.45acp Wheelgun or 1911. What To Do?

[Phydeaux642]

I've been thinking about picking up another plinker for when I get to start reloading. I thought I was set on a Rock Island 1911 but now I am considering a revolver in .45acp. What path should I follow, Grasshopper? If it is the wheelgun, what model(s) do you like?

 

[earplug]

40 s&w?

While I enjoy my Springfield and my three 625's, I'd consider getting a 40 S&W as the brass and cost of bullets is a bit less. Many LEO agencies use the round and its becoming quite common at my range.
The S&W 610 has the option of shooting 10MM and several gun games favor the 40 over the 45 ACP.

 

[Big Daddy Grim]

I been lookin for a 610 but have not had any luck.

 

[Phydeaux642]

What got me thinking about a revolver was I overheard one of the guys at the gunshop say they were getting a 625 in on trade the other day. I go back in to look at it and the guy I was asking about it started laughing. He told me the guy wanted $1,100 in trade value for it. Needless to say, they passed. Who knows, maybe it was one of Jerry Miculek's personal guns.

 

[Sport45]

I'd go with a 1911, XD, Sig, Glock or whatever autoloader floats yuor boat. For me, the hassle of loading and unloading moon clips would be worse than loading mags and picking the brass off the ground. I prefer rimmed cartridges in my revolvers and .45AR isn't exactly plentiful and cheap.

 

[calaverasslim]

I have a Smith & Wesson M22 that you can't get from me. I never thought I would like an N frame but I fell in love with this one. I carry this one most of the time, loaded with 45 AR with a spare loaded moon clip as back up.

 

[Dan Crocker]

There's a company making polymer moon clips that are WAY easier to load and unload than the old steel ones.

 

[Gunfighter123]

If you will be reloading don't shy away from a revolver. The reason being that most of my "bad QC" reloads will chamber and shoot in my revolvers --- the autos in the same caliburs are a bit more demanding with sub-par ammo.

 

[BlindJustice]

For the O.P. - what do you have now - experience with Type and cartridge it is chambered for.

I have both; a S&W1911 and a S&W 625 5" Bbl. full underlug. It simplifies
just stocking .45 ACP. The rimless .45 ACP utilizes full moon clips
in order to make extraction of the spent cases easier. The revolvers in .45 ACP also chamber the .45 Auto Rim cartridge. Remington Peters created it
in 1920. THe .45 AR has a real rim for the extractor to gain purchase on for
extraction of the spent cases thus not needing full moon clips. My 625 is my favorite revolver - even though it has a bit more felt recoil than the 1911 semi-auto it is easy to manage the recoil for the low pressure .45 ACP or .45 AR loades.

Randall

 

[jonnyc]

For .45 plinking fun, nothing beats a S&W 1917.

 

[moooose102]

JMO, but the 45 was meant for automatics. if i want a big bore revovler (and i kind of do) it will be a 44 magnum.

 

[oldFred]

Like wheel guns AND reloading?? Why the heck are you not considering 45 LC??

You will probably have more fun with custom loads on a 45 LC wheel than ACP!

 

[Floppy_D]

I had this dilemma. I got a 1911 first, and then I got a Blackhawk in 45 Colt. You could get the one that has the 45acp cylinder, which should make things easy. On the other hand, 45 Colt revolvers can use the same powder, bullets and primers your 45acp autoloader could... just different brass. I'm a big fan of multitask reloading components. Just a thought.

edit: oldFred said exactly what I was thinking, I just used more words.

 

[Old Fuff]

If this revolver (or pistol) is going to be used for plinking and fun times at the range, consider getting one of the Colt clones or a Ruger single action with interchangable .45 Colt/.45 ACP cylinders. You avoid the bother of using clips, and speedy reloading isn't an issue. You may save some money too.

Otherwise, if you have decided to go to the .45 ACP (Colt Automatic Pistol) I would buy a handgun that matched the cartridge - namely a pistol.

 

[PcolaDawg]

I have both.

I also really like both, so I have a hard time recommending one over the other. If you get a .45 ACP revolver, though, I highly recommend the Smith & Wesson 625JM, pictured here:

 

[rbernie]

I've had both (625s, Taurus titanium snubby, and 1911s), and I vastly prefer the 1911.

 

[woad_yurt]

I have an M1917 S&W. .45 ACP is a cool, cool easy-shootin' revolver round. It's usually readily available, in many loadings and it's relatively, slightly affordable.

An original M1917 shooter costs less money than any of the newer offerings that I've seen.

 

[Brian Dale]

I've found the 4", N-frame S&W Model 22-4 to be a lot of fun. I like moon clips very well.

Nice picture, calaverasslim.

 

[SomeDude]

I've had my eye on S&W's Thunder Ranch revolver in .45acp. Perhaps one day...one day.

 

[weisse52]

I have a safe full of 1911's. I recommend them on a regular basis.
Accurate, rugged. A great choice.
Having said that, my all time favorite hand gun was a model 25 S&W in .45 ACP from the late 70's. I would trade anything in my safe to get my hands on that gun again.

The best answer is to get both.

 

[krs]

You need to have both.

I love the 1911 in all of it's forms and have 25 of them, I think. But I've got four revolvers that shoot the caliber too, and as much as I like shooting a 1911 I find that I really relax better when using one of the revolvers, especially my old Webley breaktop mark VI. I guess I never expect as much from them or myself even though I do believe that my 25-2 will outshoot any of the autos.

So it's a different experience and it's one that shouldn't be passed up.

More lately I've gotten two revolvers that shoot either .44 Spec. or, for one of them, .44 Mag. I don't really like shooting the magnum loads but I'm very much liking the old .44 Special caliber. My target load for that uses the exact 4.7 gr of bullseye as I usually use in practice with the 1911's, but the .44 is softer than the .45. I suppose it's that there's a little more free space in the case or that my .44 bullets are 40 gr. heavier.

With all of this I'm watching out for a revolver to start shooting .45 Colt. I think that the capacity of the case would make for quite a range of different experiences while still using one or two powders.

I hope that this has not been so brief that it offers no help in your decision at all...

 

[Mainer2009]

Well, I've been reading quite a bit of good things lately in gun magazines about Smith &Wesson's model 625"Jerry Miculek" 45 ACP revolver, it sure it nice looking, but then again, so are 1911's. I tend to favor revolvers over semi auto's, so I'd probley go with the M625. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Hostile Amish]

Why not get both? SW1911 + SW625, MSRP total about $1,200 or less.