Well hopefully I will not get a infraction or suspension by the mods by posting this question.

I do not find shooting 1911 (God bless JB’s soul) 45 semi-auto comfortable so they are rarely shot. However I have a bunch of 45 ACP stored in ammo cans just getting old. I would like to shoot my 45 ammo if I could find a semi-auto that is comfortable for me.

I would like suggestions for a semi-auto that has less felt recoil than the 1911. Does the polymer frame pistols help reduce (or redirect) the recoil? How about designs like the Beretta PX4? I imagine there are a lot of choices so please chime in with your experiences and recommendations.

I will step in here. I have 5 45s: 1911, 625, Glocks 30, 21 and 41.
Of these, I feel that the 625 is the most comfortable, albeit by a small margin.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

I am not a fan of any plastic or striker fired pistols, but I did own a Glock 30 at one time. It was a very soft shooting gun, and I would imagine that a full size 21 would be the same, if not better. They are both great guns, but not for me. I do have a CZ 97BD (no longer made, but easy to find) which I really like a lot. It's big and very easy to shoot, but it is not stock and has been fully modified by Cajun Gun Works. The modifications put the gun on a whole different level. Have you considered a 45acp revolver? I own several and they are a lot of fun.

I recall hearing my gun pusher explaining one time that the polymer pistols had less recoil than the steel pistols. This was because the plastic frame gave under recoil, and absorbed some of the push. The metal frames could not give and so all of the recoil went into your arm.


Whether this is true or not I have no idea, but it does seem to make sense.

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I always take precautions

Maybe try a heavier recoil spring first before buying another gun...??

How about an HK Mark 23.....

That could be better or worse depending on the ammo, but it's certainly the low cost option. Good thought.

I'm 78 and still love the shooting sports, but plinking and paper punching are about it these days. Bit of arthritis does plague me from time to time.

With that said I rarely shoot my genuine 1911A1 guns from WWII, mostly because I don't need to place any further wear on these classics but also the relatively more modern semi designs are so much more ergonomic designs than the WWI design.

Depending upon your hand size, your shooting stance, your eyesight (corrected or not) I just find that starting with Glock, my Model 21, Gen 4...I personally felt major differences in not only felt recoil, but shot placement on targets at same distance as my old WWII 1911 A1's.

I only bought the Glock to be able to compete with my daughter who is a State LEO in another State and has the same Glock 21 Gen 4 as her issue duty piece. It has been a lot of fun and the fit and feel lets me hit POA more than the measly sights and slim grip of the old 1911A1.

THEN........I stumbled into the world of S&W semi's and found even more to like..so along came a Model 745. Also very nice (for me) erognomics, shoots very accurate and much in line with the Glock, but I would say even less felt recoil, maybe because of the steel frame.

Any of these outweigh the original design for more pleasurable shooting at least at my age, but that's only my opinion.

If you want to eat up that 45 acp, get a Model 25-2 revolver and blast away. Also tons of fun.

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Charlie B
SWCA#3083, SWHF#570

One of the reasons I've always heard/read that a 1911 style single action semi auto has a "different" recoil than striker fired guns is just the function of having the barrel in a higher position in relation to the hand and wrist.

I've only shot a couple striker fired 45's and that was several years ago and I don't really remember.

I can tell you I have a Kimber 1911 style micro 9. And the whip/recoil on that gun gets to the web of my hand much quicker that my striker fired Sig P365 9mm.

The Sig is much more comfortable to shoot especially if you're talking any kind of higher volume round count.

I have posted on having felt recoil problems in the past. I would recommend HK45c, Beretta Cougar and P220ST. The Cougar is the same gun as the Beretta PX4 but with an alloy frame instead of plastic. Recently I purchased a 4513 TSW and 457. Neither of those cause undue recoil for me. Same for the M&P 45 2.0 mid size. Go figure.

I would look at the possibility of a carbine chambered in 45acp... or maybe a Thompson or grease gun

Sticking with the topic of your post and excluding revolvers...I can't tell any appreciable difference in the recoil of semi-automatic .45 ACP guns and I shoot them a good bit, but have never had a polymer-framed one. In most cases, weight should reduce felt recoil but whether that reduction is of any felt significance would be up to the shooter.

Let Isaac Newton (or whoever you feel discovered inertia) solve the problem with physics.

Law of inertia | Discovery, Facts, & History | Britannica

law of inertia, also called Newton’s first law, postulate in physics that, if a body is at rest or moving at a constant speed in a straight line, it will remain at rest or keep moving in a straight line at constant speed unless it is acted upon by a force.

(More weight means it requires more force to move)

Buy any steel 1911 with a light rail under the barrel.

Make a 2 pound weight that can clamp onto the rail.

With the extra weight on the gun, shoot the 1911 like it is firing 22LR ammo, and enjoy,,

I wonder if anyone makes an extended barrel with ports for a 1911?

