I've been waiting for the last couple of weeks on my main CCW gun (HK P7M8), that is at Metalife awaiting a hard chrome plating. I felt rather naked without it, and my next smallest MAJOR caliber pistol is a SIG 229, which is a little big/uncomfortable for my mode of dress at work. So I went out and bought a new Glock 26 to fill the void. Strong points for me were the obvious size to firepower ratio, weight, and most importantly of all, resistance to corrosion (sweat).
This is the third Glock I've ever purchased. The others were a 22 and a 30. The ugly slide peening and bulged cases of the 40 cal was reason enough for me to get rid of it. The uncomfortable sensation of having my pinky shift around when grasping the .45, and the inability of ME being able to shoot to my accuracy standards with it were the reasons for the 30's departure from my arsenal.
I know I've questioned the Glock living up to its hype on this board before. I've also questioned some that seemed undyingly loyal to another pistol jump ship and defect to the Glock. But don't get me wrong. I've never had a problem with Glocks. I HAVE had a problem with Glock myopians ("A really great combination of combat pistol attributes" would be more apt than "Perfection" IMHO) and those that would have you believe they can shoot 1" groups at 25 yards with stock Glocks offhand. So if you're still interested, here's my take on my new Glock 26, coming from a pessimist that questions EVERYTHING.
I've put 250 rounds through the gun so far (100 Winchester white box, 80 S&B, 50 cheap reloads, 20 Corbon). No problems. Didn't expect any. As a matter of fact, I EXPECT any quality centerfire to perform right from the start. If it doesn't, I'm not going to off it right then and there, but I will cock an eyebrow like the Rock and find out what the hell the handgun's got cookin'.
In my hands, the pistol is suprisingly pleasant to shoot, even with my pinky holding on to nothing. From the limited tests I put it through, I found that I shoot it as good as anything else I have up to 10 yards. I was impressed. Beyond 10 yards, I was unable to shoot strings that I would be proud to call a group. So I figured that combat accuracy was decent, but forget about shooting precise groups, even from a rest. But at that point, my wife and I were running low on ammo, so we decided to play a game where we take pot shots at bottles 50 yards away (we each take one shot apiece at the bottle until one of us hits it and we keep score). My wife was shooting her Walther P99 9mm (and she's a hell of a shot, I might add...it took me 8 years to get to the point she is at after only shooting for a year and a half). We also switched guns every 6 rounds. Well I won 5-3 (Whew! She was making me nervous when she jumped out to a 3-1 lead). But the salient point is that I hit 4 with the Glock and 1 with the Walther and she hit 2 with the Walther and 1 with the Glock (only the second time she ever fired a Glock-the first time she put 5 rounds through my G30 and it pinched her pinky, giving her a blood blister, never to touch a Glock again until now). The bottle she hit with the Glock was on her first shot! And we only had 24 rounds of ammo left before we started the contest! Bottom line: I'm happy!
So how do some of you compare the shooting characteristics of the Glock 26 compared to some of your other Glocks. I always hear about how the Glock 30 outshines all others in the accuracy department. Can anyone tell me what is so special about the G30 that makes it shoot better than the 26, or any other Glock for that matter?
I know this is taking up a lot of bandwidth, but I hope that some of you will enjoy reading about my experience from a non-Glock worshipping point of view.
This is the third Glock I've ever purchased. The others were a 22 and a 30. The ugly slide peening and bulged cases of the 40 cal was reason enough for me to get rid of it. The uncomfortable sensation of having my pinky shift around when grasping the .45, and the inability of ME being able to shoot to my accuracy standards with it were the reasons for the 30's departure from my arsenal.
I know I've questioned the Glock living up to its hype on this board before. I've also questioned some that seemed undyingly loyal to another pistol jump ship and defect to the Glock. But don't get me wrong. I've never had a problem with Glocks. I HAVE had a problem with Glock myopians ("A really great combination of combat pistol attributes" would be more apt than "Perfection" IMHO) and those that would have you believe they can shoot 1" groups at 25 yards with stock Glocks offhand. So if you're still interested, here's my take on my new Glock 26, coming from a pessimist that questions EVERYTHING.
I've put 250 rounds through the gun so far (100 Winchester white box, 80 S&B, 50 cheap reloads, 20 Corbon). No problems. Didn't expect any. As a matter of fact, I EXPECT any quality centerfire to perform right from the start. If it doesn't, I'm not going to off it right then and there, but I will cock an eyebrow like the Rock and find out what the hell the handgun's got cookin'.
In my hands, the pistol is suprisingly pleasant to shoot, even with my pinky holding on to nothing. From the limited tests I put it through, I found that I shoot it as good as anything else I have up to 10 yards. I was impressed. Beyond 10 yards, I was unable to shoot strings that I would be proud to call a group. So I figured that combat accuracy was decent, but forget about shooting precise groups, even from a rest. But at that point, my wife and I were running low on ammo, so we decided to play a game where we take pot shots at bottles 50 yards away (we each take one shot apiece at the bottle until one of us hits it and we keep score). My wife was shooting her Walther P99 9mm (and she's a hell of a shot, I might add...it took me 8 years to get to the point she is at after only shooting for a year and a half). We also switched guns every 6 rounds. Well I won 5-3 (Whew! She was making me nervous when she jumped out to a 3-1 lead). But the salient point is that I hit 4 with the Glock and 1 with the Walther and she hit 2 with the Walther and 1 with the Glock (only the second time she ever fired a Glock-the first time she put 5 rounds through my G30 and it pinched her pinky, giving her a blood blister, never to touch a Glock again until now). The bottle she hit with the Glock was on her first shot! And we only had 24 rounds of ammo left before we started the contest! Bottom line: I'm happy!
So how do some of you compare the shooting characteristics of the Glock 26 compared to some of your other Glocks. I always hear about how the Glock 30 outshines all others in the accuracy department. Can anyone tell me what is so special about the G30 that makes it shoot better than the 26, or any other Glock for that matter?
I know this is taking up a lot of bandwidth, but I hope that some of you will enjoy reading about my experience from a non-Glock worshipping point of view.
