The Glock 36: The Skinny .45 Six-Shot Automatic – The Glock 36 was built for users who wanted the knockdown power of the .45 ACP but a smaller, slimmer, lighter pistol for everyday carry, especially for those with smaller hands. Some even called it the rocket pistol for its small size and power.
For more than 25 years, the G36 was the only single-stack .45 ACP pistol in Glock’s catalog. It was also Glock’s first single-stack pistol, long before the G43 made slim Glocks fashionable.
However, that run is over. Glock discontinued both the G36 and the rail-equipped G36 FGR in 2025, as part of a housecleaning that cleared the way for the company’s new V Series. The company discontinued several legacy pistols to simplify manufacturing, reduce production costs, and focus on high-demand or future-driving product lines.
That makes this a good time to look at what the G36 did well, where it fell short, and whether it’s worth buying one on the used market.
A Slimmer .45 With A Job As A CCW
Glock already had a subcompact .45 in the catalog with the double-stack G30. However, the G30’s 10-round magazine created a fat grip that plenty of shooters with smaller hands never warmed to. Glock’s goal with the G36 was a thinner, lighter alternative that still fired the big round.
According to Glock’s specifications, the G36 runs a 3.78-inch barrel, measures 6.97 inches long and 4.72 inches tall, and is 1.18 inches wide overall, with a slide just 1.0 inch across. It weighs 19.93 ounces without a magazine, 22.40 ounces with an empty mag, and 26.81 ounces fully loaded. The trigger is rated at 28 newtons (about 6.3 pounds), and the sight radius with the factory polymer sights is 5.91 inches.
That’s 6+1 rounds of .45 ACP in a package that weighs well under two pounds loaded. For those keeping score at home, that’s a lot of 230-grain firepower in a very small package.
Glock 36. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Image: Creative Commons.
The Six Round Capacity Is The Honest Trade-Off
Every conversation about the G36 eventually comes back to capacity. Six in the magazine, one in the chamber. As Athlon Outdoors pointed out, you give up four rounds compared to the G30 for a slimmer grip, which is why Glock shipped the gun with a spare magazine.
When the G36 was first introduced, that capacity wasn’t much of a handicap. The 1994 federal assault weapons ban capped new civilian magazines at 10 rounds, so the gap between a slim .45 and its fatter cousins was smaller than it looks today.
However, the ban expired in 2004, and the market quickly shifted to higher-capacity magazines. Today’s micro-compact 9mm pistols routinely carry 10 to 15 rounds in a package the same size or smaller.
American Rifleman’s reviewer called the G36 a marketing mystery and suspected capacity was why it never sold as well as it should have.
I believe that is spot on. Say what you want about stopping power. That’s beside the point when the guy behind the counter is handing a customer a 9mm that holds twice as many rounds.
Stocked Ammo Shelves. 19FortyFive Photo from Bass Pro Shops in Orlando, Florida.
The G36 Shoots Well, But The Recoil Is A Bit Heavy
The .45 ACP was designed as a slow, heavy cartridge, and in a gun this light, you feel it. The recoil comes back as a solid push into the web of the hand rather than the sharp wrist slap a .40 S&W delivers, as the American Rifleman piece described it. The gun also handles hot +P loads without complaint.
Accuracy is better than the gun’s size suggests. Alien Gear’s review rated it impressively accurate for a subcompact and called the recoil noticeable but manageable. That matches the gun’s general reputation. It’s a Glock, which means it will shoot where you point it, and there’s little new to say about reliability that hasn’t been said a thousand times.
The weak spots are familiar. The grip is short, so most shooters will hunt for a place to put their pinky (raises hand), which I find a bit uncomfortable. However, many shooters have no issue with this.
Personally, the factory polymer sights are the first thing I’d replace, and Glock offered steel and night sights as options. Glock may have recognized the weapon’s limits, as the G36 never moved past the Gen 3 frame. No Gen 4 backstraps. No Gen 5 Marksman barrel. No optics cut. The FGR variant added an accessory rail for a light or laser, and that was it.
Why Glock Decided To Discontinue It
So why discontinue a good pistol with a loyal following? Gun Tests reported that Glock described the cuts as low-volume SKUs and models in need of modernization, and that the decision came amid lawsuits from states such as New Jersey and Minnesota over illegal switch conversions, along with California’s new law, AB1127.
Other observers noted that most of the axed models were older designs or chambered in fading calibers and couldn’t be fitted with a red dot out of the box.
The G36 checked a couple of those boxes. It was a low-volume seller on an aging frame with no optics option. None of that, however, says much about how well the G36 performed.
The good news for owners is that Glock will continue to service discontinued models, and factory parts like replacement magazine springs are still sold through distributors. And the aftermarket options for Glocks are seemingly endless.
Is The G36 Worth Hunting Down?
If you want a .45 ACP that disappears under an untucked shirt, and you shoot well enough to make six rounds count, the G36 is still one of the best options ever built. Retailers were recently listing new and refurbished examples in the $500 to $575 range. With production ended, I wouldn’t expect those prices to hold.
However, if capacity sits at the top of your list, the honest answer is a single-stack 9mm such as the G43X or G48, which Glock kept in its catalog.
The Glock G36 wasn’t my particular cup of tea, although I’ve always loved the .45 ACP round. And it is a Glock, so the reliability is a no-brainer.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications
