What happened to the .45 ACP?

American Handgunner, March-April, 2006 by Charles E. Petty

I'm sure you've heard of someone in the music business becoming an "overnight success" when, in fact, they've been plodding around in bars and clubs for the last 10 years. That is sort of what has happened to the .45 ACP and the guns that shoot it. Evidence isn't hard to find.

"Oh sure." you say, "'everybody and his brother is making 1911s now." That's true but this column is supposed to be about handloading and amino so let's look there and see if we can confirm the obvious.

One of the best guidelines for me has always been the list of top-selling dies. In the past that has been an annual project for me but l stopped looking some years ago because nothing ever seemed to change. Out of curiosity this year I checked again and was startled at the results, For decades .38/.357 dies were either number one or two but now they are in 12th place and the .45 ACP has moved up a bit to seventh. Another perennial leader, the 9mm Luger, has dropped to just barely make the top 20.