.45 GAP? Why do I want one?

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Only time I thought to get one was last year someone posted on another forum some FHP turn in for less than $300 and were engraved with the logo. It was cheap to get and being marked FHP for my home state were the only reasons. I see a few boxes of .45gap at all the stores I frequent but I'm sure I'd be buying it all and that would be it unless I found more online
 
Meh.

If you want it, buy it. I'm all about whatever flats a person's boat with firearms.


Me?

I've no use for the .45 GAP.

My only experience with it came from finding out a brand new box of .45 ACP was actually loaded with .45 GAP.

I was not pleased to have not noticed this before I chambered and fired a round. I don't remember exactly what alerted me, but I stopped after the first round and investigated, then realized the ammo loaded was shorter than it should have been.

All GAP ammo, and in a box labeled for ACP.

I dumped it all into a Ziploc baggie to give to a friend who had a GAP pistol. Then inspected all the remaining boxes of .45 ACP to verify I didn't have any other surprises waiting for me.

I don't have a need, or desire, for it and especially don't need it getting mixed up with my ACP ammo.
 
entropy said:
I used my RCBS .45 ACP dies. They worked just fine, once adjusted for GAP. I did load one box of 230 FMJ for it, but 200 is really the GAP's sweet spot.
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I tried an old set of RCBS 45 dies I had too, but they didn't seem to work right either. The Lee dies work fine, Im just not a big fan of Lee's stuff, especially for any kind of heavy use.

This isn't a round I'm going to load a whole lot for, so they will work for this. If I were to load any kind of serious amounts for it, Id pony up the money for a set of caliber specific Hornady dies.

I was planning on just loading 230 grain bullets when I first got it too, as I had a ton of them, but when I started to try and load for it, a lot of what Id read posted on the web, didn't seem to be holding out.

I never did find a load for the 230's and everything I read said it wasn't a good idea to load them that heavy. Something about pressures if I remember right. 200 was the heaviest and seems to be the most popular. I think 45GAP and 357SIG have a lot in common as far as being sorta one trick ponies, and are a bit limited as far as ammo goes.

The easiest thing to do here as far as 45 goes, is just to buy 200 grain SWC's for both the GAP and ACP. Keeps things simple, they work fine in both, and Ive always liked the SWC's better than the ball type bullets as they are more versatile.

A bit of a side track here, but I was always annoyed by the 45ACP cases I found with the SP primers, but now Im starting to rethink that. I havent been shooting much of the GAP as it takes SP primers and Ive been using what I had primer wise for other things I shoot more that use them, so the GAP basically sat and didn't get shot as much. I recently got a case of CCI SR primers and Ive been able to keep going with the 9mm, 38/357, etc, and I also loaded a bunch of the GAP up earlier this past week. Everything seems to be handling those primers OK and I think Im going to just get them from now on instead of buying both.

Kind of round about here, but what I was first getting at here was, if I have a number of 45ACP cases that take SP primers, it would allow me to keep shooting it, as long as I had either/or primer wise. While its a PITA to keep and sort both, having both now seems to be a good thing, the way things have been going of late.
 
Sometimes I find that the wanting is better than the having. I have lusted after certain firearms in the past, and when I eventually find one and buy it, I have often felt let-down. Hope that's not the case with you!
 
not a bad choice at all if you like 45gap. Also should give you the ability for quick change caliber conversions with 9mm,357sig, and 40s&w uppers. As far as I can tell the frames are all the same.
 
TTv2 said:
I thought .45 was notriously a poor hard barrier penetrator due to its low velocity?
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I could be wrong about the vehicle penetration; they may have made the choice based on lethality alone. I made that assumption based on the fact that the bank robbers were in a vehicle when the shootout happened. The trooper hit both of them, but they still managed to get away.
 
jmr40 said:
The 45 GAP is loaded to +P pressures to equal 45 ACP speeds when it is loaded to standard pressure. You will always be able to beat 45 GAP with 45 ACP.

When Glock came out with the 45GAP they GAVE them to the Georgia State Patrol and took in the 40S&W Glock 22's they had been using in trade. They were trying to get them on streets and in use. The GSP used them 2 years and hated them. After a couple of failures they gave them back to Glock and bought Glock 17's in 9mm instead. They have been very happy with the G17's and have had no failures to stop bad guys.

There have been other, better solutions to a smaller grip while using old school 45 ACP. If you want a plastic framed 45 look at the Smith M&P in 45 ACP. You can even get one with the 1911 style safety. If you're a 1911 guy they feel very much like a plastic 1911 with a similar grip size. The full size gun is 10+1. The compact is 8+1.

