compact 45s

OK time for a lively discussion. I want a compact 45 as my next handgun. Here's what I want as features - decent capacity (6 is not nice, 10 good!), not DAO due to longer trigger pull, cost of course, Grip size. Grip is very important as I have small hands (you know what they say about small hands? Small gloves) I tried the parahawgs and they disqualify due to price and grip size. I fit a normal 226 or 1911 grip great so it would have to be single stack or staggered not double stacked. Not crazy about the sig250, I held it and it just was wrong. H&K nice but cost high range. So let the opinions fly! Oh and edited to say lets not bring 40s into it - i have too many calibers as iyt is and I have a couple 45s already so keeping to that caliber. thanks

Detonics Combat Master, thread closed

I guess you could throw in that wimpy Springfield EMP too

Sig GSR RCS is what I have also Sig 220 SAO. size comparison, bottom is a Sig 226

Top right GSR
Top Left Sig 220

colt defender

I don't think there is any way you would be able to get 10 rounds of .45 single stack in a compact pistol, unless the magazine hangs wayyyyy out. My full size Ruger P90 will only hold 7 single stack.

It's a double stack, but the GLOCK 30 SF might work for you. As has been mentioned, single stack .45s aren't going to give you much capacity.

in a compact I think 7 is max, heck my 220 only holds 8 single stack

I love my Colt Defender. Small and light. Packs the usual punch.

My little PT145 write up from another thread below. Some people do not like Taurus but a third gen PT series has few common problems. :

I own a PT145 and bought it specifically for future carry purposes. 100% reliable thus far with FMJ and JHP. About 300 rounds of JHP and over 2K (could be 3K?) FMJ. Kicks pretty good with Corbon +P lol. I don't keep the +P in it though as I don't feel I will get much performance increase with the short barrel. The extra recoil just is not worth it.

I have big hands with long fingers and the gun fits nicely. 10+1 rounds of .45 goodness in a small and light frame. It is a bit wider than the Kahr though, but I think the larger capacity would be worth it.

Everyone seems to shoot the PT145's low. The Hienie sights are different than other sights and you have to put that front dot covering the target. I shaved down my front sight right to the top of the dot because they leave an excess amount of material over that front dot and for me it obscured too much of the target. Plus, I tend to shoot everything low. 20 minutes worth of work took care of it.

For anyone looking for one of these, get a third generation! The first two generations had a few problems, the third does not.

The action is SA/DA. That is not a misprint, there is no de-cock. When a round is loaded into the chamber, the pistol is in SA. The trigger pull is long and very light with a lot of take up. If a round misfires, the pistol goes into DA for a second strike on the same round. I understand it, but I am still doing a tap, rack, bang lol. You have to get used to the trigger which takes about 50 rounds at first. It's light and the reset isn't at all bad, but that long take up is different than any other gun I shoot.

The safety is very secure and easy to flick on and off. I have never seen it move without my doing it. I carry it where I can with one in the tube and safety on. I know of people who carry it with the safety off, but I wouldn't.

Not a fun gun to shoot because the checkering is deep and sharp. Great for a secure hold, rough on the hands with a .45. Recoil is very manageable with standard loads, I was shocked. I can do 3" groups at 7yds on a decent day. I can keep it on paper (11x8.5) at 17yds. OK, maybe a little better than that but it's not what I would call extremely accurate, just combat accurate....it's a 3.25" barrel after all.

Over all, it's a great gun and it would be my choice for carry since I am a .45 whore and have found nothing else that provides the size, weight, capacity and reliability at anywhere near the price.

My back up would be a small .357 revolver....looking into that now.

Splitter

G30SF or M&P 45c, 9/10rds and 8rds respectively, both doublestack.

They are classified as DAO, but do not really operate as a DAO which is a someone antiquated term when describing striker fired guns, more like a 2 stage trigger with a long and light takup with short and distinctive break on the first shot, and a short reset/pull on the rest, if you are getting this to carry, both are proven, and this is one of the better trigger systems you can get, both are reasonably priced, and fit medium hands well.

I just picked up a Ruger P345 - it holds 8+1 in a single-stack magazine. One of the reasons I bought it was the grip - I have kind of small hands as well, and this feels great to me. Only possible downside is that this model has a magazine disconnect safety - I don't mind it, but you might...there is a quick modification to 'correct' this. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but most reviews seem to be positive. It's a great value as well - at least when compared to Sigs and various 1911s that have been recommended.

