recommendations for a 9mm for informal BE League

Hi all; I am looking for an accurate 9mm pistol for shooting a 50 ft BE league? Mr. Arthritis in my hands, so the .45 just does not work for me anymore. I am older, so looking for a lighter model. Any recommendations will be appreciated.

A SA Range Officer in 9mm stock would probably be all the accurate you need for 50 ft. Or a CZ.

I have a SA 1911 loaded in 9mm that works fine.

Your problem is going to be that accurate 9mm loads are typically snappier than accurate lead 45 loads which likely won't help your arthritis. There's a reason you rarely see people shooting 9mm for CF. A 38sp wadcutter 1911 is the way to go but hard to find, some people have had success with reduced 38 Super loads with lead bullets, I tried it early on with a Sig 1911/38 super but didn't have any luck, I would likely have more luck now as my loading is a bit better and would customize a gun with a properly twisted barrel.

Chiming in to agree with Zane. I tried 9mm Beretta years ago.  The snap was unpleasant.  In a lighter pistol it will be even worse.  I have a 1911 in 38spl that was built from a 9mm 1911- it is my favorite 1911.  In my experience, at 50ft you can get away with a very light 45 load, not so much in the 38spl (at least with slide mounted dots).  The recoil is a bit milder with the 38spl, but not as much as you would think.

9mm is better in a longslide because not so snappy. I'm running 2.8 gr BE 185/200 in my 13 twist 45 barrels on a frame mount. Very soft shooting and very accurate.
After I finish Zane's 38 spl I'll be building a 13 twist slide mounted optic pistol. Looking forward to trying that twist with a  slide mount.
Jon

2.5 gr of N310 behind a 147 XTP, or 3.0 gr behind a 115 gr XTP are super soft shooting and definitely good enough for 50'. When I Ransom'd my Beretta with them they were easily sub 10 ring groups at 50 yards. Perhaps better if my RR had been set up more securely. 

Needed a lighter recoil spring.

pgg wrote:2.5 gr of N310 behind a 147 XTP, or 3.0 gr behind a 115 gr XTP are super soft shooting and definitely good enough for 50'. When I Ransom'd my Beretta with them they were easily sub 10 ring groups at 50 yards. Perhaps better if my RR had been set up more securely. 

Needed a lighter recoil spring.

N310?  Not N330 or 340?

Whilst I agree in general with all of the comments from Jon, KC, others above about 9mm, I must say that I really enjoyed shooting a SIG P210 US target model for EIC Service Pistol (admittedly I did not mount a red dot on it for CF Class, but many others have successfully done so). That model comes with a good fast twist barrel as standard and I found that Zero 147JHP bullets loaded to produce about 950fps were really accurate and very soft recoil impulse. Totally different from typical "Match" 9mm with high velocity 115 bullets. From memory load was 4.3 Power Pistol or similar amount of Accurate #2, but I can check later if needed, my memory is not 100%!

Gun is relatively inexpensive, plenty of aftermarket grips, mounts, etc., available. Good resale value. No gunsmithing needed.

My Sig Sauer P210A shoots 147 gr (~925 fps MV) coated bullets pretty well at 50 yards in a Ranson Rest, about 3" groups with the occasional flyer...so probably no problem at 50'. It has a fast 1:10 twist barrel so you can slow the heavier bullets down quite a bit (at 50'), the recoil is soft (what you are looking for), and is a bit lighter than a 1911. Lighter 115 gr bullets at ~1100 fps could aggravate your arthritis...they feel much more snappy to me when I tried them in that gun. A LGS near me has a new CZ tactical sport two-tone (single action only), which is a discontinued model, but it has a really nice (~2#) trigger, for a factory gun. I was really surprised. Only downside is that the rear sight would have to be replaced since it is not adjustable. It also has a 1:10 twist barrel (as do all CZ pistols). STI made some 1911s in 9mm (Trojan, Spartan), so you could look for one of those, and have the trigger re-worked. Not sure of the barrel twist on those (maybe 1:16)? Sig Sauer also made 1911 pistols in 9mm but I'm not sure what they went with as far as barrel twist rate. They could be 1:10. A faster barrel (1:16) may shoot the heavier bullets just fine at 50', as others could attest to, maybe it's just a matter of finding the right formula. The good thing is that you can shoot the inexpensive coated bullets (I like Brazos) at 50' and save money on reloading expenses. Hornady XTPs are great bullets but expensive. Zero and Magnus 147 gr JHPs are half the price but still hard to justify using them at 50'.

Tim, thank you. Fast twist is correct.

My 210 was not a whole lot lighter than my SIG 1911 9mm, but it is a much more "petite" gun with very svelte lines. I found some very slim aftermarket wood slab grips which I then sanded down to the minimum and was able to get a much more comfortable hold on the gun which really worked well with the 147 ammo.

I agree with you re lead bullets at 50ft. You can probably load it right down and get a very soft recoil, but still group well at short range.

For someone with Arthritis it sounds like a clear winner to me.

kc.crawford.7 wrote:

pgg wrote:2.5 gr of N310 behind a 147 XTP, or 3.0 gr behind a 115 gr XTP are super soft shooting and definitely good enough for 50'. When I Ransom'd my Beretta with them they were easily sub 10 ring groups at 50 yards. Perhaps better if my RR had been set up more securely. 

Needed a lighter recoil spring.

N310?  Not N330 or 340?

Yes, N310

It's about the fastest burning powder available, works well for reduced loads. Would not be a good choice if you wanted higher velocities, as it gets kind of spooky around max loads in 9mm. But the loads I listed are well under max.

I worked up these loads a few years ago when recovering from an elbow injury. Have shot 1000s of them since.

I have a Glock 34 in 9mm that I like shooting the 50 yard targets with.

Before bullseye, I always shot 9mm because I thought it would be easier on my wrists (RA). 2 months after I finally shot a 45 I had sold all my 9mm because 45 I find just so much better for my arthritis (talking factory plink loads here). I wouldn't assume the 9mm is easier. The 9 is more IME a rotation than a push backward with 45, and that rotation hurts *for me*. Weight of gun and other factors are at play as well of course.

Maybe what you really want is a 32?

Have you considered a S&W Model 52. It may meet your needs and there are a great many available at favorable prices.
https://simpsonltd.com/search-results-page?q=smith+52
I am not affiliated in any way, except that t have been very happy with my purchases from Simpsons.

If you hand load, you likely have a wider array of options available. If you are shooting factory loaded stuff, 9 may have an advantage over 45. Personal ergonomic and trigger are more important at 50 ft over ultimate accuracy. In the 50ft leagues I have shot, people have had good results with various glocks, sigs, and the occasional berreta.
Personally when shooting on 50ft targets, I prefer the challenge of shooting a smaller caliber, I almost exclusively shoot 50ft targets with 22 for that reason.