I bought one of the last available (they are no longer being made) Springfield XDS. It’s a single stack 45 ACP and comes with a six round and one 7 round mag, which I purchased this past August.

To be perfectly honest, I only ran 175 rounds of factory round ball through it and it ran without any glitches, but for some reason I was really not impressed with the gun. It lacked that “wow” I was looking for. It weighed in @ 22.2 oz but seemed to recoil greater than my Smith Shield 45 ACP. At the end of my range session the joint between my thumb and wrist was sore and remained so for a couple of weeks. I’m not certain it’s a gun I will ever carry or want to keep long term.

That is only my opinion of course, but you may find it to be perfect for you. Opinions vary.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:
I agree with BBMW about the Colt Defender being unreliable so I sold the one I had.

First I've ever heard of the Colt Defender being unreliable.

My 2nd 1911 was a used Colt Defender in .45 ACP. I ran everything I had through it, which incl. four or five different FMJ and seven (?) different JHPs. It fed every last one of them reliably.

And I shoot the thing damn near as well as I do my full-size Remington R1 Enhanced.

Mine could very well have been the exception. It would feed ball ammo all day with zero issues, but it was a little finicky with hollow points. It also would eject a case straight back into my face on rare occasions. I had a gunsmith look at it and he polished the ramp and tuned the ejector and that helped but I was still getting a few FTF incidents so I sold it. The guy I sold it to doesn't EDC it so he doesn't shoot a lot of hollows points through it. I haven't talked to him in some time so don't know if he has any issues like mine or not.

Jim

Sig P220 Carry SAS is my big bore carry

Glock 36
S&W Shield in .45

I sent you an email.

Thank you maxwayne! I will get it when I go on duty tomorrow night. Thanks again! Regards 18DAI

Another +1 for the Colt Defender/New Agent .45 Mine has been 100% reliable and eats everything I run through it (Ball or HP).

I will jump on the Defender fan bus. Mine has never failed. Don't shoot it or carry it as much any more since the 938/365 have taken over those duties. I did put a Crimson Trace laser grips on it. If someone is looking for a small .45 to carry, really hard to beat that option.

Lightweight commander or sig 220 compact.

Go "old school" and get a Detonics Combatmaster.

size and weight wise smith shield is hard to beat. For a while there was a hammer fired Springfield xde 45

Item number 918597362 on GB to give you an idea. I am not endorsing it, just letting you know there is a hammer fired slim option out there.

Aside from that I would seriously look at a sig 220 carry SAS, Sig officers model 1911, or dan wesson officers model. Though, I find the guardian 45 to be a nearly perfect balance of weight, size and thickness.

Thanks for the suggestions all! Much appreciated!

I am giving the shield 45 a fair try, for the time being. The Hogue grip helped - a lot.

maxwayne no Email found. You can try cdajpw@gmail.com Thanks! Regards 18DAI

I used the govt email in your profile. I sent a new email this morning to the email you listed.

I have the G30S and just love it. Basically a G30SF with a G36 slide. Not as wide as the G30 and I'll take 10 rounds of .45 over 6 any day

This subject has been covered pretty well but here’s my .02 worth.
If I hadn’t read your comments about problems with the .45 Shield I would have recommended it. I have a .45 Shield and it is been 100% reliable thru nearly 500 rounds of all kinds of .45 ammo, with a fondness for 185gr Golden Saber andHornady Critical Defense. Also, I have always felt the felt recoil with the Shield has been soft for caliber.
I also have a Glock 30S and it’s been reliable. It’s a little blocky but holds 10 rounds.
Moving on the the 1911 Ultra’s my Kimber’s have been good. I know some have reported feeding problems with the 3” barrel but my Raptor and Ultra Carry II have been good. And, Kimber makes an excellent Custom Shop model in their RCP. It is dehorned with trough sights. I had one, and really liked it, but sold it to a buddy that just had to have it. For me, the lack of sights was no problem at 7yd distances as that’s basically point and shoot anyway.
I had a Detonics Combat Master for awhile. It was finicky with ammo and weighed a ton. It concealed well but I traded it off.
So there are lots of good options in subcompact .45. Really comes down to personal preference.

Springfield XDM ELITE 3.8 Compact is my choice. I bought this newly released weapon in 10mm and loved it so much I just got it in 45.Soft shooting and deadly accurate

I carried the S&W 1911 Pro Series compact for awhile. It fed every .45 round perfectly. Unfortunately, its short, square butt stock stabbed into the fleshy part of my palm with each discharge. Long shooting sessions were painful.

I had Glocks for many years, including G21SF and G30SF but cleared them all out after getting P320’s.

Had full size and compact P320’s in .45 but just wasn’t as impressed with the P320 in .45 as I am in 9mm, not to mention Sig essentially abandoning the .45 P320, and sold them off.

Been hankering for a compact .45 lately and keep coming back to the G30SF. Had an XD45 I wasn’t a fan of, would be interesting in the Hk 45c (but they seem to be unavailable).

G30 beats the Hk on capacity and price, but with everything else in the stable being Sig and Hk, not sure if I want to head down the Glock road again.

Decisions, decisions…

I had two lessons scheduled today at the range . One of the ROs is a retired Deputy. Glock guy. Died in the wool. LOVES his G27 retirement pistol. Carries it 24/7.

He shot the shield 45 a few times, without the Hogue slip on grip and liked it. But, like me, he found the grip a little too thin for his large hand. He knew I was instructing today and asked me to bring the shield 45 with the Hogue on it for him to try again. He shot it very well. And surprisingly, called the FFL we use and ordered one!

I do shoot that plastic striker fired piece of shield accurately. It is an accurate and gun and to date, reliable. I shot it a bit today after the lessons were done. Even shooting it fast off hand results in good groupings. And the Hogue slip on grip makes it easier to control. Even one handed.

I picked up a Bianchi Professional IWB holster to use on duty. Conceals it very well. I wish someone made a DA/SA compact 45 that was a thin, with a metal frame and a hammer. But until that day, I will make do with the shield 45. Regards 18DAI

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
I am also a .45 fan, and regularly carry a P245, which is pretty similar in form factor to your CS45. The only other smaller option I can think of in .45 besides the shield is the Springfield XDS/XDE. I'm not an XD fan (not a hater, either...they just don't do anything for me), but my buddy's XDS has been reliable, FWIW. It's been discontinued, but they did offer the XDE in .45, and that had a hammer:

https://www.springfield-armory...tack-45-acp-handgun/

I think they were only recently discontinued, so if you look hard, you might be able to find a NOS or used one of those. Honestly, given your requirements, though, you may have the best option already in your CS45.

My carry is also a P245.