We Get Letters...Glock 39...In Spite Of A Bad Recommendation...

"Whats your opinions of the Glock 39 in 45 GAP?"

The GAP soothes a lot of big bore fans with little hands, and is perfectly suitable for concealed carry and other self defense purposes.

Problem with a slow moving 45 caliber slug snailing it out of a short barrel is the lack of ammo to choose from. Speer makes low-velocity gold dots that'll mushroom at GAP speeds, but still recommends 175 grain rounds or thereabouts. That means you're going out and about with a slow moving bullet that will expand to .7", and most 40 caliber loads will do better than that, and some 9 mm's as well with regards to expansion.

Is the GAP the best of what modern gun and ammo makers have come up with?

No.

Is it chopped liver?

Hardly.

"I carry a 45," is something folks like to brag on. Feeling secure and warm and cozy with your gun means you'll carry it more often and use it with confidence. There's a lot to be said for confidence. Those with obviously a lot more experience than I say that shot placement is the be-all, end-all, but every last gunfight I was ever in taught me that you're damned lucky to hit the target to begin with once the adrenaline starts flooding in. Took me a helluva long time to be relatively cool about capping someone to the tune of a 3rd eye, but I do suppose that the fella's who run those expensive gun training classes must just be Bill Hickock reborn, and have seen lots more action.

Bottom line? Go GAP and don't look back. You could do a lot worse.

BUT

The seriously alien mindblowing fly in the ointment is the fact that...

(Albany, NY – November 9, 2006) - New York State Police Superintendent Wayne E. Bennett announced today the purchase of 5,400 Glock pistols. The Glock model 37, a .45 G.A.P.* caliber, was chosen after careful consideration and recommendation and will be used to upgrade the current issue Glock model 17, 9mm pistol.

"The New York State Police constantly strives to provide the best equipment for our people. The present Glock 17 has performed well for our people for the past 17 years," said Superintendent Bennett. "After several shooting incidents in recent years, including the shooting death of Trooper Andrew "A.J." Sperr, the State Police chose to evaluate other options. Our decision to purchase the Glock 37, a new model pistol introduced by Glock in the last year, was made after careful consideration, with the greatest importance emphasizing the safety of our Members."

*Glock Automatic Pistol.

If the NY police like a certain caliber, then something MUST be wrong with it. Then again, since even a blind squirrel stumbles across a nut or two, I'm tempted to write this off as random chance. I mean, seriously now; the greatest importance is how well a weapon kills what it is aimed at, and NOT how bloody SAFE the weapon might be. Law Enforcement is the only trade where safety comes before performance ever since cops were taught to be afraid of every living thing, but that's another story for another day.

Imagine hearing this in bootcamp:

"Well, Private are you going to squeeze the trigger and shoot that rifle or not!?"

"Um, well, Sir, can you tell me how safe it is, first?"

And here's my BUT again. Trooper Sperr was killed during a gunfight with two mad-dogs that wouldn't lie down after he shot them with his Glock 17. So maybe that's the safety the moron calling himself Superintendent is referring to.

The reason all of law enforcement went with the wondernines to begin with, was the super capacity. The 9 mm round will do just fine they said, and lots of them means the ability to engage multiple targets with a high degree of joy. Lo and behold, mad dogs the country over disagreed, and even the shot-placement fanatics had to ponder what shooting a man high-COM and have him grin back at you meant. Common sense dictated that yes, a 9 mm will kill, but not STOP certain foes as fast as LE would like.

Now, pity the poor cop. He gets handed what some fancy-talking salesman convinced his boss was the best weapon available, and must make do while we peons can pick and choose from whatever out there suits us. More civilians get shot and killed than cops, 10 times more in some liberal cities, so we SHOULD get to think about it.

As usual I digress but that's what blogging is all about.

Bottom Line 2: All things being equal...modern ammunition, shot placement, etc...one round from a 45 will stop a man faster than one round from a 9 mm.

Your mileage may vary, especially with the plethora of platforms and ammunitions to choose from.