45 G.A.P..........Will it amount to anything??

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phantomak47

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I got my latest issue of American Rifleman, and there were ads with springfield and winchester touting the 45 Gap round. What does everyone think about this round and will it survive?

One other thing that I couldnt find was info on how many rounds 45 GAP glocks and springfields will hold. Does anyone know anything about this?


Sound off
 
I thought I read that the SA XD will hold 9+1. I have no idea if it will last, it does seem like it would fill a market for younger "open minded" shooters. If I decide that I want a .45 I would "consider" it.
 
I don't think that it will achieve the critical mass of support necessary for broad success.

Will it be successful because it fills a need? Sure, just like the 10mm has.
 
When there is a .45GAP pistol smaller than the Kahr P45 .45ACP then there *might* be some purpose to it besides selling "new improved" guns and ammo to newbies and mall ninja.

.45GAP, yawn. I've much better things to spend my money on.

--wally.
 
With 19 factory loads now offered, the Springfield XD .45 4" and 5" tactical are out now, the Glock 37, Glock 38 (G19 sized ) and Glock 39 (G27 sized). I would say it will be around for a while. More momentum than .357 Sig at its same point in development/acceptance. Recently Georgia Arms announced they are going to start loading for it-hopefully this will put some reasonably priced practice ammo out there.
 
We have a 45 aready and we have the 40 . We don't need a miget 45 I belive he just wanted a round with his name. Rich people like things like that. Won't be one at my house. Of course I wouldn't have one of his pistols either.
 
I think it will go places because the cartridge is the same length as 40 and 9mm. 45ACP and 10mm and 38 super are all 1.260", suited to 1911's and such. 45GAP is in the same family as 9 and 40 (1.150ish) and as such it can be adapted to existing designs. This is what made the 40 successful - was a plug and play for existing 9's.

How about a little Kahr in 45 GAP? Or any other 9/40 frame sized gun with 45 ACP ballistics. These guys aren't that dumb. They have positioned the cartridge thoughtfully.

Don't get me wrong. I love the 1911 and the cartridges designed for it. I won't be a buyer for 45 GAP. But this one will be a commercial success without me, I think.
 
I think a lot of people just dismiss anything new, so there will be a bit of resistance to it at first (much like the .40 S&W). Lotta curmudgeons in the gun world :p

But I must agree that unless someone comes out with a tiny pistol in the Kahr K or MK size that its not going to meet its potential.

Its a great round for making tiny guns with ... in a medium to large frame pistol there's just not much point (except that in some other countries civilians are not allowed to own guns in the same caliber as their police or military, so the .45 GAP might get people around the law in those parts of the world).

Can you imagine a Rohrbaugh R45GAP? :eek:
 
All I've heard about the round is that the recoil is sharper than the .45ACP, not as nice to fire.

I'm not so hot on this cartridge, it seems kind of a waste. Given that it's just trying to exactly duplicate something that already exists, except with worse handling characteristics.

But honestly, 10mm was a good cartridge that is far more versatile than .40S&W
But the manufacturers who are heavily invested in 9mm frames pushed for and got the .40S&W.

38 super and (especially) 10mm pretty much own. 45acp would own too if there weren't so many older pistols out there that would blow up if fed ammo with modern pressure levels.
 
You know, there's the 9mm short, the 10mm short & now the 45 short :neener: :scrutiny: Who was it that said size isn't everything? :evil: :neener:
 
Smells like new Gen stuff...

Harley came out with the V-rod as the old iron is getting dated and they have to build for the newer generations.

There is a war going on now about newer jeeps coming out with IFS apposed to the old iron of solid axels. A few years and we'll see.

The war continues on most all semi-auto boards about the old iron 1911 v the new tech stuff.

It's tough to say good bye to good design and functionability. But I've spent time with these new Gen higher educated kids and they see things a whole lot different than those of us old iron and good design. What can we do? Show them the foundations and the basics and let them work it out on their own. For they will anyway!

