Author Topic: 45 caliber  (Read 16105 times)

Offline Michigunner

  • Grand Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 1534
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #15 on: October 02, 2005, 07:36:17 PM »
I had sort of planned to get the new Kahr .45 auto, but the R9S is more than enough for me to handle.

If we end up with a Rohrbaugh .45, it will take a real man to shoot it.

They will have to award certificates!

Bill

Offline sslater

  • Master
  • ****
  • Posts: 446
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #16 on: October 02, 2005, 08:31:47 PM »
I love my .40 Sig P239.  DA-SA trigger action on this gun is second only to the R9S DAO in my humble opinion.
A lot of people don't like the DA-SA (or Traditional DA) trigger feel.  I am not one of them.  Here's how I look at it:
At least on my P239, I rack the slide, decock, and holster the gun.  If I need it immediately, I can draw & fire - and I won't notice the extra effort required to trigger-cock the action for that first round.  If I have the time and want a more precise trigger release (like for a long distance shot), I just ease the hammer back to full cock position.  Then I have the single action static release so many 1911 shooters love.

My observations may be slightly colored by the fact I cut my teeth on a S&W 686 revolver.  To this day I shoot a revolver better in DA mode than I do SA.  (I didn't say I'm very good, just better in DA than SA!  :-[)
 

Offline R9SCarry

  • Grand Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 2657
  • Aut viam inveniam aut faciam
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #17 on: October 02, 2005, 09:42:32 PM »
Steve - I find the DA/SA suits me well too - with the 226 ST I carry as primary.  True enough - if time permits, cock hammer but I find when shooting IDPA and so drawing from the leather, I hardly notice the DA pull.  My old P97 Ruger however has two very extreme trigger positions.

I shall soon have a SIG 220 I aquired and it'll be nice to have that as an optional platform for .45acp but probably I'll stay with my 15+1 of the 226.
Chris - R9S
Guns don't kill people - people kill people.
R9 FAQ Site
NRA Life member and Certified Instructor.

Offline Michigunner

  • Grand Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 1534
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #18 on: October 02, 2005, 09:43:33 PM »
Well said, Steve.

I especially like being able to cock the hammer.

The slide is smooth as can be.  It is very easy to operate.  Maybe it comes from the Militec-1 and hair dryer treatment it received when new.

It's a mighty fine gun.

Still, it wont go in your pocket like an R9S, which is an all-around humdinger.

Offline EdMan

  • Expert
  • ***
  • Posts: 115
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #19 on: November 05, 2005, 11:56:03 PM »
Michigunner,
I have also been thinking about getting a Kahr .45. I have two Kahr PM9s, a MK40, and a Kahr P40. Over all I really like the Kahr pistols.

The .45s I have are: a pre 1980 Colt Combat Commander .45, a Taurus PT145 Pro, and a Kimber Ultra Carry .45. The Kimber is really very nice but too big the carry concealed all the time. I don't shoot the 1911 type .45s much anymore because I am mostly practicing with DAO pistols like the Rohrbaugh R-9, Kahrs, Kel Tecs and Glocks. That way if I have to use a pistol while under stress I woun't have to think about operating a safety. I've shot the Glock .45s. The G21, G30 and the G36. I didn't care for the Glock 36. It doesn't feel right to me. I'm used to the wider Glocks. Also the Glock 36 pinches my little finger between the grip and magazine extension. I shoot the Glock 21 pretty well, but it is a little too large for my small hands. Sort of like Goldie Locks said, the Glock 30 was just right. If I get a Kahr .45 I'll let you know how it shoots.

Ed
« Last Edit: November 06, 2005, 12:00:28 AM by ed5380 »

Offline EdMan

  • Expert
  • ***
  • Posts: 115
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #20 on: November 06, 2005, 12:14:44 AM »
I really don't think a Rohrbaugh .45 or .40S&W would be practical. The larger rounds would need a larger, heavier pistol. That would defeat the purpose of the Rohrbaugh. As Karl Rohrbaugh has said. The R-9 is like a modern (simiauto) derringer. Small light and very concealable. But I could be wrong. The Rohrbaugh brothers may work their magic and develop the smallest simiauto .45 ACP pistol in the world. If anyone can I'm sure they can.

Ed
« Last Edit: November 06, 2005, 12:15:26 AM by ed5380 »

Offline Michigunner

  • Grand Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 1534
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #21 on: November 06, 2005, 10:05:01 AM »
Ed,

It may be about time for the Kahr 45 to be featured in the big gun magazines.

Roy Huntington, the editor of American Handgunner,  told me they had one for evaluation.  That was around the time it was announced.   It will be fun to read the article.  I'm really looking forward to it, although the R9S is my main choice as long as it never fails me.

