glock question

[Guest hustle]

I currently carry a glock 23. I'm looking at getting a smaller carry gun. I'm small and I typically wear clothes that fit closely so it's already difficult to carry, but I also have large hands (longer than my g23). It makes me feel uncomfortable shooting very small guns. An LCP would be too small I'm afraid. I've been looking at the baby glocks, but I haven't had a chance to go shoot one. I've been too busy working with the kindergartners to go to the gun store.

Is there enough difference in weight and size to make it that much easier to carry?

Does anyone have a problem keeping a good grip on the baby glocks?

Is there a big difference in the recoil?

Has anyone stopped carrying a baby glock for a different gun on a regular basis?

[Guest Verbal Kint]

What is your current carry setup? IWB? OWB? Holster? Position of carry on your body?

Might be a simple solution, such as trying a different setup. Or you might want to look into something more ideal, like you mentioned, such as a J-frame 642/442. I know other females on here, including Tungsten's wife, dress in similar fashion to what you describe... and have had good results with a J-frame revolver.

[Guest hustle]

I've never carried a revolver. I will consider it though. I have a S&W 686+ right now that is obviously way too big.

I usually carry OWB small of back or belly band depending upon what I'm wearing. It's easy enough to cover with a loose over shirt that way if necessary.

[Guest 04heritage]

the baby glock is a good choice my sister carrys one NICE

[PackinMama]

Hustle, I have a 23 and a 27. I had the 23 first and I also wanted a smaller auto handgun for daily carry, so I went with the 27. The 27 isn't all that much lighter than the 23 (I think ? about 3 oz.) but it is quite a bit smaller in length and height. One of our members did a very cool picture comparison between the G23 and G27 here: http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14037

I have large hands too, I'm 5'10" and large framed. I have no problem at all handling the G27 with or without the mag extensions. Without the mag extension, my pinky curls under the grip nicely and feels good. The extensions give you an extra place for your pinky and also feels good, but they make the gun a little taller, which tends to affect the concealability factor a bit. As for recoil difference in the two.....not much difference at all. The 27 is a little bit snappier than the 23, but if you have large hands I really don't think you'd have a problem with it. Verbal is right about the lightweight .38 snubbies too....they are much easier to conceal and a lot lighter in weight than the Glocks. If you ever want to come down to the Morristown area, shoot me a pm. You are more than welcome to come over and shoot my G27, with and without the mag extensions....and my S&W 442 or Taurus 85 UL and see which one you like best....just BYOA (bring your own ammo ).

[Guest hustle]

Thanks for the offer to come shoot PackinMama. It's a bit of a drive for me to come out there though. I'm about 25 miles to the west of Knoxville. You've basically told me what I wanted to know. Thanks!

I have a friend with a UL. I'll see if I can drag him to CCA sometime soon.

[Guest TheBadLuckCharm]

I currently carry a glock 23. I'm looking at getting a smaller carry gun. I'm small and I typically wear clothes that fit closely so it's already difficult to carry, but I also have large hands (longer than my g23). It makes me feel uncomfortable shooting very small guns. An LCP would be too small I'm afraid. I've been looking at the baby glocks, but I haven't had a chance to go shoot one. I've been too busy working with the kindergartners to go to the gun store.

Is there enough difference in weight and size to make it that much easier to carry?

Does anyone have a problem keeping a good grip on the baby glocks?

Is there a big difference in the recoil?

Has anyone stopped carrying a baby glock for a different gun on a regular basis?

That's a good question, I've been looking at G26 in 9mm, but I am not sure if the recoil is worse, my husband has a 23 .40 and the grips already feel short to me for how heavy it is(I'm short but I don't have tiny hands), and there's no way I could conceal his anytime it's not winter. But still I heard they're reliable for semi autos.Does anyone know if the recoil is worse than the airweight .38 snubs?

[PackinMama]

To me, compared to a G23 or G27, the recoil is about the same if I shoot regular .38 loads in the snubbie.....however, if I shoot +p in the .38 it has a bit more recoil than the Glocks. I've shot Glock 9mm's before and I'd say that the recoil on the G26 would be a bit less than the .38. I am not at all recoil sensitive though. I could shoot anything and it wouldn't bother me.

If the recoil bothers you with the regular .38 rounds, you could get the low recoil .38's that are specifically designed for a snubnose.....I'm planning on picking up some of those for my mother's snubbie. I'll check around for a good place to get them and post it here when I do.

btw....I shot an older all steel frame .38 snubbie the other day and it had hardly ANY kick at all with regular .38 loads. But DANG! that thing is HEAVY! I would never want to carry it on me for any length of time.....unless it's winter and maybe put it in my coat pocket while I'm outside or something.

Edited November 21, 2008 by PackinMama
reread op's post and added something

[Guest TheBadLuckCharm]

To me, compared to a G23 or G27, the recoil is about the same if I shoot regular .38 loads in the snubbie.....however, if I shoot +p in the .38 it has a bit more recoil than the Glocks. I've shot Glock 9mm's before and I'd say that the recoil on the G26 would be a bit less than the .38. I am not at all recoil sensitive though. I could shoot anything and it wouldn't bother me.

If the recoil bothers you with the regular .38 rounds, you could get the low recoil .38's that are specifically designed for a snubnose.....I'm planning on picking up some of those for my mother's snubbie. I'll check around for a good place to get them and post it here when I do.

btw....I shot an older all steel frame .38 snubbie the other day and it had hardly ANY kick at all with regular .38 loads. But DANG! that thing is HEAVY! I would never want to carry it on me for any length of time.....unless it's winter and maybe put it in my coat pocket while I'm outside or something.

The pain doesn't bother me (I say that now)as much as something that makes my arm raise up-that I do not like.The first gun I ever shot was a .45(that was 5 years ago) and I still hate it to this day.I want to be able to control the gun,not the gun controlling me.

[PackinMama]

If it's the muzzle rise that bothers you, that's easy to fix. Just get a ported .38 snubbie like a Taurus 85 ported. I had a Titanium Taurus 85 that was ported and it was awesome (it was stolen unfortunately and I replaced it with the cheaper Taurus Ultra-Lite, not ported). My G23 is actually a 23c.....c is for compensated (ported). There is much less muzzle rise when shooting a ported gun....which makes it much easier to get back on target.

[Guest TheBadLuckCharm]

If it's the muzzle rise that bothers you, that's easy to fix. Just get a ported .38 snubbie like a Taurus 85 ported. I had a Titanium Taurus 85 that was ported and it was awesome (it was stolen unfortunately and I replaced it with the cheaper Taurus Ultra-Lite, not ported). My G23 is actually a 23c.....c is for compensated (ported). There is much less muzzle rise when shooting a ported gun....which makes it much easier to get back on target.

what is ported???I got a 642 yesterday so I think it's too late, lol. I just really do not like guns raising,

I do not like how it looks like it's about to pop out of the boys hand, do you think this could be avoided with different ammo?

Edited November 23, 2008 by TheBadLuckCharm

[PackinMama]

Congrats on your 642! Were you able to find one without a lock?

Ported guns have holes in the end of the muzzle on the top. I don't know the technical explanation, but it basically lets part of the "explosion" from the shot out the top of the muzzle through the "ports" instead of all the force coming out just the end of the muzzle.....which in turn makes the gun rise less when you shoot. Does that make sense? I hope so....maybe someone can chime in with a better explanation for you.

If I were you I'd try shooting it with regular .38 loads and if you think it feels like it's rising too much when you shoot it, try the low recoil short barrel loads....I believe that will help with recoil as well as muzzle rise.

I apologize, my son (3 yrs.) has been sick the last couple days or I would have already posted a link for you to those low recoil loads. I will try to find a link for you later today.

Here's a link to low recoil .38 ammo: http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.exe/showproduct?saleitemid=211732

Have fun with your new 642!

Edited November 23, 2008 by PackinMama
added link

[Guest VolGrad]

I carried a G26 for a while. I shot it as well as any other pistol in spite of its size. However, the grip was a bit short. Most people solve this by putting the pinky extension on it. The problem I have with this solution is it defeats the purpose of getting a smaller gun in the first place. I always felt once you shoved the G26 down in a holster (and had the pinky ext on it) you were no better off than with a compact pistol.

I ended up selling the G26 and getting a G19 (same size as your G23). It concealed just as well and held 5 extra rounds. It also had a longer grip and sight radius. YMMV.

My wife also prefers shooting the larger G19 compared to the G26.

[Guest hustle]

I ended up getting a bersa thunder .380. I really love the feel of it in my hand. The baby glocks were just way too small. As soon as we left the gun store, it started pouring down. It's been raining ever since I bought it, and I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet.

[Almond27]

Bersa is supposed to make a fine gun for the price. I've heard they are one of the most under rated guns out there for the price.

[Guest hustle]

I'll let you know how I like it once I get to shoot the darn thing.

My dad has a bersa, and he's usually pretty picky about his guns.

[PackinMama]

Congrats on your new gun! Definitely keep us posted and let us know how you like it.

[Ropin4gold]

My wife carries the Glock 26. She really likes it and handles it well. It has the Pierce +1 extension on it.