"This quote from a director of training for the Georgia State Police has been doing the rounds and I wanted your idea as to his claim that the GAP has more energy than a .40..."
"When we originally adopted the Glock, we tested and strongly considered the .45 auto. The reason we went to the Glock 22 in .40 instead was primarily grip dimension. We found that troopers with small hands sometimes had difficulties handling the large ,45 frame. By the time our Glock 22's became due for replacement, the .45 GAP was already established. For our needs, the Glock 37 and 39 models, and the GAP .45 cartridge, proved to be ideal. We felt that Glock had really hit the mark by creating a weapon that gave us a larger diameter bullet with increased energy at impact while keeping the frame size the same."
I'd seen the same quote, from Lieutenant Scott Johnson, deputy director of training for the GSP, and it is as ridiculous as one can imagine. Because? Officers are usually so very unfamiliar with weapon systems and the munitions they employ that they become prime targets for cherry picked marketing.
Not that there's anything wrong with the GAP cartridge, but here's the numbers Glock and Speer provided to the GSP:
.45 GAP 200 grain Gold Dot HP: 1020 fps, 462 foot pounds kinetic energy
.40 S&W 180 grain Gold Dot HP: 1025 fps, 420 foot pounds kinetic energy
The above information is all quite true, and if one is dedicated to KE then the GAP shades the .40. However, a 180 grain Gold Dot @ 1025 fps is quite under-charged, as that same bullet was designed to measure 1150 from equivalent barrel lengths.
Now we're talking over 520 ft/lbs, but what's 100 ft/lbs among friends when trying to sell a new product, right?
Meanwhile, the GAP at 1020 is borderline +P, so it was indeed apples and oranges used to dazzle the troopers. Bottom line? They went with a round that delivered nearly 60 ft/lbs LESS because Speer and Glock put their heads together with these particular loads in order to create a perceived difference.
And as for going with a .45 instead of a .40 in order to make a bigger hole, well, then there's absolutely NO reason to use Gold Dots. Good ammunition, can't deny that, but there are cartridges housing bullets that get a lot wider in .40 than Gold Dots in .45. It almost isn't the caliber anymore, but the bullet FOR the caliber, and the strange thing is the fact that police agree with this up to a point (hollowpoints are far better than full metal jackets, for example), then go dumbfounded when the math starts accumulating.
In summation, the Georgia Police went with a cartridge delivering less KE, and less terminal expansion.
If they'd have given the task of selecting the platform and the ammunition to someone who could walk and chew gum at the same time, this would have been quite the different story.
Glock broke them in on the 19. Went to the 22 with the same grip dimension, and finally the 37 with the same grip dimension. 9 mm, to 40 caliber, to .45 caliber. In the days before the advent of modern ammunition, this would have been a logical progression, but the .40 S&W was invented for a specific reason. More KE than either the 9mm or .45 ACP, and with the right bullet configuration as WIDE as WIDE can be.
Somehow, this escaped the GSP, and both Glock and Speer are dancing in the streets. They keep the business, and in fact get to sell even more rounds in the long haul as civilians race to embrace the new GAP alongside, not instead of, their other weapon systems.
The beauty of it is a G-22 handles the same way as a G-37...BUT, you can get a helluva faster round...don't make me start comparing screeching 165 grainers versus the moping 200 grain GAP, but you can go from 135 grains to 200 in .40 depending upon the desired effect, and all this from readily available ammo that has been street proven time and time again.
Guess what gun our Special Forces are using? Guns, I should say, as the debate rages on between the G-21 and the G-22, with the 21 getting the edge because .45 ACP is more readily available in the sandbox, and those poor glorious bastards must use Ball or await incoming care packages with the real stuff. Give the War another year and there will be plenty of data available, as Glock has asked for AARs (After Action Reports) but is having the devil of a time sorting through the data given the fact that FMJ sucks so very bad...BUT... some of the time, one-shot-stops are moving from myth to reality as "different" bullets are being used.
Poor Glock. Soon they'll be as confused as our police. As long as you and I and our fighting men know the story, then all is good so carry on.
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And not for nothing let me add this: Since its inception, the asinine question has been out and about, querying whether or not the Glock in GAP can or will replace the 1911.
Sweet lord of the morning. The 1911 is an affectation. If I owned guns I'd have half a dozen lying around, but in all of the years I've fondled and fired them...and not just on a range lemme tell ya'... it's become obvious that all one needs is $3,000 and a lot of time to make 'em work. And today it's MIM this and MIM that, internal extractors versus external, and referring to every weapon bearing even a passing resemblance as a genuine 1911.
The Glock trigger has made quantum advances and is second only to a finely tuned 1911, but don't take my word on it just ask the best sportsters using them to win match after match.
Spend $700 and own an as-accurate firearm, or go for it and plunk it all out for a 1911. Your money. Aesthetics are AS important to the sporting group and casual plinker, and that is as it should be. Less than 2% of the 4 million members of law enforcement use the 1911, mostly because of the diminished firepower when compared to a wonder-nine, but also because they can be finicky as all hell. Normally, comparing what LE uses to the what the real world offers would be a bad thing, but even a stopped clock is right twice a day. They can't be wishing and hoping when it comes time for drawing down, and have been convinced that these unknown, unnamed bad guys are awaiting them in droves, all armed with Uzi's. Forget the fact that the average gunfight totals 4 or 5 rounds, then remember the reality that LE misses 80% of the time and you can see why they want mega-mags.
Herein lies the conundrum; LE and military wannabes have dismissed the 1911 as carry guns because LE and the military no longer use 1911's to any degree of noteworthiness. But to have a collection of handguns and NOT find a 1911 among the variety is downright sacrilege.
No Glock in any form will never replace the 1911. Neither will the Chevy Cobalt replace the Corvette.
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