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Anyone here a fan of the 45 GAP?

8K views 167 replies 46 participants last post by  es 350 
#1 ·
How do they kick compared to 45 acp? Will this caliber die? Any real advantages to,it?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Kick is less than ACP of comparable weight. This of course with comparable loads/bullet weights.
Advantages IMO is a smaller grip size and more accurate on average than ACP in comparable guns . Not to mention the G39 is same size as 26/27 except slide is a little wider/heavier, but with a big 45 cal. bullet coming out the end! IIRC
slide is same width as the frame on 26/27/39/33 , frames slide can be interchanged . I don't notice a difference when carrying 26, 27 or 39.
I have a G39 and a G37 , both a very accurate, have shot a couple groundhogs with G39 this year , furthest shot was 39 yds and one so far with the 37.

When I checked the sights for load I am using in G37 before trying to shoot a GH , I shot at a 1.5" dot @ 50 yds , nailed it almost dead center on first shot , fig. that was good enough .

Even if it does die (doubt it will) I have modified SP ACP cases on my lathe to use in Gap .

If you keep your eyes open Gap ammo can be had online for about the same as ACP.
 
#155 ·
Kick is less than ACP of comparable weight. This of course with comparable loads/bullet weights.
Advantages IMO is a smaller grip size and more accurate on average than ACP in comparable guns . Not to mention the G39 is same size as 26/27 except slide is a little wider/heavier, but with a big 45 cal. bullet coming out the end! IIRC
slide is same width as the frame on 26/27/39/33 , frames slide can be interchanged . I don't notice a difference when carrying 26, 27 or 39.
I have a G39 and a G37 , both a very accurate, have shot a couple groundhogs with G39 this year , furthest shot was 39 yds and one so far with the 37.

When I checked the sights for load I am using in G37 before trying to shoot a GH , I shot at a 1.5" dot @ 50 yds , nailed it almost dead center on first shot , fig. that was good enough .

Even if it does die (doubt it will) I have modified SP ACP cases on my lathe to use in Gap .

If you keep your eyes open Gap ammo can be had online for about the same as ACP.
Absolutely do NOT try to trim any ACP case to be used as a GAP round. There are articles and pictures of cross section photos of ACP and GAP brass showing that the GAP brass has a thicker wall construction at the base to compensate for the higher pressures that the GAP produces.
 
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#10 ·
i recently bought a used G37 at a bargain price. I was very surprised at my reaction to it. It fits my hand better than the 19 or 21SF. Love it, don't notice the recoil, it seems more accurate than the 21 (in my hands) and have had no problem purchasing ammo for it. It is now my bedside gun.
 
#22 ·
Springfield and Para both chambered pistols in GAP at one time. It didn't take them too long to wise up.

Good round, just no need. Glock was the only company struggling to make a 45ACP with a small grip on the first place. The GAP is essentially a solution to Glock's own problem. Since the introduction of the GAP, Glock has introduced the SF models in 45ACP, so they somewhat addressed the issue.
 
#16 ·
Its about time we shed some light on this round....... again. :rock:

It is a great round, very accurate and while you probably wont find ammo at Wal Mart, it can be had online for a reasonable price. If you were thinking about reloading, this would be the time. I have 4 GAP pistols and absolutely love them. Oh yea and due to the Internet hype and low density in the shooting world, you can often times buy one for about $300.00

It won't die until after I do.
 
#17 ·
I'm a GAP fan, and have responded to several prior threads on this topic. I think the GAP is a great round in a flawed delivery system - in that the GAP guns still wound up with .45 ACP-width slides as opposed to being 9mm width and fitting 9mm holsters. Once SF- framed Glock .45 ACP guns came out, the G37 pretty much lost it's reason to exist. In my personal experience, the G21SF is a superior weapon to the G37. I own both. The G21SF holds 3 additional rounds, and offers a +P power level that GAP can't equal. But.....

The G39 handles better, for me, than the G30 did. With a "+" baseplate installed, and a round in the chamber, I get eight rounds in-weapon. I back it up with a G38 magazine. End result? It's a large-bore G26! Love it! It's in a class all it's own. Speer Gold Dot 200gr. GAP ammo gives up little or nothing to ACP in a short barrel. Mine wears Ameriglo Hackathorn sights. The same argument pretty much supports the G38 as well, though I can't speak from personal experience.

