No. 4 (know your target, and what is behind it) really becomes important.<\/p>\n

With prudence, and planning, you might find that using a .45 ACP means less of your house structure and furniture is cover for the intruder, and more of it\u2019s merely concealment. This you have to actually think about, consider and plan for. Your builder will not be marking the parts of your house as \u201ccover\u201d and \u201cconcealment\u201d for you.<\/p>\n

While it seems the world is a 9mm place these days, you will have no lack of options for ammo and bullet design choices in the .45 ACP.<\/p>\n

More is More. More is Better.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Now, Newton would also tell us that, while more is always more, it costs \u2026 one way or another. It costs in recoil and magazine capacity. You have to be willing to put up with the recoil of .45 in order to get the power of a .45-caliber projectile. That\u2019s not a real problem, as there are a number of female competitors in the USPSA\/IPSC circuit who are not tall nor heavy and find the recoil of a .45 ACP (or a near .45) pistol to be no big deal. If someone who stands at 5-foot-nothing and weighs 90 pounds can shoot a .45 accurately and quickly, what\u2019s your problem? (Typically, it\u2019s lack of practice. There, I said it.)<\/p>\n

\"shooting\"shooting
Does the .45 ACP have recoil? Of course. You can\u2019t get something for nothing, but it\u2019s easily controlled.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Capacity is another. A double-stack 9mm can still be very trim (the 9mm makers are getting down to \u201cThis holds how many?\u201d sizes for pistols) and still be manageable. But a double-stack .45, even in the slimmest versions, is a big-hands gun. Remember that the single-stack 1911 pistol has been in continuous production since 1911 for a reason. It holds enough ammunition that you probably won\u2019t need more, and if you do, the reloads are mighty quick.<\/p>\n

Oh, and one more cost that I have to admit to: actual cost. As in, .45 ammunition of any kind costs more in dollars than 9mm does, if only because there is more material in it. A quick check shows 9mm 115-grain ball in un-reloadable steel cases at $200 per thousand rounds. Reloadable brass ammo runs $230 per thousand. Meanwhile, .45 ACP runs $390 per thousand in reloadable form. I\u2019ll admit, that\u2019s a bunch more.<\/p>\n

Times, They Change<\/strong><\/h2>\n

However, an extra bonus from the fierce competition in the .45 marketplace is that a durable, reliable, 1911-based or even 1911 pistol can be had for not much money. If you want extra features, then they don\u2019t cost much, either.<\/p>\n

An example is the Rock Island Rock Standard Full Size Cerakote .45 ACP. It has forward cocking serrations, Novak-style combat sights, a high-grip beavertail and ambidextrous thumb safety, all done up in a Cerakote finish. It comes with G10 grips checkered for a non-slip grip, lowered ejection port and commander hammer, and it\u2019s built on a Series 70 frame. That means no firing pin blocking the safety plunger to potentially cause problems.<\/p>\n

\"ria\"ria
The Rock Island Standard Full Size is just that, a government sized all-steel pistol, and Rock Island adds on extra features at a bargain price.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Built on a 4140 alloy steel parts set, the small parts are parkerized, it takes any and all 1911 single-stack magazines, it comes with an eight-round magazine, and it is listed at an affordable $759. Which means you can probably find it in the display case of your local gun shop for under $700.<\/p>\n

The sights are dovetail-mounted so you can swap them if you really feel the need (or have a compulsion for home-gunsmithing). Everything on it is as close to mil-spec dimensionally as is possible these days. So, you can change things you might not like or find that they don\u2019t fit you.<\/p>\n

Try that with a polymer-framed pistol.<\/p>\n

You Can Handle It<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Oh, and back to the controllability question?<\/p>\n

When the 1911 pistol was adopted, the average height of the American man was all of 5 feet, 8 inches. (Women were 5 feet, 3 inches.) Browning knew this (he could have hardly not known), so the 1911 is as ergonomic as he could make it for the average man of his time. Today, the average height of men is 2 inches greater, so stop complaining about grip size in 1911s.<\/p>\n

Right out of the box, I found that the Rock Island Standard Full Size hit to the sights, it shot nice-sized groups, and it has yet to fail, despite being fed a wide variety of ammunition.<\/p>\n

\"1911\"1911
The Rock Island 1911 shot to the sights, and it produces groups you can certainly depend on.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Back when I started shooting competitively (we will not discuss who was president then), just getting the sights, beavertail, custom grips and adjustable trigger\u2014all details that the Rock Island pistol has on it\u2014onto a box-stock 1911A1 would have run more than the cost of the Rock Island pistol. No, seriously.<\/p>\n

Firing up the old inflation calculator, $759 in 2025 dollars equates to (darn, now I have to admit when I started this journey) $155 in 1978. I paid more than that for the first 1911A1 surplus pistol that I then handed over to a pistolsmith to have him upgrade it. And I paid more for the work than I had for that surplus pistol. Calculating forward, that first pistol ran me about $2,400 in 2025 dollars, and I still was using absolutely miserable magazines in it. That\u2019s all we had back then.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the other good thing about the .45 ACP and the 1911 these days: The current offerings of magazines are superb in function and durability. I can recommend\u2014without hesitation\u2014both Wilson and Chip McCormick magazines. And if eight rounds isn\u2019t enough, you can get extended, 10-round magazines for your single-stack 1911.<\/p>\n

So, power, style, class and more than a little retro vibe. What\u2019s wrong with the .45 ACP? Nothing. And what\u2019s wrong with using it in a 1911? Nothing at all.<\/p>\n

There: FBI, take that.<\/p>\n

Editor’s Note:<\/strong>\u00a0This article originally appeared in the April 2025 issue of\u00a0Gun Digest the Magazine<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n

More On .45 ACP:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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