Glock 39

About the Glock 39

The Glock 39 is a subcompact semi-automatic pistol chambered in .45 GAP, produced by Glock Ges.m.b.H. from 2003. It is the smallest member of Glock's .45 GAP lineup, sitting below the full-size G37 and compact G38, sharing the dimensions of the subcompact 9mm Glock 26. With a 87mm (3.43-inch) barrel and a standard six-round magazine, the G39 was designed primarily as a concealed-carry and back-up sidearm delivering .45-caliber terminal performance in a frame small enough to hide. Like all Glock pistols it uses the striker-fired Safe Action system, with trigger, firing-pin, and drop safeties, a polymer frame, and a Tenifer-finished steel slide. The short .45 GAP case lets the cartridge fit within a 9mm-class grip, giving the G39 a meaningfully smaller grip circumference than a comparable .45 ACP Glock. The G39 and the wider .45 GAP family were ultimately discontinued as the cartridge failed to gain commercial traction.

The Glock 39 was the pocket-sized expression of Glock's .45 GAP experiment, an attempt to deliver .45-caliber stopping power in a frame no larger than a 9mm subcompact. The idea was sound on paper, but the shooting public never warmed to the proprietary cartridge, and ammunition for the tiny six-shot pistol remained expensive and hard to find. Today the G39 is a curiosity prized by collectors of the short-lived .45 GAP family.

Glock 39 specifications

The G39 accepts the longer six-, eight-, and ten-round .45 GAP magazines from the G37 and G38, allowing extended capacity at the cost of concealability. As the subcompact of the line it offers the strongest concealment of any .45 GAP Glock but suffers the sharpest felt recoil due to its light weight and short slide. With .45 GAP ammunition becoming scarce and costly relative to .45 ACP, the platform saw limited civilian adoption.