Glock 30 vs Glock 38

[Guest burninbarns]

Now let me start by saying I'm not trying to get into the whole 45 gap debate, I know all the arguments, but I have a question I hope someone can shed some light on.

The Glock 38 is, at lest in the reciever, identical to the Glock 19.The Glock 30 is dimensionally very similar to the 19,just shorter without the magazine and thicker.

Why does the 30 hold ten rounds and the 38 just 8?They should be about the same length just the 30 is wider.......what gives?

[deerslayer]

The 38 has a thinner magazine.

[Smith]

...because that is Perfection! Now where is the dang trademark symbol?

[Glock30Owner]

Now let me start by saying I'm not trying to get into the whole 45 gap debate, I know all the arguments, but I have a question I hope someone can shed some light on.

The Glock 38 is, at lest in the reciever, identical to the Glock 19.The Glock 30 is dimensionally very similar to the 19,just shorter without the magazine and thicker.

Why does the 30 hold ten rounds and the 38 just 8?They should be about the same length just the 30 is wider.......what gives?

I had to do a little searching since I have no hands on experience with the G38 (I do have a G30, though).

G30 Dimensions

(Sub-Compact)

Length: 6.77" (172 mm)

Width: 1.27" (32 mm)

Barrel: 3.78" (96 mm)

G38 Dimensions

(Compact)

Length: 6.85" (174 mm)

Width: 1.18" (30 mm)

Barrel: 4.02" (102 mm)

That little bit of width probably accounts for the disparity. It is hard to imagine that less than 1/10 of an inch could account for 2 rounds, but that same 1/10 of an inch is what makes the G21 and G30 uncomfortable to fire for a number of people.

[deerslayer]

The 30 probably barely holds 10 rounds, and the 38 probably almost holds nine. 1/10" isn't much, though. Thirteen rounds of .40 in a 23 seems to be a better deal to me than the 30 or 38.

Edited January 11, 2009 by deerslayer

[Glock30Owner]

The 30 probably barely holds 10 rounds, and the 38 probably almost holds nine. 1/10" isn't much, though. Thirteen rounds of .40 in a 23 seems to be a better deal to me than the 30 or 38.

As I said previously, I don't have any experience with the G38. I can say that the G30 magazines don't "barely" hold 10.

There may be other differences in the magazine construction that I was not able to uncover. Maybe someone with experience doing repairs on the magazines could offer some explanation to the difference in capacity.

BTW, the G30 is considered a sub-compact and probably should be compared to the G39 (the .45GAP sub-compact), which incidentally only holds 6.

[deerslayer]

BTW, the G30 is considered a sub-compact and probably should be compared to the G39 (the .45GAP sub-compact), which incidentally only holds 6.

The 30 is a large frame sub-compact, while the 26-27-33-39 are small frame subcompacts. They really aren't comparable. The 30 is more similar to a thick 19 or 23.