Making the Glock 27 more of a baby

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Farmland

New member
I did a review of the Glock 27 a few days ago and mentioned that this little 40 can give one heck of a recoil. In fact to me shooting factory reloads it was unpleasant and the first time I never looked forward to shooting a pistol.

Well that changed over the weekend. My Storm Lake barrel came in for it. Without getting into the debate of lead vs original Glock barrel, I made the personal choice not to shoot lead out of the stock barrel.

Now the barrel was a perfect drop in for the original barrel. So I loaded up some rounds near the lower end of the load data and braced for my shooting experience.

What a pleasant surprise I now love to shoot this gun. In fact I have put over 500 rounds through it since Saturday. At first I wasn't sure I even liked the Glock, but then again I didn't enjoy shooting it so how could I tell if I liked it or not.

This little gun is sheer fun and very accurate for such a short barrel. I even put it in a gun rest and what it did at 10 yards was excellent. I was able to play 9 rounds on top of each other that I really had one large hole.

Prior to taming the Glock I rated the gun as a 5 out of 10. Today I will give it a 10 out of 10.

I still am not looking forward to putting in the stock barrel so I can practice for carrying purposes. Those factory reloads are just a you know what to shoot.
 
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Poseidon28

Moderator
Farmland:

Factory ammo is weird stuff. They write anything they can on the outside to sell it, and, it may or may not have the right powder to do what you want.

If you look at this table:
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/40sw.html

There is a simple way to determine if the load you have is tailored to your gun.

Take your barrel length and the maximum length 18". Take the larger number, and divide it into the 3" number. This should give you a % of velocity lost with each load, going from a rifle length barrel to your pistol barrel length. The loads that loose the least amount of velocity are going to be powders that burn relatively quickly, combined with a heavier bullet weight, as a general rule. Those loads are going to give you the best results in your gun, and, ironically, usually a lesser felt recoil? Why?

Generally powder is bought in huge amounts, and, it generally isn't designed for hand gun cartridges. Or, someone may give a great deal on a huge amount of powder designed for other types of applications. So, some ammo companies will dump anything into anything, and sell it.

I remember some old 45 Colt Ammo from Remington. It was so slow you could see the bullets go down range, was horribly inaccurate. None the less, it recoiled a ton, had a huge blinding flash, and was pretty much good only for starting a barby.

The same case, reloaded with a handgun powder, gave twice as much velocity, no flash, very little felt recoil. I always thought that Remington got a huge buy on some old, slow rifle powder. They figured since it was so slow it wouldn't develop any pressure in a pistol, that they just filled the case, charged a dollar a round 30 years ago, and sent the stuff out to lead your barrel. They must think that we think quality is determined by the amount of felt recoil. If it doesn't recoil a lot, it can't be a good load...:rolleyes:

I can't help but thinking that some such stuff is going on with the .40, since if you look at the physics, it really doesn't recoil much.

I've always felt one of the bigger jokes around is Federal 'low recoil' ammo. Low recoil compared to what, a BMG?

If you look at the numbers, the 'low recoil' goes down a whopping 26%. That, to me, indicates that it is not well suited to a short barrel, since that's a lot of slow powder to get that much more velocity out of a longer barrel.

Speer seems to REALLY be doing their homework, and, their short barrel loads appear to actually work for short barrels, with only a 12% drop in velocity going from 18" to 3".

The fastest load is the DPX with a 18% drop in velocity, and, the next closest is Corbon's 150 grain HP, with a 20% drop in velocity. If you work up the scale, you can get a real good idea of what the optimal barrel length is for that powder. A graph would be an even better way of determining at what point you get diminishing returns with barrel length. In other words, with certain powders, you get maximum velocity at a certain point, and, adding barrel length actually decreases velocity. You can even see that on a number of loads in this chart, where the 18" number is SLOWER then the 17".

In fact, I didn't notice this until now. You can look at the peak velocity of the loads and determine really how well the load is going to work in a pistol by where peak velocity occurs. The peak in the Short barrel load is at between 12 and 15 inches.

The DPX at 17". etc.

Another reason why recoil with slower powders is generally more is that more powder is used. If you use a slower powder, you may end up using twice as much as a faster powder to get the same velocity.
Examples:
155 GR. HDY XTP Longshot 1.125" 7.5 1129 24,900 PSI 9.3 1283 31,900 PSI
155 GR. HDY XTP HS-6 1.125" 7.7 1035 26,500 PSI 8.5 1137 33,200 PSI
155 GR. HDY XTP Clays 1.125" 3.6 854 23,300 PSI 4.0 942 30,900 PSI

Three different loads: pressure is nearly the same. Clays gets there a LOT quicker, and moves the bullet much slower, but, it's less then half as much powder as the other two loads.

Some say that the slower powders increase the duration of the recoil, so it's a longer slower push. I think that bit of difference in handguns is over come by the amount of powder going off.
 
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azredhawk44

Moderator
Farmland:

I also notice a distinct lessening of recoil when shooting lead. It's more slippery than copper when rubbing against the barrel, so it has less friction.

Enjoy!
 
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Deaf Smith

New member
Yes with Winchester Ranger 155gr JHP 'T' series my Glock 27 does kick a mite. But then, that ammo is for social uses and not for play.

Plain Blazer 180 FMJs do fine for me. And yes, you can handload the rounds to make the 27 a real nice gun to practice with.

I suggest moly coated slugs.
 
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Huntergirl

New member
Wow, that much of a difference in recoil, heh? I did not like the recoil of the glock 27. It was horrible. I traded mine off. It was the only Glock I ever owned, and I really wanted to like it.
 
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Poseidon28

Moderator
Let's see:
27 oz gun, loaded.

