.40 or .45?

[2rowdy]

I prefer the Springfield xd over the Glock everytime. Flame on. I personally chose the .40 cal. I do want a 1911 in .45 though. I just really had to throw in I don't care for glocks.

 

[winston1911]

yeah; my first handgun was a glock 19 and I knew very little about guns in general, much less about handguns - so I went with an idiot proof choice - the glock (I actually would have bought an XD-9 had it not been for the grip safety). If you buy a glock you are getting a very high quality handgun in terms of reliability and durability which are the most important factors for a combat situation. However, if your primary interest is target shooting, then the glock is not the right choice for you. If I was in law enforcement or the military my first choice for a carry weapon would be a glock, but I prefer heavier pistols and revolvers over any kind of polymer frame gun and since my primary interest is target shooting it doesn't make sense to choose a glock, or an XD for that matter. Both pistols fall in the same category and share many of the same strengths (reliability, durability, hi capacity) and weaknesses (mainly accuracy and ergonomics - especially glock grips). I got rid of my glock 19 and got a browning hi-power 9mm instead, which is still a viable combat weapon, but you can't "torture" the weapon the way you can glocks. To me that's just not important. That being said, I love the police trade in glock 21 that i have in terms of a home defense weapon. I like my colt 1911 45 better, but if somebody broke into my house, i'd go with the less accurate, less smooth, but extremely reliable glock because i can still keep shot groupings within a 3 inch diameter of one another at 15-20 yds. away which is accurate enough for the situation.

 

[Drs2288]

Found a couple of 1911's on cabelas website and not a huge price difference in the taurus and springfield. This will be my first 1911 if i go that route so i dont need a super fancy expensive one. Just one to do some target shooting and carry from time to time. here are the links and let me know which you would prefere.


Cabela's -- Springfield Armory® 1911 Semiautomatic Pistols

Cabela's -- Taurus 1911 Semiautomatic Pistols
http://http://www.cabelas.com/cabel...cabelas/en/common/search/search-box.jsp.form1

 

[Drs2288]

One of the springfields is actually cheaper than the taurus. But then again im not to sure which is a " better " brand

 

[Sidewayz]

"(I actually would have bought an XD-9 had it not been for the grip safety)."

What exactly is not to like about an additional safety? Especially one that has been in use on 1911's forever. I don't understand.

 

[country_boy]

I think academy has a Springfield mil spec for $600. The selling point for the 40 was the price. Academy still has the pt-101 for $299! The more I shoot a 40 the better Im with it.

 

[Outbreak]

One thing that should be noted is that many people don't like the grip angle on Glocks. I'm one of them. Between that and the trigger safety, I can't shoot them. The angle is all wrong, and the safety hurts my trigger finger after a few mags. Not a big deal for CCW, but you have to practice with your CCW. I'm not going against Glock, but you should definitely shoot one before you buy.

I have a Sig P226 in .40 and love it. I've shot the slightly smaller P229 in .40, and that was great, too. A lot of the complaints about the snappiness of .40 seems to be coming from plastic guns. They are lighter and thus cannot absorb as much of the recoil. I swore off .40 for a long time after shooting a baby Glock(first time I shot .40), but in a bigger, metal frame pistol, it's very comfortable to shoot. Sigs are a bit pricey, but you can find police trade-in P229s in the $5-600 range.

 

[winston1911]

"(I actually would have bought an XD-9 had it not been for the grip safety)."

What exactly is not to like about an additional safety? Especially one that has been in use on 1911's forever. I don't understand.

I think the grip safety fits perfectly on a 1911 - i think it's actually necessary given that a 1911 should be carried cocked and locked and with just that manual thumb safety it still has a high potential for accidental discharge. Also when the 1911 was designed there was no internal firing pin safety feature (obviously) so if dropped the grip safety sort of made up for what nearly all modern handguns have today (including all springfield XD's). On another note - when the grip safety on a 1911 is engaged - you can still rack the slide at least - on the XD models the entire slide locks up unless the grip safety is disengaged - to me this is completely unecessary and to me is just another potential problem - one more critical function that if malfunctions could render your gun useless like the ILS on new S&W revolvers. Don't get me wrong, I've never heard of a single grip safety malfunction on any XD - so that's not really a very likely problem. The reason i didn't like it was because unlike a 1911 grip safety which is smooth, doesn't jut out to much, and makes for overall ergonomic comfort - the XD's already glock-like boxy and, in my opinion, fairly ugly design combined with a relatively sharp edged unecessary grip safety makes for an annoying grip. That being said I don't like the glock grip better, I actually like the XD grip better if it didn't have the grip safety. Also, why should any feature from a complete classic firearm like the 1911 be on a dime a dozen polymer framed tactical pistol - it just doesn't fit. It's like when somebody puts a modern floating style floyd rose tremolo on a classic Les Paul - it just doesn't belong. The difference is that putting a floyd rose tremolo system on a gibson ruins the "classic" gibson style with something too modern. In the XD example - you're adding a classic old style design feature on a completely modern weapon; in both cases it just clashes. But if the grip safety doesn't bother you, then I guess I would prefer the XD grip over the Glock grip - it really boils down to preference.