I have one of each and installed an Apex trigger in both. They rival my best 1911's trigger pull and accuracy. And with a trigger that light wouldn't want one without a safety.
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Can you elaborate on the failures with the Glock 37s? Do you mean parts breakages or do you mean actual failures to stop?
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
That is INCREDIBLE. Seems .40 S&W ammo is a lot cheaper to feed. As I don’t reload, that could make the difference. Seriously hovering over the “buy” button for sure!
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Better hit “buy” and get it on the way before the trucking industry slows down another notch. ;) The thought of a long delivery is reason to rush the purchase!:D And Midway is running a sale on g22 magazines with free shipping. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/930292048?pid=889493
 
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JCooperfan1911 said:
Can you elaborate on the failures with the Glock 37s? Do you mean parts breakages or do you mean actual failures to stop?
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I’ve done a bunch of reading today about the .45 GAP and found this interesting article about the round. Regarding stopping power, the author states that:
What none of the departments that dumped the .45 GAP complained about was so-called “stopping power.” Without exception, they were pleased with how fast solid hits with good JHPs from the .45 GAP stopped violent encounters.
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It may be mid-Winter cabin fever setting in, but I’m still kicking around getting a G37. I’ve located several thousand rounds for sale at different dealers across the country so it’d be no problem to get a good stash. And, since (other than the case) it uses standard reloading components I’d be in pretty good shape if the round is ever discontinued.
 
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Glocks don't interest me. And Glocks in their own niche attempt at a caliber even less so. But if you want one, go for it. If you go the GAP route I would recommend picking up a set of dies for it. I don't think I have ever seen 45GAP on a gun store shelf and the only regular source is ordering online. Not a good recipe for ammo availability of something like 2021 happens again.

https://www.amazon.com/LEE-PRECISION-Gap-Carbide-Die/dp/B00162NT3Q
 
jonnyc said:
Perhaps insanity runs in your family.
Dead caliber. If you can't find the odd box on the LGS shelf I don't need it.
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I look on the shelf in my basement first and usually find everything I need there. Then again, I buy 1,000 rounds cases most of the time so there is that.
 
trackskippy said:
I picked up a basically NIB 37 for a decent price a couple of years ago. Was actually out shooting it yesterday, as I hadn't shot it in a while.

Our State Police used to carry them and used to practice at our club's ranges. They left a ton of brass lay, and I used to pick some of it up, figuring at some point Id probably pick one up. That worked out. :)

I had a 21SF in the past and it was just to big for my hands. Had a 30SF too, which was a little better but still a bit big. Both were shootable and shot well, but my 9mm guns were just a lot more comfortable in my hands. The 37 is too, but there is a noticeable difference between it and the 9mm guns, as the slides are heavier and fatter, and noticeably different. Compared to a 9mm slide, it looks like one that had been stung by a bee when you're looking down the slide.

While the grips are similar, the difference in slide dimensions will require a different holster than your 9mm guns.

The 37 shoots great and is accurate. Recoil and recovery are on par with the 45acp guns. I had to stipple the grip as I need that more aggressive texture, and more so with the heavier recoil, otherwise the gun would slip around in my hand as I shot.

I reload for it and its as easy as anything else to load for, but its not just a shorter 45acp. Youre basically limited in loadings and to 185 and 200 grain bullets. Of the three manuals I have, only the Speer has data for it.

I keep hearing that you can use your standard 45 dies, but that wasnt the case, at least with my Hornady dies. I ended up getting a cheap set of Lee "45 Glock" dies. Not as nice as the Hornady's, but they work and they were a lot cheaper. Kind of a PITA though.

If you can find one at a good price, and your are interested, go fo it. Why not?

If you reload, get a bunch of brass and you'll be better off if you want to shoot it a lot.
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They figured out how to stuff a 230 grain bullet into the 45 GAP case. Should be good to go with a HST bullet at the same velocity.
 
The 45 GAP was intended for the law enforcement market. There were departments that wanted to stay, or move to 45 ACP in a striker fire pistol. Glock got a lot of complaints that the model 21 grip was to big and didn’t fit the hand of many officers.
So Glock made the model 37 with a frame the same size as the 17 and 22. But as luck would have it, the 40 S&W became more popular within the law enforcement community and the 45 Gap pretty much died off.
The Baton Rouge City Park Rangers adopted the Glock 37 shortly after they came out. Most of the Park Rangers were retired LEOs that wanted an easy job that came with perks. Just about everyone I meet while working for BRPD were over the age of 50. Most of them liked the G37 and said they were great shooting guns.
In my seven years of being the NIBIN Examiner for BRPD, working out of the State Police Crime Lab, I only had two shooting that a 45 GAP was used in. The two shootings were several months apart, but I matched the cartridge cases from both shootings. A guy was arrested a few months later on drug charges and had a G37 on him. I fired his gun and matched the cartridge cases from the gun to the two shootings.

If I ran across a smoking deal on a G37, I would buy it. I’ve bought several guns in the past that I really didn’t need, but they were smoking good deals.
 
Nature Boy said:
What happens if you accidentally shoot a 45 GAP in a 45 ACP pistol?
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According to my experience, you'll notice a difference, investigate, discover what happened, then be very upset that the new box of ACP turned out to be full of GAP.

Then you'll spend some time opening up all remaining new boxes to verify they're correct.

I noticed after one shot. No harm that I found and haven't had any issues with my gun since.
 
@RetiredUSNChief

the only reason I ask is all my 45 ACP brass comes from range pick up. I would hope that I would spot the oddball during the loading process but was wondering what would happen if one snuck past and ended up in my 1911 or CZ97B

ETA: Thinking this through, I check every round with a case gauge so I bet it would get caught there as it wouldn’t get crimped
 
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