155 GR. HDY XTP Longshot 1.125" 7.5 1129 24,900 PSI Recoil Energy of 7 foot pounds, and Recoil Velocity of 16 fps.

9.3 1283 31,900 PSI Recoil Energy of 9 foot pounds, and Recoil Velocity of 18 fps.

155 GR. HDY XTP Clays 1.125" 3.6 854 23,300 PSI
Recoil Energy of 4 foot pounds, and Recoil Velocity of 12 fps.
4.0 942 30,900 PSI
Recoil Energy of 4 foot pounds, and Recoil Velocity of 13 fps.

180's @ 1105
Recoil Energy of 9 foot pounds, and Recoil Velocity of 18 fps.

How anyone can say 9 ftlbs of recoil is a lot is beyond me, unless they shoot 22lr's all the time. On the otherhand you could load it down to 4 ft lbs, and, that is less then half the recoil..

I really wonder what powder is going in those factory reloads? It must be something that creates the impression of a lot of recoil by huge flash, and maximum powder amount...
 
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Farmland

New member
I have a 9mm and I like it a lot. However the 27 is a real nice gun and when shooting factory loads the recoil was painful for me. It might be the start of arthritis or approaching those wonderful golden age when you start to get close to 50.

I just like to shoot a nice gun and I do a lot of shooting and the 27 was just plain hurtful. Now I thought about getting rid of it but shooting closer to the min loads has made this gun fun to shoot. Heck I don't get any more excitement out of shooting max loads through every gun I have. Besides it isn't fun when it hurts. And believe me the 27 hurt and I wasn't the only one to say the same thing.

In any event I have come up with a load that makes the 27 enjoyable, is accurate and cheap. It certainly isn't a gun I am going to use to shoot major with.
 
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darko

New member
Perhaps I missed it but you realize, of course, that you can buy a Wolfe conversion barell for around $100 and some 9mm mags to convert/shoot 9mm out of your 27.
 
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jfrey123

New member
Some people are recoil sensitive, some are not. Shooting my G27 with factory ammo is no different for me than shooting my G17. Little more pop, but nothing unpleasant about it.
 
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Farmland

New member
For normal every day target shooting my load is a 180gr lead TCFP with 4.3 gr 213 at near the max OAL. I don't remember the exact OAL setting at this moment.

I understand some people like shooting a heavier load. I do practice with a factory load so I know what the 27 does when I need it in an emergency.

However I just can't take that punishment for 100 shots on top each other every day. So since I shoot close to every day I like the 27 a little more tame for those occasions. So now the 27 has become a very nice gun to shoot. If anything I am becoming more familiar with he operation and handling of the gun.

I find when I do shoot the factory loads even my control improves though I still hate that recoil.

I guess anyone could go to a different gun or change the barrel to a 9mm but what happens when you like the gun and only have to lower the load to make it more fun to shoot.

In any event for those that like the 27 but not the recoil this is an option. For those that like the higher load you will have as much fun too.
 
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hickok45

New member
I don't mean to argue recoil; it's very subjective. It IS interesting how two people can shoot the same gun with the same ammo and one of the shooters have a really negative experience with recoil, and the other not.

I've always thought it was mostly a "relative" issue. For example, I shoot lots of .45 ACP, .45 Colt, .44 Magnum, etc. In fact, although I load moderate .44 Magnum loads for the most part, I occasionally shoot somebody else's hot loads or a Garrett round that definitely gets my attention.

Yeah, I guess a G27 is a little "snappy," as many like to describe it, but it doesn't hurt, and it's nothing like a serious-kicking handgun. It just seems about right for the cartridge and is fun to shoot.

I think folks who don't have experience with really hard-kicking guns have a different frame of reference. If the .40, or the G27, is the hardest kicking gun one ever shoots, then it's going to seem pretty punishing.

As someone said, "It's all relative!" At least that's the best theory I can come up with.
 
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Poseidon28

Moderator
It can also be the grips just aren't right for the size hands you have. But generally, shoot a .454 Casull, then the 27, and, it will feel like a 22lr.
 
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MaxAbramson

New member
Glock 27

I was recently convicted for "Reckless Conduct" in New Hampshire for firing a round into my own backyard to break up a drunken brawl. The one witness who had to be believed in order to sustain a conviction (Elements: 1. "reckless," 2. "placed another in danger" 3. "Glock 27 meets definition for deadly weapon") cliamed that I one-handed my Glock out the sliding glass door, turned away from the weapon, without shattering the glass somehow. I can't one-hand a .40 under any circumstances, but the jury would have to have believed her over six other witnesses, photographs, ballistics, and the laws of physics.

She also said that you could see the headlights from the highway--through dense woods from a third of a mile away; claimed that I fired four rounds into the cieling (despite photos and testimony that there were no such holes); claimed that it was pitch black out, despite the fact that all of inner and outer lights were on--and it was a full moon out; and drew me ten feet from the sliding glass door iside a table, facing the other way, apparently levitating.

And this was in New Hampshire.
 
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Tnglock

New member
Why would you use a gun to break up a druken brawl ? Why not just yell the cops are on the way ? Anytime you use a weapon you better have a darn good excuse . Better lay off all the westerns and realize thiers a lota anti gunners these days. GET ER DONE FESTUS:D
 
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Dan-O

New member
MaxAbramson,

What does your post have anything to do with the original post? Ehhh.....still scratching my head over this one:confused:
 
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gunsmokeTPF

Moderator
Dear LORD I must be mentally ill, cause shooting my glock27 is just enjoyable to me. I must admit I did wrap the A-Grip around it and it feels so good in my hand that I feel like I'm on a date with one of my old girlfriends. Buy that grip and put it on your own gun and you'll understand what I'm talking about.
 
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