Glock 45 Gen 6 9mm Crossover Pistol 4.02 in. 17+1 Optic Ready Ambidextrous – Superbly Reliable

Description

The Glock 45 Gen 6 is the crossover: a full-length G17 grip with the shorter G19 slide on top of it. That combination is why it has become the default choice for so many agencies and so many private buyers – you get a full three-finger grip and seventeen rounds, with a slide short enough to carry and to clear a holster quickly.

Generation 6 adds an optic-ready slide and ambidextrous controls to that package, and these are built in the United States.

Part number U64550203, UPC 764503074196. Very deep stock.

What the Glock 45 Gen 6 is

• 9mm Luger, 17+1 capacity
• 4.02-inch Glock Marksman Barrel
• Black nDLC-finished steel slide, optic ready, with slide serrations
• Black polymer crossover frame – G17 grip length, G19 slide length
• Accessory rail under the dust cover
• Interchangeable backstraps
• Ambidextrous controls
• Made in the USA

Why the crossover layout works

• The Glock 45 Gen 6 grip is the part of the pistol you control it with. A full-length grip gives you all three fingers and a proper purchase, which matters far more to how you shoot than an inch of slide does
• The shorter slide is what you notice drawing from a holster and sitting in a car. It is also slightly faster to cycle
• Seventeen rounds, because the magazine well is full-length. A G19-sized gun holds fifteen
• What you give up is concealment at the bottom of the gun – a full-length grip is the part that prints through a shirt
• If concealment is the priority, the G19 is the better answer. If you carry openly, in a duty rig or under a jacket, the 45 is

Glock 45 Gen 6 specifications

• Manufacturer part number: U64550203
• UPC: 764503074196
• Calibre: 9mm Luger
• Capacity: 17+1
• Barrel: 4.02 inches, Glock Marksman Barrel
• Slide: black nDLC steel, optic ready, serrated
• Frame: black polymer crossover, accessory rail
• Grip: interchangeable backstraps
• Controls: ambidextrous
• Action: striker fired, Safe Action

Optic ready, and what to check before you buy a dot

The Glock 45 Gen 6 slide is cut from the factory and ships with a cover plate over it, so the pistol works perfectly well on irons alone. When you do fit a dot, check the mounting pattern against the plate set supplied rather than assuming – micro red dot footprints are not standardised between makers, and the wrong one costs you either an adapter plate or a return.

A dot sits higher than iron sights, so suppressor-height or at least co-witness irons are worth budgeting for at the same time. On a duty-sized pistol that is the normal arrangement.

Ambidextrous controls

Generation 6 runs the slide stop on both sides. If you are left handed this is the difference between running the pistol properly and working around it, and if you are right handed it costs you nothing. It also matters more than people expect for anyone who trains one-handed reloads with either hand.

Ammunition

9mm Luger is standardised by SAAMI, and a 4.02-inch barrel is right in the middle of the range that defensive loads are designed and tested around – you get the velocity the ammunition maker advertises rather than the reduced figures a subcompact produces. For practice, Federal Champion 9mm is the sensible bulk choice.

The rest of the Gen 6 line

The full-size version is the Glock 17 Gen 6 and the compact is the Glock 19 Gen 6. A holster cut for an optic-equipped gun is worth buying at the same time – the A.R.C. IWB holster is the straightforward option.

Why the Glock 45 Gen 6 earns its place

• The grip of a full-size pistol with the slide of a compact, which is the combination most people shoot best
• Seventeen rounds without a magazine extension
• The Glock 45 Gen 6 is optic ready and ambidextrous from the factory – no milling, no aftermarket parts
• The largest parts, holster and magazine ecosystem of any handgun on the market
• Very deep stock, so no waiting

The honest caveat is that a Glock is a Glock. The trigger is the Safe Action trigger and it feels like one – it is consistent, it is reliable, and it is not crisp. Aftermarket triggers exist and plenty of people fit one; plenty more never bother and shoot perfectly well.

The grip angle also suits some hands and not others. If you have shot a Glock before you already know which camp you are in; if you have not, it is worth handling one.

What is not in doubt is that the Glock 45 Gen 6 will work. That is what the platform is bought for, and this generation adds the two things the previous ones were criticised for lacking. MAG5 Firearms ships to your FFL.