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Ruger P90 a very strong accurate 45 double action. If you are use to double action revolvers.

You shouldn't have any trouble with double single acrion autos,

I shoot all of them with out trouble but then I have many tens of thounds of round through then all.

There is only one.....the CZ75 or one of its kin.

Having been quite familiar with the Double Eagle I & II, Go with the other suggestions.

Some people have very good luck with Kahrs
Others do not

For me their quailty contol is to hit and miss for me you can get a very good one or you can get one that isn't

Hows about a Para-Ordnance LDA in 45 acp?

GH, 11/7/11

So you're looking for a DA/SA stainless framed and slide semiauto pistol. Of course this lets out the Kahrs as they are DAO. Besides some CZ-75 stainless variants (which are excellent pistols) there are some stainless Sigs (I have the 220 in Stainless as well as a number of aluminum framed Sigs) and some SW 3rd generation pistols which fit your criteria, notably the SW 4516-1 and 2 variants and the 4566 (both in .45) and the popular 9mm variants like the 5906. As with most stainless framed pistols they can be a bit heavy to lug around all day. Take a look at some of the pistols for sale on Gunbroker and see if any might fit your requests. Good luck.

best wishes

Stainless steel pistols need to be heavily lubricated or they will gall. I would prefer a blued steel model myself. A friend of mine brought me an EAA Witness Compact in .45 acp to tune up the extractor because he had gotten a little burr on it. After disassembling and touching up the extractor, I was very well impressed with the little pistol. It was well made out of quality steel. Fit and function of the parts was very good. The trigger was very good. It appeared to closely resemble the CZ-75. I think that I'm talking myself into buying one. PS. It is double action, single action.

GH, 11/8/11

Now that you are thinking of an alloy framed pistol I see that you have picked my favorite, the Sig p-245. It is my favorite carry pistol- light, small (but not pocket sized), reliable and accurate. It takes regular 6 round mags and full size 220 mags. I have several thousand rounds through mine with no problems. Mine wears night sights, either Trijicon or Meprolights, I forget which. The DA and SA trigger are good. They can be had used from Gunbroker in the low $500 range if you are patient. The p-245 is pretty popular on the Sig forum (sigforum.com).

Regarding the EAA Witness pistols. I've had two .45's in the Wonder finish. They are all steel, heavy but very accurate. Unfortunately both of mine, a full sized and compact, suffered cracks in the frames and slides at low round counts with standard velocity ammo. EAA refused to repair or replace them stating that the Hard-chroming I had done to the pistols (for rust issues here in the tropics) voided their warranty. None of my other hard chromed pistols, be they Sigs or SW's or even my Rem 700 rifle, ever had cracking issues like the EAA Witnesses. If you google "EAA" and "customer service" or "EAA" and "frame cracks" you will find a number of people with poor CSS issues and metal cracking problems. Good luck in your quest.

best wishes

I haven't tried any of the latest wonder-autos, so can't contribute anything about them.

I can tell you a bit about my personal mutation from "wheel-gunner" to "autofanatic", and back.

I used to mainly use an S&W M1950 target in .44 Spcl, with the standard Keith load...240 gr. cast SWC and 17 to 17.5 grs 2400 for a lot of years.

Gun performed great. Was utterly dependable and very accurate. Did NOT shoot loose in more than 15 years of pretty constant carry both in town and shooting in the bush.

In Canada I had a very close friend (almost a surrogate brother) who had (and I think still has) just about every new automatic that came on the market. When I moved to the U.S. where they are easier to come by (and therefore usually less expensive), I decided to modernize, just as you have.

First I bought a Benelli P-76 in 9m/m. Very nice engineering and non-Browning design, very dependable, and just about the lightest pistol double action trigger pull I have ever encountered on an out-of-the-box gun, either semi or revolver.

But I never could grow to like or trust the 9 m/m "Luger" cartridge in an automatic for any useful work, short of my old Sten gun, which was VERY simple in its functioning.

