45ACP popularity .

[Capybara]

Boomers love the 45...it's old fat and slow just like them

I've had LE tell me Speer Gold Dot 124gr 9mm has the same stopping power as 45ACP so why not carry the additional rounds.

Having said all that, I like to train with my G41 MOS. Afterwards, when I switch to my 19 or 34, it feels like I'm shooting a 22.

That's good! Made me laugh.

Stopping power in handguns is a myth. https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/st...a-myth-mostly/

[Cowboy T]

If it does, it will take a very long time, as in decades. Too many cartridge types have tried to unseat the most popular centerfire handgun cartridge and all of them have failed up to this point. 5.7 FN, 10mm, .40 S&W, .357 Sig, and now 30 Super Carry. I'm sure there's more than those, just those are the really recent ones I can think of. A similar case can be made for .327 Federal Magnum trying to get a toe in to the very popular .357 Magnum round. Almost the same size, about the same amount of energy, more capacity. Yet, how many people shoot that round? And how easy is it to find that ammo?

These are solution cartridges for a question nobody asked.

Yes, if ammo prices of that cartridge comes down, it would be more attractive, however, (many) more guns need to be able to chamber it. And for that to happen, more people would need to shoot that round, like it, and recommend it to their circle of shooters. That would create demand on the gunmakers to make guns to chamber it, and so the whole cycle would start building up, more gun choices, lower ammo prices, etc...

.45 ACP is in a comfortable position, I think, because it already has a huge following of dedicated shooters and has a very large selection of guns that chamber it, plus, (and here's a big one), it's different enough from 9mm to have its own merits.

This same sort of discussion/debate has been going on with the .30-06 for decades. Yet the good ol' .30-06 remains hugely popular. Not saying other good cartridges like .308 Win, 223 Rem, and 6.5 Creedmoor aren't also popular--they are, and with good reasaon--but the .30-06 remains popular for one simple reason: it does just about everything really well, and with the newer bullets and powders (e. g. Superformance) that have come out, the ol' granddad is even better at doing everything well than before. Hard to beat that.

Similar logic goes for .45 ACP. It works. It does the job. That's why it remains popular today, even though 9mm is by far the most popular handgun cartridge. We sell plenty of .45 ACP handguns, and ammo, in an area where there are not just the "old guys", but also younger shooters, too. There was a couple of girls in their mid-20's, one of whom had just bought a Glock 21 in .45 ACP. She bought it because it fit her hand very well under recoil, and because she likes to shoot it. She's far from alone among our customers.

Come to think of it, .38 Special also remains very popular, even though it, too, is supposedly "outdated". We sell and rent plenty of .38 Specials, too. Not usre if it was 1900 or 1902 that it came out, but either way, that ol' granddad cartridge gets the job done, too, especially .38 Spl +P with the right hollowpoint.

So, just because a cartridge might be "old" doesn't mean I'm going to throw it away. Not if it's still working. And for that reason, I use .38/357, .44 Spl/Mag, .45 Colt, 9mm Luger, and .45 ACP. Oh, and .30-06 and 7.62x54R, too.

[Sohum63]

I bought a few extra .45 caliber guns to use up all those large pistol primers I've had stashed ...

Same here. I made the ?mistake? of getting quit a few large pistol primers just before prices jumped up and they all disappeared. Fortunately got plenty of small pistol as well but sense the majority of my shooting is 9 and 38 I can?t figure out why I got so many large. But that just means I?ll be loading for and shooting some of the 45s to use some of them up so I?ll be ok.

[TrappedinCalifornia]

...So, just because a cartridge might be "old" doesn't mean I'm going to throw it away. Not if it's still working. And for that reason, I use .38/357, .44 Spl/Mag, .45 Colt, 9mm Luger, and .45 ACP. Oh, and .30-06 and 7.62x54R, too.

I think you're circling around the point; i.e., they aren't necessarily the current 'fad' and are, therefore, "old."

.38 Special came out in 1898.

.357 Magnum was introduced in 1935.

.44 Special in 1907 and .44 Magnum in 1954/1955.

.45 Long Colt was created as a black powder cartridge in 1872.

9mm Luger hit the scene in 1901.

Of course, time came to a halt when the John Moses Browning came up with the 45 ACP in 1904/1905 and the military adopted it and his handgun on March 29, 1911.

Just like the .30-06 was developed in... 1906... and the 7.62 x 54R was adopted in 1891. The .30-30 in 1895 and the .270 Winchester was invented in 1923, hitting the market in 1925.

All of that hints at the problem. Most of the venerable, still functional, popular, and versatile cartridges were invented and/or introduced long ago. While 'refinements' have been on-going, they've all been doing their job for decades. The problem? Such becomes difficult to market in a 'latest and greatest' campaign. Likewise, who wants to use 'the same' cartridge their great or great-great or great-great-great grandfather used? Ewwww.

Thus, a whole generation was 'sold' on the idea that the 'new' stuff must be... 'better' because it is new(er). Yet, even there, some of those aren't exactly 'young.' For instance, the 10mm came out in 1983, 40 years ago, and the .40 S&W in 1990, 33 years ago. So... the marketing department needs something 'new' to push while the 'old standbys' just keep on doing what they were intended to do and doing it as well or, in some cases, even better than they did a century or more ago.

It all kinda reminds me of...

[FNGGlock]

Of course, time came to a halt when the John Moses Browning came up with the 45 ACP in 1904/1905 and the military adopted it and his handgun on March 29, 1911.

And 1911s are still very popular today.

[omega]

45 acp is here to stay , it's like a HARLEY , old reliable , Americans like it

it's part of our history , it's been to H@LL and back , the same cartridge your grandfathers carried in combat.

[FNGGlock]

45 acp is here to stay , it's like a HARLEY , old reliable , Americans like it

it's part of our history , it's been to H@LL and back , the same cartridge your grandfathers carried in combat.

Not just that, it is still very effective as a handgun cartridge.

[LoadedM333]

45 acp is here to stay , it's like a HARLEY , old reliable , Americans like it

it's part of our history , it's been to H@LL and back , the same cartridge your grandfathers carried in combat.

Not only Americans like it. I've been to shooting range in Thailand, more than half of the people at the range were shooting .45ACP in 1911 platform.

Also met a few of Thai police, they were all carrying Colt 1911.

.45 is here to stay.