While I may not be able to convince you about the
worth of the .45GAP, I can simply tell you why I like it as a
customer:
1. I prefer my Glock 37 (10/11 rounds) to an
M1911 (7/8 rounds). Hey, we all have our preferences. This is a no
brainer for me.
2. I prefer the cost of a very reliable,
accurate, durable, lighter weight, easy to maintain Glock 37 compared
to a more expensive equally reliable M1911.
2. I like the
flexibility of the GAP being able to be used in 9mm/.40 pistol
frames. This opens up the .45GAP much more so than the grand daddy
.45ACP EVER has been able to do in almost a hundred years. Firearms
companies can easily convert to the .45GAP with low overhead costs:
Springfield XD and 1911 Micro; CZ RAMI, Derringer, unofficially the
S&W625, Barsto support, Glock, and it's just beginning.
3.
Excellent factory ammo support with 16 different loads from five
different brand names, with very good prices on the Internet.
4.
I prefer the added safety of the stronger GAP case compared to the
most prevalent “standard” 45ACP case. In fact, the GAP
case has been pressure tested up to 35,000 psi. It's just about
impossible to get a GAP case failure unless a reused case is heavily
damaged. The GAP case can be fired safely in a typical unsupported
chamber. It's great brass for reloading.
5. We all have to
sort our brass from other calibers. In addition to the regular
sorting, there is only “one type” of .45gap brass to
handle all pressure levels. With 45acp, there are “two types”
of brass to handle all pressure levels, "standard" and
"+P", which requires more detailed sorting if you are
looking for consistency in your loads.
6. The 45gap brass
only uses small pistol primers. The .45acp, depending on the type of
ammo, uses either “large” or “small” pistol
primers. So ACP sorting becomes even more critical so one does not
accidentally detonate a large pistol primer accidentally into a small
pistol primer pocket.
7. The gap will be cheaper to produce in
bulk: less case metal (1/7" less per case), small pistol
primers, and less powder to do the same thing as the acp.
8.
But mostly: The GAP is extremely accurate; it's a joy to shoot; it's
simple to reload with pressures between 16,500 (super soft loads) to
22,700 psi (full power loads) and still be perfectly safe without
pushing it beyond SAAMI specs. And the gap does it all with the same
brass (no regular acp brass and +P rated acp brass to worry
about).
9. The M1911 7/8 rounder has persisted even against
the hi-cap wonder 9's. The .45GAP 10/11 will also easily persist
regardless of what the current hi-cap laws are. Why, because the .45
is simply an awesome combat round, bar none.
10. I'm a
revolver fan and the .45GAP works great in a S&W625. Some
revolver fiends swear that they can load and unload a GAP faster than
the ACP simply because of the shorter case design. Sweet indeed.
11.
I agree that all those folks that have invested money in their .45ACP
arena are extremely well set up and you don't have to take a back
seat to any caliber, especially a new upstart. On the other hand, I
don't have such an investment and I have chosen the excellent, .45
GAP and I don't care one bit if the ACP people get pissed off over
that. The new kid on the block has been heavily tested for the past
1.5 years by Citizens, Law Enforcement, and Mag Writers. Guess what,
the .45GAP is holding up fantastic.
Have a good day and enjoy
what you love.
.45GAP (.45 GAP) Caliber Page; Document Version 12/05/04