O.o purdy. 45 is just a tad heavy for me to be accurate with, and 38 was too light to be convincing.
You might want to look at the EAA Witness compact with muzzle compensator. It's light, and the comp reduces the felt recoil to less than 1911 levels in a much lighter gun. Downside is the muzzle flash at night will blind you, as well as your target. For night encounters I keep the 1911 nearby. It's also made in 9mm and .40 S&W. Not sure you can still get the version with the built in compensator.