Enachos
Member
I've recently been looking into purchasing a Glock 39. Does anyone have experience with .45 Gap ammo or with a Glock of this caliber? I hear the ammo is expensive and hard to find but I'm almost sure Bass Pro has it in stock.
.45 Gap ammo???
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The Wiry Irishman
Member
I shot one once. (Well, the 19-sized .45 GAP, I don't know their silly number for it) The recoil feel is very odd. It has the force of .45 ACP with a bit of the snap of a .40 S&W. Shootable, though. I suppose if you like glocks and you don't mind trying to find the goofy proprietary ammo, it would be a decent choice.
KBintheSLC
Member
No experience with it... I have always seen the 45 GAP as a solution without a problem. I would honestly just go with a G30 or G36 and forget your troubles. The extra couple of millimeters on the grip will not hurt as bad as the choice and availability of 45 GAP.
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MichiganShootist
Member
My neighbor has one and hasn't been able to find ammo (off and on) ever since he bought the gun. The only advantage is that in many guns they hold one more round than a .45 ACP...... and some GAP guns have a slightly smaller grip size.
Balistically they are and equal to the ACP.
I sure wouldn't want one.
Balistically they are and equal to the ACP.
I sure wouldn't want one.
Think of it this way, even during the worst of our ammo shortage, .45GAP has always been available... maybe not at your local gunshop, but there has been no shortage online.
This is both good because you can always find ammo, and bad because you own a caliber that very few people are interested in.
If Glock decides to drop this caliber, then you will need to take-up reloading.
This is both good because you can always find ammo, and bad because you own a caliber that very few people are interested in.
If Glock decides to drop this caliber, then you will need to take-up reloading.
When the .45 GAP was first introduced, I expressed my opinion that it would be unlikely to survive as long as Glock was the only maker of guns in that caliber. I still feel that way. The cartridge is easily re-loadable, but I suspect factory ammo will become increasingly difficult to obtain.
The round is easy to shoot, with less recoil than the .45 ACP but also, of course, less power (it won't reliably cycle a M1911). Its only purpose was to allow Glock to offer a .45 caliber pistol with the same basic platform as its smaller calibers.
Jim
The round is easy to shoot, with less recoil than the .45 ACP but also, of course, less power (it won't reliably cycle a M1911). Its only purpose was to allow Glock to offer a .45 caliber pistol with the same basic platform as its smaller calibers.
Jim
joe_security
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Numerous state police have gone with the GAP. Talk to Georgia State Troopers about this. They issue G37 for duty and G39 for BUG/off duty.
Oldnoob
Member
I wish the caliber is more popular and more manufacture will pick up this caliber. I have a mid size hand and because I pretty much only have 9 or 40/357 pistols, I do not enjoy the large grip of 45acp. 1911 is pretty much the only 45acp, I can shoot comfortably.
GAP can match ACP pretty good ballistic wise (with less potential). I just wish maybe sig or HK will pick up that caliber. But as now, the best part of GAP is that while every other caliber price has raise up due to the shortage of ammo, GAP remain the same for lack of buys. I guess that's a good thing.
GAP can match ACP pretty good ballistic wise (with less potential). I just wish maybe sig or HK will pick up that caliber. But as now, the best part of GAP is that while every other caliber price has raise up due to the shortage of ammo, GAP remain the same for lack of buys. I guess that's a good thing.
KBintheSLC
Member
I was at the local gun shop last night and looked at the pistol ammo... they had only 2 boxes of 50 rounds of GAP in FMJ only. Right next to it, they had 7 different varieties of FMJ/JHP in dozens of stacks of ACP. Heck, they had more 10mm Auto options than 45 GAP. To me, the choice is a no-brainer.
ericlikesyou
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It all depends on where you live when it comes to prices/availability.
Online it's always available, Buds has plenty of GAP ammo from different makers, but good luck finding target ACP ammo there. The prices are the same as well (if not 1 or 2 bucks more at some sites). Ammo to go has a lot of choices for GAP as well, the prices are the same sometimes lower too. I'm not sure why people hate on GAP, it is great on paper and VERY beneficial to people who have smaller hands. G21 vs G37 in terms of size is a no brainer for a person with smaller hands; the feel isn't SLIGHTLY noticeable, it's the exact opposite. The only site that I looked at that didn't have ANY GAP rounds was ammo bank.
Oh first post btw, I'm buying my first handgun in a few weeks, deciding between a few guns. THR is a great site, i enjoy reading it.
Online it's always available, Buds has plenty of GAP ammo from different makers, but good luck finding target ACP ammo there. The prices are the same as well (if not 1 or 2 bucks more at some sites). Ammo to go has a lot of choices for GAP as well, the prices are the same sometimes lower too. I'm not sure why people hate on GAP, it is great on paper and VERY beneficial to people who have smaller hands. G21 vs G37 in terms of size is a no brainer for a person with smaller hands; the feel isn't SLIGHTLY noticeable, it's the exact opposite. The only site that I looked at that didn't have ANY GAP rounds was ammo bank.
Oh first post btw, I'm buying my first handgun in a few weeks, deciding between a few guns. THR is a great site, i enjoy reading it.
nonseven
Member
I would not be afraid of buying the .45 GAP.