GAP has become a niche round for sure. It has a place. If Glock uses their current engineering to make narrow-slide GAP guns, the round could YET come into it's own. With the re-emergence of 9mm as a duty round, we will inevitably see some agencies eventually desire a caliber upgrade about seven years down the road. One that fits their existing holsters. GAP can still fulfill it's original mission.
 
#18 ·
I wonder how responsible Glock is for the low popularity of it. My agency went to the GAP when they first came out. Two different officers experienced ftf numerous times with their guns. One of the officers happened to be our head firearms guy out at training. All GAP guns were promptly traded in for the Glock 17. To this day our duty guns is still the 17 (now in gen4 guise). Luckily officers can carry a more powerful and/or different duty weapon if they are willing to buy it on their own.

FWIW I feel it is a great idea but have zero experience myself with it. Just relating why my agency isn't using it.
 
#19 ·
The gap is a good round. People have a problem with a cartridge named Glock but are ok with names like Weatherby, Winchester, Remington and others. My 39 is probably the best shooting pistol I ever had. It outshoots my gen3 37. A lot of people publicly are against the caliber. But for the lack of pistols for sale, I think a lot more people like it than they want to admit. It's the Donald Trump of the handgun world.
 
#21 ·
It has nothing to do with the name. Maybe the "problem" people have is that there is just one company building pistols chambered for it.

How do you compare that with Winchester and Remington rounds? The GAP may be a great round, but it's far too limited to ever get widespread support.
 
#26 ·
Bac1023, it is obvious you are not a fan of the 45 gap. I respect the fact you are entitled to your opinion. The solution to a non existing problem cliché is a little tired and worn out, no matter how original you think your phrase is. I think it is a good round and I trust my life with it every night I work. If you have a different caliber you prefer, good for you. With today's anti gun movement you should be supporting any ones choice of caliber.
 
#27 ·
Once again, the people with little to no experience with the GAP like to denigrate it the most. I've not met anyone who has one, that doesn't like it.

Had the GAP come out before the .40, it would have been much more popular. Probably trading positions in popularity. The GAP came about for many of the same reasons the 40 did. Guns chambered for 10mm were too large for some shooters. Double stacks in ACP had the same problem. GAP platform solved that problem.

Ammo is available online; but I'm not worried about finding ammo, I reload. It's also a great round if you reload. Many of the same components as 45ACP. Same primers as well if you reload SP ACP (which I do).

It's now a niche round. Only some fortunate ones will discover that.

BTW, Bond Arms makes a very nice derringer in 45 GAP.

http://bondarms.com/shop/gun-barrels/3-inch-barrel/
 
#29 ·
The question was posed about GAP recoil earlier in the thread. A G39 recoils just like a G30. Period. I happen to like the G39 better because of the perfect "hand-fit" I get from it. Plus, both of the G30 pistols I previously owned weren't 100% reliable. Too many malfunctions.
 
#30 ·
I have a G37 and a few cases of Ammo that I tried to sale a couple years ago. I couldn't give it away. So now it stays in the nightstand and is my HD gun.
I personally like it a lot. I just got in a bind and wanted to buy another particular firearm that was for sale on Armslist. I'm glad I kept it now.
It was a solution to a problem I had personally. I wanted a Glock in a 45 and the 21 was too big for my hand.
 
#31 ·
While there are a few that do rag on it, I think many people don't see a purpose for the round for them. Or they list the disadvantages of the round. That's not the same as hating the round. If it works for you great. As for those that say about the whole question thing, it in fact did answer the question - "Can I shoot a .45 caliber bullet out of a G17 framed gun?". For those that want that, this is great.

I think the continue sales of the GLOCK is facing an uphill battle. First of all, it seems the 9mm has reached a new fame of being the quintessential defense round. I'm just talking the ongoing perception here, not the merits of which, so let's not start another caliber war. So the new found resurgence of 9mm is impacting the .40 as well as both .45 ACP rounds it would seem.

Also, we're seeing more and more of how small we can make a .45 ACP gun. That more so removes the incentive for other manufacturers for even considering make a .45 GAP. When only one manufacturer makes a gun for a specific caliber, it makes it really hard for it to hold ground. Also considering GLOCK doesn't dominate to quite the same extent they used to, they'll need to keep focus on the more mainstream selling items as the competition increases. There have been other calibers that have suffered this same fate, the fabulous .356 TSW comes to mind.
 
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