AllenM ... I wouod be very happy to meet up with you to see what the .40 1911 recoils...
Well here is an out of the box answer. But if you don't reload it will probably fall in the 10mm category. I just put one together in 357 Sig. 100% reliable and combined with the weight of a 1911 this is an awesome fun gun to shoot.
You can up load or down load it for what ever shooting you want to do.
Right now I am loading at 175 power factor and the recoil to me is about perfect.
That is not a hot hot load for it either. even though I love my 9mm 1911 this gives me a ton more umph at will but can be downloaded to 9mm specs as well.
I am surprised that how well this feels to shoot to be quite honest.
This was a full mag with 6 bullets it the one hole. this is 20 yards unsupported (yes I pulled 2 )
If the 357 Sig would have been available in the year 1911 JMB would have certainly ran it through his gun
Oh P.S. I have a .40 barrel for this gun also you would be welcome to shoot it if it would help you decide before shelling out some cash.
When it comes to 1911's and from the ones I have owned and fired. If you get one it's gotta be a .45, and that's exactly what I voted for!
If it's solely for plinking around, why spend more money than you have to?
1911's should always be .45 if they are to be used for defense, but as a back yard gun, go 9mm, save a few bucks and have fun.
If John Moses Browning wanted the 1911 to shoot anything other than the .45 ACP, he would have designed another pistol. Oh wait! He did... The Browning Hi-Power 9mm.
To each their own, but I disagree. the 1911 platform is so awesome why limit it to one caliber.
Glock and M&P, XD's don't
Since you have a .45 already you dont need to worry about power factor just use your .45 when you need to meet a certain power factor. Go with a 9mm .Of course you already knew what my answer would be.
10 I didn't vote because my caliber isn't up there