Glock debuted the new Generation 6 models late last year, and we've evaluated the popular G45 variant over the past few months-- with some interesting takeaways. 

Quick Summary: Glock brought a surprising number of changes with the new Gen 6 guns, making the already well-liked G45 crossover 9mm an all-around improved platform. While almost as subtle as a hummingbird’s wings, once you get into the upgrades, we found out it to be more than just buzz. 

Overview
Compared to Previous Gen
The Specs
Features
Trigger
Reliability
Accuracy
Carry
Pros & Cons
Conclusion
 

Overview

Any conversation about the Glock 45 that is longer than a fortune cookie scroll needs to start with the G19X. 

Debuted in January 2018, the Gen 5 (ish) G19X was originally developed as Glock's submission for the U.S. Army's Modular Handgun System trials before being adapted for commercial sale. The company's first "crossover" design (hence the "X") blended a full-size G17 grip with a compact G19 slide assembly and a hybrid frame with a G19-length dustcover to accommodate it. 

Just nine short months after the debut of the G19X, Glock delivered the Gen 5 G45 to market, which was basically a black G19X with some very minor tweaks. Announced at the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, the G45 was billed as the perfect duty gun, blending all the best attributes of the G19 and G17 while adding Gen 5 features to boot —front slide serrations, ambi controls, a modular backstrap system, and the Glock Marksman Barrel. It soon became a smash hit in Glock's catalog, especially after optics-ready MOS models were introduced in 2019. 

Then Glock ended its Gen 5s in place of the transitional Gen V last November, then announced the new (and MOS-less) Gen 6 guns just a confusing month later. 

We'll get into it more below, but in a nutshell, the Gen 6 brings a different slide, internals, and trigger system but keeps everything dimensionally the same (so legacy holsters still work) while delivering a much better optics mounting system than MOS while retaining the same manual of arms and being reverse compatible with existing 17+ capacity double stack 9mm mags. 
 

For full disclosure, Glock sent Guns.com this G45 Gen 6 for review purposes. All testing was done on this one pistol, which has been under evaluation since March.
 

Compared to Previous Gen 
 

Features

Diving deeper into the feature set of the Gen 6 G45, let’s look inside. Keep in mind that the pistol field strips just like every other Glock generation, but very few parts interchange between the newest kid on the block and its older brothers. Just the mags, sights, locking block, mag release, firing pin and spring, slide lock/spring, trigger pin/housing, trigger bar, recoil spring assembly, and connector are backward compatible. Almost everything else is Gen 6 only.
 

Trigger

The flat-face trigger has an advertised pull weight of 5.84 pounds, and we noted it to have a good reset. It keeps the traditional trio of Glock "Safe Action" internal safeties, including the trigger shoe pivot, firing pin safety, and drop safety. 
 

Those looking for upgrades to the Gen 6 are in luck as several are already on the market, including Timney's Alpha Competition 3-pound trigger and the JCG VEX-6. 
 

Reliability

In testing, we ran just over 500 rounds in our G45 with absolute reliability. Not a single gun-related malfunction was observed. 
 

The Gen 6 G45 handled well on the range and was almost monotonously boring to shoot, showing a lack of operational failure.  
 

Accuracy

The G19, which is what the G45 is based on, always had a reputation for good practical accuracy. When you add the longer full-size grip, better ergonomics, and a more flat-faced trigger, and improved ergonomics, as well as the Glock Marksman Barrel, which we've liked since the G19X, the Gen 6 G45 upholds that reputation. 
 

Carry 

One of the biggest selling points of the G45 when first introduced in 2018 was that it would fit many G19 holsters already on the market as they shared the same slide lengths, widths, and rail dimensions. As the G19 has been in continuous production since GnR's "Sweet Child o' Mine" hit the charts and has long been Glock's most popular model, that is a huge share of the market. 

The Gen 6 G45 keeps those now-golden dimensions, even with the changes to the ergos and the added gas pedal.

We tried the following holsters. 
 

Finding a holster is not going to be a problem for this pistol. 

Conclusion

Glock didn't start with a clean-sheet design with the Gen 6 G45. What they did was take everything that worked, put it in a new platform based on the now-golden legacy dimensions, and include a lot of the things folks wanted Glock to do for the past decade. You get a gun with great ergonomics (this really is the best-feeling Glock I have ever shot) that is easier to control without having to get compensated and uses a better optics interface. Plus, even though a lot of the internals are different from past Gens, you can still use older pattern mags (which are available in the millions-- and for cheap), as well as a staple holster size and industry-standard sights with pages of replacement irons available. 

Bottom line, if you are a Glock fan, this is a gun to squeal over. If you aren't a Glock fan, try it. If you are Glock agnostic, definitely give this one a shot.