45 ACP continues to be the quintessential American fighting man’s semi-auto handgun caliber, even after the US military adopted a newer sidearm platform in 1985 - the higher capacity Beretta M9 chambered for the 9mm. It was a game changer.Īfter more than a hundred years, the. The powder charge in the cartridge was enough to send the bullet out of the handgun’s barrel at speeds reaching ~900 feet per second. 451-inch diameter projectile weighing 200 grains that could be fired from an earlier semi-automatic handgun Browning also designed - the Model 1905, which was eventually replaced by the Model 1911. A Moro warrior could be shot six times center of mass but still end up slashing the neck of the soldier who shot him. 38 Long Colt’s ineffectiveness in the battlefield caused a lot of unnecessary casualties on the side of the US. 38 Long Colt, the parent cartridge of the. The US military needed a more powerful cartridge to replace their standard-issue Colt Model 1892 New Army double-action revolvers chambered for the. In the late 1800s, the legendary John Moses Browning designed and developed the.45 ACP to aid the US military in their search for a sidearm caliber capable of stopping what was then arguably the most persistent and resilient enemy they had ever come face to face with during the Philippine-American War: the Moro Juramentados. If you’re like all the other people who emailed me wanting to know which of these two handgun calibers you’re better off with, stick around through the end of this article - maybe you’ll figure out for yourself how one is better than the other for your situation. 45 ACP - it’s time to give my two cents on the subject. Now that I have two 1911s - one in 9mm and another in. I figured I’ve been avoiding this debate for too long.

Yes, I’m fully aware that double stack compact pistols are the way to go, but this piece was offered to me by my LGS for such a tempting price ($700) that I just couldn’t find it in my heart to refuse.

45 ACP is on the higher end of most ballistics charts in terms of terminal performance, I recognize that it has its downsides - areas where smaller diameter handgun calibers are better performers.Īnd so I recently picked up a 1911 chambered in 9mm - a Ruger SR1911 Model 6722 single stack with a 4.25-inch barrel. But for the purposes of this article, I’ll stop talking about the. 22 LR can maim or kill anyone just fine under the right circumstances. So despite my biases, I don’t think either of the two calibers I love is the be-all-and-end-all of handgun cartridges - even the lowly. In this regard, I have respect for all manners of firearms and all kinds of ammunition. It doesn’t matter what the bullet’s size and velocity is - if it’s powerful enough to penetrate several inches of human tissue, it will cause damage and potentially take someone’s life. One doesn’t have to like something to have some form of respect for it. A firearm and the cartridge it’s chambered for work collectively as a tool to either deter crime, incapacitate, or kill a bad guy. I’ll never take a liking to any other handgun calibers besides these, ever.īut just because I don’t like other calibers as much doesn’t mean I don’t have respect for them. 45 ACP - growing up in a household where only these two handgun calibers are favored, I am biased. I’m an all-steel 1911 and magnum revolver kind of guy. Those of you frequently visiting Gun News Daily and reading my articles are probably already aware about my preferences when it comes to handguns and calibers for self-defense. For some reason, I’m getting a lot of emails from our readers requesting for me to write a piece on the subject.

Muzzle velocity of 9mm