Old School vs. Old School

I recently aquired a Llama Minimax .45 acp used at a good price. This is basically a copy of the 1911 officer's model. It's a close enough copy that about 75% of the parts will interchange, but not enough to call it a clone. If you don't know, the officer's model is a scaled-down, more concealable, 1911. Llama made it in .45 ACP, .40, and 9MM that I know off. Never seen one of the .40's but there is a 9MM in a local gun shop selling for about $250. Llama is pretty much out of business again I believe. The general opinion is that Llama's are junk, or the greatest bargain known to man, whichever. Aparantly Llama had a rocky existence and depending on where in there chain of misfortune your handgun was made, the likelihood of getting junk increased or decreased. Anywho, mine seems well-made. It is a heavy steel gun, seems tight and the only rattle is the grip safety, which serves the same basic purpose as the magazine disconnect in the Hi-power, it acts as a pain in the posterior. The one thing, mine has a full-length guide rod, which means you need 3 hands and a foot to reassemble the damn thing if you take it apart. Have been told it is 100% reliable with ball ammo, but don't know about hollowpoints yet. I'm excited I like .45 acp.

Which is better, 9mm or .45 acp? Well, which is better, apples or oranges? It is an opinion, not a fact. Both are capable of killing someone, punching holes in paper, shooting beer cans, holding down paper on your desk, or gathering dust in a gun safe.

With ball ammo, I think the .45 has a slight edge in effectiveness, as it makes a little bigger hole. With modern self-defense ammo, I think any edge the .45 has dimenishes and maybe even disappears. Both calibers are available in a wide range of handgun designs, you can even find revolvers chambered in these cartridges. Assuming you fire them from a similar platform, you can make some comparisions.

Accuracy: Assuming similar firearms and similar ammo, both cartridges are capable of more accuracy than I am.

Development: These 2 cartridges have had a lot more research and development over the years than most auto-loading cartridges. They are the two oldest auto-loader cartridges still in popular use.

Ballistics: The 9mm parabellum is usually loaded with from 90 to 142 grain bullets. They tend to move from 1000 to 1500 feet per second. The cartridge operates at fairly high pressures, and +p and ++p loads are available, that give even more velocity and pressure. The caliber is .355. The .45 is a .451 caliber with bullet weights in the 180 -- 230 grain range although 240 to 300 grain can be found. The big boy usually pushes these from 800 to 1200 feet per second.
The internal pressure are less, I believe. Once again +p and ++p rounds are available.

Recoil: Well the 9mm has less felt recoil, however I have never felt the .45 was really that bad on recoil. My old .45 was a Ruger P-90 with an aluminum frame and I easily fired it with one hand. Even with the shorter barrel, the steel frame of the Llama ought to be about the same.