I Crossed Over to the Darkside

[The Annoyed Man]

A huge positive is that it is AMAZINGLY accurate for a small gun. williamkevin and I couldn't stop saying "wow" when we took it to the range.

I suspect that Glocks in general are that way. My wife's G19 is pretty accurate.

I had one failure to feed, but I think it was my fault. It happened during the first or second magazine through while I was still getting a feel for it and it's likely that I limp wristed it a bit. Right now, the slide release is REALLY tough, but I'm hoping that will wear a bit and get easier.

They really aren't invincible. If the shooter does something wrong, like the limp-wristing you mentioned, the gun will behave accordingly.

The reason I picked the Glock over the Sig is the way it felt. The Sig felt top heavy (or slide heavy) when I held it, while the Glock felt more balanced (of course, I realize that probably has nothing to do with how it shoots, that's just a personal preference.)

Both my wife's Glock and my M&P 45 share this characteristic. The design permits the bore axis to sit very low relative to the rest of the frame, so you have a low slide too. When combined with that "beavertail" at the back of the frame which encourages a high grip on the gun, you really notice how low the reciprocating mass of the slide/barrel assembly is to the frame. That makes these guns fairly easy to shoot. BTW, I found my old USP Compact .40, which I sold to Carlson1, to feel much like a Sig - kind of top-heavy.

I'll let williamkevin weigh in with his own opinion, but I will say...and you didn't hear this from me ...he's thinking about trading in his CZ and his M&P 9 on a Glock. I think that's a pretty strong testimony.

I can't speak to the CZ, but I don't think he'll be any happier with the Glock than he has been with his M&P.

[KFP]

Right now, the slide release is REALLY tough, but I'm hoping that will wear a bit and get easier.

I'm not sure which technique you're using to release the slide, but I believe that Glock refers to that as the "slide stop lever." I almost never use the lever to release the slide, choosing to release the slide by pulling it to the rear. The main reason that I do this is that it works on just about any semi-auto.

Glock does offer an extended slide stop lever to make using it to release the slide much easier. It is incredibly easy to change parts on Glocks too - there are a lot of trigger pull options available by changing the connector bar and trigger springs.

Sounds like you're enjoying your new gun. I knew it would be your FIRST Glock!

[pbwalker]

I'm not sure which technique you're using to release the slide, but I believe that Glock refers to that as the "slide stop lever." I almost never use the lever to release the slide, choosing to release the slide by pulling it to the rear. The main reason that I do this is that it works on just about any semi-auto.

You should really never use the slide release and should use the 'pull and release' instead. If a defensive situation, you can lose precious seconds trying to fiddle with a slide release. The pull back and release method works, and works quickly.

[TLynnHughes]

I'm not sure which technique you're using to release the slide, but I believe that Glock refers to that as the "slide stop lever." I almost never use the lever to release the slide, choosing to release the slide by pulling it to the rear. The main reason that I do this is that it works on just about any semi-auto.

You should really never use the slide release and should use the 'pull and release' instead. If a defensive situation, you can lose precious seconds trying to fiddle with a slide release. The pull back and release method works, and works quickly.

Oh absolutely. That's why it's not a really big deal. I hardly ever use it, but it was a surprising difference from the USP. Certainly not any reason not to get a Glock. And pull and release on the Glock is a piece of cake!

T.

[TLynnHughes]

The reason I picked the Glock over the Sig is the way it felt. The Sig felt top heavy (or slide heavy) when I held it, while the Glock felt more balanced (of course, I realize that probably has nothing to do with how it shoots, that's just a personal preference.)

Both my wife's Glock and my M&P 45 share this characteristic. The design permits the bore axis to sit very low relative to the rest of the frame, so you have a low slide too. When combined with that "beavertail" at the back of the frame which encourages a high grip on the gun, you really notice how low the reciprocating mass of the slide/barrel assembly is to the frame. That makes these guns fairly easy to shoot. BTW, I found my old USP Compact .40, which I sold to Carlson1, to feel much like a Sig - kind of top-heavy.

Thank you for that explanation, sir! It's nice to know WHY the Glock feels the way it does. And maybe that's one of things I don't care for about the USP Compact, because you're right, it's top heavy. Funny, it doesn't bother me on the full size USP though. Maybe there's an explanation for that too???

T.

[hirundo82]

I'm not sure which technique you're using to release the slide, but I believe that Glock refers to that as the "slide stop lever." I almost never use the lever to release the slide, choosing to release the slide by pulling it to the rear. The main reason that I do this is that it works on just about any semi-auto.

You should really never use the slide release and should use the 'pull and release' instead. If a defensive situation, you can lose precious seconds trying to fiddle with a slide release. The pull back and release method works, and works quickly.

Oh absolutely. That's why it's not a really big deal. I hardly ever use it, but it was a surprising difference from the USP. Certainly not any reason not to get a Glock. And pull and release on the Glock is a piece of cake!

T.

Welcome to the dark side!

If you do ever want a true slide release, the replacement extended slide stop from Glock is less than $15 and can be installed in 5 minutes with only a 3/32 punch.

However, I own two Glocks (carry a G19 regularly) and have never seen a reason to replace the slide stop. I just train to release the slide by slingshotting it--it only requires gross motor skills, while fine motor skills (which are the first things to go under stress) are required to release the slide with the slide stop.

[Keith]

Have to admit after shooting one of my friends Glock I too just bought one, I have a Glock 20 10mm and love it.

[TLynnHughes]

Have to admit after shooting one of my friends Glock I too just bought one, I have a Glock 20 10mm and love it.

That's exactly how my journey to the dark side began. I was being interviewed by a local newspaper about women and shooting. One of the ladies there had a Glock. The reporter wanted to get pictures of us shooting, so she offered her Glock to me. I picked it up, never having fired a Glock before, and fired 3 shots into the X ring. Now I'm sure that many of you do that regularly, but I don't. It normally takes me a bit to warm up to a new firearm. Not this one. That was about 2 months ago and still I resisted....until I held the Baby Glock at the gun store on Thursday. It was pretty much over then.

T.

[The Annoyed Man]

The reason I picked the Glock over the Sig is the way it felt. The Sig felt top heavy (or slide heavy) when I held it, while the Glock felt more balanced (of course, I realize that probably has nothing to do with how it shoots, that's just a personal preference.)

Both my wife's Glock and my M&P 45 share this characteristic. The design permits the bore axis to sit very low relative to the rest of the frame, so you have a low slide too. When combined with that "beavertail" at the back of the frame which encourages a high grip on the gun, you really notice how low the reciprocating mass of the slide/barrel assembly is to the frame. That makes these guns fairly easy to shoot. BTW, I found my old USP Compact .40, which I sold to Carlson1, to feel much like a Sig - kind of top-heavy.

Thank you for that explanation, sir! It's nice to know WHY the Glock feels the way it does. And maybe that's one of things I don't care for about the USP Compact, because you're right, it's top heavy. Funny, it doesn't bother me on the full size USP though. Maybe there's an explanation for that too???

T.

Your'e certainly welcome. I suspect that the phenomenon is not so noticeable on the full sized USP because the overall weight of the gun is distributed over a larger area. The Compact version is not a long gun, so the ratio of the height of the slide to its length probably accentuates the top-heaviness. In other words, the full sized gun is long and tall, but the height is not so remarkable compared to its length. But the Compact gun is the same height as the full sized, but just shorter, so the height stands out more.

Before I ever bought my Compact, I borrowed a friend's full sized USP. I didn't notice the height of it as much as I noticed that the extra length made it feel muzzle heavy.

[Crossfire]

Have to admit after shooting one of my friends Glock I too just bought one, I have a Glock 20 10mm and love it.

That's exactly how my journey to the dark side began. I was being interviewed by a local newspaper about women and shooting. One of the ladies there had a Glock. The reporter wanted to get pictures of us shooting, so she offered her Glock to me. I picked it up, never having fired a Glock before, and fired 3 shots into the X ring. Now I'm sure that many of you do that regularly, but I don't. It normally takes me a bit to warm up to a new firearm. Not this one. That was about 2 months ago and still I resisted....until I held the Baby Glock at the gun store on Thursday. It was pretty much over then.

T.

They're so cute when they're babies!

[lawrnk]

Welcome to the dark side of a fantastic and reliable sidearm, that, egads, actually holds more than 7 rounds! You may come across those who think a pistol must be over 100 years old, er....99, to be a fine and reliable weapon. Good choice.

[Mando'a]

Do they have cookies?

I bet they're nice and gooey if they do, cuz the Glock people gots all that tupperware to keep 'em fresh! lol I'm just joshin'.

Enjoy!

I love my Tacti-kewl Tupperware!!