40 vs 45

[johnny7]

To the shooters that have both calibers, how much differenc is there in felt recoil in a 40 vs 45? Same kinda gun be it a single stack or a double stack, such as two sti, one in 40 and one in 45. Lets say you are

shooting a 200 gr bullet in both just how much difference is the felt recoil and can you get the second shot off faster in

one over the other?

thanks

Johnny

[CocoBolo]

There are few that shoot 200gr in 40, and the reason is it takes good brass to pull it off. I do shoot 45 with 200gr Precision SWC loaded with 4.3gr of Clays and 40 with 185gr Precision FN w/4.8gr of WST. I tend to think of recoil and flip as two distinct things and break flip into early and late. But the bottom line is I don't sense much difference at all, if anything the 45 seems to be a not a rough as the 40. Where the bad part starts is with the mag capacity, that said I can shoot 21 rounds a lot faster in the 40 than the 45. STI HPF Edge vs Caspain Custom SS. I run a 12# recoil spring in both guns, they stay pretty flat and the recoil is no big thing.

Edited July 14, 2010 by CocoBolo

[ParaGunner]

I just switched from a 45 to a 40 and can't tell any difference in recoil. They are both loaded to the same power factor.

[G-ManBart]

At the same power factor they're going to be pretty darned close. The .45 might be a touch softer since the larger bore would give less of a jet effect as well as be running lower pressure. R,

[johnny7]

That is kinda what I was thinking. I guess the only advantage of the 40 is mag capacity.

[Seth]

There are few that shoot 200gr in 40, and the reason is it takes good brass to pull it off.

There are plenty of folks that shoot 200gr bullets in .40... Hodgdon lists no fewer than 14 200gr loads with various powders in .40 --- most of which make major. I'm not quite sure how the quality of the brass has much to do with it.

Comparatively speaking, the 200gr .40 loads I've shot, especially those using Clays, haven't felt considerably different than my 200gr SWC .45 clays load.

[twodownzero]

45 is much softer.

If the 40 is a single stack, the fact that it is much easier to reload is a major advantage.

[North]

That is kinda what I was thinking. I guess the only advantage of the 40 is mag capacity.

And component cost.

[blaster113]

Recoil wise, the .40 feels a little snappier compared to the .45 but at similar bullet weights the difference is negligible. Definitely .40 is a lot cheaper in regards to components, especially when you can get once fired .40 brass cheap or even free.

[ST43130]

Maybe not apples to apples, but I am currently in the process of switching from a 1911 in 45 to a 2011 in 40, and 200 SWC in 45 compared to 180 in the 40 but both roughly the same power factor. The 45 is softer feeling, but the muzzle rise is significantly more. With the 40 the front sight tends to hang around the same area. Another difference maybe the 2011 is also the sight tracker w/fiber optic, so maybe I can just see it better than the flat black blade on the 45.

[pvhendrix]

My experience is that in a fat frame gun I don't notice any difference. I shoot 180 gr in .40 and 230 in 45 as I don't reload.

In a Single Stack gun I feel that the .40 has a little more muzzel rise or snap at the wrist and the 45 has more of a push back into the arms. Both of my guns crono at 180-187 pf with respective ammo.

I shoot mostly .40 in both type of guns, as I have a more ready supply of ammo and find it less expensive to buy the 45.

[steel1212]

The .45 has a push type of recoil. The .40 has more of a snap recoil. I prefer the .40's recoil impulse to that of the .45. Then again a lot of people don't enjoy shooting my guns with my loads either.

[JBo]

I had had a 45 for years, actually I just sold it. I am a big fan of the 40. U can get alot more shots, plus the recoil is about the same I think. It's also cheaper to shoot.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: If you use the 230 grain bullets in the 45acp you get more torque(twist) in the hand. If you use a 165 grain in the 40 you get more muzzle flip(vertical). I have been using 200 grain Precision Moly's in the 45 and 185 Precisions in the 40 at the same power factor and powder. I like the 45 better for some reason The recoil is about the same with both being on the snappy side at 171PF. The 45 just seems to track better for me and besides it makes bigger holes Thanks, Eric

[Corey]

[G-ManBart]

45 is much softer.