If this is just to be a range gun, where concealment is not an issue, then the larger framed gun with more mass will generally provide less recoil. I have shot 1911's for over 40 years and love the platform but I also enjoy shooting other platforms. I have a classic Sig P220 that is a tremendous pistol that is wonderful to shoot but they have gotten outrageous in price. I have owned a Glock 21 for over 25 years and is shot every now and then. When S&W brought out the M&P 45 I bought both the full sized (4 1/2 in barrel/10 shot) and the mid-sized (4 in barrel/8 shot). I found that the M&P's felt much better in the grip and perceived recoil was less in the M&P's. The full sized M&P 45 with a light mounted and a Crimson Trace grip module does duty as my night stand gun. A side benefit of the .45 M&P's is that not long ago there seemed to be quite a few former LEO dept guns available at tremendous prices.

a square bottom firing pin stop will also slow down the rear travel of the slide ,= less felt recoil

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age is just a number

I would recommend the Beretta PX4, the Grand Power P45, and the Mauser M2 for reduced felt recoil because they use variations of the rotating barrel design.

There is also the Beretta 8045 (AKA COugar) which was a metal gun pre-dating the PX4. I cannot recall if Stoeger also built this design in 45 when Beretta sold them the rights.

I own Grand Powers in 9mm and recoil is tamed to almost nothing. I'll wager it's the same for the P45.

I own a Mauser M2 but have yet to shoot it thanks to COVID and work. It is actually a Sig design. All range reports comment on how soft shooting they are. The grip is fatter than on a 1911 and I think that helps as well as the rotary action. It does have a couple of different features that get some people wound up. The safety is on the back of the slide, and the concept of a safety on a striker fired gun seem to bring on the red mist with some reviewers.

I own and have shot a Sarsilmaz K2 45 full size and a Star Megastar. Both are double stacks with a wide backstrap to spread the recoil forces and shoot softly for me. The K2 takes 14-round mags and is a CZ 97 clone I think. The Megastar is really a collector gun but a hoot to shoot. It weighs nearly three pounds empty, and the slide is so massive it operates in slow motion. The split time nerds would go crazy waiting for it to go back into battery.

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Release the Kraken

As a die hard 1911 shooter. I would say that my full size Springfield XD45 is the softest shooting 45 I own.

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Dave
Regulators mount up!

The Glock 21 and Taurus PT1911 are the only 45 Autos I own. The Glock 21 is a softer shooting gun, but the 1911 really isn't too bad with right kind of grips.

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A double stack 1911/2011 will distribute the felt recoil over a larger area in your hand... I have always thought that the Para-ordnance P14-45 felt softer than the single stack 1911's... there are so many available now it is wonderful.. sadly many are 9mm or 10mm only...

Thanks for the suggestions. Keep ‘em comin.

First I love revolvers. A 4” Model 25-2 is a holy grail gun for me.

Second the grip of the 1911 (God bless JB’s soul) doesn’t fit my hand. I have tried different grips, stippling, and extended (beavertail) safety. The grip frame is a little too narrow for me. I do reload my own ammo but that doesn’t address the recoil of self-defense stuff.

Third the grip angle on the Glock (curses to Gaston) isn’t comfortable. The angle on my M&P’s 9mm is comfortable.

Fourth I am wondering if the flex of polymer frames help soak up some of the recoil.

Fifth I am willing to consider the Beretta Cougar and PX4. But I would like to shoot one before buying.

As a cheaper alternative to a new pistol I would suggest first trying different grips. It's basically like trying the different backstraps on the various M&P pistols to find what works for you.

I put a Hogue wraparound grip on a DDA 1911 that I have, with the initial problem being the checkering on it was cut a little too sharp for my liking, and found it also made the thing more controllable.

Of course if the need to go through an excess 45 ACP ammo is the priority here, the OP also has a great excuse to pickup a reproduction Thompson Even a semi-auto is just fun to shoot and will burn through quite a bit pretty fast

"Flex" of polymer frames...is there really anything to that? Any facts? Sounds like something that came from YouTube, but I have no such guns and don't know for sure.

Hi Point . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I've shot many pistols in .45ACP with all kinds of ammo. The softest shooting by far is the H&K USP Elite with the Merkle Tuning weight. Polymere frame yet still heavy, with the USP recoil reduction system. You won't find a softer shooting auto in .45ACP. It's also extremely reliable and offers competition level precision out of the box. But: The setup is super unwieldy.

Marlin Camp 45...

Have you tried wraparound grips? They will effectively make the grip feel wider.

This is an eminently sensible suggestion. I also think a compensator bushing could help.

The 1911 platform is almost infinitely adjustable via such aftermarket tweaks. Don't give up on it.

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

With regard to auto loaders I find that my S&W 645 and CZ 97b have a noticeably softer recoil than my Colt series 80 GM.

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BCCI Life Member #2068

Check out the Rock Island Armory Tac Ultra double stack .45. It has a rail if adding some weight is necessary, but I think the wider frame will help alot. Also 14 rds. of even easy shooting .45 is sufficient for most tasks.
Alternatively, if the M&P9 is to your liking, why not try an M&P .45? Has a rail too, and you can get it with a thumb safety.
Good luck to you and I hope you find a way to keep shooting this wonderful cartridge.

