Thoughts on New Glock 38 45GAP

I would stay away from the .45 GAP. I think it will be nearly obsolete in a few years. Stick with .40 or .45 ACP. You won't have trouble finding ammo for either of them.

If you try it side by side with the 23 you will convert, simple as that. Ammo is plenty available. 5 state police agencies use the round. Problem is Glock is the only one onboard, XD's were available in GAP and they did a nicer job than Glock in that they kept the slide the same width as their .40 and 9! Glock made the slide a bit wider. I was a nay sayer, but shot it side by side and the difference was night and day. The manufacturers could save big money on tooling, I would bet if they would embrace the round, for God's sake it is the 21st century, the GAP is more size efficient.

Ammo for the 41AE was also once plentiful.

I have looked into that round, nobody around here has it. If you dont mind ordering online, and dont mind paying more go for it. I dont really see the purpose.

The GAP was a FLOP. Go with a 30SF.

I believe Madison, WI PD just dumped their 37's for 22's due to ammo price and availability.

Sox said:

If you try it side by side with the 23 you will convert, simple as that. Ammo is plenty available. 5 state police agencies use the round. Problem is Glock is the only one onboard, XD's were available in GAP and they did a nicer job than Glock in that they kept the slide the same width as their .40 and 9! Glock made the slide a bit wider. I was a nay sayer, but shot it side by side and the difference was night and day. The manufacturers could save big money on tooling, I would bet if they would embrace the round, for God's sake it is the 21st century, the GAP is more size efficient.

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"If ain't broke, don't fix it."

.45 ACP has been successful/popular for over 100 years, because it works. .40 S&W is immensely popular and is a very good choice. .45 GAP doesn't offer me anything I can't get from either .45 ACP or .40.

With the cost and availability of ammunition, plus the wider, top-heavy slide, this is not a trade I would personally make.

Of course I can't make your decisions for you. But consider the cost of ammo that you spend over a gun's lifetime. I don't know about you, but I buy my guns to shoot them. I spend a LOT more in ammo than I spend on the original purchase of a gun. I know, I need to start reloading. My point is that I want ammo to be available locally for my firearms. That means local Mom and Pop gun stores, pawn shops, large sporting chains, even walmart. YMMV.

I agree, if you shot the 23 and 38 side by side, the 38 is the sweeter shooting of the two based on recoil impulse.

Glock 38 Winchester "white box" 230 JHP @ 831 fps / 352# KE
Glock 23 Winchester "white box" 180 JHP @ 977 fps / 382# KE

The Winchester "white box" ammunition is the one most likely to be found at a local "mart". However, I typically buy ammunition online and 45 GAP can be found in various loadings. Cabela's (for example) had at least 3 loads in 45 GAP last time I checked about a week ago. I stopped checking after 3 loads because it was enough to support my position in another thread similar to this. I'll not limit my pistol choices to those that are supported by the ammunition selection available at a mass local retailer. I was able to get 45 GAP Ranger T online cheaper per box than the white box sold locally in the mart by buying a 500 round case.

The OD models are fetching a premium since Glock quit making them, assuming that Glock doesn't reintroduce OD in the future the OD 38 you are considering should hold value well among Glock enthuasist.

If you don't mind giving up a few rounds of smaller bullets with a typically sharper recoil "snap" in exchange for bigger bullets that have more of a push then the model 38 may be for you.

Ammunition selection and availability are definitely in favor of the 23.

REAPER4206969 said:

I believe Madison, WI PD just dumped their 37's for 22's due to ammo price and availability.

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Actually, they dropped their .45ACP Glock 21s, not the .45GAP Glock 37 (which they never issued in the first place).

I had a glock 22 for years and replaced it with a g38. I love it. It's small enough to conceal but large enough to shoot well. I like the feel of the recoil much better than the .40. It delivers full .45 ballistics with a more ergonomic platform. Cabelas sells .45 gap ammo for just about the same price as .45 acp. I think that people who criticize it are basically pretty closed minded about it.

New 2 Tone Glock 38 in 45 GAP.

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Does it come with a .45 ACP conversion barrel?

love my G23.

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And there we have it, folks!

think that people who criticize it are basically pretty closed minded about it.

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Or because we see that it doesn't really fill a useful niche. The 20/21/29/30SF series came out after the GAP guns because they had unspectacular sales. They should have just done that in the first place.

Every other maker who chambered or considered chambering the GAP quickly abandoned the idea.

Yes, it compares well with standard .45 ACP. But terminally, so does .40 S&W, and you get more rounds in the same size gun. IMO, if you can't run .45 +P, the .45 loses it's appeal. I have many .45's, but not one of them is stoked with standard pressure loads unless it's range time.

IMO 45gap has one advantage over its 9mm/40/357 brethren framed guns.

Just like acp its big enough to be reguarded as a satisfactory performer with ball ammo.

I find the idea of practice, carry, shoot nice cheap dependable ball somewhat appealing.

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if the semi solid liquid hits the rotating object,45 gap ammo is going to be rare and expensive.it was designed for small handed folks.not all shops handle it

dprice3844444 said:

if the semi solid liquid hits the rotating object,45 gap ammo is going to be rare and expensive.it was designed for small handed folks.not all shops handle it

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As long as I can get brass I have ammo at the same cost as acp

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I've done quite a bit of research about this. The 45GAP wouldn't exist as wee know it today, as poor as it is, if it weren't for a few high-profile LE contracts back east.
Glock gave such a discount it couldn't be passed up. Eventually though. ammo availabilty will be its downfall unless everone who owns one reloads. its time is numbered.

The 45 GAP was created to fill a gap or solve a problem that only Glock was having. A 45 caliber round to fit in their 9mm/40SW frames. It was a bad idea then and to purchase a 45GAP is a mistake now. Buy a 45 ACP you won't regret it, ammo is cheaper and more readily available. 45 ACP does every thing the GAP does and more. Why settle for an imitation when you can get the real thing! Bad trade! JMHO

I've got a Glock 38 and like the compact sice immensley. It's grip s smaller than even the 21SF, 30SF, and 36. Ballistics are matching .45ACP with no problem. As far as ammo goes, I've got a conversion for my Dillon RL650 and can pump a thousand rounds out in no time. Sounds to me that all the naysayers have never owned one. It fits in nicely with my 19,23,and 32.

The OD frame is more valuable to Glock fanatics. You might be able to sell it online for retail price or more.

I wouldn't trade a G23 for it though unless you're personally a fan of the OD frame or 45GAP. You could swap the internal components in a G38 frame with those in a G23 frame, they're both literally the same frame just with different internals.

45GAP is in its death throws. There used to be other brands chambered for it but they all stopped making pistols in that caliber, and ammo is hard to come by. If you're a reloader you can trim down .45ACP cases if I remember correctly, and just make your own ammo with .45ACP bullets and small pistol primers.

.45GAP is in its death throws. There used to be other brands chambered for it but they all stopped making pistols in that caliber, and ammo is hard to come by. If you're a reloader you can trim down .45ACP cases if I remember correctly, and just make your own ammo with .45ACP bullets and small pistol primers.

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.45GAP brass is not the same as the .45ACP brass. The internal dimensions (case walls/taper) are different.
Trimming down .45ACP brass to reload .45GAP, will bring about bad things.

As long as Gov/Mil/LE supports a particular cartridge that cartridge will not die out.

.45GAP was released in 2003.
It is currently adopted by 10% of the state police agencies in the USA. Most of which adopted the .45GAP within the last 1-3 years.
So, it still has time before it dies off.

Even though Springfield Armory has ceased importation of the XD in .45GAP, HS Produkt still makes the HS-2000 in .45GAP. Primarily for sale in countries that do not allow their citzens in owning handguns chambered in Gov/Mil calibers.

how old are you ? If you are near my age, we will be gone before the ammo dries up, so what the heck? If you are a young man, just buy and extra box once a month and hide it for the future in case they do discontinue the ammo - besides, what percentage of us really shoot every day/week/whatever anyway? I know lots of gun lovers that seldom shoot, and have pistols with much more expense than .45 GAP......just set some back and don't worry what we think.....

I say don't bite the hook.