Looking for a .45ACP pistol for Limited

[Igloodude]

I have been a 1911 shooter for a decade of shooting Bullseye and for two years now shooting USPSA (as a D-level shooter). Yesterday I shot my first major match (the Area 7 Regional championship) in Singlestack with one, alongside a buddy shooting a Glock 9mm in Limited.

 

By the time we were halfway through the match, I was spending every minute that I wasn't shooting or taping targets cleaning magazines, and my stage planning was as always focused mostly on where I was doing reloads. Meanwhile my buddy was tapping his dropped mag against his hand to knock the worst of the dirt off it, loading them back to capacity, and sticking them back in his belt, to shoot the next stage with his not-cleaned-in-the-last-year Glock.

 

I very much prefer consistent trigger pull (so no DA/SA), don't want or need a red-dot sight, my budget is sub-$1K (for gun, mags, holster, and pouches), I'd like to stay with .45ACP as that's the only caliber my Dillon is set up for, and finally, I have big hands that should accommodate any doublestack pistol. My initial thought is a Glock 41 (though I don't know what max magazine size is Limited-legal), but I open to anything with a reputation for reliability despite harsh conditions.

 

Can any of you help me with advice/recommendations here?

[Whitefish]

I have a 41 set up for Limited - Carver aluminum magwell, Zev aftermarket trigger with adjustable pre-travel, Ligntning Strike lightened steel striker w/4.5 lb striker spring, new sights (Dawson f/o front and Heinie black rear), several magazines with Arredondo +4 basepads that make the 141.25 mm length limit, and fit 17 rounds of 45 ACP, plus a KKM drop-in barrel. The barrel is so I can shoot coated bullets without worry of build-up in the stock barrel, plus I like KKM. I set all this up and then covid hit, so haven't actually had it to a match. That is going to bump your budget by the time you add a holster and pouches, but you might be able to get away without the KKM barrel and magwell and save the $$.

[Igloodude]

5 minutes ago, Whitefish said:

I have a 41 set up for Limited - Carver aluminum magwell, Zev aftermarket trigger with adjustable pre-travel, Ligntning Strike lightened steel striker w/4.5 lb striker spring, new sights (Dawson f/o front and Heinie black rear), several magazines with Arredondo +4 basepads that make the 141.25 mm length limit, and fit 17 rounds of 45 ACP, plus a KKM drop-in barrel. The barrel is so I can shoot coated bullets without worry of build-up in the stock barrel, plus I like KKM. I set all this up and then covid hit, so haven't actually had it to a match. That is going to bump your budget by the time you add a holster and pouches, but you might be able to get away without the KKM barrel and magwell and save the $$.

 

Thanks!  Yeah, I'm willing to bump the budget a bit if needed. I do prefer coated bullets so an aftermarket barrel would be necessary, but probably could get by pretty well without a magwell. 17+1 is plenty good enough of an improvement over 8+1.

[Joe4d]

45 in limited isnt really the way to go.  You'll be doing extra reloads on alot of stages. Plus less flexibility on where to reload.

You could always just keep shooting single stack with your 1911..  Buy more mags so you arnt messing with them during a match.

[dfwmiket]

1 hour ago, Whitefish said:

I have a 41 set up for Limited - Carver aluminum magwell, Zev aftermarket trigger with adjustable pre-travel, Ligntning Strike lightened steel striker w/4.5 lb striker spring, new sights (Dawson f/o front and Heinie black rear), several magazines with Arredondo +4 basepads that make the 141.25 mm length limit, and fit 17 rounds of 45 ACP, plus a KKM drop-in barrel. The barrel is so I can shoot coated bullets without worry of build-up in the stock barrel, plus I like KKM. I set all this up and then covid hit, so haven't actually had it to a match. That is going to bump your budget by the time you add a holster and pouches, but you might be able to get away without the KKM barrel and magwell and save the $$.

 And when you are ready to sell this set up, I want first dibs.         

[Whitefish]

1 hour ago, dfwmiket said:

 And when you are ready to sell this set up, I want first dibs.         

Forgot that I also threw in a Ghost connector because I had it - think it was the 3.5 Ghost because it was lonely sitting in my parts bin, but it could have been the 4 or 4.5 Ghost (whatever they call it). Don't get your hopes up. 

