Big but weak handgun calibers?

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mapsjanhere

New member
My state, NM, has an odd rule for concealed carry qualifying. You need to qualify with a gun of equal or smaller caliber then your carry gun. It only specifies caliber so, not actual cartridge. So a 500 S&W with trail boss powder would qualify you for revolvers up to 50 cal. But what to do for a semi-automatic where a weak cartridge would be noticeable due to the lack of function? Is there a reasonable way around using a 45 ACP?
 
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1-DAB

New member
shoot and qualify with a 45acp, then carry 45acp, or 40sw, or 9mm, or 380 auto, or 32acp....

the shooting portion of qualifying isn't that hard. really.

don't have a 45? can you borrow one for the day?
 
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Dragline45

New member
.45acp in my opinion is a light recoiling round, much more so than the .40 for comparison. If you can get your hands on an all steel full size 1911 even more so.
 
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mapsjanhere

New member
This is not about me passing a shooting test, this is about a stupid regulation ;).
Plus my shooting buddy will be past 75 come next renewal, so I'm looking into easier options for him to keep his 45 rating than his USP.
 
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BarryLee

New member
Obviously you know more about the requirements than I do, but be careful not to outsmart yourself. If you or your buddy are accustomed to shooting the USP45 than why not simply use it? The gun is reliable, accurate and in my experience easy to shoot.
 
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Dragline45

New member
Plus my shooting buddy will be past 75 come next renewal, so I'm looking into easier options for him to keep his 45 rating than his USP.
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Either light .45acp loads in the USP, or an all steel 1911. Even so, the 1911 won't recoil much less than the USP.
 
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1-DAB

New member
yeah, it's dumb rule, but it's the rule.

was looking at the info for Hornady Critical Duty loads. 45acp is 464ft-lb. 357 mag is 487ft-lb. 357sig is 450ft-lb. 40sw is 396ft-lb.

not a huge difference across the board.

do a test shoot with him, make sure he is ok with the plan.
 
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T. O'Heir

New member
The lack of function means the cartridge was loaded incorrectly. Even light .45 ACP target loads will function any properly set up pistol.
Why are you not qualifying with the pistol you plan on carrying?
 
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Doyle

New member
Why are you not qualifying with the pistol you plan on carrying?
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Those who carry don't always carry the same pistol - especially over a long period of time. There are many who will carry a .45ACP when dressed one way and a little .380 when dressed a different way.
 
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1-DAB

New member
i qualified with a 45acp, but have found that i'd rather carry a 9mm or 40sw for various reasons. but i have flexibility to do that. if i had qualified with a 9mm, i couldn't legally carry anything with a larger caliber.

elected weenies think people will qualify with a 32acp, and then carry a 45acp and not be able to safely handle it when it counts. yeah, they treat people like sheep. a responsible person learns to shoot what he/she carries safely.
 
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mapsjanhere

New member
Even light .45 ACP target loads will function any properly set up pistol.
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You are right, I wonder how far one has to trim the recoil spring on a Hi Power 45 blowback to make it work with a 185 gr over trail boss.
 
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Sevens

New member
Perhaps I am missing the point...

It sounds like you wish to help an older gent continue to qualify with a .45...
So that he may continue to legally carry a .45
But you are saying that you don't think he will be able to pass the qualification shooting unless you doctor it up?

If this is the case, why would he wish to continue to carry a .45 if he can't actually shoot it?

I'd get him the largest, heaviest .45 pistol you can find (a S&W 4506 would be a good pick) and load it with 200gr LSWC target rounds.
 
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TimSr

New member
Maybe I'm missing something here, but as dumb as the law is, I don't understand the efforts made to get around it in order to qualify with a round you appear to be implying is too much for you to handle to qualify with? If .45acp defense loads are too much for you to qualify with, then why bother to qualify with .45acp? Why not qualify with the largest round you anticipate carrying, that you already have a gun for? Most of these CCW qualifications are simple enough, and if you can't qualify in this test with full power .45acp loads commonly used for defense, what is the point in finding a trick to be qualified on it? Do you have to requalify at certain intervals? Can you not requalify in the future when your skills with larger calibers have improved?
 
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1-DAB

New member
you have to requalify every 2 years. you can bump up your caliber between qualifications, get yourself tested/certified, pay a small fee, send in the form.

i'm with others. what's the point. if this fine man can only safely handle a 9mm, then go with that. leave the bigger guns for range days only.
 
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mapsjanhere

New member
Maybe I explain it this way. If there was an arbitrary rule that you couldn't drive a car with a bigger engine than what you took your test in, would you go with your daily driver 2 l Honda or try to find a 425 Cadillac so you can drive any car you might come across later?
As for the specific situation, aside from the fun factor of showing how ridiculous the rule is, neither of us are daily carriers. But we like to take guns with us on occasions, and don't want to have to worry about violating any law in regards to concealed carry. So we'd like to have the 45 entry because that's about as big as we own, and whatever we carry is legal.
 
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AKexpat

New member
Old Alaska CHP Caliber Law

Back in the dark ages circa 1990, Alaska CHP (concealed handgun permit) law was similar in that the permit only stated the maximum dimensional caliber that the permitee was allowed to carry. I qualified on .45 ACP so my CHP stated .45 caliber, but that permitted .45 Colt, .454 Casull, .45 Super, .44 Mag, and any lesser caliber diameters. My 5'-2" wife also qualified on .45 ACP steel Government Model but never intended to use anything but our SP101 .38. However, if the need arose, she could carry any of the .45 1911's I had at the time.

I still have my (expired :rolleyes: ) CHP just for nostalgia.

Alaska has since come to its senses and no longer requires a permit to carry concealed. Not so WA State (where I currently reside). The folks in Pugetropolis are still very anal.
 
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