Looking for a STI Trojan

[steel1212]

1. 40 S&W from what i've heard has mag / feeding problems

There are more mags, that have been around longer, and fine tuned more, for 45ACP. Find mags that work, and with a properly tuned/maintained gun, you shouldn't have any problems. It's not so much that 40 has problems, just that 45 is SOO GOOD at feeding. Just ask the Revolver guys - before you laugh, it's the same principle - bigger diameter with similar tolerances means it'll just work better when the ammo is slightly out of tolerance (more room for error in ammo).

2. 40 magazines seat better when full (8 round)

There is more room in the mags, but a decent 45 mag will seat absolutely fine - I love my ETM's just for this reason (longer mag body).

3. 40 bullets / brass are cheaper.

Yup.

I currently shoot a 45, but my next 1911 will be a 40. I am looking forward to the cheaper cost of reloading, while shooting the same long load as my limited gun requires. Load a bunch of ammo for 2 divisions rather than some for both - while being cheaper overall

Yup, buy a new gun, you'll save a ton of money on reloading....

How many loads of .40 over .45 do you think it will take to pay for a new gun?

Well when 230 grain FMJ .45s per 2k is 230$, 180 FMJ .40s are 214$, that is only a difference of 16$ right? Well now add the brass. Typically 2k of .45 is 100$ or so, 2k of 40s are 50$ and you can find a lot of it on the range. When you add the brass and bullets together per 2k you get a difference of 66$ per 2k rounds. So to get into a trojan your looking at about 32000 rounds...or for me 3-4 seasons and that is just matches not practice, and it might be less for others. Don't tell me, "well you can get lead .45 cheaper than XXX" your right but compare that to lead .40 also not JHP. Do I think it would be the only deciding factor, no probably not but it does help me save money when I'm not scrounging for brass. I usually end up with enough range pick up .40s for local matches and only buy once fired for majors. How much range pick up .45 can you find?

[Corey]

1. 40 S&W from what i've heard has mag / feeding problems

There are more mags, that have been around longer, and fine tuned more, for 45ACP. Find mags that work, and with a properly tuned/maintained gun, you shouldn't have any problems. It's not so much that 40 has problems, just that 45 is SOO GOOD at feeding. Just ask the Revolver guys - before you laugh, it's the same principle - bigger diameter with similar tolerances means it'll just work better when the ammo is slightly out of tolerance (more room for error in ammo).

2. 40 magazines seat better when full (8 round)

There is more room in the mags, but a decent 45 mag will seat absolutely fine - I love my ETM's just for this reason (longer mag body).

3. 40 bullets / brass are cheaper.

Yup.

I currently shoot a 45, but my next 1911 will be a 40. I am looking forward to the cheaper cost of reloading, while shooting the same long load as my limited gun requires. Load a bunch of ammo for 2 divisions rather than some for both - while being cheaper overall

Yup, buy a new gun, you'll save a ton of money on reloading....

How many loads of .40 over .45 do you think it will take to pay for a new gun?

Well when 230 grain FMJ .45s per 2k is 230$, 180 FMJ .40s are 214$, that is only a difference of 16$ right? Well now add the brass. Typically 2k of .45 is 100$ or so, 2k of 40s are 50$ and you can find a lot of it on the range. When you add the brass and bullets together per 2k you get a difference of 66$ per 2k rounds. So to get into a trojan your looking at about 32000 rounds...or for me 3-4 seasons and that is just matches not practice, and it might be less for others. Don't tell me, "well you can get lead .45 cheaper than XXX" your right but compare that to lead .40 also not JHP. Do I think it would be the only deciding factor, no probably not but it does help me save money when I'm not scrounging for brass. I usually end up with enough range pick up .40s for local matches and only buy once fired for majors. How much range pick up .45 can you find?

You can find a bunch when you follow me around after a BITB match

[BillD]

So about 32,000 rounds before you break even on the new gun. I'm all for new guns. It's just not going to be "cheaper".

Every now and then I'll find some .45 on the range. Not near as often as I used to. I buy it. And lose it at matches. Part of the cost of the game IMO.

I'm just pointing out there are a lot of reasons to change to .40 (it simplifies, only one caliber to reload, etc). Being cheaper (after figuring the price of the gun, mags) isn't one I can see.

I've never saved any money buying a gun

[EkuJustice]

Shoot a 45 currently but I think my next gun is gonna be a 9mm. Mimimal recoil, cheap to shoot and 2 extra rounds for shooting minor.

[steel1212]

So about 32,000 rounds before you break even on the new gun. I'm all for new guns. It's just not going to be "cheaper".

Every now and then I'll find some .45 on the range. Not near as often as I used to. I buy it. And lose it at matches. Part of the cost of the game IMO.

I'm just pointing out there are a lot of reasons to change to .40 (it simplifies, only one caliber to reload, etc). Being cheaper (after figuring the price of the gun, mags) isn't one I can see.

I've never saved any money buying a gun

Once you buy the gun, and load 32000 rounds of .40 instead of .45 you've broken even instead of loading .45 and everything you load past that is saving you money OVER loading .45. It just like reloading in general it isn't going to save you money really, just allow you to shoot more. Like I said if that was the only reason I would do it, then again I might just because any reason is a good reason for a new heater!

[G-ManBart]

Well when 230 grain FMJ .45s per 2k is 230$, 180 FMJ .40s are 214$, that is only a difference of 16$ right? Well now add the brass. Typically 2k of .45 is 100$ or so, 2k of 40s are 50$ and you can find a lot of it on the range. When you add the brass and bullets together per 2k you get a difference of 66$ per 2k rounds. So to get into a trojan your looking at about 32000 rounds...or for me 3-4 seasons and that is just matches not practice, and it might be less for others. Don't tell me, "well you can get lead .45 cheaper than XXX" your right but compare that to lead .40 also not JHP. Do I think it would be the only deciding factor, no probably not but it does help me save money when I'm not scrounging for brass. I usually end up with enough range pick up .40s for local matches and only buy once fired for majors. How much range pick up .45 can you find?

Hmmm...depends on the brand bullets, it would seem. If you use Montana Gold as a standard, the 230gr FMJs cost $27/K more than .40 180FMJs. That would make it a lot less than 32,000 rounds.

Still, I don't let dollars and cents be the only thing that drives my choices. If I thought a .45 was clearly superior in performance for what we do, I wouldn't have a .40 SS gun now. R,

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: I don't think there is that much difference between the 45 and the 40. They both can be made to work just fine. You find a combination that works best for you. I like the 45 with 200 grain bullets and the 40 with 185 grain bullets. If you are loading 40 for your limited setup then go with the 40. In the single stacks I like the 45 and the 9mm best. In limited I like the 40 best. In open I like my 9mm. Different strokes for different folks as they say. Buy what you like to shoot. Although a single stack in 9mm is pretty sweet Thanks, Eric