If the 40 is a single stack, the fact that it is much easier to reload is a major advantage.

Much softer at the same power factor with the same weight bullet? You've tried this and worked it up on a chrono (to ensure same PF)?

I've got both .40 and .45 single stacks, and if there's any difference, it's extremely small....beyond what most people could tell in a blind test.

How is is any "easier to reload" a .40 single stack?

Edited July 14, 2010 by G-ManBart

[RH45]

45 is much softer.

If the 40 is a single stack, the fact that it is much easier to reload is a major advantage.

Much softer at the same power factor with the same weight bullet? You've tried this and worked it up on a chrono (to ensure same PF)?

I've got both .40 and .45 single stacks, and if there's any difference, it's extremely small....beyond what most people could tell in a blind test.

How is is any "easier to reload" a .40 single stack?

I'm going to guess that he has been using older .45 mags that are pretty tight with 8 in them, compared to Tripps, or, the ETM mags.

[CocoBolo]

There are few that shoot 200gr in 40, and the reason is it takes good brass to pull it off.

There are plenty of folks that shoot 200gr bullets in .40... Hodgdon lists no fewer than 14 200gr loads with various powders in .40 --- most of which make major. I'm not quite sure how the quality of the brass has much to do with it.

Comparatively speaking, the 200gr .40 loads I've shot, especially those using Clays, haven't felt considerably different than my 200gr SWC .45 clays load.

I'll stand behind the statment, 180gr is the predominat bullet weight in 40 Limited. Some folks especially the recoil-phobic crowd use 200 and I've even seen some 220gr users.

I used 200gr Jacketed with TiteGroup at 4.3gr 1.200 that load does not blow brass up.

Clays, you better use remington brass. Henning Walgren uses Clays with 200gr bullets but also uses new starline brass, he says its nice and snappy, sounds like an oxymoron to me, nice and snappy are mutually exclusive. He can shoot and I was there Sunday to see him Win the TX State Limited Championship. I was shooting my 185gr bullets but it wasn't the arrows it was the Indian.

I use Clays in my 45 loads, I find it to be very soft shooting, clean and cheap, 2nd Choice WST, and a distant 3rd N320.

[Seth]

You didn't say that the 180gr was the bullet of choice... you said 'There are few that shoot 200gr in 40, and the reason is it takes good brass to pull it off.'

That statement is misleading. PLENTY of folks use 200gr .40 bullets and there are LOTS of safe loads for it that make major. Mike at Schuemann will tell you that the 200gr bullet is inherently more accurate than a 180gr or lighter, as it has a larger bearing surface.

Me... I'm just a lowly B class shooter and can't tell the difference after the buzzer. After working chrono at several majors and shooting literally hundreds of guns and loads, I can guess fairly accurately if a load is major, but the deviation I can feel is about 10pf. I can tell you if its 170 vs 180pf.

I personally think that far too much lip service is paid to feel. USPSA is about compressing time. Taking a problem and accurately solving it as fast as possible. We don't have time to feel.... I want a load that reliable, clean, meters well, and chronographs the same every time. No wonder I use a 320/180cmj load.

[Merlin Orr]

Going against the flow .... I like the .40 better. Seems to track better and less torque that the .45. Maybe just the loading...

[G-ManBart]

Going against the flow .... I like the .40 better. Seems to track better and less torque that the .45. Maybe just the loading...

Looking at what people are shooting, I think a lot of folks agree with you. I borrowed a fellow forum member's .40 SS gun for a week and it took me all of one range session to know it was the way to go (for me). R,

Edited July 15, 2010 by G-ManBart