As far as choosing between the springfield mil-spec 1911 and the taurus - go with the taurus. I had the exact springfield model 1911 that you're looking at and I wasn't that impressed with it - The taurus has a nicer finish and has room for easy customization - like sights. The milspec sights can be changed out fairly easily except for the front sight which is actually staked into the slide. Plus, I had problems with the springfield feeding hollowpoints, never a problem with round tip range loads

 

[Texas42]

Ok thanks for all inout everyone! I am going with a .45, Now torn between a G 21 or a 1911 around same price range. Any one recommendations on a less expensive 1911?

1911 or Glock. . . LOL

Talk about two ends of the spectrum while still keeping with full sized, semi-auto's.

The glock going to be lighter and thicker. "Glockier" if you will.

The 1911 is going to be heavier, have a safety, and have those 8 round magazines.

I think that, all else being equal, 13 rounds is "better" than 8 rounds, but I think there is a lot of objective evidence that you can find that you probably won't "need" 13 rounds magazines. Or simply carry two magazines.

Either gun is going to shoot better than you. I'm not going to pretend to be a 1911 expert, but I think either gun would be hard to tote around, consistently all day. Of course, you'll probably end up like the rest of us and have multiple handguns and holsters to choose from.

I've shot a Glock 22 (40 S&W) and never thought it was unpleasant to shoot. Of course I love shooting. : ) It did kick more than the 9's I shoot, but not by a lot.

 

[Drs2288]

Texas42, Im not even thinkin about carrying it anymore, lol. I have seen some really nice 1911's so i guess thats why i want one now.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

If it has not been mentioned, .40 is WAY easier to find than .45, much cheaper too.

 

[Drs2288]

Ok guys, I will be going to buy next week. I stay in fort worth, Does anyone know a good place to buy? last gun i purchased was from euless guns and ammo, great people there but far from my house. I was thinking about cabellas or academy. I know some places offer discounts or Will throw in a box of ammo. I also know some manufactuers have rebates somethimes so or if anyone here owns a shop let me know so i can purchase from you. ( I rather help mom n pop shops out than big box stores)

 

[Drs2288]

If it has not been mentioned, .40 is WAY easier to find than .45, much cheaper too.

Last time i went into the shooters club one guy in there was saying how hard it was to find .40 and the prices were out the roof.

 

[Texas42]

Texas42, Im not even thinkin about carrying it anymore, lol. I have seen some really nice 1911's so i guess thats why i want one now.

Those 1911 do seem to have an appeal, don't they. There is a good chance my next one will be one (i'm deciding between that and a 357 mag revovler. . . .still deciding)

As to ammo avalability. The 45 auto isn't going anywhere. I hope that the ammo market continues to stabilize. It has been an interesting year. 8 months ago, all you could find was 10mm auto, 45 gap, and 357 sig. You still can't find 380 auto. I have usually found 2 of 3 (9mm luger, 40 S&W, and 45 auto) at walmart. Either way, I think it will get better. it will be a good time to get into reloading if the government doesn't do anything stupid in less than a year IMHO. Just depends on how tired you get of paying $30+ for 100 rounds of whatever you decide on.

 

[country_boy]

Those 1911 do seem to have an appeal, don't they. There is a good chance my next one will be one (i'm deciding between that and a 357 mag revovler. . . .still deciding)

As to ammo avalability. The 45 auto isn't going anywhere. I hope that the ammo market continues to stabilize. It has been an interesting year. 8 months ago, all you could find was 10mm auto, 45 gap, and 357 sig. You still can't find 380 auto. I have usually found 2 of 3 (9mm luger, 40 S&W, and 45 auto) at walmart. Either way, I think it will get better. it will be a good time to get into reloading if the government doesn't do anything stupid in less than a year IMHO. Just depends on how tired you get of paying $30+ for 100 rounds of whatever you decide on.

Ive been seeing both 45 and 40 for the past 2 months now at academy and and 45 at walmart. Texas42 get both the 357 mag and a 1911. Both are good.

 

[ftw13]

glock30sf

 

[ftw13]

just get it from academy or the gun show...don't pay over 520 for a glock unless it has night sights.

 

[Texas42]

Ive been seeing both 45 and 40 for the past 2 months now at academy and and 45 at walmart. Texas42 get both the 357 mag and a 1911. Both are good.

That is the long term plan. . . .

 

[ZX9RCAM]

My WM normally has 50-60 boxes of .40 at any time I've gone in there the last 6 weeks or so.....

 

[winston1911]

If it has not been mentioned, .40 is WAY easier to find than .45, much cheaper too.

Not my experience. I've been seeing .45acp a little bit more than .40S&W and at Academy 1 box of .40 costs 16.99 and .45 costs 18.99 per box - to me that's not much difference especially when you get more for your money with .45 - another reason to stay away from .40 cause you're not gonna save much shooting .40 over .45