Am I crazy for thinking about buying a .45 GAP?

[mgmorden]

I like variety, so I say "sure", pick one up if it piques your interest (though honestly - its a Glock - they're all mostly the same) . . . . but certainly NOT to save money because of any cheap pistols available. Whatever savings you have versus something a little more mainstream will be eliminated within the first few boxes of ammo.

 

[Riomouse911]

In the past I had no qualms about jumping into a new caliber. In the past 5 years I added .41 mag and special, .327 Federal and .32 H&R, 6.5x55, .300 Weatherby and 7mm Rem Mag to my list of calibers.

But the only ones I’ve added after 2020 are .41 Spl to use in my .41 Magnums (starline cases are easy to find) and a new-to-me SP 101 .327 Federal to team up with my Single Six .32 H&R (those cases are not as easy to find).

With the dearth of primers and cases today, I personally wouldn’t go for buying a .45 GAP only because I hate owning a gun that I have a hard time feeding. YMMV.

If you do pick one up let us know your impressions and how it shoots for you when you get a chance.

Stay safe.

 

[Palladan44]

Props to Glock for trying to create a "Game changing" round that could have became the next biggest, best thing.......and upon its inception, for all they knew it could have been....
Georg Luger back in 1900 probably had no idea how popular his cartridge would become either.

 

[Hartkopf]

I believe Glock might have been betting on 10 round limit laws( same for the 43x,48). The 45 caliber is still popular and IMO, people are not getting bigger, and hands are not getting bigger. So a 45 caliber bullet, that some people really like, in a 9mm size gun could have been popular. Especially if we would have had a national 10 round limit. Of course the criminals wouldn’t bother and they would continue to carry 13 to 33 rounds.

 

[TTv2]

I like variety, so I say "sure", pick one up if it piques your interest (though honestly - its a Glock - they're all mostly the same) . . . . but certainly NOT to save money because of any cheap pistols available. Whatever savings you have versus something a little more mainstream will be eliminated within the first few boxes of ammo.

Saving money isn't really the point here and was never among my consideration when asking the question, but the lower prices for a .45 GAP Glock make it more appealing to me to experience something I've not tried before and really when it comes to my current and future firearm purchases, apart from a double action .22 revolver, I've got all the bases covered, so right now it's about trying different things, having my own experiences, and forming my own thoughts about things from those personal experiences.

I guess what I'd want to hear from people to dissuade me from adding a GAP to my coffers is it does nothing differently enough than other Glocks I already have in 9mm, .40, and 10mm and that a 10 round G19 is better to buy than a G38 that can use a 10 rd G37 mag.

 

[Hartkopf]

I guess what I'd want to hear from people to dissuade me from adding a GAP to my coffers is it does nothing differently enough than other Glocks I already have in 9mm, .40, and 10mm and that a 10 round G19 is better to buy than a G38 that can use a 10 rd G37 mag.

MY opinion, the GAP is no better than a 40 cal. My splits are the same with a G37 and a G22, which are both slower than with a G17. I've posted several times here that with a G17 I can rapid fire 5 shots per second on target, with a G22 (or 37) I can rapid fire 4 shots per second on target. Ballistic effectiveness IMO, the G37 is no better than a G22. Of course the G22 has the option for 15 and 22 round magazines and with the GAP all you can do is experiment with magazine extensions.

The Glock GAP guns shoot great but definitely not more useful than the 40 cal Glocks. I have a G37 and I like it but it's 5th or 6th on my list of carry options.

BTW, my gen 4 G37 does not bulge cases and I was able to use my Lee 45ACP dies for reloading with a small spacer in one die. (can't remember which one right now)

 

[hdbiker]

Not until you try to find ammo for it

 

[Capybara]

I reload, I would buy one if it was cheap and I could source some decent brass without dropping a lot of coin. If not, then no, why buy an obsolescent round? But if you're bored and have all of your basic caliber needs met, why not?

 

[someguy2800]

yes

 

[gwpercle]

I can't even remember the reason the GAP was created ... it got a wee-bit of press when it came out and then slipped beneath the waves and I haven't heard a word about it since .
Someone would have to gift me one and I still wouldn't know wether to Thank them or curse them .
Try buying a box of ammo at local dealers !!!
Gary

 

[Terry G]

With all the great .45's around I never did see the point of the GAP. .45 ACP comes in a wide variety of bullet types also, the GAP is increasingly hard to find in any bullet type. I would guess that Glock just wanted a round named after him.

 

[9mmepiphany]

I would guess that Glock just wanted a round named after him.

 

[Jerry M]

Yes

 

[Buckeye63]

Problem.. I have a few boxes of GAP ammo and no pistol…
I had purchased a fairly rare Lonewolf 45 GAP 38 slide .. ran it on a 23 frame .. but sold or traded it off and have ammo .. I always figured on picking up a Model 39 But never did

 

[d'zaster]

Ive been reloading 45ACP for years using progressive press. Zero interest in 45gap but this thread got me thinking of having the hand primer loader set up with SPP if needed. It seems as time goes by, I am seeing more 45 gap brass.

 

[Palladan44]

To me, the 45 GAP would fit these categories-
-High Volume shooter, EDC, service caliber. SD gun.

For me, I do all 9mm in this role. I buy once fired brass that's cleaned, deprimed and sized for .02 c each and never pick up brass. Shoot several thousand, probably near 10k rounds per year.
For me, filling this role with an obscure caliber like 45 GAP would be beyond crazy and highly inefficient.

 

[mokin]

I guess what I'd want to hear from people to dissuade me from adding a GAP to my coffers is it does nothing differently enough than other Glocks I already have in 9mm, .40, and 10mm and that a 10 round G19 is better to buy than a G38 that can use a 10 rd G37 mag.

That's funny.

We seldom dissuade anybody from buying a gun here.

 

[TTv2]

Ive been reloading 45ACP for years using progressive press. Zero interest in 45gap but this thread got me thinking of having the hand primer loader set up with SPP if needed. It seems as time goes by, I am seeing more 45 gap brass.

I think after this recent spate of primer shortages that large pistol primers are going to be relegated to revolvers. I think Federal has already started making most of their .45 ACP with SPP, so over time I imagine 10mm will too given the .40 already uses SPP.

Nothing is a guarantee tho, so the one benefit of .45 GAP is every case is SPP.

 

[Nature Boy]

I guess what I'd want to hear from people to dissuade me from adding a GAP

Unfortunately, you’ve come to the wrong place

 

[The Glockodile]

.45 SuperGAP!

Hmm...

 

[Rexster]

It is not “crazy” to be interested in an obscure cartridge, if one is aware of the difficulty of obtaining ammunition and components. Going to the trouble of modifying cases, to hand-load the ammo, is a perfectly valid hobby. The usual cautions against using personally-hand-loaded ammo, for defensive purposes, would apply, so, I would see a .45 GAP pistol as a hobbyist gun, unless I were to manage to find a supply of properly-stored new-old-stock defensive ammo for it.

For a while, I liked the idea of the .45 GAP, mostly because Glocks that chambered 10mm and .45 ACP were too big for my hands, in the pre-Short-Frame days. Somewhere along the way, however, I discovered that a Glock big-bore Short Frame is a superb fit, especially in my left hand, which meant that there was no longer a truly practical reason to add .45 GAP; I really do like my G30s Short Frame. I have yet to complete my hand-loading set-up, and still do not have a clean, dry, really peaceful place to hand-load, anyway so, have not renewed any personal interest in the GAP.