CCW: Glock 26 vs. Glock 39 (9mm vs. .45 GAP)

[Raystonn]

The Glock 26 and Glock 39 are identical in size. (Feel free to look them up on Glock's website to verify.) The Glock 26 fires 9mm rounds, and comes standard with 10 round magazines. The Glock 39 fires .45 GAP rounds, and comes standard with 6 round magazines. According to ballistic tests, the .45 GAP and .45 ACP have identical ballistics at the common grains, the only difference being that the GAP fits in smaller-framed guns.

Ammoman.com will give you 1000 rounds of .45 GAP FMJ (for target practice) for $350. You can generally find decent hollow points online for the same price as .45 ACP hollow points.

As I live in California, I cannot carry more than 10 rounds in a magazine. Extensions are available for Glock 39 to get it up to 10 rounds, so the number of rounds in the 39 can still be maxxed.

The Glock 39 is as small as the smallest sub-compact (9mm) Glock, fires the round with the most stopping power, ammo is readily available at good prices, and the .45 GAP has recently been chosen by many of today's law enforcement departments, as well as the USMC.

I was really leaning toward a Glock 26 for concealed carry until I discovered the new .45 GAP and Glock 39. Assuming I can handle the larger caliber without any loss of accuracy, can anyone think of any reason *not* to get a Glock 39?

Thanks,
Raystonn

 

[Hk91-762mm]

Personal protection----Ill take the 9MM with more rounds .
I guess my idea on the 9mmV 45acp is --Ill shoot you with a 9MM you tell me If it hurts and you will stop being bad or if you want me to shoot you again == End of My opinion !

 

[Raystonn]

If one 9mm round is enough to put me down, then one .45 GAP round will be enough as well. But there are others who may be on drugs, etc. who may not go down as easily to a 9mm round. Besides that, why not go with the larger round if everything else is the same? Can it hurt?

Both guns are the same size and both will max out at 10 rounds per magazine in California. If all else is equal, isn't the .45 GAP a better man stopper than a 9mm?

The guns are about the same price, too.

-Raystonn

 

[Atla]

I carry a G26. A lot of folks 'poo-poo' the 9mm, but if you carry a really hot +P+ defensive round - you'll be allright.

A Glock can handle it, I carry Winchester Ranger as my defensive load. Around 1,300 fps.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

And why is a question about Handguns, Autoloaders in General Gun Discussion anyway?

Moving it this time, but its about time threads about specific firearms in GGD started disappearing.

Coming soon...

 

[Raystonn]

How much are those +P+ defensive rounds, and how do the ballistics compare to a .45?

I'm trying hard to compare the Glock 26 and 39. If offered at the same price, is the Glock 39 the better deal?

-Raystonn

 

[fishy]

Raystonn,

If I were making the same decision, I would try to spend some range time with both models.

It would be interesting to see what the recoil is like, and how well you can do things such as double taps, engage multiple targets, failure drills, etc.


HTH,
James

ETA: I would expect both guns to be the same price.

 

[DWARREN123]

Go between them and check out the G27, 10 rounds of 40 S&W ain't bad.

 

[kmbrman]

Glock 26 vs 39

Before you decide to buy the 39 you might consider this; is my ammo available in areas where I might carry? If it doesn't pass the Walmart or podunk test ,you may be stuck not being able to find Gap ammo ! Now that gun makers are finding ways to trim their 45ACP guns even smaller, 45 Gap could end up being a loser in the commercial market and disappear after a short time! May be like trying to find 41 Mag. as an example .

 

[MADBMW]

I would not go with the 45 GAP. I don't think this round will be in great supply for that many years, as the 9mm will never go away. 9mm with current bullet designs and loadings is as effective as you need it to be for a CCW self defense gun. If the size of the round is an issue for you then look at the G27 in 40 S&W which is a proven performer and in good supply at almost any location that sells ammo. I also believe the 39's slide is significantly thicker than the G26 or G27.

 

[Ergosphere]

The Glock 39 has a 3.46 inch barrel. One thing to keep in mind, .45 ACP does about 850 fps out of a 5" 1911 barrel, and velocity decreases with shorter barrels. I'm not a fan of .45 ACP out of such a short barrel. I'm not sure how this translates to .45 GAP, but it's probably similar.

On the other hand, 9mm +P will be just fine out of a 3.46" barrel.

 

[NG VI]

What ergo said about the slide. Also, if you want 9+1 in the regular sub frame and slide, with readily available ammo everywhere, the G27 is awesome. Shoots really well too. I love my Sub Glock.

