.45 ACP or .45 GAP

[suthdj]

I know ACP is Automatic Colt Pistol, an believe GAP is Glock Automatic Pistol. What is the difference other then the name, are they interchangable?

[seamusTX]

.45 GAP is shorter than .45 ACP: http://www.thegunzone.com/glock/gap-v-auto.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

[Bob Landry]

No, they are not interchangeable. Semi-auto rounds headspace on the case neck, so that would be a problem. The ballistics and therefore the pressures are relatively the sam, so the shorter case of the GAP is beefed up at the web so that the shorter case can handle the high pressure. That eliminates trimming ACP cases and loading GAP rounds in them.. The 45 GAP was pretty much a solution looking for a problem..

[bdickens]

Actually, the .45 GAP addresses a very real problem. A lot of people would like to have a high capacity pistol in .45 caliber but found that their hands are much too small to comfortably handle one in .45 ACP. The .45 GAP puts a .45 caliber bullet in a cartridge with roughly the same OAL as the 9mm Parabellum yet has the same ballistics as the .45ACP. Viola! A high capacity .45 caliber pistol that fits smaller hands quite well.

Of course, that's not as catchy as regurgitating clichés.

[CWOOD]

Byron has give a pretty good summary of the mechanics of the 45GAP.

If the original poster was looking at the difference in OWNING a 45ACP vs. 45GAP, then there are other things to consider as well. The three things that immediately come to mind are cost and availability and range of loading options.

Cost is high for everything by 45GAP is much higher priced overall. Maybe not so much in premium rounds, but in practice rounds like Blazer and Wolf and Winchester White Box value packs 45ACP will be much cheaper to shoot.

Availablility of 45ACP in nearly universal (even including current market situaton). You can generally go into any gunshop, hardware store or BIgBox and fine 45ACP (or at least shelf space for it currently). Much different situation with 45 GAP. Hard to find as well as expensive.

Loading options are the final thing I mentioned. You can find a wide variety of factory rounds from 160 grains to 230, target loads to +P loads, many different hollowpoints, frangible, FMJ, semiwadcutters, wadcutters, Sabers, XTP and on and on. If you are into rolling you own ammo, cases are abundant, bullets are abundant(occasionally with some wait) and load data is abundant for a wide variety of loadings.
Less so for 45GAP.

If a person likes the idea of 45GAP and wants one, it will certainly do the job. It will just cost considerably more to stay well practiced with it.

Hope this adds to your information.

[Skiprr]

I think you can actually flip CWOOD's comments the other direction and have another good reason to think long and hard about the .45 GAP. For many of us, we're concerned not only about availability of the ammo, but availability of different guns that use the specific ammo. And there aren't that many on the market--or I think new ones likely to be developed--chambered for the .45 GAP.

Glock had a substantial piece of the LEO market when they introduced the GAP, and I think it was more in competition with the 9mm and .40 S&W than the .45 ACP. They wanted to satisfy LE department requests for a smaller-hands-capable pistol that chambered a larger diameter bullet. Subsequently, Springfield (XD), S&W (M&P) and others have come out with high-capacity .45 ACP pistols that have grips smaller than the Glock 21 in .45 ACP, and similar in grip size and reach to the G37 in .45 GAP.

And just an FYI, many of the so-called model 2011s--a double-stack variant of the venerable 1911--that are common to see in USPSA competition, actually have very slim grips. If you get a chance to shoot an STI .45 ACP Eagle, Edge, or Legend, for example, do so. I think you'll be amazed how small the grip feels in a 1911-type frame that holds a standard 12+1 capacity in .45 ACP.

Speaking of competition, another factor on the .45 GAP is that if you ever chose to practice your gun handling in IDPA, in the Custom Defensive Pistol division you shoot only .45 ACP. But if you want to shoot a .45 GAP, you'll have to shoot in Stock Service Pistol or Enhanced Service Pistol where most folks are firing 9mm. At least it'll be clear which holes in the target are yours!

Last point, 'cause I'm rambling: while it's true the .45 GAP and the .45 ACP have very similar ballistics, that's true only of a .45 ACP standard load. The GAP is already loaded hot, like the .40 S&W, and there is no +P alternative. So with a gun certified to handle the higher pressure (which most modern ones are) you can opt for .45 ACP +P defensive loads which, each with a 230 grain bullet, has about 200 fps (more or less; or about 20% higher) muzzle velocity than a .45 GAP. If you go with a smaller bullet, like 185 grains, the velocities are only off by about 10%.

[CompVest]

I would also like to comment on small hands and Glock's Gap guns. I have shot one and Glock didn't make the reach distance (the distance from the center of the backstrap to the center of the trigger) any shorter then on any of their 9s or 40s. This being the case the Gap really didn't help shooters with smalll hands.

[barres]

I would also like to comment on small hands and Glock's Gap guns. I have shot one and Glock didn't make the reach distance (the distance from the center of the backstrap to the center of the trigger) any shorter then on any of their 9s or 40s. This being the case the Gap really didn't help shooters with smalll hands.

But it is shorter than their .45ACP pistols, which was the point. Make a .45 with roughly the same reach distance as a 9 or .40.

[CompVest]

But it is shorter than their .45ACP pistols, which was the point. Make a .45 with roughly the same reach distance as a 9 or .40.

The Gap did make a 45 caliber the same reach as a 9mm as far as Glocks go. However, my point is Glocks already have a long reach which make them not a good choice for small hands. Really as far as reach goes there are two good 45 choices for small hands; 1911's with a short trigger and the M&P45.

[tfrazier]

All I know is it frustrates the daylights out of me every time one of those GAP cases makes it way into my reloader.

They use small primers, which I guess is a good thing, because I always catch them when the Square Deal B refuses to seat a primer, and before I've charged them with powder.

I'm building up quite a collection of those GAP cases, all cleaned and polished and piling up in a bucket.