[bcgunner]

Except for mag capacity, what other reasons are there for shooters in Standard Division to prefer .40 over .45?

Does .40 recoil less than .45 when both are loaded to the same power factor?

Ammo cost maybe? Wouldn't the diff be negligible if you roll your own?

TIA for your responses.

bcgunner

 

[Para-Man]

No clue,I shoot 45 in all my shooting games.

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14 is better than 8

 

[RickB]

I much prefer the .45 ACP as cartridge for a weapon, but if I was just getting into gaming, I'd definitely go with a .40. The brass is almost free. I think only a relatively few shooters could gain any advantage from the difference in recoil. The difference is more in quality than quantity.

 

[Tom Freeman]

Rick is right on. It’s all a matter of quantity.

I don’t shoot standard, just USPSA limited, but I do have a few short IPSC "box" legal mags.

A USPSA legal 140mm Limited STI/SV mag will hold 20 rounds of 40 and 21 in a Para. A 140mm STI/SV mag will only hold 16 rounds of 45 and, I think 18 in a Para. Standard division mags will hold 2-3 less.

Going into two close 8 round arrays with only 16 rounds does not leave any room for slop. If you flub one shot you now have to do another reload. A reload that a guy shooting a 40 wouldn’t even have to think about.

40 brass and bullets are cheaper also. Not a lot mind you, but enough to make a difference in the long haul.

Some say the 40 is softer than the 45. They get a lot more Zen about IPSC than I care to. I can’t tell any difference. They might also be the same guys who can feel the difference between CCI primers and Winchester primers...

Tom
AF Shooting Team


[This message has been edited by Tom Freeman (edited 09-27-2001).]

 

[hhsmiley]

I just switched to an STI .40 for mostly for the reason that Tom Freeman mentioned above. At practically every match there was more than one stage that I would have an extra reload on. I was shooting a .45 Kimber polymer with 16 rd mags. That usually cost me on those stages.

As to the difference in recoil, to me the .40 recoils lighter but is "snappier", while the .45 is a stronger recoil but is more of a sustained "push". As far as that goes it's just whichever feels better to you and allows you to get back on target quicker. If you haven't had a chance to compare them, and if there's a range near you where you can rent guns, I'd suggest shooting both calibers to kind of get a feel for it.

 

[angie diaz]

Tom what do think about a 40 single stack? For L10? thanks

 

[Tom Freeman]

Angie, here is my take on 40 in a single stack.

If you reload, good deal. This is the biggest single factor.

If you are building a gun for the Single Stack Classic, where mag length is an issue, good deal.

If you don’t reload, bad deal.

If you are planning on shooting USPSA Limited 10, bad deal. L-10 doesn’t care how long or fat your mags are, just don’t put more than 10 rounds in them. Nobody makes a 10 round mag in 40. Some 45 mags will work, but they may take some tweaking to get it right. Even then, they might not be 100%. Using factory mags you end up shooting Limited-9.

All that said, I like mine. Its built on a Caspian Single Stack Race Ready Frame and a Schuemann AET barrel. I gaffed off the Bomars and went with the Heinie low mounts. I haven’t had any problems at all other than it doesn’t like ammo loaded longer than 1.180. I am now load all my 40 to 1.169. I use CMC 10mm mags.

Good luck to you. I hope I didn’t muddy your water too much.

Tom
AF Shooting Team

 

[Silver Surfer]

BCgunner- I like the fourty-five! I need all the help I can get, It gets me closer to the "A Zone"

Tom seen your pic in front sight. Did'nt yo mama tell you its not nice to turn your back toward people

 

[Tom Freeman]

Surfer, just remember, that big 45 also gets you closer to that no-shoot...

Mom said something about turning my back. I think. She also said never put your gun through a port. But, she didn’t say anything about your whole upper body through a port. Don’t you just hate those gamers?

Tom
AF Shooting Team

 

[abnranger]

Rumor has it the recoil spike of the 40 is"quicker", whatever that means. The 40 does have a problem when loading long heavy 200+gr bullets of pressure if not loaded out to 10mm length. Which brings us to the question if you want to shoot a 10mm whynot laod 10mm's; stronger cartridge can do what the 40 does and more. Drawback 10mm brass is pricey, and lots of folks say they don't feed in fat guns, Glocks run fine.

The big difference, you gotta have mo rounds in IPSC, so the 40 is popular.

 

[bcgunner]

Thanks all for your responses. I pretty much figured the main advantage of .40 over .45 is mag capacity. I'm in Canada and mag capacity is not a real issue here because we're all limited to mags with 10 rounds.

 

[supercomp]

bcgunner, take a look at a para P-14, for limited 10, I got a buddy who shoots in BC, who tells me they are cheap up there. also, check out the mecgar 10 round para mags, their 1/2 the price of the factory para, cheaper than a wilson or brown single stack 10 rounder, and they work great.

and Tom, I gotta defend the Surfer, I've shot with him for years, and he doesn't shoot many no-shoots. usually no more than 3 or 4 a match.

 

[Electric_Armadillo]

Here's a little tip for the .40 reloaders. Around here all the cop ranges have .40 cases strewn everywhere, and since the ammo is department issued, no one collects them to reload.

Its a nice source of free cases if your police department doesn't mind someone cleaning the range for them.

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-Electric Armadillo-