Looking for defensive 45 ACP for something fairy light, like a CS45. Any experiences with ammo that's more manageable in terms of recoil?

Yup! Get yourself a 9mm if you are worried about recoil.

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Try Hornady Critical Duty. I used it in a officers 1911. Light recoil. No problem.

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Hyda shok 165 grain are noticeably lighter in recoil in an officer's size 1911.

Here are some good ballistic test results that may help you make the best decision for your needs...

https://www.luckygunner.com/labs/sel...c-tests/#45ACP

The tests were conducted using short barrel, lightweight pistols.

If you cannot manage the recoil of the 45 ACP in a compact, lightweight pistol, I would recommend 9mm. I know people say that the 9mm is a poor stopper, a wimp caliber, and that you might kill a man with 9mm, but you will also kill his souls with 45 ACP. Fun things to joke about, but modern 9mm JHP ammo is no slouch when it comes to self defense. You are far better off to defend yourself with a smaller caliber weapon that you can control than a larger caliber weapon that you cannot control.

Then again he might find a 45 load that fits him just fine.

9mm, puleez

I carry a Lightweight Commander loaded with 230gr. JHP and never notice the recoil at the range. I suspect that during a life and death encounter recoil will be among the least of my worries.

It all depends on what you train with and get used to.

I don't know how I missed that before now. Thinks for posting. Some surprising results, especially where sometimes the same bullet at a higher velocity produces less desirable (IMHO) results. I hope they do the 44s soon. I'll have to try the Hornady 155 XTP in the 10. It looks hot but doesn't overpenetrate like my current sig ammo seems to do. The Win 230gr T-Series non-+P looks like the bomb in 45 but maybe not what the OP is looking for. The OP might want to try the Rem 230gr Golden Saber or the Speer 185gr Gold Dot. One is slow and heavy abd the other fast and light.

I was carrying +P 230 grain Winchester Ranger ammo in my 3 inch aluminum frame Kimber 1911. Reliable, but it did jump around some with recoil.

Tried the Federal 230 grain standard velocity HST. Reliable, and quicker recoil recovery than the Winchester load. Bullet performance in gel, and reported street use is about the same for both - very, very good.

You might want to try the HST load in your gun. Some of the lighter bullet loads are loaded hot, and the "snappyness" and muzzle blast of these loads in a short barreled gun may make a slower, heavier bullet load seem more pleasant to shoot.

Larry

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You might want to try the non +P version of the Ranger T-Series. It's one of those cases where the standard velocity seems to perform better.

Thanks to everyone who left thoughtful replies.

As to the "9mm" guys, I don't know if it's a fetish or whatnot but obviously inappropriate here.

Excellent advice, Larry! I have a Shield .45, which certainly qualifies as light. I shot a bunch of different .45 acp self-defense rounds through it to determine which functioned best. Both HST +P and standard 230g rounds performed very well. Ultimately, I chose Federal Tactical Bonded 230g +P as my carry round because I shot it a bit more accurately than the HSTs. I did not find the recoil of any of these three rounds to be objectionable. However, Federal Tactical Bonded rounds are hard to find, so I second your recommendation about trying HSTs. I would not hesitate to carry either HST if I somehow ran out of the Tactical Bonded rounds.

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