The .45 GAP (Glock Auto Pistol) or .45 Glock (11.43×19mm) is a

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

cartridge designed by Ernest Durham, an engineer with CCI/Speer, at the request of

firearm A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

s manufacturer Glock to provide a cartridge that would equal the power of the

.45 ACP The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...

, have a stronger case head to reduce the possibility of case neck blowouts, and be shorter to fit in a more compact handgun. The .45 GAP is the first commercially introduced cartridge that has been identified with Glock.

Development

The .45 GAP has the same diameter as the

pistol cartridge but is slightly shorter, and uses a small-pistol primer instead of the large-pistol primer most commonly used in .45 ACP ammunition. Originally, the maximum bullet weight of the .45 GAP was . In order to provide terminal ballistics that matched the standard .45 ACP loads, the .45 GAP was designed to operate at a higher standard pressure—roughly equivalent to the higher pressures found in .45 ACP "+P" rounds. Since the .45 GAP has a much smaller cartridge volume than the .45 ACP, the desired pressure and resulting velocity needed to be achieved through powder selection alone. Later development concluded that the .45 GAP could also fire projectiles, as does the .45 ACP; though this pushes the .45 GAP cartridge to its limits.

Glock .45 GAP pistols

The full-size Glock 37 pistol was introduced by Glock to use the .45 GAP cartridge and was followed by the compact Glock 38 and the subcompact Glock 39. Glock's .45 GAP–sized pistols use the same frame as their 9×19mm/.40 S&W/.357 SIG line of pistols. The slide is slightly wider to accommodate the larger diameter .45 cal round and is flush with the frame. Magazines for the .45 GAP are of the same dimensions as those of the 9×19mm/.40 S&W/.357 SIG line of pistols.

Other .45 GAP firearms

Initially, due to its acceptance by law enforcement and the popularity of subcompact handguns for concealed carry, a small number of manufacturers decided to produce pistols that were chambered in .45 GAP, but they no longer produce any pistols in that caliber. Only Glock continues to manufacture pistols in the .45 GAP cartridge.

Springfield Armory, Inc. Springfield Armory, Inc., is an American commercial firearms manufacturer and importer based in Geneseo, Illinois. Founded in 1974 by Bob Reese and family, the company produces rifles such as the Springfield Armory M1A, M1A and imports handguns ...

did make the XD series in .45 GAP, and indeed it was the first commercially available pistol for it, but discontinued that chambering soon thereafter.

Law enforcement applications

Modern law enforcement as a whole has gone away from .45 caliber weapons in favor of firearms chambered in .40 S&W and 9×19mm. Despite this change, the .45 GAP has had a following amongst many law enforcement departments. Three state law enforcement agencies have adopted the .45 GAP as a replacement for their current issue 9×19mm Parabellum (New York) or .40 S&W service handguns (South Carolina and Florida). The New York State Police (New York Police have recently completed the transition to .45 ACP for their duty round), South Carolina Highway Patrol, and

Florida Highway Patrol The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It is Florida's highway patrol and is the primary law enforcement agency charged with investigating traffic crashes and criminal laws ...

have all adopted the Glock 37 and .45 GAP. However, in May 2020 the Florida Highway Patrol announced that they will adopt the Glock 45 MOS and Glock 43X as new duty weapons, which will replace the Glock 37 and 39. Smaller agencies also applied the .45 GAP for duty carry, such as the

Burden, Kansas Burden is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 512. History In 1879, in anticipation of the coming of the ''Kansas City, Lawrence and Southern Railroad'', the town of Burden was ...

, police department, who carry the Glock 37 and serve a town of 535. The

Greenville, North Carolina Greenville is the county seat of and the most populous city in Pitt County, North Carolina, Pitt County, North Carolina, United States; the principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area, Greenville metropolitan area; and th ...

and Berkeley, Missouri, police departments also used the Glock 37. The Georgia State Patrol carried the Glock Model 37, but has since moved to the fourth generation 9×19mm Glock 17. The South Carolina Highway Patrol also abandoned the Glock 37, but they chose the newer Glock 17 "M" chambered in 9 mm. The

Pennsylvania State Police The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, responsible for statewide law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police is a full service law enforcement agency which handles both traffic and cr ...

also carried the Glock 37 from 2007, but, due to ammunition supply problems, replaced them in 2013 with the fourth generation Glock 21 in .45 ACP. After recall issues with the new fourth generation Glocks, the Pennsylvania State Police switched to the

SIG Sauer P227 The SIG Sauer P227 is an American-designed and produced semi-automatic pistol which was introduced in 2013 and discontinued in 2019. The P227 introduced a double-stack .45 ACP caliber handgun into the SIG Sauer lineup. It was introduced along wit ...

in .45 ACP.

References

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