PD Ditches Glock
Haven police are getting rid of their Glock pistols in 45GAP:
The Police Department is ditching $38,000 worth of guns after two .45-caliber GAP Glock Model 37 pistols exploded in separate training incidents a year a part, causing minor injuries to an officer and a cadet.
Now, it’s time to get my Bill Frist on and diagnose this issue without, you know, even being close to the offending weapons. We know that Glocks of the 40 caliber variety have been known to go Kaboom when using non-jacketed ammo. A couple reasons for this: 1) is that the 40 caliber Glocks weren’t designed to be 40 caliber. They just slapped a 40 caliber barrel in a 9mm. 2) Glock barrels don’t react well to lead build up. This can be eliminated by using jacketed ammo.
But that doesn’t help the 45GAP issue. The 45GAP round was designed by Glock. I wonder if their pistols that fire this caliber are based on an existing frame or if they made a new pistol from the ground up? Personally, I stick to Glocks in 9mm and 45ACP because I know they were designed from the ground up to shoot those calibers. Anyhoo, on to the knowns:
The force of the explosions came down through the bottom of the guns and blew the triggers off, LeVine said.
My SWAG is a case rupture. After all, when Glocks go kaboom, the blast usually goes the other direction. More:
The first incident occurred in January 2007 when a Glock exploded while being used by Jean-Louis, a former cadet the department was sponsoring at the Polk Community College Kenneth C. Thompson Institute of Public Safety, which trains prospective police officers.
Department officials dismissed the incident as the fault of bad ammunition, and so did Glock.
I would concur, based on what I’ve read. However, they had another kaboom and two officers in Oregon also experienced Glock 45GAP kabooms.
Thoughts?
Update: In comments, Tam has some answers.
March 14th, 2008 at 10:06 am
The .45GAP Glocks are on the same frame as the 9mm/.40/.357SIG Glocks, albeit with a wider slide.
Actually, the .45ACP Glocks are built on a frame that was designed for 10mm. The G20 was hoped to cash in on the LE 10mm trend that never materialized when the FBI briefly issued the caliber.
The .45GAP is susceptible to setback issues when using 200gr+ bullets due to case capacity.
March 14th, 2008 at 10:12 am
I have been carrying a Glock for more than 10 years. They are great guns and it would take some convincing that I need it chambered in anything other than 9mm.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Pressure issues? The hottest thing is to pack as much powder behind the lead as possible to increase velocity on a smaller package. I carry a 1911 and I don’t have to worry about this issue.
March 14th, 2008 at 11:37 am
I just carry the 10mm Glock as the Good Lord intended me to.
I suspect case rupture too and if they were shooting unjacketed ammo, then that’s half the problem right there.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
I’d like to know what brand of ammo this was. IIRC isn’t the webbing on the .45GAP cartridge thicker than .45acp, and if so, were a company to load using cheaper shortened .45acp cartridges would that not greatly increase the risk of case failure?
On the other hand, there are quite a few Springfield XD45GAP pistols out there, and I haven’t heard of one of those KB’ing.
March 14th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
I carry a Para Ordnance Carry Gap which is built on their shortened 1911 based frame with a ramped barrel with real lands and grooves. The kaboom issue has a lot more to do with Tupperware than the cartridge.
March 14th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Have there been any problems like those mentioned with the M1911a1 or Springfield XDs? I’ve never heard of any myself.
March 14th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Try google.
March 14th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I own a Glock 23 (40 cal.) I changed out the barrel to a Storm Lake, fully supported and normal rifling. I make my own ammo too. I have shot 1800 lead bullets and 500 copper jacketed , through it over the past 2 years ,,, not a problem. I wouldn’t even think of doing this with the stock barrel. Also I check EACH round as to how it is seated / headspaced in the barrel. This takes care of many problems in advance.
March 17th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
I’m in a suburb of Portland, Oregon. The Portland Police department had a couple of kbs with Model 21 Glocks, a.k.a .45 acp. I don’t seem them carrying 21s anymore. They’re all 19s. The only .45s I see are 1911s that Clackamas county sheriffs deputies carry. Clackamas lets their officers qualify with whatever they want. Most departments around here only let their officers carry what they’re issued.
Dean Speir has more details