Barrel length for .45 handgun?

At first, I thought you meant .45 long colt. But then you reference the .40 S&W so I am assuming that you mean .45acp.

I'm not sure where you got your "facts" but I can assure you that they will perform extremely well. How sure am I? I carry a .45acp with a 3 1/2" barrel as my primary CCW firearm. I can tell you first hand that they work! I defy you to be able to tell the difference between a quality HP round fired from a 3 1/2" barrel or a 5" barrel without having used a chronograph. The performance is so close to identical that you would be very hard put to tell. The advantage of the 5" over the 3 1/2" is the longer site radius. The longer the site radius, the more accuracy the firearm (any firearm) is capable of.

I have carried pistols chambered in .45acp both on and off duty and for CCW for over 30 years. I am not running down the .40 S&W, it too is a darn good caliber. But I prefer the .45acp based on first hand experience, as well as studying it's performance for the military, and law enforcement over the years.

Shoot safe

As stated already this really isn't an issue for self defense situations, having said that here is a portion of a gunweek issue that explains it better....

Ammunition performance is an issue with compact handguns. I prefer 230-grain bullets in all .45s destined for defense. However, some loads lose up to 100 feet-per-second (fps) when fired in short barreled handguns. An exception is the Fiocchi 230-grain JHP. This is high quality ammunition.

Using the Cullman, AL-produced Zero hollow point, this loading offers well over 800 fps in velocity from most compact pistols. The bullet usually expands at this velocity. Notably, the Kimber proved reliable with all weights tested, but I strongly prefer the 230-grain bullet. A balance of expansion and penetration is maintained with this loading.

After the initial firing session, I practiced several times with the Kimber. I fired a total of 600 rounds of ammunition. Despite a non-existent cleaning regimen-I simply wiped the gun off and re-lubricated it every 200 rounds-function has been perfect.

And another one from Tactical-life.....

However, inasmuch as the .45ACP bullet is already huge in the first place, a lack of bullet expansion is hardly worth serious concern. After all, the legend of the .45ACP was based upon the old standby, the 230-grain FMJ hardball of military fame.

....Again as stated if you are using high quality ammo, do cheap out when your life (or someone elses depends on it) there is no issue with expansion. While never used for defence, have tested in the field behind my house and can say that all 7 rounds had perfect to near perfect expansion in homemade ballistics gel @ 5 to 10 yards.

The 40 s&w round will expand greater than the .45 acp.

My local police dept. (Columbus, OH) switched from the .45 acp using the S&W model 4586 to the 40 s&w using the M&P 40.

I was told that the reason they changed is because the 40 offers more penetration (especially on car doors and glass), and the 40 expanded much more than the 45 acp in tests conducted by the CPD.

The 40 s&w averaged .80" of total expansion in the tests.

The 45 acp averaged .70" of total expansion in those tests.

The CPD currently use the 40 S&W Federal HST 180 grain JHP as their duty round.

They have been using the 40 s&w for almost four years now, and the one-shot stop record has exceeded the 45 acp's one-shot stop record in actual shootings by the CPD.

Personally, I use 165 grain speer gold dot jhp's in my XD-40.

I buy my ammo from doubletapammo.com.

They offer some of the hottest reloads for an excellent price.

That's the beauty of a .45 acp, the bullet is already so fat that expansion is a moot point. To really make a difference you'd have to go from a 4" to a 6+" barrel. That's because the .45 acp is not a super fast round.

If you're thinking .40 S&W just get a 10mm.

H

As stated by one, you lose about 100 fps in a 3" barrel. Does anyone really think that a perp is really concerned about whether a bullet that struck him was going 800 or 900 fps. I submit that if you were that one, you would not know the difference. .45 ACP from a Derringer with a 2½ barrel will do just fine.

You bet.

Almost any modern s/d round in a 45acp is just as good (if not better) than its counter part in 40 cal.

Yes the 45 is slower-but its bigger.

Even though ballistics look a little different between the 40 and 45, the actual measured stopping results in humans is the same.

The difference in velocity noted in the short barrels and longer barrels of the 45 acp do not influence expansion of quality defensive ammunition enough to make a real difference. You're picking at things that need not be picked at.

I assume you are asking primarily with a view toward man-stopping power.

Considering the very short distances that are usually involved in self-defense situations, I doubt that a somewhat smaller expansion is going to make any real difference in the outcome, and I think it would be more than made up for by the heavier bullet and basically more energy delivered by most .45 loads.

It might be interesting to see a lot of testing with ballistic gelatin -- and it's probably already been done somewhere -- but I think the practical answer is that it's not very relevant to whether you get a one-shot stop.

The Hornady XTP rounds always expand.

If there is any difference it's marginal...at a self defense distance anyhow.