Tell me about Glock pistols

[94user]

I love my PX4 full size but It's a bit large for cc. The grip is also just a tad too large for me to draw it from my waist band and point it right on target so I'm seriously thinking about getting a smaller gun to carry. I'm not impressed [don't like] the smaller bobcat and tomcat Beretta's and the Px4 compact grip is no better for me.

I'm looking at Glocks on the web because I want a carry gun that won't let me down. From everything Ive ever read Glock fits that bill. I will not spend my cash on a gun that I can't shoot comfortably.

My concern is that I have never handled a Glock or considered one before because of the DAO striker fired action. I'm old school I guess and I've never,ever liked a pistol with a spur less hammer, especially revolvers. I don't know how well I'd like a hammerless auto.

[Sandman]

Well the obvious reply would be for you to go to a gun range that rents gun (or if you have a buddy) and test fire all the different kinds of glocks. Personally, I could never get use to the way they felt and I have owned a handful of different ones. I have big hands and it still just doesn't feel right. I would say if you make it to the range also try out the Springfield XD line. They are, IMHO, as reliable as glock guns and feel better. Also, I think once you try the hammerless auto you will find out it's not that bad. Again, my opinion.

[Smith]

I have a feeling you won't like the ergos of the Glock with your background. It takes some getting used to getting a hang of their odd grip angle. Of course some don't have a problem transitioning. There are some good hammer fired guns available that can fill the same niche. Sigs, H&K's, CZ P07, and the FN FNX9 would all be excellent choices. You may also want to try the M&P line or the XD line as well.

[graycrait]

Glocks are very good pistols. They will eat anything you feed them with enough accuracy for any 15 yard and in drills you can think of. They can be very very fast from draw to empty magazine. If you don't like the grip angle or the feel you can dramatically change both the feel and equal the angle of the 1911. There is enough plastic on the frame to do it. I've done several dozen myself. I've put together 1911s from kits or purchased completely disassembled ones plus had others. They are OK, and high end ones are more than OK, and at distance I shoot them better than Glocks. However, the Glock is "relatively" inexpensive, parts are everywhere (in the rare case you need a spare), parts are comparitively cheap and available in just about any country. It is simple and fast to completely disassemble or reassemble. You do not have to be a Glock certified Armorer to do it well and fast regardless of what anyone tells you.

[eapking]

94,

Be at RangeUSA Saturday morning. If someone there from TGO doesn't have a Glock handy we'll rent one.

[Guest GLOCKGUY]

Get a glock and shoot it you will love it. Glocks will eat any ammo you feed it.

[Patrick Henry]

The Px4 is a more comfortable shooting gun due to grip and soft recoil. However, the long and heavy double action first trigger pull reduces first shot accuracy and the second shot in single action has very short trigger pull and is very light, thereby increasing the chance of a negligent discharge. The Glock with its constant trigger pull is easier to master and is arguably safer. The Glock compacts (19, 23) are a nice compromise. They have a 4" barrel like the full size Px4 but the overall dimensions are smaller and it weighs less making it easier to conceal and more comfortable to carry. I have read and am beginning to agree that we tend to place to much emphasis on grip comfort. If you can shoot "combat accurate" that is good enough for carry purposes. With most guns if you shoot it "enough" you tend to acclimate to the grip. "Enough" might be about 500 rounds without switching back to other guns. At that point you won't think too much about grip comfort unless you deliberately choose to think about that particular aspect of the gun.

[Smith]

Get a glock and shoot it you will love it. Glocks will eat any ammo you feed it.

Except lead.

[Guest Ae-35]

94user take all this with a grain of salt, there's Glock lovers, and Glock haters, tons of reasons to be both. Lot of people hate Glocks because they're the standard by which all "plastic" guns are judged by, is that fair? Who knows, the XD's and M&P's are the 2 other makes that are just as good or better. It's all a matter of what you like, just remember they're just tools, not like a 1911. Plastic guns have no soul !!

[deerslayer]

Except lead.

Keep it clean and it eats lead, too.

[Guest Law of Thirds]

They're sturdy, reliable, accurate, will feed most ammo right out of the box, dependable and their warranty is pretty peachy.

They also can't eat lead, have an unsupported chamber in some calibers, and have a grip angle that's love it or hate it. Also, they're essentially a single action firearm with no manual safety. (And so help me, if you mention the "trigger safety", please explain how it will function if something gets caught in the trigger guard.)