I don't know Roy well, but he was very gracious to respond directly to me with an email, after I complained about Clint Smith using coarse language when he starting an article calling some of the readers "t_rd suckers".

It just annoyed the heck out of me that refined people would have to read that.  I'm not refined, but other gun people are.

Roy wanted everybody to lighten up, and he stood by the writer.  I may not renew my subscription because of it.   Certainly, if anything remotely close to that happens again, I'll cancel both Guns and American Handgunner.

Sorry about the language discussion.  I figure if Duane wont let us use it, why should it be in our gun magazines.

Heaven forbid, but if our beloved R9S does not fly out of the recent clouds of suspicion, I'll probably go to the 45 Auto using IWB.  I've never completely recovered from trading my Milt Sparks VM-2 in black horsehide along with the G36.

Bill
« Last Edit: November 06, 2005, 10:12:03 AM by Michigunner »

Offline SAWBONES

  • Sharpshooter
  • **
  • Posts: 70
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #22 on: November 06, 2005, 01:03:33 PM »
The .45ACP is my favorite handgun caliber, both for defense and practice.
While I don't much buy into the "9mm vs. .45" debates, every little bit of increased bullet size and weight helps, assuming first that you hit accurately and that you hit something that counts!

I've carried my 1911s "cocked and locked" for 20 years.
If you have a thoroughly-reliable example which has been gone over by a trained, practical, experienced 'smith, there's no overall-better choice in a .45ACP sidearm, IMNSHO.

OTOH, there are alternatives which I do carry (Glock 36, Glock 30) and have carried in the past (Sig Sauer P220, HK USP .45 Compact) and they are certainly viable, for folks who feel insecure about Condition One carry with the 1911, though of course none offers the stellar trigger pull of a "tuned" 1911. (I mean a light, clean, crisp break, not any sort of unsafe trigger pull.)

For those folks who feel they can get along with the DA/SA type of semiautos, I'd suggest unprepared-but-time-dependent drills, wherein your first shot MUST be accurate, must occur within a given short time frame not of your own choice, AND subsequent shots must be made accurately on a target that's now moving.
This will unmask just how awful the DA first shot and the subsequent DA-SA transition is on most such guns.

If this seems artificial, consider that it's what happens in a  real life defensive situation; you must make an accurate on-demand shot, and may need to follow up with more such on a target which may well now have moved off the original line of fire.

This sort of emphasis, and qualification thereat, is taught by many modern trainers, eg. John Farnam.
Personally, I've never seen a single person who brought a DA/SA auto to one of his classes successfully qualify, which bespeaks the difficulty of using that style of gun. JMNSHO.
Humani nihil alienum

Offline theirishguard

  • Grand Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 2707
  • In Memoriam: 1941 to 2013
    • irishguardfirearmsltd.com
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #23 on: November 06, 2005, 01:40:25 PM »
Sawbones, well said! Its the 1911 .45acp for me also.
Tom
Tom Watson, DVC , Quis Separabit ,  Who dares wins, Utrinque Paratus

Offline SAWBONES

  • Sharpshooter
  • **
  • Posts: 70
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #24 on: November 06, 2005, 05:44:48 PM »
Thanks, Tom.

I hope I don't offend anyone, and there are certainly lots of folks who are simply required by fiat and regulation to carry a certain DA/SA auto, many LEOs, for instance.
I know many people like 'em, and I certainly have no gripe with the manufacturing quality of some of the makers of these guns, like Sig and HK.

OTOH, I believe we should stack the deck in our own favor any way we can. For me, this includes carrying and shooting only guns with an "always the same for every shot" trigger pull, and the lighter and crisper the trigger pull, the better.
 
I divested myself of all DA/SA guns accordingly awhile ago.
Humani nihil alienum

Offline Richard S

  • Grand Master
  • *****
  • Posts: 5772
  • Nemo me impune lacessit.
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #25 on: November 06, 2005, 06:36:57 PM »
SAWBONES:

With all due respect to the extraordinary Rohrbaugh 9mm design (which has truly raised the bar for so-called "pocket pistols"), if I can take only one pistol with me to Armageddon it will be a Browning 1911 .45 ACP.
(1963-1967) "GO ARMY!"

Offline EdMan

  • Expert
  • ***
  • Posts: 115
Re: 45 caliber
« Reply #26 on: November 07, 2005, 10:40:49 PM »
SAWBONES,
I agree with you on the DA/SA issue. I've fired many handguns in my life. The DA/SA trigger pull may be OK for some, but I don't care for it. I do very well with the 1911 type .45s. But since firing the DA only pistols, like Glock, Kahr, KelTecs and of course the Rohrbaugh, I try to stick with this type of tigger pull for consistency of muscle memory. By the way the Rohrbaugh R-9 has one of the best DA trigger pulls I've ever used.

Ed