So, when they first came out, I bought a stainless steel S&W 645. The only advantages I could find it had were that it was in .45 ACP, is still double action, and one can reload it very quickly IF he has magazines somewhere handy on his body.

Disadvantages? It weighs what seems like a ton after half an hour of carry. It has the most "perceived" recoil of any .45 auto I've ever fired, and isn't any more concealable in a practical sense than was my 1950 Target. In a word, the ergonomics SUCK.

So, I bought another make of double action .45 auto...sorry...I can't even recall which one. It was a little bit lighter, but to make up for lack of slide weight, had a recoil spring set-up which would take a Lowland Gorilla's strength to operate easily, especially when in an odd position...like lying flat on the sidewalk and under assault. So it went away.

Then I bought a SIG P-220 in .45 ACP. Ergonomically that is a very nice pistol and is not too large or heavy, unlike the Smith 645 is. Also doesn't take an iron-pumping ape to function it, and I sort-of like (though don't fully trust) the hammer-drop mechanism.

Anyway, the stainless Smith is way-to-heavy to carry, so it never goes out of the vault, anywhere. It's doing Life Without Parole in the dark in there, poor thing.

I do occasionally carry the SIG P-220 in it's issue Service holster.

But I don't carry it regularly because it still holds less than 10 rounds, all up. Looking around, I decided to try the Glock, which a lot of PDs have gone to . Got me a Glock 20, in 10 m/m which has 15 rounds in the drop-free magazine. Nice cartridge. Easy to operate gun. Huge and blocky, which contributes zero to inspiring daily carry, unless one's "thing" is for people to KNOW they are carrying and to intimidate them.

Unfortunately, some folks are not intimidated, but see it as a challenge. That's a downside. How big a downside depends on what you are doing, and among whom. So, my Glock 20 is now being an "in the vehicle gun"...along with a couple of fully loaded spare mags. Nice to have 46 rounds of hot 10m/m on tap at times.

So, what did I settle on for carry purposes when maybe I didn't want it to be known I was carrying?

Went back to a wheelgun...the little S&W 940...basically a hammerless Model 36 in stainless steel, which takes 5-shot full-moon clips of 9mm Luger (Black Talons, of which I have an ample supply). Two or even three of those fully-loaded moon clips don't even make a noticeable bulge in my pants pocket.

But the Model 940 isn't ideal, either. It would be a better carry gun if it was available with the "Scandium" alloy frame.

And it is totally ineffective (useless) as a hunting pistol or as a gun where accuracy is sometimes absolutely necessary beyond 10 yards.

So, now in my efort to find a better compromise carry gun, I am going back to another N-frame S&W...a 4" M-57 in .41 Rem Mag, with moderate loads...210 grain bullets at about 1,100-1,200 fps.

It's not a little gun, but is no more difficult to carry or conceal than is the SIG .45 auto. Can't be reloaded as quickly, but is more accurate with just as much or more striking effectiveness. And, in MY hands, more ergonomically easy to shoot well.

So, where am I going with all this?

Just saying that "modernity" isn't all it is sometimes made out to be.

What I learned on this voyage is that, for me, there is no single perfect pistol. There probably IS a best one, however. To find it, I should have paid attention to identifying wants and needs FIRST, and just ignored the hype.

I should have listed what I MUST have, and what I want, and put the list in my wallet, so it went everwhere I did when looking at pistols.
Then I should have rigorously looked at every pistol I could, examined their specs, held them in my hand , and so on, BEFORE buying or changing anything. Could have saved at least a little time, and a LOT of money.

Don't know how much of that might apply to or help anyone else, but there may be some useful info in there somewhere.

If you must have a DA Semiauto then I would take a look as a SIG or a H&K in 45 ACP.

Also while not really DA, the Glock in 45 ACP or 10mm is worth a look.

However, I would recommed you get with someone that is a good 1911 shooter, and do a couple of range sessions with them and a good working 1911 in 45 ACP.

Shoot a SIG, Glock, and a H&K as well and make your choice.