sub compact glock 45

Sub Compact Glock 45 - Here's what you need to know: The Glock 36, like the Officer, is a single .45 pistol. Like the Officer, the Glock is essentially a shortened version of the original pistol. That being said, the Glock's more modern operating system and use of advanced materials give it a decisive lead over the older design.

Until recently, the most common .45 caliber handgun was the type known as the Officer's Model. Derived from the 1911A1 government, in 2011 it was finally replaced by an even lighter pistol – the Glock 36. Chambered in .45 ACP and following the same winning formula as previous Glocks, the Model 36 may very well be the best compact single magazine .45 on the market today.

Sub Compact Glock 45

The 1911 .45 caliber revolver, designed by John Moses Browning, was one of the most successful handguns of all time. It was adopted by the US armed forces in time for World War I, and continued through World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the final years of the Cold War. The all-steel plate revolver was large, heavy and imposing, but it was also durable and could last for decades. Colt's Manufacturing then developed and released a smaller, lighter version, the Colt Commander, but it failed to gain traction to replace the original Model 1911A1.

Range Report: Glock 45 9mm Pistol

The second Colt-developed revolver, the Colt Officer Model, slimmed the revolver even further, reducing the barrel length by an inch and a half and the overall weight by half a pound. The result was a smaller, lighter and more compact version of the 1911A1 suitable for officers of mechanized armies who spent a lot of time in the confined spaces of armored vehicles or aircraft. The trade-off was the shooter's increased tendency to experience muzzle roll, but that was the price to pay for pairing the .45 cartridge with a shorter barrel.

In 2011, Glock released a new pistol to address the officer-style pistols in the concealed .45 market. The Glock 36 is, like the Officer, a single chambered .45 pistol. Like the Officer, the Glock is essentially a shortened version of the original pistol. That being said, the Glock's more modern operating system and use of advanced materials give it a decisive lead over the older design.

The Glock 36, like all Glock variants in all calibers and types, is essentially the original Model 17 at heart. Glock pistols eschew the traditional hammer and firing pin system, especially common in older pistols, for a bolt-action firearm system in which the striker engages the firing pin. In percussion pistols, the gun is half-cocked when the slide is cocked and the chamber is cocked—the gun is fully cocked and unloaded by pulling the trigger. This allows for a number of safety mechanisms to be incorporated into the percussion firing system, including trigger safety, firing pin safety, and trigger safety.

Another feature missing from the Glock over the 1911 is the use of polymers to reduce weight. All Glocks use a polymer frame and handle to house the magazine and fire control group, reinforced in some locations with steel. Furthermore, the use of polymers when possible allows Glock to achieve a weight reduction of four ounces. The Glock 36 still uses a steel slide, barrel, guide and other parts to handle the pressure and recoil created by the firearm's cartridges.

Glock 45 With Printed Frame

The Glock 36 has an overall length of 6.97 inches and a barrel length of 3.78 inches. It has an overall width of 1.18 inches. It weighs just 22.4 ounces with the magazine unloaded, and a loaded seven-round magazine weighs 26.81 ounces. One example of an officer-type pistol produced today, the Springfield Armory Range Officer Compact, is 7.6 inches long with a 4-inch barrel. An all-steel pistol, it weighs 28.5 ounces empty, a full quarter pound more than a Glock. The Range Officer Compact has the same six-round magazine capacity as its Glock competitor—plus an extra round in the chamber.

The Colt Officer Type Pistol and the Glock 36 are both miniature variants of pistols intended for military service. Both have their advantages and disadvantages—some users may prefer the Colt's exposed hammer or the Colt's all-steel design—but as compact revolvers, the American and Austrian revolvers bring new things to the table that the full-size versions do not. The Glock 36 is great for those who carry concealed, work in confined spaces, or simply want a small, rugged, and extremely reliable handgun.

Kyle Mizukami is a writer based in San Francisco and has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War Is Boring, and The Daily Beast. In 2009 he co-founded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch.

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