My Glock collection started with the Glock 17 9mm pistol. At the time I had no knowledge of firearms and really not much interest. I got started with a Remington 870 shotgun as a home defense weapon and decided that I wanted a handgun to compliment the shotgun. With absolutely no prior knowledge about guns I started researching on the Internet. I talked with a few individuals but found that most were very opinionated about their choices which showed in the advice they gave. My Internet research soon provided enough data for me to form my own opinion. The Glock 17 in 9mm was designed in a competition to satisfy a contract for the Swiss military. Glock won the competition and went on to become the most popular pistol of all time.
Glock firearms are used by more military units, more law enforcement organizations worldwide than any other. The reason being simplicity, reliability, and relative low-cost. I realized that the Glock was elegant in its simplicity, I liked the proven reliability, I liked the fact that it is so widely accepted as being among the top few of all service firearms. Another factor that I considered was cost of ammunition. I found that the 9mm provides the most bang for the buck, pun intended! The Glock eats everything I put through it with no problems, that is what Glocks do.
A brief mention about Glock magazines. The smaller models of every caliber will accept the larger capacity magazines. For instance, the Glock 26 will take the Glock 19 magazine, the Glock 17 magazines, and the Glock 18 33 round magazine.
Glock modifications, the Glock doesn’t need any modifications and is ready right out of the box. I have added the grip extensions to my sub compact Glock magazines, the Glock 30SF and the Glock 26. I also added the Glock factory extended slide release.
The main Glock accessories are the Glock light and lasers. I added the Veridian Green laser to my Glock 17. It is super bright and seems to work pretty well.
I looked at the Glock Gen 4 compared to the Gen 3. The Glock grip already fits my hand so having the additional back strap options was of no interest to me. The RTF, rough textured frame of the Glock generation 4 models also didn’t appeal to me. I prefer the Glock Gen 3 pistols. Add to this that the Gen 4 models cost $50.00 more I purchased all my Glocks in the Gen 3 version.
My first pistol was the Glock 17. This 9mm pistol is recognized for superb reliability and is used as a service pistol by more law enforcement agencies than any other. It is light weight, the polymer frame keeps the weight to 22 oz empty. With a 17 round magazine loaded in the pistol the weight is less than 32 oz. The Glock model 17 is too big for an everyday concealed carry weapon but makes an excellent choice as a service pistol or home defense weapon. Plenty of fire power with 9mm magazine capacity of 17 rounds, 19 rounds, and 33 rounds.
I shot almost two thousand rounds of the cheapest ammo I can buy through my Glock 17 so far and have had zero problems with it. Let me mention that I am not anywhere near being an expert about guns or shooting. I just have gained an appreciation and get enjoyment out of shooting and regularly practice to become proficient. My typical accuracy is a hand sized group at 15 yards. Sometimes I can get this to a fist sized group. I feel that a 6 inch group at 15 yards is probably satisfactory for home defense and self-defense scenarios but I keep practicing and learning to get better. My Glock 17 price from Scheels was $559.00 with fixed rear sights. Buds Gun Shop has them for $547.00 and that includes shipping to your FFL. I have seen them for under $500.00 at Buds Gun Shop.
There is a lot of argument and discussion about the 9mm compared to the .45 ACP. I did some research about this and got interested in the .45 ACP caliber so I bought a Glock 21SF.
The Glock 21 looks like a fat Glock 17. The weight is less than 27 oz empty with a loaded weight of just over 38 oz. That loaded weight includes 13 rounds of .45 ACP. The double stack magazine makes the grip a handful that fits me just fine. I don’t know why, but I really enjoy shooting the .45 ACP. Maybe it’s because the holes are so big that I can easily see my target shooting results with my poor 66-year-old eyesight. I have fired about 700 rounds through the Glock 21SF so far with no problems. My Glock 21SF price was $499.00 with fixed rear sights. Buds Gun Shop sells them for $547.00 and that includes shipping.
I enjoyed the Glock 21SF in .45 ACP so much that I also purchased the compact model Glock 30SF. The Glock 30 is a smaller size pistol weighing in under 24 oz empty. With the loaded 10 round magazine it weighs less than 24 oz. After shooting the full size pistols, the compacts feel somewhat strange because the grip is so short that the little finger has nothing to grasp. I solved this issue by installing a Scherer grip extension. Now the Glock 30 feels good to me in the hand. It is the same width as the Glock 21 so it fills the hand and provides a good natural point to aim grip for me. My Glock 30SF price was $599.00 with fixed rear sights. Buds Gun Shop has them for $547.00.
Next I purchased the Glock 19. This is a compact version of the Glock 17. The Glock 17 versus 19, everything that is big about the Glock 17 is scaled down to be perfect size with the 19. The 19 is just a smaller more convenient version of the 17. The compact 9mm Glock 19 pistol weighs just under 21 oz empty and just under 30 oz loaded with a double stacked 15 round magazine. Everything about it feels good, the weight, the size, the magazine capacity makes the Glock 19 concealed carry pistol a great addition to the collection. The 19 is large enough to be carried as a service side arm while being small enough to be considered as an everyday concealed carry pistol. It has a natural feel in the hand and seems to provide excellent point and aim characteristics. I like everything about this Glock 19 9mm pistol. My Glock 19 price was $549.00 with fixed rear sights. Buds Gun Shop has them for $499.00 which includes shipping to your FFL.
As if I didn’t have enough Glock firearms already, I went and bought a Glock 26. The Glock 26 is the sub compact 9mm. It has the same short grip issue that the Glock 30 has. The pinky finger hangs loose or curls under the grip butt. To remedy this I installed the Pearce magazine extension that provides +1 capacity. My Glock 26 weighs less than 20 oz empty and with a 10 round magazine weighs just over 26 oz (26.10 oz. to be exact). The extension provides a better feel to the grip and adds an extra round increasing magazine capacity to 11 rounds. Keep one round in the chamber and you have a 12 round 9mm pistol that is light in weight, easy to carry everyday as a concealed carry weapon.
Put it in a Galco Summer Comfort IWB holster and you have a comfortable everyday carry concealed weapon. The difference between the Glock 26 vs Kahr PM9 is the 26 is wider with double stack magazine, and heavier. The Glock 26 holds 10 rounds compared to the PM-9 with 6 rounds. The other difference is the PM-9 costs a little more than the Glock. My Glock 26 price was $549.00 with fixed rear sights. Buds Gun Shop has them for $499.00 including shipping. The Kahr PM-9 runs about $625.00.
All my Glocks are 9mm and .45 ACP. I don’t have plans to get into the .40SW caliber at this time. When I started buying guns a year ago I thought I had no interest in the .45ACP but that changed as I gained experience.