.45 GAP

.45 GAP
A .45 GAP cartridge.
Type	Pistol
Place of origin	Austria United States
Service history
In service	2003–present
Production history
Designer	Ernest Durham
Designed	November 2002
Manufacturer	CCI/Speer
Produced	2003–present
Specifications
Case type	Rimless, straight
Bullet diameter	.451 in (11.5 mm)
Case length	.755 in (19.2 mm)
Overall length	1.070 in (27.2 mm)
Primer type	Small pistol
Maximum pressure	23,000 psi (160 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 185 gr (12 g) Gold Dot JHP 1,150 ft/s (350 m/s) 543 ft⋅lbf (736 J) 200 gr (13 g) Gold Dot JHP 1,050 ft/s (320 m/s) 490 ft⋅lbf (660 J) 230 gr (15 g) Gold Dot JHP 935 ft/s (285 m/s) 447 ft⋅lbf (606 J) 230 gr (15 g) FMJ-FP 940 ft/s (290 m/s) 451 ft⋅lbf (611 J)
Test barrel length: 4.49 in Source(s): DoubleTap Ammo[1]

The .45 GAP (often called the .45 "GAP" or .45 Glock Auto Pistol) pistol cartridge was designed by Ernest Durham, an engineer with CCI/Speer, at the request of firearms manufacturer Glock to provide a cartridge that would equal the power of the .45 ACP, have a stronger case head to reduce the possibility of case neck blowouts, and be shorter to fit in a more compact handgun. GAP is an acronym for "Glock Automatic Pistol", and the .45 GAP is the first commercially introduced cartridge identified with Glock.

Development

The .45 GAP has the same diameter as the .45 ACP 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 200 grains (13 g). In order to provide terminal ballistics that matched the standard 230-grain (15 g) .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 230-grain (15 g) projectiles as does the .45 ACP.

Law enforcement application

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, South Carolina Highway Patrol, and Florida Highway Patrol^[2] have all adopted the Glock 37 and .45 GAP

Smaller agencies also applied the .45 GAP for duty carry such as the Burden, Kansas Police Department who carry the Glock 37 and serve a town of 535. The Greenville, North Carolina Police Department used the Glock 37, and the Berkeley, Missouri Police Department also used the Glock 37 to name a few.

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 and Bond Arms continue to manufacture pistols in the 45 GAP cartridge. Springfield Armory did make the XD Series (HS2000) in .45 GAP but discontinued the caliber for that pistol line up.

Georgia State Patrol carried the Glock Model 37, but has since moved to the 9mm Glock 17 GEN 4, the South Carolina Highway Patrol also left the Glock 37, but they chose the newer Glock 17 "M" 9mm.

The Pennsylvania State Police also carried the Glock 37, but have replaced them with the Sig Sauer P227 in .45 ACP due to underperformance in critical situations.

See also

• .45 Super
• .44 Magnum
• 10mm Auto
• 11 mm caliber
• List of firearms
• List of handgun cartridges
• List of rifle cartridges
• Table of handgun and rifle cartridges

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to .45 GAP.