Selling the Glock 37

Shooting Industry, Feb, 2004 by Massad Ayoob

Your customers have been hearing and reading about the new Glock pistol that fires a new short .45 cartridge, the .45 GAP (Glock Auto Pistol). The question we keep hearing is, "What's it good for? What does it do that the .45 ACP doesn't?"

The answer is, it launches a .45 caliber bullet from a gun that doesn't need a .45-size frame. Glock's regular service-size .45 ACP, the G21, is a big pistol. It has a fatter handle and a longer reach to the trigger than the classic, sweet-feeling Glock 17 9mm that started Glock on its way to being the biggest-selling pistol brand in America.

The G37 is essentially a Glock 17 with a slightly more substantial slide. In testing, the G37 is accurate, reliable and controllable. Speer's original ammo, practice loads and hollowpoint, can be had with 185- and 200-grain bullet weights in each. Winchester now has half a dozen loads for .45 G.A.P., four commercial and two law enforcement. Four of the loads carry the 230-grain bullet .45 shooters traditionally prefer.

One prominent gun magazine editor said, "It ain't a .45 if it doesn't have 230-grain bullets." If that's so, the GAP is now officially a .45. Winchester's marketing department isn't stupid. Their analysis indicates the .45 G.A.P. is going to sell, and Winchester is committing to the cartridge in a big way. This tells you something.

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