Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns versatility :357mag vs 45acp

my 357 gets carried with 2 birdshot and 4 hardcast loads in the cylinder. All i need to do is stroke the action to bring up the desired load. With practice it happens rather quickly.

For versatility the 1911 wins each and every time. So not only can the .45 ACP do ANYTHING a .38 Special can do on the light/target side, but it can match the .357 for self defense and do so with much less recoil, noise, and muzzle flash. In the hunting fields, anything you can kill with a .357 out to 50 yards you can kill with a .45 ACP, and if you want to go out to greater distance, a recoil spring change and you're into the .45 Super which surpasses the .357 in killing power. (technically you don't HAVE to swap springs, but it's a good idea)

Now factor in that the 1911 can also be converted to most any auto pistol cartridge you can think of, and the 1911 leaves any revolver in the dust for versatility....not even close.

As soon as you start swapping slides it's no longer a .45 ACP and the thread title specifically states ".357mag vs 45acp".

"The platforms are: 4" barrel revolver for 357mag and Full Size Govt model 1911 for 45acp." Note that doesn't say Govt model 1911 with multiple slides, barrels, recoil springs and magazines.

But just for the sake of argument, let's allow that. So, you're in the field and figure you need a .22, did you bring your extra slide and magazine(s) along? Or maybe just go from full power loads to creampuff loads - did you bring the proper recoil spring?

Same situation with a .357 revolver. Now you can't change the caliber but you can load anything you want with just what is currently in the holster. Dump the rounds in the cylinder, load something else and you're ready to go. No swapping parts or carrying different magazines. About the biggest modification you'd need to do is adjust the rear sight a few cicks, and we're all excellent and experienced handgunners, aren't we? So we know exactly how many clicks it takes going from one load to the next.

Heck, if we want to go down this road, a T/C Contender kicks the ass of both of them and is the most versatile handgun in the world since it can handle both .357 and .45 ACP rounds - .22 rimfire to .357 to .41 and .44 to .45 Colt or ACP to .444 to .30-30 to .45/70 or anything you can think of, all in "one" gun. It can even be a .410 shotgun. Just carry a pack of pre-sighted spare barrels everywhere you go and you're set for everything from chipmunks to brown bears.

I'd like to see these 1911's that digest any and all loads.



Dave

A friend of mine has a Jim Hoag 5 caliber long slide (3 slides, 5 barrels), and it works with all 5 calibers just fine. It's built on a .38 super frame, has a .38 super ejector, and the .45 slide is milled out to accept the .38 super ejector. So you just drop on whatever slide you want, and it works just like that. (9mm, 38/45 Clerke, .38 Super, .10mm, and .45 ACP.)

My .38 Super also has a 9mm barrel and a .22lr kit, all 3 work just fine. Soon I'll be adding a .45 ACP slide to the Super. Got the slide, just need to buy a barrel.
The 9mm will work about 75% from the .38 super mag, and thus far is 100% with a 9mm magazine.

My .45 LW Commander has shot wadcutters before. Just one mag full but it worked. It was kinda entertaining because they just BARELY worked the slide with two cases rolling off my shooting hand. And in the same gun I have fired a box of .45 Supers...Again, everything worked.

About 50% of all .38 Supers will chamber and fire 9x23 Winchester* without any alteration to the pistol at all (although a heavier spring is a good idea), as well as 9mm Largo, and 9mm Steyr.
* Mine won't...I'm still pissed about that, chamber's too tight.

If we're just sticking to one caliber, and an unmodified gun...A 1911 can be setup to shoot most any light load all the way up to .45 Super with no change to the gun whatsoever.

Are you telling me that I can set my Colt up to run .45Super loads, and without changing out a single thing, be able to fire the next magazine with .45ACP wadcutters at 600 fps?

Lots of valid arguments.

Where I lean to the 357 revolver is that the load can be tailored to any purpose, without having to re-configure the gun. Maybe a sight adjustment, if not comfortable with a little holdoff.

Don't forget to change the sight setting...

The revolver undeniably offers greater versatility in bullet profiles, and other feeding related ammo geometry.

The revolver also wins in ability to have easily selected different ammo in the gun.


Granted, a magazine-swap in an auto is not terribly inconvenient either.

I need both to keep me happy. Nothing less would do.

This thread proves how insane 1911 queers can get.




Dave

LOL

Queers using Magnums (Trojan)



......never mind.

I have owned, reloaded for, hunted with and carried both pretty extensively. Any idea that the 357 hits harder is easily remedied by shooting a hog or deer across both shoulders with a 255 grain .45 semi wadcutter at 900 ft./s. A good 1911 is a splendid small game handgun when loaded with 200 grain wadcutters. And that 1911 gonna shoot them a whole lot closer to the sights than any 357 will with typical 125 to 180 grain loads, suitable for those uses.

Once upon a time a 357 revolver was considered the ne plus ultra of reliability and power. Much like today, an awful lot of that was gun magazine BS aimed at selling things to unsuspecting readers.

Maybe not 600 fps, but pretty close. I had one that would do what you're asking, it ran both 45 Super loads and 200gr SWC over 4.3 gr of Bullseye.

Also, the 1911 gives better shot patterns in my experience.

Semi-autos can be a lot more versatile than many people realize.

other than the loud noise the 357 wins hands down

Back around 1934 or so when the 357 Magnum was introduced, it probably wasn't much of a stretch.