4 state police agencies have adopted the 45 gap; New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and South Carolina, and more are considering it, including Florida.
As long as that list doesn't shrink, I think it's unlikely that factory ammo will not be available.
This is the basic reasoning to why they like the GAP over the .45ACP or the .40S&W:
It fits in a smaller frame than the .45 ACP, which fit the majority of officer's hands better.
They like the proven stopping power of the .45 ballistics (.45 colt/.45 ACP/.45 GAP).
It does not have over-penetration issues like the .40 S&W.
In extensive testing, which came down to the .40 S&W vs. the .45 GAP, more officers preferred the recoil pattern of the .45 GAP to the .40 S&W, saying it was more of a "push" than a "snap" like the .40 S&W.
The .45 GAP is basically a .45 ACP shortened to the length of a 9mm. A minor benefit is that 45 GAP ammo is marginally smaller and lighter vs. 45ACP.
I've got a model 39 and love it.
4 state police agencies have adopted the 45 gap; New York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and South Carolina, and more are considering it, including Florida.
As long as that list doesn't shrink, I think it's unlikely that factory ammo will not be available.
This is the basic reasoning to why they like the GAP over the .45ACP or the .40S&W:
It fits in a smaller frame than the .45 ACP, which fit the majority of officer's hands better.
They like the proven stopping power of the .45 ballistics (.45 colt/.45 ACP/.45 GAP).
It does not have over-penetration issues like the .40 S&W.
In extensive testing, which came down to the .40 S&W vs. the .45 GAP, more officers preferred the recoil pattern of the .45 GAP to the .40 S&W, saying it was more of a "push" than a "snap" like the .40 S&W.
The .45 GAP is basically a .45 ACP shortened to the length of a 9mm. A minor benefit is that 45 GAP ammo is marginally smaller and lighter vs. 45ACP.
I've got a model 39 and love it.
Quiet
Member
As long as law enforcement uses/supports a particular cartridge, that cartridge will not die out.
.45GAP ammo is more common in areas where LE agencies have adopted it.
.45GAP ammo can be found online as well.
HS Produkt and Bond Arms makes pistols in .45GAP.
PAra-Ordnance and Springfield Armory made pistols in .45GAP.
.45GAP ammo is more common in areas where LE agencies have adopted it.
.45GAP ammo can be found online as well.
HS Produkt and Bond Arms makes pistols in .45GAP.
PAra-Ordnance and Springfield Armory made pistols in .45GAP.
The overpenetration question is nonsense ! Easier to defend in court overpenetration than misses ! In 2003 IIRC NYPD in actual shootouts hit the BG only 10 % of the time !
When NYSP decided on the 45 GAP they gave absurd reasons.
The most reliable Glock is the 9mm. Some police agencies gave up the 40 and went back to the 9mm because of reliability problems in the 40. I don't know about the 45 GAP.
When NYSP decided on the 45 GAP they gave absurd reasons.
The most reliable Glock is the 9mm. Some police agencies gave up the 40 and went back to the 9mm because of reliability problems in the 40. I don't know about the 45 GAP.
My dad has a Glock in 45 GAP. It shoots well. Always fun to shoot off a few rounds after we get done with the 9mm. Ammo has had its ups and down in finding it. Bass Pro, in my area, does carry it. Also it can be found at gun shows.
Another interesting point is that i was recently told, while trying to find GAP ammo at Bass pro, by another individual who was doing the same that springfield XD released a 45GAP pistol. He said he just picked one up and that is why he was looking for the ammo. I have not checked their website to confirm this but it would certainly help in the survival of the round if more gun makers are incorporating it in their offerings.
Another interesting point is that i was recently told, while trying to find GAP ammo at Bass pro, by another individual who was doing the same that springfield XD released a 45GAP pistol. He said he just picked one up and that is why he was looking for the ammo. I have not checked their website to confirm this but it would certainly help in the survival of the round if more gun makers are incorporating it in their offerings.
easyg
Member
I personally don't care much for the .45GAP.
I don't see that it really offers anything over the .40S&W or the .357Sig in performance, and it typically offers lower magazine capacity.
Heck, the Glock 39 only offers six in the magazine.
With only six rounds I would rather go with a revolver.
thriftyjoe
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I dont see the upside of the 45 GAP when you risk much higher prices on ammo and possibly no availability?
nonseven
Member
Prices I've paid for GAP ammo is no higher than 45 ACP.
It's the same cost online, in-person shops are not the best place to try to compare prices, I've been in shops that had some pretty outrageous prices ($35-40 for a twenty pack of Speer Gold Dot for instance), and most all the factory defense loads are available in the GAP, including my personal favorite, the HST.
Everyone who actually has a GAP pistol who has posted about it seems to love them, and Gun Tests (love that magazine) also really liked the G38. Check out Glocktalk.com, they have a subforum dedicated to .45 GAP, it will have plenty of useful information there.
Everyone who actually has a GAP pistol who has posted about it seems to love them, and Gun Tests (love that magazine) also really liked the G38. Check out Glocktalk.com, they have a subforum dedicated to .45 GAP, it will have plenty of useful information there.
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