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The best I can with what I got

Larger softer grips would help along with a heavier recoil spring. You don't say if your 1911 had a beavertail grip safety. The curves and size are a big improvement over the stock 1911 grip safety. A polymer gun would be much lighter and more recoiling than a steel gun. If you can find one of these Recover things and add a light to it you might like shooting a 1911 better too. Weight is your friend. I bought this to cover where I cut the dust cover too short. Plus it has the front rail so I added a light. Another alternative is to get a .45 PCC. I’m enjoying my CMMG build but it is ammo sensitive liking rn over anything else.

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My Detonics Scoremaster is a pretty soft shooting 1911-style pistol

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The bushing compensator in your post, who makes it?

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

My experience (and I have tried most everything) is that the Tanfoglio Witnesses or Defiants, depending on the importer, are by far the most comfortable shooting .45s anywhere. And the same with 10mm. Feels like shooting 9mm. Stick with the steel frame models and leave the polymer frames alone. Both of these guns are a spitting image of a CZ, but have a little more weight in just the right places to tame the recoil.

I was going to suggest a Glock 41 with its 5.31” barrel, but if the grip angle doesn’t work for you…

You might look at a Model 625. They came stock with Pachmyr or Hogue grips IIRC. The 5” barrel is more common and therefore not a pricey as the 4” variants. They also don’t have the potential over-sized throats some 25-2s do (or randomly sized like mine). A 4” Model 625 was one of my favorite range revolvers until a 25-10 pushed it out of the top spot. A fiber optic front sight from SDM really helps my aging eyes.

Don't know, but it's a fairly common style found pretty readily online.

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

I almost only shoot 200g LSWC in my shield / 5.3g 231 because they are mild. Also on occasion I shoot 230g cast flat nose 5g 231. Very similar. It might be the double coil springs used.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

If you can get passed the size and looks, the Ruger P90. Very, very comfortable shooter with the bonus of good accuracy.

I have an older Springfield XD tactical 5" bbl, 13 round mag loaded with 230 gr hardball which tames the recoil pretty well due to the weight. Another item that no one has mentioned is a suppressor which adds weight and dampens recoil even further.

I’ve found that my bone stock 1999 vintage Kimber Ultra Carry (Series I) in .45 ACP is quite comfortable to shoot during extended range sessions.

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I like shooting my 1911’s but also have issues with the way it fits my hand and the recoil seems to all go into my thumb or web of my hand. That said, my sig p227 is very easy to shoot and easy on my hand but is a bit big and not made any more. The p220 is about the same size. The surprising one that has very mild recoil is my Springfield Xd mod 2 45 sub compact. I shoot it with the 9 round mag and also the ten round mags I have from an older Xd and it not only shoots very accurately but is easy on my hands. Shooting with the 13 round mag is similar to shooting the full size. A little chunky for carrying but shoots nice and is accurate. Highly recommend it.

Yes.


We have tried them in the past. The only benefit is adding some weight to the front of the slide.

I have three 1911’s one of which I have spent way too much money customizing. I am not selling them but am not buying anymore (God bless JB’s soul).

My usual choice as well.

This one is pretty soft. Easy on the ears too. G21 / SWR H.E.M.S. II

This one isn't too bad. UZI .45 semi

I like this one a lot. Bowen converted 28 with a 5 in. tube.

But, for soft, this one beats 'em all.
AR45 SBR by Bazooka Bros. with H.E.M.S. II can by SWR


Enjoy.

Ned

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Devil's afraid I'll take over.

Steel Commander doesn’t bother me a bit, but a Glock G30S was more kick than I liked.

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

The 3rd Gen smiths are heavy as heck. I have a 745 also, nice shooting.

I have a Sig 220 Sport - very heavy and carries a compensator which, if nothing else, adds weight up front.

IMG_0483.jpg

I’ll second the vote for a USP 45. Mine shoots pretty soft and is very accurate and have never had a malfunction.

BSA1 ...

I’d suggest trying an HK USP or HK45. As already mentioned the Glock 21 is also a soft shooter. And most certainly, find a range rental or a friend with one to try out before buying. Enjoy making your decision!

I find my Sig P220r Equinox an absolute joy to shoot. My Colt Govt. Model is getting jealous.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

...or one of the later variants. I have a P97DC and it is a very soft shooter for a semi-auto chambered in 45ACP.
It's big and it has a heavy SS slide mated to a polymer frame.
All of those characteristics together add up to it being very easy to shoot, especially for those who might be a bit more "recoil sensitive".
It is also DA/SA with a decocker.
Not much to look at, but a very rock-solid alternative to a traditional 1911.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

^^This.
From 1973 to 2011 I carried a 1911 and Combat Commander
until sciatica almost did me in.
In desperation I switched to a S&W 45 M&Pc. Easier on my back
and I can testify to much decreased felt recoil.
I am a complete 1911 fan, but lighter weight and decreased felt
recoil saved my back.

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I'm with her

Sounds like you have large hands. A S&W Model 25 chambered in 45 ACP would be an option, as would a 645 or 4506, but they would all have fairly high price tags these days and generally difficult to find. Have you tried an M&P 2.0? Polymer receiver, double stack magazine, the grip is bound to be fatter than that of the M-1911 and the grip angle, unlike Glock, is about the same as the M-1911.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA