.45 gap?

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J_McLeod

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I went to the range today and while sorting through my brass I found a few pieces of brass in that caliber. I'm curious what advantages is offers over the .45 ACP, why it was created and why anyone would buy it?
 
Can be used in a shorter 9mm/.40 frame. Has power equal to or slightly above standard pressure ACP, can't match warm +P ACP levels, supposed to be a very accurate chambering.


Mostly it's a good way to get a .45 caliber bore into a pistol with 9mm frame.
 
I'm curious what advantages is offers over the .45 ACP, why it was created and why anyone would buy it?
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Advantages over .45 ACP? None

Why was it created? Gaston Glock wanted his name on a cartridge. Glock engineers, despite all their perfection, couldn't get .45 ACP into a grip frame smaller than the Glock 21 / Glock 30 size. Thus the .45 GAP was born.

Why would you buy it? Well, if I was in charge of purchasing at an LE Agency (like the GA State Patrol), and Glock offered to exchange my old .40 S&W Glocks for new .45 GAP Glocks at a stupidly low price then I'd buy them.

As just a private citizen buying a single gun at retail prices, and buying ammo at retail prices for practical use there's no way I'd buy one. If you're a collector looking to fill out your pistols, and have every caliber Springfield or Glock made then why not? If you think it's a cool cartridge, and just want a pistol in that chambering, again, why not?
 
I like my 45GAP. But then again, I have vienna sausages for fingers. Most 45ACP frames are bigger than my short fingers like. With the GAP, I get a 45 caliber hole with a grip frame that is a better size for me.
 
I like my 45GAP. But then again, I have vienna sausages for fingers. Most 45ACP frames are bigger than my short fingers like. With the GAP, I get a 45 caliber hole with a grip frame that is a better size for me.
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The Glock 38 (midsize GAP model) uses a staggered column magazine to hold 8 rounds. There are many single column magazine .45 ACP pistols with 8 round capacity which are the same size as a Glock 38. It's a Glock engineering problem, not a cartridge size problem.
 
As far as I know the .45 GAP is just basically a .45 AUTO with the "empty" space removed. But that is pure conjecture on my end.
 
Gaston Glock wanted a proprietary cartridge, like Colt and S&W had, and looked at the success of the .40 S&W.

The logic was that:
1. You could take a 10mm and shrink it down to 9mm length and create the most popular LE cartridge
2. Americans have an infatuation with the .45 bore bullet
3. Wouldn't it follow that shrinking the .45 ACP to the length of the 9mm, and chambering it in their popular 9mm frame, should sell like hotcakes

Their reasoning was not an example of perfection
 
"I went to the range today and while sorting through my brass I found a few pieces of brass in that caliber. I'm curious what advantages is offers over the .45 ACP, why it was created and why anyone would buy it? "

The 45 gap pistols are cheaper, components are fewer for reloaders, slightly better ballistics than 45acp. Glock wanted a real 45 round which was smaller and used less. He could do it, so he did.
 
The 45 gap pistols are cheaper
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They're actually about the same price as .45 ACP pistols if we're comparing Glock to Glock.
Glock wanted a real 45 round which was smaller and used less. He could do it, so he did.
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Real 45? As opposed to the fake 45 in the .45 ACP? Please explain.
 
The advantage is that it can fit into Glock pistols while keeping their grip frames in 9mm size. That's about it. This attribute has not sent other manufacturers stampeding to rush their own .45 GAP pistols to market. One or two did try it, but soon dropped it, presumably for lack of sales.
 
In my mind, there's very little, if any advantages to the .45 GAP cartridge. But, that being said, I'm 6'5'' with rather long fingers. As in, I can reach the "long trigger" on my Kimber Custom II with not the first joint, but the knuckle joint of my finger. :) So grip size isn't really an issue for me. In fact, I actually prefer the original Glock G21 to the SF, ergonomically speaking. But that's just me. As our dear friend "Nutnfancy" is so fond of saying, "Your mileage may vary". If you have a need for a smaller framed gun that shoots a .45 caliber cartridge, then be my guest. I simply don't see it as necessary in my current situation.
 
Gastons folly! I honestly think the only reason Glock continues to make handguns chambered in GAP is a 50/50 mix of Gastons pride and the fact that there's a few PD departments still using it. Obviously there isn't a huge demand for a shorter .45 round out there, people seem to be pretty happy with .45ACP.

You'll never catch me buying a gun chambered in .45 GAP, it's pretty rare around where I live.
 
The .45 G.A.P. (often called the .45 "GAP") pistol cartridge was designed by Ernest Durham, an engineer with CCI/Speer, at the request of firearms manufacturer Glock to provide a cartridge that would equal the power of the .45 ACP but was shorter to fit in a more compact handgun, and with a stronger case head to reduce the possibility of case neck blowouts.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.45_GAP
 
Too bad they discontinued it. The little Glock 39 seemed to be the smallest RELIABLE .45 subcompact around. The Kahr just isn't getting the reputation for reliability. Perhaps the M&P or XD will prove to be good. I think the XD used to be offered in .45GAP.
 
I was personally confused as to why the GAP had such a smaller magazine capacity than the ACP. If they're the same width, couldn't they fit the same amount in there? The case doesn't look necked to me, anyway.
 
Wish all you GAP guys would police yer brass a bit better. Kinda throws off my sorting rhythm when I have to be looking for those 11.4mm Shorts... ;)
 
The way I see it, Glock would rather invent a new cartridge than modify his design to be thinner.

1. You could take a 10mm and shrink it down to 9mm length and create the most popular LE cartridge
Click to expand...

.40 S&W is a mm less in length to the .45 ACP but longer than 9mm.
 
is there still a Glock made in .45 GAP ?
.
I see nothing wrong with it and don't really think it is any more useless than a .40 or even a 9mm.....
if we all accepted the "that's useless" theory, then there would be only .22's and .45 acp, in my humble opinion......after all, every known cartridge has a similar or nearly-like out there......
look at how many models of guns there are, and most very similar.....heck, I am still shooting a .257 Roberts and there are a dozen .25's that are better/more practical/more effecient/etc......
 
Just like the .308 made for lighter and more compact military weapons than the .30-06, the .45 GAP allows for a more compact and lighter .45. As someone stated, it is a .45 ACP with the extra airspace removed. It's a good cartridge, but not practical for the reloader, as too much cheaper .45ACP brass is out there, and the non-reloaders seem to not have the need for the more compact guns. So, it just doesn't have a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon. Once again, just because it isn't POPULAR doesn't make it a bad cartridge.
 
NG VI said:
A .45 GAP EMP would be pretty cool I think.
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The EMP was originally supposed to be chambered in .45 GAP until Springfield screwed it up.

And as usual, when the .45 GAP is mentioned, people talk out their butts because their heads haven't a clue.

For starters Gaston had nothing to do with the GAP. Glock tasked Speer with creating a round that equalled the power of .45 ACP in a smaller package. The .45 GAP was Earnest Durham's baby. He created it. Not Glock.

It's a great round. It should have done for the ACP what .308 did for .30/06. However, god forbid you do anything to change something John By-God Browning invented.
 
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