They're a good gun with their fair share of faults, just like any other quality handgun. You'll need to find out if their particular flavor of kool aid is right for you.

[Guest kdud03]

i have had several pistols an my glock 23 is my favorite yet. i have had 1911s model 92s keltecs rugers , this is my preference. like others will say it is wut ever you like. best thing to do would go shoot one. alot of guys i know like the xd to an say it is a great gun. i dont like the grip though.

[Links2k]

Glocks are great. For me, the g19 is the best handgun ever made.

[Guest Roadkill Bill]

As you probably know, the Glock was the first successful polymer gun on the market. The anti-gunners screamed it could go through airport X-ray machines because it was plastic, and pro-gunners were concerned how well a polymer frame would hold up. So began the torture tests to see how well it would hold up. Several groups, and at least one gun magazine, started 100,000 round tests. I don't know if any kept it going for 100,000 rounds, or if they just gave up trying to make it self-destruct. The joke was, "Clean your Glock every 30,000 rounds if you need to or not." (That's one reason why ranges like to carry them—less work for them!) But it's been frozen, heated, dropped, buried in mud and sand, left underwater in the ocean for 6 months, and I'm sure there is more that I have forgotten. All this and the Glock just keeps on ticking. Then when the FBI was looking for a new handgun they did it all over again, and the Glock did just great again. The standard issue for FBI agents now is the G23, and G22 for those who want the bigger grip. Divers have used Glocks underwater on sharks. At the time they first came out they had another popular feature — 50% fewer parts than your regular semi-auto. Fewer things to go wrong. And now even Ruger has a striker fired handgun!

The first clone was the S&W Sigma. It got "Gun of the Year" when it came out, however, over time it proved to be a dismal failure.

Today the clones abound. The Springfield XD, Ruger SR9, and the S&W M&P, and others may be just as good (or better), but none of them have gone through what the Glock has over the years in regard to torture tests and durability. It will be years before we know.

When I first got my carry license we could only carry 9mm or .45s in Shelby county (that is if you wanted a semi-auto). I wanted a .45 but had never fired one before. Top Brass in Millington was the only rental range I knew about back then, so I went and rented the only .45 available, the G21. I really thought it was butt ugly, but my first 5 shots made a hole the size of a quarter. The rest of the magazine enlarged it some, but I knew then I could get used to the ugly. Been carrying a G21 for the last 15 years or so. Got a ton of other guns now, love S&W revolvers, but that G21 is still my go to gun. It doesn't like the aluminum Blazer stuff (extractor slides off), but it sure is accurate with everything else.

OK, sorry I went on for so long, but remember you said, "Tell me about Glock pistols," so there.

[Guest cheez]

I have found that the people that hate Glocks usually did not give them a chance. I have a LEO friend that hated Glocks and could not hit with them for love nor money. I coached him some and now he loves his Glock 22 duty gun and is quite proficient with it.The imitations are good but let some parts wear out or break and see how fast you get them replaced. Take a 10 year old XD or M & P and try to get them repaired in a timely manner or for free for that matter. If you have a Glock and the rare instance that something goes wrong you can rest assured that Glock will put the gun back to new running condition for free.

ALL guns are merely and simply tools. None have a "soul"

[Smith]

The first clone was the S&W Sigma. It got "Gun of the Year" when it came out, however, over time it proved to be a dismal failure.

Today the clones abound. The Springfield XD, Ruger SR9, and the S&W M&P, and others may be just as good (or better), but none of them have gone through what the Glock has over the years in regard to torture tests and durability. It will be years before we know.

I have found that the people that hate Glocks usually did not give them a chance. I have a LEO friend that hated Glocks and could not hit with them for love nor money. I coached him some and now he loves his Glock 22 duty gun and is quite proficient with it.The imitations are good but let some parts wear out or break and see how fast you get them replaced. Take a 10 year old XD or M & P and try to get them repaired in a timely manner or for free for that matter. If you have a Glock and the rare instance that something goes wrong you can rest assured that Glock will put the gun back to new running condition for free.

ALL guns are merely and simply tools. None have a "soul"

Here comes the koolaid. It's comments like the above that destroy a lot of credibility when it comes to discussing Glock's in general.

M&P's and XD's have gone through same "torture" test with the same and in some cases better results. They also have better safety records. S&W's customer service is just as legendary as Glock's and even have a much longer track record with LEO than Glock (as company relationships go) and many PD's are going back to S&W as they drop the growingly outdated Glock. The Gen 4's are the first corrective update to the original design since it's inception.

