Glock 45 A-Cut COA Combo, the "crossover" with Aimpoint red dot sight (and no mounting plate)

The Austrian manufacturer Glock continues to update its pistol lineup at an almost hectic pace. For the time being, these are not revolutionary models compared to those already on the market, but in this case the differences are quite conspicuous, and certainly great enough to deserve a specific test. In addition, together with the 9mm Glock 45 COA we were able to test the Glock GTL II tactical light, a product that is certainly well conceived, and which integrates perfectly, both aesthetically and functionally, with the weapon.

Glock 45 A-Cut COA Combo, a crossover in cooperation with Aimpoint

The Glock 45 A-Cut COA Combo is the result of a collaboration with Aimpoint, the Swedish company that in fact invented the red dot sight and that still today, exactly fifty years after introducing the first model, holds a leading position in this very crowded market. The acronym COA, in fact, stands for "Combo A-CUT" and refers to the interface developed to accommodate the Aimpoint COA sight on the slide, developed expressly for this purpose from the ACRO model. This is a fully enclosed red dot sight that was developed for military use in particularly hostile environments. The mounting system between the Aimpoint sight and Glock slide does not require any adapter plate but is direct, with a nose at the front of the sight base that fits into a slide recess, while the rear end of the sight is fixed by two screws.

From an operational point of view, the 45 A-Cut COA Combo can be defined as a crossover, i.e. an intermediate model of the fifth generation obtained by combining the slide of a G19 (that is, with a 4.02"/102 mm barrel) with a G17 frame. The barrel mounted on the 45 A-Cut COA Combo is a Glock Marksman type with improved polygonal rifling to provide superior accuracy. Features of the pistol include the slide release on both sides of the frame, cocking serretions also on the slide front, and no semi-anatomical finger grooves on the front of the grip, disliked by many. The magazine well is flared to facilitate quick magazine changes.

Photo gallery: the  Glock 45 A-Cut COA Combo

Our shooting impressions with the Glock 45 A-Cut COA Combo

Our test of the Glock 45 A-Cut COA Combo did not, as was to be expected, reserve any major surprises: by now, the new products from the Austrian manufacturer are mostly refinements of a mature system, which it would make no sense to radically change. The gun appears reliable and manageable from the very first contact, as one would expect from a firearm that has the professional operator as its first user, allowing even those accustomed to other platforms to achieve excellent shots right from the start.

Does the new model therefore succeed in the difficult feat of further improving a gun that has already proved successful? The answer is: "it depends". In the writer's opinion, the G45 is one of the best Glocks ever, boasting improved ergonomics compared to the already excellent previous generation with the ideal dimensions already seen on the 19X, obtained by combining the full size grip of the legendary G17 with the slightly more compact slide of the G19, another bestseller of the brand, all topped off by the latest innovations, such as the front slide serrations and the factory-fitted Aimpoint red dot sight. But it all depends on your hands: the advice is to go to the gun shop and try out the various Glock grips until you find the perfect one, which in your case could be the more compact G19, or one of the recent single-stack versions.

What convinced us the least about the Glock 45 COA? The sights, which are too low to co-witness with the red dot and not so visible in the event of its failure. We would find them great when used alone but on this gun, equipped as standard with the Aimpoint, we would have liked them higher.

Mounted on the test gun was the new GTL II light, which, as you can see from the pictures, is perfectly integrated with the pistol profile, from which it does not protrude in any direction. Powered by a CR123A battery, it comes with a mounting tool and several activation buttons. Its 600 lumens, which can be used in both standard and strobe mode, are just the right amount of power to illuminate convincingly without dazzling the user. It represents a considerable step forward compared to the long-awaited previous model.

Glock 45 A-Cut COA technical specifications