Small frame Glock advice?

[Robert_in_NY]

It is never too early to teach kids about guns. As long as she is able to understand what I am saying and handle a small gun with proper help and supervision then I see no reason to wait.

 

[greenedeere]

May want to look at a Taurus Millinium,45 caliber?Small, while it certainly is no up to the likes of some of the others mentioned it is a good and reliable pistol for the money.

 

[RobertN]

Now depending on how much you would want to spend, you could also send the Glock out to get some grip work done (to reduce the grips size). Love my G20 but I have real small hands. Shooting some bigger loads for deer, well, honestly, never loved the Glock like some of my other pistols. Sent the gun out to Robar in Arizona, and with reducing the size on the grip, it really has become one of my favorite shooters (and a big difference personally with managing the "snap" of the 10mm larger loads with grips that fit my hand better).

Good info. I found a Ruger Blackhawk does not fit me at all. I had a 357 Blackhawk a while back. Had it tuned, trigger worked, target springs etc. Shot MUCH better than out of the box. From the bench, could make nice small groups with factory ammo or handloads. Unsupported, I could'nt hit anything. The grips wer small, and did not fit my large hands. Sold it... Buddy who bought it could not understand why I would let go of it; he was very accurate with it. But, he had smaller hands.

My favorite is the Desert Eagle. It is large(and not a conceal type weapon), heavy, and has a large grip; they fit my hand very well. I was very accurate with mine; used to shoot all the time at 100 metres with turkey, pig, and chicken silhouettes. Unfortunately, UPS stole it(Lost it in shipping they say...). Some day I will get another, if the Peoples Socialist Republic of Kalifornia allows... I did get insurance money for it at the time, but the wife used it to pay a biil

That said, I like my Glock-30 because of the double stack mag. Not for the capacity, but because the frame/grip is thicker and fits me better.

 

[TractorLegend]

I came across this ad today in Guns and Ammo and thought of you. Its for Kimbers new Ultra Carry II in .45.
It sports a 3 in barrel and weighs just 25 ounces. Its also available with the CrimsonTrace laser grips. Its all bobbed and rounded off for cary. I cant imagine its a nickel under 12-1300 bucks.
In my mind any gun with double stacking type mags is going to have a fatter grip and be bulkier like some Sigs.
Not bad guns by any means just thicker.

 

[weldingisfun]

The reason for the message is that I have been contemplating starting to carry my pistol more but the model 21 I have is kind of bulky to carry all the time. I thought about going to the model 30 which would let me use the same .45 caliber rounds as the 21 but I think that is a little bit bulky also so I am thinking about going to the model 33 as my father has a .357 but we don't have any reloading equipment for that yet as he doesn't shoot it much. Do you guys have any experience with the Model 30 or 33? The nearest gun dealer that has Glocks is up in Buffalo and that is an hour drive so I am trying to learn as much as possible before hand.

One last thing, are the laser grips any good? If I get a smaller frame Glock I would like to have a laser sight on it just for ease of use.

Also, I do not know why but I have always been fond of Glock and have no real bias against any of the other brands so if you know of another small frame pistol that is reliable and want to recommend by all means go ahead.

Currently, I only carry my 21 when I am patroling our property, in and around the fences or when we have trespassers. Luckily I have only ever had to fire once and that was into the ground to scare a buck away as it had attacked another buck and had injured it, we needed to move him out of there but the other buck was still wound up and did not fear us at that time.

I have read all of the threads and don't think you really got the information you were seeking.
I just bought a Glock 30 and love it. I too have decided to carry, I have had the CCW for four years now. Looked at the Springfield XD in .45 and was really impressed by it, but no one in this area had the subcompact. A local dealer (Just Glocks) specializes in Glocks and he will rent any model to fire before you buy. I handled both the 30 and 36. For some reason the 36 just didn't feel right and the dealer suggested I try the 39 .45 GAP. I ran 50 rounds through each of them and settled on the 30. It just felt right.
Like you, I reload and knew if I bought the GAP it meant new dies. Already have everything for the .45.
As far as concealability and comfort goes, the 30 is barely noticeable. I have the Active Pro Gear Deep Concealment shoulder holster #234 DeepConcealment Shoulder Holsters
I can wear just a shirt over it, tucked in at the waist, and it is invisible. It is not for fast draw but then I don't plan on going to the OK Corral.
Don't you think a .45 is a little big for your lady and daughter? Someone mentioned a .22 conversion kit for your 21. As far as I know no one makes one. At least, not yet.
Here is another laser sight you may find to be of interest: LaserMax: Internal Laser Sight for GLOCK 19, GLOCK 23, GLOCK 32
The magazine for the 30 is unique to the 30. That is the one problem I have with mine. Maybe it my arthritis, I don't know, but I just cannot get the 10th round into the magazine even with the Speedloader. But, I believe that if I can't stop the threat with the first three rounds I'm probably a goner anyway.
One last thing, you do know that the .357 for the Glock is the .357 SIG. It isn't the .357 magnum. You never mentioned SIG so I'm not sure if you are aware that there is a difference. The Glock is only available in the .357 SIG.
As far as accuarcy is concerned, my 30 will outshoot my Colt 1991A1. I used an M1911A1 for over 23 years while in the Army too. Never thought I would find anything, short of a revolver, that would do that. My 1991A1 is in my night stand and my Glock 30 is under my left arm.
If you do go with the 30, let me suggest getting Trijicon sights put on it. Great for low light conditions and a lot less expensive that the lasers ($80 vs $300+). Not knocking the laser, I have Crimson Trace on my 1991A1. I'll probably put Trijicon sights on it too.
I hope all this is helpful to you and I say "good for you" being from NY and all. You must be from upstate.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

