Uses for Full Size .45s

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wanderinwalker



My sentiments exactly though I always liked the heft of the Combat Commander in .45 while preferring the lighter weight of the Commander in .38 Super/9mm.

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I do really like the idea of a lightweight Commander in .38 Super. My full-size .38 Super is always a treat on the range and quite an attention getter when using full-power loads with Longshot (Loud-shot). People always assume it's some kind of 10mm or Magnum revolver before they see it.

My .45 in it's normal condition: dirty and in use outside.

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(It's currently wearing a set of orange VZ 320 stocks, not the Worple double-diamonds in the picture.)
 
What can't you do with full size 45's? Besides being an excellent competition, range gun...they're excellent home defense weapons or woods guns. Unlike poly guns, they have enough heft to be used as a tactical glass breaking tool for motorists.Quickly adds ventilation holes to your 55gal drum burn barrels. They open bottles, cans or stubborn glass jars. It slices, it dices it juliannes fries!:D
 
Sure glad to hear people still use these guns; around here their considered obsolete and old man's guns; truthfully, I really like the P220 and can still shoot it well. I'd like to feel more comfortable carrying it(mental thing) as I now carry a P229 9mm(bought into the more capacity idea). I know I'd have a difficult time selling either(85%+ want a striker 9). For those still carrying your P220, how do you do it?
 
I carried a P220 every day for 12 years. Carried a Springfield Mil-Spec 191 every day for about 4 years.
Both usually OWB in a pancake holster. Occasionally in a shoulder rig.
 
rpenparker

One source of the conversion slides is CWAccessories.com which I recommend very highly. Others are from Marvel, Nelson, and Advantage Arms.
I would add the TacSol 2211 conversion kit to your list also. Well made and a solid performer, it's a quick and easy fit on my Essex 1911 frame.

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wanderinwalker

I had a couple of Colt Governments in .38 Super. They were okay but for some unknown reason I always liked the shorter slide of the Commander and Combat Commander in .38 Super.
 
I have a 1911 "GI Model" and a Ruger P90. They're in the full-sized low-capacity category, I suppose.

Mine get shot at the range and are perfectly acceptable for HD. Due to the size of my hands, I prefer larger handguns. To me 45acp feels about like the other normal service calibers. There's no particular reason for me to prefer one to another.

Due to size and weight, they are also pretty good doorstops. :)
 
I have a Ruger P90 that I sometimes carry IWB in a Blade-Tech holster, shoot at the local range, and keep perched in the nightstand when not otherwise in use.
 
My nightstand pistol is a full-size SIG P320 .45 ACP with a Streamlight TLR-2 mounted on the rail, 10 round magazine capacity. Before I bought that SIG it was a Stoeger Cougar 8045 with an 8 round magazine capacity.

My model 1911s are range toys, but they are some of my favorite range toys.
 
... What do you guys do with your large frame low capacity .45s?
The last large "low capacity" (7rd mag) .45 that I carried was my Colt Combat Commander (brushed nickel) in the latter half of the '70s.

These days, my classic big steel 1911 .45s get used very little use except for loads development.

If I tried to carry one now as I used to in a pancake holster under my sport jacket/suit coat, my pants would probably fall down. :)

Currently, when I conceal-carry a .45, it is usually my G30S (9rd mag), my "lower capacity" SA XDs (5rd mag) or, on rare occasions, one of my "lower capacity" Star PDs (6rd mag).

I still find my 1911s to be a real pleasure to shoot.
 
Shoot. Clean. Admire. Repeat.

(I've got the itch for another one, maybe a G21 just to be different.)
 
I know a guy that drives a 1950's Buick as his daily driver, rain or shine. Hundreds of thousands of miles. It is a big, heavy, inefficient car that he loves. I suspect he has a 1911. LOL.

But regarding the nightstand gun comments...

I don't understand the logic. When I am out in the world, I want a pistol with the best balance of concealability, capacity, and effectiveness. That is usually either a G19 with 15 rounds of 9mm or a S&W M&P40c with 10 rounds of .40 S&W.

But when I'm at home, in my castle, I can have a nearly unlimited amount of rounds and firepower handy. I have a S&W M&P40 full size with a tac light and 15 rounds of .40 S&W in the nightstand drawer. The next gun I get to is a PCC with 33-rounds of 9mm, and a tac light.

Why do some people intentionally limit their firepower to only 7 or 8 rounds when they could have nearly any amount?
 
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