45 ACP or 9mm for 25 meter Target shooting?

Thinking that I may be ready to get a 1911 for 25 meter / 50 ft indoor target shooting. Not sure if 45 acp is better than a 9mm?
Any suggestion is appreciated.

Handcycle

Neither.  No offense, but if you are not used to shooting 25 yard/50 yard matches, you are probably not ready for a centerfire, Bullseye accurate 1911.  Get a Ruger mark 3 or 4, or better yet, a marvel conversion for a 1911 frame.  Use that to go to a local Bullseye league, then local/regional Bullseye matches.  Talk to the regulars.  Get the equipment they are using.  That will serve you better in the long run.  
Good luck!  PC

Vociferous wrote:Neither.  No offense, but if you are not used to shooting 25 yard/50 yard matches, you are probably not ready for a centerfire, Bullseye accurate 1911.  Get a Ruger mark 3 or 4, or better yet, a marvel conversion for a 1911 frame.  Use that to go to a local Bullseye league, then local/regional Bullseye matches.  Talk to the regulars.  Get the equipment they are using.  That will serve you better in the long run.  
Good luck!  PC

I am familiar with shooting 22 LR indoor with my S&W M41 for a while now but had not tried the heavier calibre yet.
Just like to know which calibre is preferred ( 45 acp / 9 mm ) for bullseye.

If you let it be known at the matches you're shooting, someone would probably let you try their back up gun for a relay.

It's better to try it yourself before you start spending money.

Well, to answer your question, most people will say 45, since that caliber is required in a full 2700, where 9mm is not.

Dave

In my opinion, and for most of the shooters I see, 45 is more popular. 9mm is "snappy" where 45 is more of a thud or push. If you reload, you can load 45 soft which makes it easier to shoot. Plus, the bigger holes will get you some points.

For the benefit of other responders, the OP lives in Canada.  Most of the bullseye in Canada is conducted under ISSF rules.  The ISSF limits caliber to “9mm”.  

So to answer his question specifically for HIS case, I’d go with something that meets the rules you’ll be shooting under NOW.  This means a 9mm or something similar….  By something similar I mean a 38 Super or 38 Super Comp but loaded to something like 38 Special Wadcutter ballistics (140-ish cast bullets at 730 fps).  Many on this forum have complained about getting the 9mm Para to shoot well particularly on a SF stage.  There are a good number of people that have found the 38 Super to be easier to get to shoot well. It isn’t impossible to get a load to shoot well, but the “accuracy load window” may be quite narrow. ,

 Since you’ll likely find a 1911 in 9mm Para much easier, buy one of those, then you can get a 38 Super (or super comp) barrel fitted to your gun.

For 25yard/meter shooting, 38spl all day, everyday. Semi-auto (52, 38spl 1911) or revolver, very enjoyable.

Another Canadian here... At center-fire ISSF matches, the dominant caliber is .32, shot from Pardini, Walther, etc. Next in popularity are .38 special revolvers. Cocking the hammer between shots is fine for the rapid fire stage (3 seconds per shot, with 7 seconds in between). You don't see many 9mm, but there are a few. At Canadian 1800s (NRA rules), still a lot of .32, quite a few 9mm; you may see .45, but not many.

desben wrote:Another Canadian here... At center-fire ISSF matches, the dominant caliber is .32, shot from Pardini, Walther, etc. Next in popularity are .38 special revolvers. Cocking the hammer between shots is fine for the rapid fire stage (3 seconds per shot, with 7 seconds in between). You don't see many 9mm, but there are a few. At Canadian 1800s (NRA rules), still a lot of .32, quite a few 9mm; you may see .45, but not many.

 I'm shooting a 45 in NRA type 1800 and 2700 competition. I started shooting ISSF Center Fire and just use a 38 special revolver and is it fun along with 10 meter pistol. If I were to choose a caliber for the NRA competition I'd go with a 45, so I'd be familiar with using 1 gun for both the CF and 45 stages.
 Stan

I'm always good with 45

When the Berreta 9mm was the AMU's gun they were built to shoot 1" groups @ 50 yds. If they can still be had, would not that be trhe answer?

And, off subject, what is the AMU using in the EIC (ball) matches now?

Ron Habegger

Based on what I've seen locally the AMU is shooting a 9mm 1911 primarily.. still have 45s that are used based on ammo availability.

Colt711 wrote:When the Berreta 9mm was the AMU's gun they were built to shoot 1" groups @ 50 yds. If they can still be had, would not that be trhe answer?

Ron Habegger

I have one (well, it was an Air Force team gun that was worked over by the AMU smiths) and while it can undoubtedly shoot that well, the ammo is eye wateringly expensive (Atlanta) and it snaps really hard. I made P100 with it one year just to prove to myself that I could. The 45 RO is a much much easier gun to handle on sustained fire.

9mm can be loaded soft and is, in my admittedly limited experience, plenty good to shoot at 50 y.

I have two accurized Berettas, one with a barrel that'll do 147s, and it'll comfortably hold 1.5" from a Ransom Rest with ammo loaded under 800 fps. The other has a barrel that prefers 115s and will do just as well although the ammo needs to be loaded a bit faster to reliably cycle the gun.

Maybe that snappy Atlanta Arms ammo would tighten the 50y groups to X ring size but the guns shoot well enough for my skill. When I break a good shot it goes where I call it in the 10 ring, and when I shoot a 7 it's not the gun's fault.

I load Hornady XTPs and HAPs with VV N310.