Brian_in_EC said:

I just picked up a Ruger P345 - it holds 8+1 in a single-stack magazine. One of the reasons I bought it was the grip - I have kind of small hands as well, and this feels great to me. Only possible downside is that this model has a magazine disconnect safety - I don't mind it, but you might...there is a quick modification to 'correct' this. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but most reviews seem to be positive. It's a great value as well - at least when compared to Sigs and various 1911s that have been recommended.

Click to expand...

what are the legal rammifications of "correcting" the magazine disconnect? i.e having to use the gun in a defensive situation?

Onua said:

what are the legal rammifications of "correcting" the magazine disconnect? i.e having to use the gun in a defensive situation?

Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean? The magazine disconnect is just an additional safety that prevents the gun from firing if the magazine is out. The P345 also has a regular manual safety on the slide.

Are you worried that if you actually use the gun to defend yourself, and during the investigation it's determined that you tinkered with the factory operation of your handgun, that it would create some additional liability? I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see how it would be an issue. Consider that the vast majority of handguns are designed without this feature - I just don't see it being a problem.

Wilson Combat KZ Compact. 9+1, polymer frame no larger than std 1911, great trigger, night sights, and shoots like a Wilson combat. Only downside is they don't make them anymore so you would have to find a used one.

Onua said:

what are the legal rammifications of "correcting" the magazine disconnect? i.e having to use the gun in a defensive situation?

Click to expand...

I don't believe there are any legal rammifications to modding this in this state. MD doesn't require the disconnect... I think CA or MA do.

I have a Beretta Cougar 8045F that I like a lot. They're been discontinued but you can still find them. Stoeger has taken over making the Cougar and they seem to be pretty reasonably priced.

Onua said:

what are the legal rammifications of "correcting" the magazine disconnect? i.e having to use the gun in a defensive situation?

Click to expand...

99.9% of the time nothing, kinda like HP ammo, powerful calibers like 10mm. and guns with trigger jobs the vast majority of the time, it doesn't even come up in court, or make it to court in the first place with good or even most questionable shoots. There were a few cases though in the early days of concealed carry, and other shootings where a bad or questionable shoot made it to court, and the prosecutor, or plaintiff in a civil case claimed routine modifications or "extra super deadly" ammo indicated malice on the part of the shooter. Those tactics almost never worked then, and really never work now, if a modification gives you a better chance to put more rounds on target, and stop a threat quicker, than it is several times more likely to save your life on the street than cost your freedom if the case makes it to court. The only exception is using handloads, where on rare occasions, the police want to verify facts with ballistics testing, but instead of obtaining sample ammo from an independent source, they have to rely on the shooter for reloads of the same design, or load data to reproduce them, both instances rely on blind faith in the word of the shooter, not something that goes over too well in court, so if ballistics data would help you, it would likely be inadmisable, course that is outside of the issues with reliability, metal fatigue in the brass, lack of factory sealant, and the like inherent with reloads.

However, magazine disconnects can be useful if trained around them, at worst, you can't fire that one round in the chamber if you have to reload before slide lock, and it adds one more thing to go wrong in a mechanical device. However if you practice tactical reloads, or emergency slide lock reloads, it makes little if any difference being there is either no round in the chamber anyway, or there is only a fraction of a second where the mag is not inserted. It also allows you to temporarily deactivate the pistol by simply dropping the mag, useful if you have failed at basic tactics, and end up in a struggle for the gun, or if you want a loaded pistol on your night stand, but have kids in the house, and have failed at teaching them gun safety, drop the mag, keep it on you and use it kind like a key. Some designs also have a little bit of spring pressure pushing the mag down due to the mechanism, and this can help push the mag out during speed reloads, or double feed jams, where the mag tends to jam up tight in the well, conversely it may be a little more difficult to seat a fresh mag aggainst this same spring.

Overall, I prefer not to have a mag disconnect in order to keep the mechanism simple, however if a pistol has one, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it because of a disconnect, or bother with disabling it, the extremely rare occasions where it could be useful or harmful are miniscule in comparison to the times it would have no bearing on anything.

id for the springfield XD .45C

If you don't mind the Glock trigger. The g30 sf is a very nice gun. I just picked one up myself. Also, if 10 rounds isn't enough you can use a g21 mag.