[OdinIII]

.45 is tough. You’d save money switching calibers unless you have a very large amount of brass on hand. I’d recommend a G17 or G34 for either Prod or Limited but obviously a .40 is more competitive. If just shooting locals does it really matter?

To stick with .45 then I’d go G41 for sure as I like the long slides.

Good luck!

[Whitefish]

Senior moments seem to be creeping up today - That's what I get for not checking something I did months ago. I just checked the gun and in addition to the Ghost connector mentioned earlier, I also put in a Lightning Strike titanium plunger and swapped the stock dual recoil spring for a Jager captured steel guide rod with a lighter 15 lb ISMI recoil spring. And yes, I agree that .40 is probably better for limited, but I bought the Glock 41 on a GSSF discount and wanted to tinker with it. Boredom can get expensive these days!  Already had a Glock 35 set up for limited - years ago. The OP said he did not want to change calibers as he was already set up for .45 ACP, thus my post to try to be helpful.

[Igloodude]

I understand that .40 is more competitive than .45. I want to stick with .45 because of the following considerations:

 - The cost of outfitting my Dillon 550B for .40, and the hassle of switching calibers including between LP and SP primers

 - I have a lot of .45 reloading components and supplies on hand

 - I have pistols, a revolver, and a carbine all in .45ACP, I currently don't own any .40 (or even 9mm for that matter) guns

 - Going from 8 to 17 is enough of a jump, 8 to 19-20(?) doesn't get me a whole lot farther

 

Are there any striker-fired doublestack pistols besides Glocks I should be looking at?

[Joe4d]

XDM 5.25" competition. 45. Pack the grip insert with tungsten putty, tungsten guide rod, and a drop in trigger kit. I like them in 9mm.

[ExStreetWalker]

On 9/25/2020 at 10:47 PM, Joe4d said:

XDM 5.25" competition. 45. Pack the grip insert with tungsten putty, tungsten guide rod, and a drop in trigger kit. I like them in 9mm.

 

I was going to mention this.

 

Get a Powder Precision Extreme trigger kit for it and you'll be golden.

 

I have one set up this way and it's a great pistol.  I did put a red dot on mine.

[Igloodude]

Thank you both!

 

Quick question, what's the max mag capacity for .45 for it? One mag reseller shows 13rd and 25rd magazines, I'm certain the latter aren't 140mm and 13rds sounds a bit low.

[TrackCage]

On 9/25/2020 at 12:52 PM, Igloodude said:

 

Thanks!  Yeah, I'm willing to bump the budget a bit if needed. I do prefer coated bullets so an aftermarket barrel would be necessary, but probably could get by pretty well without a magwell. 17+1 is plenty good enough of an improvement over 8+1.

You don't need an aftermarket barrel to shoot coated in an OEM Glock barrel. I have probably 50k coated rounds through a barrel or two, without any issues. I've used ACME, Blue, BBI...

[Joe4d]

Well stock is 13,,,  16 with pads going out to 140 Springer has them.
If you are a 1911 guy, you will take to the XDM alot faster than you will a glock.  Pretty much all i ever shot was 1911 and 2011, and really took to the XDM, (not the XD the XDM really is better). Grip angle is all wrong for me on a Glock.

[ExStreetWalker]

On 9/29/2020 at 6:14 AM, Joe4d said:

Well stock is 13,,,  16 with pads going out to 140 Springer has them.
If you are a 1911 guy, you will take to the XDM alot faster than you will a glock.  Pretty much all i ever shot was 1911 and 2011, and really took to the XDM, (not the XD the XDM really is better). Grip angle is all wrong for me on a Glock.

 

Same here.  The Glock grip angle just seems wrong after so many years of 1911 shooting.  The Canik and XDM grip angles don't.

[wgj3]

Or find a double stack Para or RIA, etc. Can be had for under $1K for sure. MBX mags and go blasting. Don't sweat the .45 haters, you can be plenty competitive with a .45 on 99% of stages, especially while you are still learning the game. Worry about capacity(caliber) as you get better and feel that it might be holding you back...

Edited October 9, 2020 by wgj3

[gnappi]

Maybe a Witness Match? With a base pad the .45 mag will do 11-12 rds. I have one in 9, it's a GR8 pistol.