Does a short barrel .45 make sense

[mmc45414]

I borrowed a new unfired Shield .45 … My hands, which are small, preferred the Shield to the G30. If the Shield had another inch of barrel, I would probably bought one.

I have the Shield 45. The primary reason I got it is because it is just a little bit BIGGER than the 9mm, and my small hand fits on the grip without the extended magazine. I have always thought a 4" Shield would be great, with the grip being molded to the length of the current extended magazines. It could be like a $300 Polymer Commander. Now they are offering a 4" version but I just can't get my brain to accept the magazine being part of the grip frame.

While I like my 45 Shield it gets almost no use. Loaded it is too heavy for elastic pants and if I am wearing a belt I am carrying a normal pistol.

[willie]

I have both calibers in the Shield. Sometimes I carry the 9. The .45 lives in a small cabinet next to my easy chair. I shoot both about the same. The 45 is accurate and reliable with factory target 185 gr jacketed swc. Having a case of this ammo, I decided to use this in the 45 Shield as I fool around and fish and play in rural areas. You will have to expend great effort to locate defense ammo that will demonstrate adequate performance in the 45 Shield.

[Baldanders]

My only real question about my short barrel .45 (CW45).

Does it give me an advantage over a 9mm (with 147 grain jhp) for a mercy shot on downed livestock with my 230 grain Gold Dot carry ammo?

Because that scenario is way more likely than self-defense in my rural milieu. And the hive says .45 ACP is better on bovine skull shots than 9mm, in general .

Other than that, I don't care at all. The only reason I have a .45 Kahr, not a 9mm, is the 9mm at my LNGS had a shit trigger, the .45 was great, so I gave it a try.

[corneileous]

Well, since the general consensus here says that short-barreled 45’s aren’t all that great- which I’m not necessarily arguing with, it makes a little bit of sense actually but since I’m already the still proud owner of my XDE Springfield 3.3, what would be a good defense ammo for this pistol if the barrel is really too short? So far I’ve just been practicing with regular ole 230gr FMJ’s and carry Federal Premium 230gr HST’s for defense.

I got no problem with 9mm, I just chose the 45 in this pistol because of the fact that since both are single stack, comparing only 9+1 rounds with the extended magazine in the 9mm to 8+1 with extended magazine in the 45, I figured more punch would be better even though it had less rounds. That, and the several ballistics videos I watched with the 230gr HST’s that was fired into ballistics gel through denim, seemed sufficient to me.


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[BehindBlueI's]

Side discussions culled, let's keep it on topic.

@DocGKR any input on ammo selection for short barrel .45 Auto?

[45dotACP]

If a short barreled .45 was all I had, I'd carry it with target loaded wadcutters, much in the same vein as carrying wadcutters in a snub. The recoil won't be as bad, you'll get decent accuracy and good enough penetration and the added positive of not cycling the slide as fast as a +P 230 gr. HST might make the shorter framed guns a little less likely to malfunction.

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[Trooper224]

In a shorter barreled gun I'd go with a lighter projectile, an 185 or 200 grain bullet.

[jd950]

I like the .45 and many of the guns made for it. It just loses too much juice in a short barrel for me to trust it for life-saving purposes. If I were going to carry a 3-3.5" .45 for defense/leo use, the only load I know of and that I would feel comfortable with is a 185 Barnes Copper hollowpoint as put out by a couple of different manufactures.

If one wants a short barrel gun and doesn't like 9mm and can't/won't shoot the exotic ammo, then a 180 grain .40 works fine assuming you can shoot it well enough.

The above are my opinions. I am not an expert. My opinions are based on what experts have said and what I have seen and read. If my opinion doesn't work anyone, please ignore it and do what makes you feel good.

[corneileous]

If a short barreled .45 was all I had, I'd carry it with target loaded wadcutters, much in the same vein as carrying wadcutters in a snub. The recoil won't be as bad, you'll get decent accuracy and good enough penetration and the added positive of not cycling the slide as fast as a +P 230 gr. HST might make the shorter framed guns a little less likely to malfunction.

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Ok so, after reading this article about full wadcutters and semi-wadcutters, explain to me please on why this would make a good self defense round? Keep in mind, I know little to nothing about wadcutter ammo even after reading this article.


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[corneileous]

In a shorter barreled gun I'd go with a lighter projectile, an 185 or 200 grain bullet.

How come? For recoil reduction? Does this recommendation have anything to do with a faster/lighter bullet having better chances at expansion compared to a slower/heavier bullet? What about barrier penetration through a car door with a 165, 185, 200 or 230gr 45? I ask this because since I spend the majority of my time in a semi, and with all this rioting crap going on, I would think that my chances of having to shoot through my truck door would be more common than the short time I spend outside of the truck but still, both environments still exist so I can understand finding a happy medium for both.


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