Glock cornered the market with a great product and even better LE prices. I give more credit to their PR people than their gun.

Anyone who trains enough with a certain platform will more than likely eventually become proficient with it. The fact that many have to acclimate to that particular platform as opposed to many others that come more naturally is not a good trait of the Glock.

IMO - these are the two camps in regard to Glock.

[Desert Rat]

I used to shoot revolvers in 357 and 44 Mag from S&W. When I moved here I decided on a Semi and picked up a Sigma. After a few rounds I switched to a G22, then picked up a G27 for carry. The wife and I both like the 40 caliber but I ended up getting her a P239 Rainbow which she likes.

All that was to say I had no problem converting to a Glock. I even consider myself a real Texas Sharpshooter! I shoot then draw the target around the holes to show every one how great I am! I can place all shots in the bull,s eye no matter how large I have to draw it!

[graycrait]

I have nothing against other models of handguns, I've had a bunch. As a base gun to learn a lot of things from the Glock is hard to beat. I wish it had a 1911 trigger but then it would be a 1911. However, for self-defense the trigger on a Glock is fine and can be easily adjusted to suit many peoples' tastes by the user with some care. You can have triggers with Light or heavy pull, with serrated or smooth face trigger shoe face. The trigger has a decent short reset. The Glock has a low bore axis. It is so simple to work on that it is in this area that I think it rises above the rest for the everyman's pistol. If you want to shoot lead bullets you can as one poster mentioned, just keep the barrel clean or simply buy an aftermarket barrel for around 100.00 that can be changed out with the stock one in about 30 seconds. This book: Amazon.com: How To Customize Your Glock: Step-by-Step Modifications You Can Do at Little Cost (9781581604825): Robert H. Boatman, Morgan W. Boatman: Books is 15.00 well spent to understand how you the Glock user can do nearly anything within safe reason that you might want to do to a Glock. I've tried out a lot of Glock aftermarket parts and simply recommend saving your money and stick with stock parts, except sights.

[graycrait]

Here is another of my Glock experiments, trying to make a Glock that would shoot like a Sig P210. This one had a stainless steel CCF frame 17L upper and Bomar sights. I tried it with a Doctor red dot too. Right now I can't exactly remember how much it weighed, but something around 52 oz's I think. I tried out another attempt to make a "bullseye" gun out of a Glock by buying an aftermarket G34 slide, aftermarket barrel, aftermarket trigger bar, etc.

[Guest mikedwood]

For a light weight, small frame carry gun I don't think a G26 can be beat.

Shoots like a full size gun in every respect and can take the 33 round mags as well.

[DWARREN123]

Glocks are good guns but do not fit everybody. You need to handle them, a lot of folks think the grip frame is too large so they have grip reductions done and the finger grooves removed.

I like the grip and the guns are very reliable in my humble opinion. I own at this time a Gen3 RTF G22, Gen4 G22 and a G23 and am very happy with them.

[Desert Rat]

"For a light weight, small frame carry gun I don't think a G26 can be beat. "

G27 with CT grips and the 29 round after market mags!

Or maybe my new Kimber Ultra Crimson Carry II but I have not shot that one yet!

Edited June 25, 2010 by Desert Rat

[Guest forklift]

OMG can you do a kickflip on that thing? Sooo much skateboard tape... lol

*Edit* for the record, Glocks are in the holy trinity of 9mm handguns. Beretta 92, Glock 17, XDM 9... you can't go wrong with any of them.

Edited June 25, 2010 by forklift

[leroy]

.....For a light weight, small frame carry gun I don't think a G26 can be beat.

Shoots like a full size gun in every respect and can take the 33 round mags as well. .....

I heartily agree with Mike's assessment. I EDC a Glock 33. It is accurate, powerful, and easy to shoot. That being said; try one out if you can before you buy. See if you like it; if you do, round one up. They are a great thing and relatively easy on the pocketbook.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Leroy

[Guest Caveman]

I have many different handguns, Glocks, Sigs, XD's, Rugers etc. Glocks are by far my favorite to shoot and to rely on for EDC. I shoot almost every weekend on my property and have put many rounds through my Glocks and never once have I had a single issue. I am accurate with them, I like the way they feel and I like carrying them. These are just my experiences. I suggest you try a couple out and see how they work for you.