Introducing the 9mm Glock 45: A Glock 19X Improved

in Current Events, Industry News, Max Slowik, This Week
Introducing the 9mm Glock 45: A Glock 19X Improved

The Gen 5 Glock 45 is based on the 19X. (Photo: Glock)

Glock is officially announcing the newest model, the Glock 45. The Glock 45 is an improved version of the military’s Glock 19X for commercial and police markets.

The Glock 19X has been in production for some time. Earlier this year, Glock decided to release a special run of the 19X to the public. Still, not all Glock fans flocked to the new gun.

Designed with military requirements in mind, Glock built the 19X to compete in the Army’s Modular Handgun System, or MHS, competition. While it didn’t beat all the competition it fared well and closed a gap within Glock’s lineup.

The 19X combines the 4-inch compact slide with a full-size frame length with a flush magazine capacity of 17+1 rounds of 9mm Luger. It has many Gen 5 features included to meet the Army’s specifications, including a grip design without finger grooves.

Introducing the 9mm Glock 45: A Glock 19X Improved

Designed for law enforcement and self-defense. (Photo: Glock)

“After the release of the G19X, we saw a strong interest from the law enforcement community for the design in a black model,” said Glock vice president Josh Dorsey. “The G45 is the result of a design that meets the demanding level of reliability with distinctive Gen 5 design enhancements to improve durability, accuracy and performance to those who go into harm’s way where fractions of a second matter.”

The Glock 45 has three major changes from the 19X. The largest and most obvious change is the color. It’s black. The Army wanted the MHS pistol to be flat dark earth or something similar. The Glock 45, like the bulk of their pistols, has a black frame, slide, barrel and controls.

The steel components use Glock’s in-house diamond-like coating finish, like other Gen 5 pistols. This tough finish improves reliability, particularly in adverse conditions. It also has the same grip style and grip pattern as other Gen 5s and the 19X without finger grooves.

The next change is hard to see. Unlike the 19X the Glock 45 doesn’t have a magazine extraction cutout at the base of the grip. Critics of the Glock 19X said that this makes it possible to pinch users’ fingers while reloading, interfering with the reloading process. It still has an enlarged and flared magazine well for faster reloading.

See Also: Glock 46 Leaked: Something Really New, Really

Introducing the 9mm Glock 45: A Glock 19X Improved

The ambidextrous slide release lever for left-handed shooters is a strong feature. (Photo: Glock)

The third change is the addition of forward slide serrations. Many shooters wondered why this was left off of Gen 5 and 19X pistols. Forward serrations are useful for press checks and advanced slide manipulation techniques. They’re now common to most duty-class handguns.

Other improvements to the Glock 45 are standard Gen 5 changes. The Gen 5 pistols have tighter-fit, accurized barrels and ambidextrous slide stop levers in addition to the other Glock 45 features.

For a while now there’s been a gap between the Glock 43 launch and the Glock 46 announcement. Now that we know what the Glock 45 is likely to be we are left to wonder what the Glock 44 is. Was it the 19X all along or could there be something else in the pipe?

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About the author: Max Slowik is a writer with over a dozen years of experience and is a lifelong shooter. He has unwavering support for the Second Amendment and the human right to self-defense. Like Thomas Paine, he’s a journalist by profession and a propagandist by inclination.

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  • Ejharb January 6, 2019, 8:16 pm

    My friend wants one.hope he gets it soon so I can run a box thru it.
    Friends help friends break in new guns!😂

  • Glenn61 September 29, 2018, 6:56 am

    Pretty good idea, the Glock 19X. But let’s not start making changes to the interchangeable components because the real strength og Glock guns has been the consistency where magazines that fit a first gen Glock will fit into a fifth gen too.

    Also, the finger grips that were introduced on the Gen 4 probably cost Glock to lose more sales than anything the competition could have come up with.

    I made the mistake of buying a new Gen4 Glock 19 when they hit the market. Saw the finger grooves and rhought, How bad can they be….?

    WOW, my since the grooves did not fit my fingers, the gun felT really bad to shoot. I was considering sending it back to Glock and telling them to shove it up their a–, and send me back my money.

    But otherwise the gun was pretty good. So I decided to use my belt sander and remove the stupid finger grooves, add a titanium trigger plunger and a solid steel spring rod.

    And to cover the sanding job I used an old trick that has been useful in the past on those hot summer days. I cut a piece of 26 inch bicycle inner tube and slid it on over the grip.