I think that's where the new GAP is and who knows? Maybe some of you youngsters will someday carp about the good ole GAP days and how cheap junk is being produced in your next generation. Good luck. :)
 
I am not sure the numbers are there for this one, but what do I know? Look what happened with the .40 S&W! Now if some high level politican can persuade or coerce the top U.S. Military Brass to buy into the .45 GAP -- they are looking at the 9mm vs larger caliber issue these days, and Gaston Glock is very much aware of this fact -- it would take off like wildfire at Police departments and other agencies across the nation displacing the .40 S&W and 9mm. Gaston Glock is a master at the marking game and always seems to pop up in the right place at the right time with the right product! History does repeat itself! :scrutiny:
I will stick with .45acp for sure, but if .45 Gap ammo becomes plentiful and affordable then something in .45 GAP will find it's way to my address. ;)


:evil:
 
The round has enough momentum :D that it isn't going to fade away soon, but the existance/popularity of the .40 S&W will limit the success of the .45GAP IMO.

It is a fine round ballistics-wise because it does duplicate standard factory 45ACP ballistics at the expense of roughly 20-25% higher operating pressure; that means sharper recoil and blast like a .40. The .40 advantage is you can stick more in the magazine (12 vs. 9 for the SA XD, dunno about Glock). IMO, most who are "tactical" enough to appreciate the advantage of 45 in a 9mm/40 sized pistol will also think of the 9 vs. 12 capacity difference.

I'd take the 40S&W over the 45GAP, but I probably won't buy either in the near future and just stick with a 45ACP Govt. model.
 
The GAP isn't a bad round. But there have been a lot of very decent rds developed over the years that are now relegated to the obsolete and never-caught-on list. Some rds, no matter how good they may be, just don't catch on and become a success. So far, the GAP hasn't become a burning hot seller. Until a large agency picks it up I don't see it picking up a lot of steam. The military won't adopt it unless it becomes a NATO standard. Not likely. There hasn't been any large LEA beating down the door to it either. Maybe in the future, but so far it's received a cooler than lukewarm reception except for a few die hards (many who worship Gaston as the 2nd coming) and cultists. Every rd developed has those, but that doesn't ensure success.
 
But not one post from anyone who's actually fired the round

If the ballistics are similiar to the .45 ACP, and one can make nice little 1911s with larger capacity mags in a smaller grip (as SA is apparently going to do) ... and the recoil is not too brutal ... I see the round as filling a niche.

I remember how Gaston, upon inception of the .40 S & W, changed the name of the round to ".40 Auto" ... what will other gun makers do now? Here's hoping SA and any other manufacturers who may chamber a pistol for the round decide to call it the .45 Short or something else, as long as they keep the Glock name off the ammo boxes and their pistol barrels ...
 
At least .40 S&W brings something worthwhile to the party. Fits in 9mm framed guns and offers 100-150 fps more velocity than 9mm or .45 with bullets of the same sectional density giving extra penetration -- worthwhile if you think you might be carjacked and need to shoot thru your door from the inside!

9mm 147gr, 230gr .45, & 180gr .40 all have the same sectional density. So .40S&W because of its higher velocity brings increased penetration over 9mm & .45ACP with a bigger hole than 9mm thus filling a small void in the set of ballistic compromises.

While .45 GAP offers nothing beyond dubious possibilities of a smaller gun for matching existing performance. Like I said, show me a pistol in .45GAP significantely smaller than the new Kahr P45 (.45ACP) and I'll then say .45 GAP does something worthwhile. Glock's initial .45GAP offering was a major disappointment size wise -- bringing on the "why bother" cat calls. An XD compact in .45 GAP is still gonna be as big as my kimber ultra carry or Para P12 and not as small as the Para P10.

The 10mm fills a void beyond .45ACP that market forces seem to say doesn't really need to be filled any better than currently done by .357 magnum. It won't die, tons of old calibers I've never shot are still available if one is willing to pay the higher costs for ammo -- things like .32 S&W Long or .7.62 Nagant comes to mind :)

--wally.
 
I own a Glock 37 and have fired it.

All I've heard about the round is that the recoil is sharper than the .45ACP, not as nice to fire.
Click to expand...

I don't know who you talked to but for me, and I feel recoil is a very subjective thing, the recoil is not bad at all. Matter of fact used to a problem with my right wrist 45 ACP was painful to shoot but the .45 GAP was easier.

As far as if it will stay around? Only time will tell, who would have thought the .40 would have taken off or the 10mm would not. I doubt that Glock would have just done all of that on a fluke.
 
I has dawn on me that since the .45 GAP is chambered in guns of newer designs and MADE of newer and stronger materals the cartiage can be loaded to higher pressure then the .45 ACP. People have come out with new cartiages for this reason before.

The thing about narrower grips from front to back doesn't wash with me. I don't have large hand and yet I have no trouple holdering a 1911 or a Glock 21.

-Bill
 
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