 

[Chuck Perry]

As someone else said, is there any way you can shoot both before buying one? For me, if I could shoot both equally well, I'd go for the 45. The short bbl wouldn't worry me one bit. Choose your loads accordingly and move on.

 

[rlinwood]

Glock 39 .45 GAP

Historically I have carried a Glock 30 compact .45 equipped with LaserMax 1191 and another option.
Sometimes I carry a S&W Model 60 .357 equipped with CTC laser.
On rare "pocket pistol" occasions, I carry an old AMT Backup .380 which has been always faithful on the range (current flock of small pistols don’t offer option of external safety).

This summer I sought a subcompact auto.
Considering .40, I began reading reviews, articles, opinions and statistics but concluded that I really would prefer to stay with the .45 round.

I began reading reviews, articles, opinions and statistics about the Glock 39 .45 GAP .
I found that there are lots of opinions and ideas available on both sides of the fence so focused on the technologies.

Now I most often carry a Glock 39 .45 GAP equipped with a LaserMax 1171 and another option.
I made what I considered to be a deliberate and informed decision based on available information.
Recoil seems about the same or perhaps a bit less than on the G30.

Although I still have and practice with my G30 it is true that I usually prefer to concealed carry the G39.
Regarding my purchase of the G39 .45 GAP ?
No regrets, no looking back.
In my opinion as an owner of one, I would do it again.

 

[CountGlockula]

Personally, I'd go with a G27 for a solution.

But with your choices, I'd go with a G26 because you can fit G34/17/19 mags into it. And when you move out of CA, you can pick up a 33 round mag.

As for stopping power between a .45GAP and 9mm, train on shot placement. Once you've been proficient about knowing where to place the bullet holes...then you might as well get a .22 Ruger Mark II.

 

[mp340dude]

I have em all and the G30 is the one I CC.....More loads to choose from.

 

[JERRY]

10 rounds of 9mm or 6 rounds of 45gap. shot placement being the same id go with the 9mm.

less recoil and quicker follow up shots that are accurate.

i have nothing against the gap round, but looking at both on paper AND (current) real world street results i just dont see the benefit of the gap over the 9mm in a mid to compact gun.

 

[gb6491]

the .45 GAP has recently been chosen by many of today's law enforcement departments, as well as the USMC.

The USMC, when did that happen?

 

[Ben86]

I chose the Glock 26 over the "big bore" subs for a few reasons. Big bore ammo is for big guns, its already slow and only gets slower in a small gun which makes bullet expansion questionable. The recoil is less than comfortable and mag capacity suffers. Also, in the case of the .45 caliber G30 the gun is actually bigger than the G26.

Also, I don't know about you guys but if I can't pick up practice ammo at walmart for it I don't want it. I have yet to see .45 gap at wally world.

And I'm not so sure that 2mm extra in bullet width makes a huge difference. Oh, please no flaming, pointless caliber war.

 

[357wheelgunner]

Get the 9mm, so you can afford to practice. Practice is much better than tiny slivers of better ballistics.

If the 9mm won't stop a badguy, a .45 probably won't either.

 

[skers69]

I had the same choice about a year or so ago. I went with the 9mm to save on ammo. Try and rent both at the range and choose the one you shoot best.

 

[Chuck Perry]

I see a lot of references to shot placement outweighing caliber. In a static situation this is absolutely true. We could all get by with J frame 22LRs. Fights are dynamic. You have no idea what your opponent is going to do. You could be presented with -one- less than ideal shot to stop the fight and put him down. You could be injured and barely able to get a shot off, much less a precision one thru his eye socket. That being said, I see a large caliber heavy weight bullet as an advantage over small caliber light weights. The 9mm, with modern loadings, is an adequate round. The 40 is an improvment over the 9mm, and the 45 sits atop the heap. The current Guns and Ammo has a write up about hunting African game with a 257 Roberts. The author states how it was a death ray on 500+ pounds plains game, with the caveat that shot placement is paramount. For some reason he did not get the 257 out for lion or cape buff's.

 

[un_lucky]

I think the 45Gap will be as popular as the 41 AE.

 

[Quiet]

When looking for a carry piece smaller than my Glock 30 and bigger than my Kel-Tec P-32, I ended up with a Glock 39.

I tired out all four Glock subcompacts (26,27, 33 & 39) and found that for me the 39 had less felt recoil than the 27 & 33 and I was more accurate with it then the 26, 27 & 33.

In my local area, .45GAP ammo is cheaper by the box than 10mmAuto and .357SIG.
Buy ammo online in bulk and it gets in the same price range as .45ACP.

Currently, four state law enforcement agencies use the .45GAP. So, it's not going to go away for any time soon. As long as LE uses it, a particular caliber will not die out.