    This makes for a sure grip, along with the medium beaver tail adapter, it’s a great gun to pound out 9mm with now.
    CHECK OUT THE PIC

    https://jmp.sh/v/sQRKzZ8xQyQm64MRqgsc

    • Ejharb January 6, 2019, 8:19 pm

      Not a bad mod job

  • Mope1 September 28, 2018, 10:35 pm

    Ho Hum…..wake me when they have something new

  • Christopher September 28, 2018, 10:26 pm

    The Glock 19x doesn’t have a magazine extraction cutout at the base of the grip. That would be the gen5 model 17,19,and 34. The 19x has the same magazine base as the gen 3 and 4. This g45 does use the newer gen5 base plates on the mags. Imo, that gen5 magazine base plates are the worst thing about the gen5 introduction. When I get my g45 the first thing I’m doing is replace the base plates with the previous generation mags base. Then I’ll be able to swap my mages freely between my Glock 9mms.

    • AJ January 6, 2019, 1:17 pm

      Why would you need a cut out? Mag drops are supposed to be literal drops. Don’t tell me your one of those guys who paws your mag out because you don’t want to scratch em…

  • Howie September 28, 2018, 3:19 pm

    Meet the new Glock, same as the old Glock…Ugly
    5th generation to look this bad, reliability can be found in other manufacturers, that’s the mantra I constantly hear.
    Well hate to tell all you Glock heads, but I wouldn’t trade my Ruger American, American Compact, my SR9C, or 1911 10mm for ANY Glock version of ugly.
    Ruger reliability, ergonomics, looks, warranty, and customer service are all reasons to never buy any generation Glock.

    • AJ January 6, 2019, 1:15 pm

      Hey man that’s cool… If shit hits the fan though don’t cry about running out of 10mm…

  • Bear the dog September 28, 2018, 2:59 pm

    What about magazine capability the 19x won’t take gen 5 mags, will the g45 be compatible with gen5 mags? Didn’t see that mentioned in the article.

  • Big deal September 28, 2018, 1:56 pm

    Meet the new Glock, same as the old Glock.
    Ugly

  • JB September 28, 2018, 12:42 pm

    The model number 45 has nothing to do with the gun or caliber. It’s Glocks 45th patent.

    • Zyklon B September 28, 2018, 10:16 pm

      Yes, just like the Glock 40 isn’t a .40…… sorta.

  • lukeum September 28, 2018, 10:55 am

    all good valid opinions but it still comes down to either ya like glock’s or ya dont

  • Tyler September 28, 2018, 10:25 am

    The finish improves reliability particularly in adverse conditions. Goody… That sure applies to most of us.. The conditions on the gun range are hell. Give me a break.

  • MB September 28, 2018, 9:13 am

    So you add a few slide serrations, remove finger grips and go back to standard color and instantly you have a whole new model gun to sell to fan boys? I call is marketing B.S. I own Glock, and this should be another good product, but cut out the B.S, if you own either a G17, a G19, or a G19X you don’t need this gun. If you are in the market for a gun and considering a Glock product for the first time, then the G45 might work for you, instead of the G17,G19,G19X. But is’ts just a option package, not a whole new model

  • Johnny Raygun September 28, 2018, 8:43 am

    I understand why many people love Glock’s, the big one is reliability. Now days most striker fired pistols are incredibility reliable. For “ME” the Glock has always been a block of steel with a trigger. Cumbersome and boring with a un-natural feel in my hand. So this is another attempt at getting it right…. 5+ generations of pistol and they are getting close. I assume by Gen 7 they will have a pistol I will by. No, probably not, it will still feel clunky in my hand.

    • shrugger September 28, 2018, 9:02 am

      Yep, the full size grip angle has always been just a touch off for me.
      Though I think they’ve just about perfected their compacts.

  • Peter Kozulko September 28, 2018, 7:50 am

    HOPE TO BUY ONE.

  • Justin Anzaldua September 28, 2018, 7:17 am

    Per the article above, the Glock G45 is not .45ACP. It is chambered in 9mm.

  • Joe September 28, 2018, 7:15 am

    so its still a 9mm but called model 45? thats not gonna be confusing at all…

  • Joe September 28, 2018, 7:12 am

    So the changes are forward slide serrations, flared magazine well and it comes in black.. So what are the compelling features to make me add this to the stable???

  • KCsmith September 28, 2018, 6:59 am

    Soooo, the 45 is a 9mm?
    Who’s idea was that?

    • Brent September 28, 2018, 9:21 am

      Same person who badged the full size .40 a “22”, and the long slide 10mm a “40”.

      • chupachis September 28, 2018, 10:19 pm

        The .40 might be a 10mm but the 10mm isn’t a .40, because the chicken preceded the egg.

  • Cyrus September 28, 2018, 6:37 am

    Nice looking 45. Hard for me to think about getting one since I own an HK45CT.

    • Eric September 28, 2018, 6:58 am

      Try reading the article, not just looking at the pictures.

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