GForce Arms Jawbone .45 ACP

The GForce Arms Jawbone is one of the only factory .45 ACP PDWs that runs Glock magazines, and at $599 MSRP it is the cheapest way into a big-bore pistol caliber carbine. The American-made platform feeds from Glock 21 and Glock 30 magazines and ships with a 26+1 KCI stick, so the magazine supply is cheap and widely available instead of proprietary. GForce offers it in 5-inch and 7-inch barrel lengths, both built on an aluminum-alloy receiver with a closed-bolt blowback action.

The barrel is 4140 steel with a QPQ finish and a 5/8-24 muzzle thread, the standard .45 ACP suppressor pitch, so a large-bore can threads on without an adapter. A full-length Picatinny top rail runs the receiver for optics and irons, the controls include an ambidextrous magazine release and ambidextrous side charging with a rear charging option, and the Jawbone ships as a braced pistol with an Ace of Brace paddle brace. The factory trigger breaks around 4.5 pounds. GForce backs the platform with a 5-year limited warranty.

The tradeoffs are the tradeoffs of a budget .45 blowback. The reciprocating mass needed to run .45 ACP makes the action heavier and the recoil impulse softer but slower than a 9mm PCC, the 5.6-pound weight on the 7-inch model is on the heavier side for the class, and GForce is better known for budget shotguns than precision carbines, so long-term reliability data is still thin. For a Glock-mag .45 host, a suppressor platform, or a low-cost big-bore range gun, the Jawbone has no direct competition at this price.