When I first posted this thread I was thinking the .357 was the same. A couple days ago I was flipping thru the Cabela's book and realized there were a couple .357 cartridges now. I am still learning about pistols but it is hard to keep up. I am lucky to have friends locally that love to help me out though.

As for if the .45 will be too big for my girlfriend, I am not sure. She has never shot it but I don't think she would have any trouble. My daughter won't be ready to even try it for quite a few years though, I figure she will start out on the .22 when she is old enough but I try to plan ahead. What caliber do you think would be good for a woman to carry and still pack some punch. The .22 is fun to play with but it is not a good self defense gun.

So the magazine from the Glock 30 is different then the 21's?

New York isn't that bad with regards to getting guns or permits. The hard part is trying to understand all the different laws and rules. I took a NRA sponsered pistol course quite a few years ago now and that was a requirement. Finding the class locally was the hardest part about getting a pistol permit.

I am the furthest point in New York State away from the city that you can get. I am right on Lake Erie (in Western New York) near the NY/PA border. So I don't really consider myself "upstate" but I guess that is how we are classified thanks to the city.

Also, that Lasermax site is what I was originally looking at when I bought my 21. Or at least it was very similar. Thanks for the link.

 

[_RaT_]

Holy smokes, mark this post, I actually agree with MikePA on something.

Uh oh, that must mean you and I disagree on a bunch of things Dargo, I frequently agree with Mike and find his thought process and his posts well written.

PS- my wife is a police officer, a Lt. and once a range master. She has but one gun.

 

[Sigarms]

PS- my wife is a police officer, a Lt. and once a range master. She has but one gun.

I'd be aware of any man (or woman) with any firearm, no matter how many he or she had.

Having/owning one firearm means nothing as to how proficient (sp?) you are with that gun. Amazingly enough, most men whom I'd consider an "expert" in firearms (as well as shooting ability) own more than one gun.

No offense, but being a police officer or a rangemaster has nothing to do their ability to handle and know the operation of their firearm. Your wife could be a great shot and be able to strip and clean her sidearm blindfolded, or not. That said, I also know personally some in law enforcement who have a great shooting ability and know most firearms "inside and out". These people that I know (in law enforcement) usually carry two weapons off duty, and shoot at least 500 rounds a week on a REGULAR basis (these people I've found are not the "norm" in law enforcement).

I also know of some "interesting" rangemasters. Some were great, knew "thier stuff", knew how to "control" the enviroment, and some seemed like they enjoyed being "control freaks" and I wondered how they even got the "job" in the first place.

That's not to say you can't own just one gun and be proficent with it, just that what I've found is that if your proficent with the gun, you enjoy it enough to practice on a regular basis and put in the time, which usually leads (heck, all the time) to another gun in the safe.

It's been mentioned here that firearms are like tools. I think that is a very good analogy. I have to laugh when I think of the saying "beware of the man who owns but one drill..."

That said, little while ago had a couple of sheriff deputies come over for some target practice. Had to show them how to strip down their Glocks because it had been so long since they cleaned them.

 

[1bush2hog]

To compound matters, I even feel that you should be proficient with each firearm you consider carrying, both primary and backup.

Dargo - Not much to argue about that point, no matter what weapon or weapons one may choose to use.

Regarding difference of opinions w/moderators - I believe LBrown is still around

 

[SkyPup]

I've been reloading the bottlenecked SIG.357 for my SIG-P229s ever since the round first came out.

It is a great super accurate cartridge and have taken many hogs with one shot with excellent penetration and expansion using Hornady 124 grain HP/XTP bullets.

The muzzle blast is much greater than a 9mm and so is the terminal velocity, but I use the exact same 9mm bullets I reload in my 9mms in the SIG-357.