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Advise sought on which .45 auto to buy.

2K views 19 replies 16 participants last post by  armyrat1970 
#1 · (Edited)
Advise sought on which .45 auto to buy.

My son e-mailed me from Texas and said he wanted to get a .45 auto (he said he liked the 1911 style), but to remember he's a newly wed and on a budget.

I recommended either a Ruger P90 or P345, GI type Springfield Armory 1911 A1 or an XD45.

I told him of the different barrel lengths for XD45.

Do you guys have any other .45 he may want to consider.

BTW: He got married two weeks ago.

Hack
 
#2 ·
Haha, I think I responded to your same post over on NGF. I love my Springfield GI .45 for a pure shooter/plinker.
 
#3 ·
if money is a big concern that he might look at the rock river arms 1911's. i think the centerfire sight has them listed.

Advise sought on which .45 auto to buy.

My son e-mailed me from Texas and said he wanted to get a .45 auto (he said he liked the 1911 style), but to remember he's a newly wed and on a budget.

I recommended either a GI type Springfield Armory 1911 A1 or an XD45.

I told him of the different barrel lengths for XD45.

Do you guys have any other .45 he may want to consider.

BTW: He got married two weeks ago.

Hack
 
#4 ·
Advise sought on which .45 auto to buy.

My son e-mailed me from Texas and said he wanted to get a .45 auto (he said he liked the 1911 style), but to remember he's a newly wed and on a budget.

Do you guys have any other .45 he may want to consider.

BTW: He got married two weeks ago.

Hack
he only got married 2 weeks ago and he already wants to buy a .45 wow thats quick (joking)
 
#5 ·
I think you can't go wrong with any of the choices mentioned. I would only mention that there is a heck of difference between the hand feel of a Ruger P345 and a Springfield XD45 so it would be best for him to handle these first and optimally get the chance to fire the selection to see which works for him. Most men and many men can handle a single stack .45acp pistol like the M1911 and P345 but it takes a person with a large hand to be able to manage a XD45 or Glock 21.
 
#19 ·
I used to hear the old wives' tale about the requisite Big Hands needed to shoot the G-21. Of course I got the bad news AFTER I already had purchased one ... Most little girls have bigger paws than mine ...

Been shooting 1911's nearly forever, & latched onto a Glock 21. Scores consistently improved, even with less frequent practice. Done my best groups ever with the Glocks. Upgraded the crappy XD trigger & it's also becoming more fun to shoot.

My P345 is still my favorite carry. Accuracy just a little less than my Glocks & for now, better than the XD.

Overall, you can adapt to handling of ANY gun & with enough practice get great performance from it & sometimes with some work, learn to like it. The Glock 21 is the only handgun I've ever picked up and immediately improved my days' scores.
 
#6 ·
I might sugget going to a range or gunsho where he can handle and shoot as many different pistols as he can find in .45 acp. That will tell him a lot. Any of the above work great, as will a CZ and to tell the truth my Witness .45 compact polymer is probably the best shooting .45 I have owned outside of the 1911 clones and I have had a number.
 
#12 ·
For cost I would say as others, a Rock Island. Have heard nothing but good about them. And as others have stated, if he has a local range that rents handguns he should go there and try out as many as he can before he makes a decision.
And don't overlook the Taurus Model 24/7. Very nice pistol with 12 rounds of 45ACP.
 
#16 ·
a good used Colt 1911 Series 70 Govt is better...
Colts are just too expensive and probably less likely to be reliable unless someone good has worked on them. RIAs do require a break in of 50 to 200 rounds (They are just old fashioned, this used to be standard except on a really loose GI 1911A1) so you will have some stoppages until then.
 
#17 ·
have had experiences with early RIA THREE, AND haven't

had any feeding, or stoppages. :D but we go through a process with all new guns by work slides back in forth then take apart, clean, "dry fire" a lot on a dry fire cartridge. working slides back and forth while watching TV.
when we went to range, we shot win. 230 hardball, wolf, CCI, no failure to feed, or failure to eject. about 200 rounds a piece with the mix.
two standard size guns and my bull 4 in standard frame.
all shot as well at 15 yards as more expensive models, (with "hard ball" havent put hollow points to any test). we have -Kimbers, par ords., standard colts, and national match models, and the new Taurus.:cool:
. all of ours are early ones, those that were hand assembled at factory, without side extractors, and do not have firing pin safeties, more like mod 70s colts. i cant tell about the most recent ones. with extractors on inside/:confused:
Ive been fortunate all these 30+ years to build and trade up excellent quality guns. and doller for doller the RIA for the money strapped people is the bargain of the last few years:cool:<>< dk
 
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