.45 GAP

8

'88Scrat

New member
This is probably a very simple question for those in the know but I'll ask anyway; how common are .45 GAP handguns? I ask cause I accidentally bought some thinking it was .45 ACP and have been stuck with it ever since. I literally could not even give it away...
 
how common are .45 GAP handguns? I ask cause I accidentally bought some thinking it was .45 ACP and have been stuck with it ever since. I literally could not even give it away...
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Don't know how common bona fide GAP guns are, but I bet if you went to a local UPSA match, some revolver shooters would happily to take them off your hands. ;)
 
Depending on how much ammo you have maybe you should look at a Glock 38. I hear the 45 gap glocks are bargains and everyone who owns one likes them.
 
There are some wholesalers and dealers that are buried in both guns and ammo. Like Noreaster says... if you want a bargain, that'd be the cartridge to get.

There's a rumor that you can put a 9mm, 357 SIG or .40 S&W Glock topend on a 37, 38 or 39 frame and shoot those cartridges with them. Any one know this for a fact?

C
 
How much did you buy? If the deal is right I might be willing to take it off your hands to use in my S&W 25-2.
 
i had a glock 38, i sold the gun and had 220 rounds of ammo left over. I almost couldnt give it away, wound up selling all of it for $80.
 
As others have mentioned, a DA revolver in .45 ACP could fire .45 GAP although moonclips would be necessary not only for extraction, but to provide proper headspacing as well.

Other options could be to list it on an internet sales site like Gun Broker or Auction Arms or to simply pull the bullets to be used as components in .45 ACP reloads later on.
 
The .45 GAP was designed for use in a gun platform sized for the 9mm. Glock was being pressed to make a .45 pistol, but they didn't want to have to do a total redesign of their 9/40 platform, hence the .45 GAP (Glock Automatic Pistol). Eventually, they gave up on that idea and brought out a true .45 ACP.

The .45 GAP can be fired in the standard 1911, but not reliably. I used a lighter recoil spring and it worked well enough for range fun, but I would not depend on it for serious purposes.

Jim
 
Glock, Springfield Armory and Para were the only real companies to come out with a GAP model. They have long been sold off by many owners when real 45acp models came out so I would just try to sell it to the first die-hard fan of GAP pistols or someone who can use it in a revolver. No use adding a gun with an almost dead caliber that's more expensive than 45acp into the mix.
 
Glock had the model 21 .45 ACP out for many years before the .45GAP came out. The GAP was a way to make it fit better in the hand.
 
Nakanokalronin said:
Glock, Springfield Armory and Para were the only real companies to come out with a GAP model.
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Springfield never came out with a .45 GAP model. They originally announced the EMP as a .45 GAP, bbut after sending a sample to all the magazines and getting a lot of publicity, when the EMP finally came to market it was offered on 9mm and .40 S&W only. I don't believe they ever sold it in .45 GAP.

Para-Ordnance did offer a similar-sized pistol in .45 GAP (but theirs was in their LDA series), but it only lasted a couple of years ... most likely because nobody wanted to buy a .45 GAP when they could buy the real thing: .45 ACP.
 
Springfield never came out with a .45 GAP model.
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They made the XD in 45GAP.

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They still make it ,but I think only if someone orders one. The GAP models flooded the used shelves by me once they came out with the 45ACP model.
 
The .45 GAP was designed for use in a gun platform sized for the 9mm. Glock was being pressed to make a .45 pistol, but they didn't want to have to do a total redesign of their 9/40 platform, hence the .45 GAP (Glock Automatic Pistol). Eventually, they gave up on that idea and brought out a true .45 ACP.
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This is basically true, but you've got your chronology backwards. :)

The .45ACP G21 was introduced in late 1989. The original G21 was basically a 10mm G20 rechambered in .45ACP, with a 13rd double-stack mag and a correspondingly large grip size.

The .45GAP G37/38/39 were introduced in 2003 in response to LE demands for a modern .45-caliber striker-fired pistol with a smaller grip frame that was more ergonomically friendly for people with small hands.

I have handled a single G38 and was actually tempted to buy it, but I decided against it when I learned that the slide dimensions are slightly different than the G19/G23, so holsters are not 100% compatible.

FWIW my memory re: .45GAP pistols corresponds with what Aguila wrote- IIRC a single Para-Ordnance model was built but rapidly dropped, and a Sp'fld EMP model was announced and prototyped but never produced.

[EDIT] Was not aware of the .45GAP XD- interesting!
 
At least 6 state police agencies carry the 45 GAP including here in NY and PA.
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Georgia State Patrol also carries the load.

It was something of a non-starter. The idea, as has been stated, was to get a .45-caliber loading in a gun that was the same dimensions of a 9mm. The initial promise and marketing from Glock was very emphatic on that point.

Why? Because law enforcement could switch guns without having to buy new holsters and mag pouches. That's a significant investment otherwise. So, the promise was made that the new guns would fit the old duty gear.

Except that the new guns weren't cycling as well as expected, and Glock had to make them a bit larger, thus losing compatibility with old gear. Oopsie.

So, the initial market was really soft, and ammunition makers weren't exactly chomping on the bit. End result? Gaston got his name on a cartridge. A few early adopters are stuck paying a high premium for ammo, and gun selection is pretty much limited to one of the Glock models at this point.
 
Me, I'll stick to the .45 ACP. Much easier to find, in terms of ammo, as well as the guns. At least, that's how it is where I'm at.
 
Good price but ammo is the down side.
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Doesn't matter as much if you handload- .45GAP generally takes the same bullets, and uses slightly less-expensive Small Pistol primers rather than Large ones.

OTOH, like 10mm, you may want to bring a friend every time you go to the range so he/she can watch where your cases go. ;)
 
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