Thursday Range Bag III

In last Thursday’s Range Bag, I closed the post with the statement that I was going to make the case for the Glock being the best choice for concealed carry self defense.

To add to that, I say the Glock in its mid and full size .40 SW incarnations is the king.

I am not a 1911 or .45 hater. Both are great IMHO, But neither measure up to the Glock. The 1911 is prettier, a better “date” gun or “Sunday go to meetin” gun, but for reliability, there is no comparison.

Here are the bullet points:

1. The Glock is vastly more reliable

2. A full set of replacement parts is about 60.00 (minus barrel)

3. You don’t need a lot of gunsmithing experience to work on one

4. Making the pistol multi-caliber (9mm or .357SIG) you drop in an 80.00 dollar barrel

5. You can treat it like shit, and it keeps shooting, and shooting, and shooting.

6. .40 SW has superior ballistics, will penetrate deeper, and expand more reliably

Here are the arguments.

1. I have had a 1911 on several occasions. Once a VERY expensive version by a big name 1911 master armorer. If it was ever windy, and there was grit in the air, the 1911’s would become jam masters almost immediately. I have two Glock 22 first generation pistols. The one I carry, I keep as clean as whistle, the other I have NEVER CLEANED in over 5 years of shooting. I have never had 1 failure to fire in either of them. The clean one is more accurate of course, but other than that, there isn’t much difference in them.

2. Self explanatory

3. Also self explanatory, but I can detail strip a Glock, replace any defective part, and have it back together in less that 4 minutes. I have 3 complete parts kits, and I carry one with me everywhere I go.

4. I have a fully supported 9mm drop in barrel. I figure that if TS ever HTF, and I can’t get to my .40 stash, I can find someone with 9mm and be back in business. It takes about 15 seconds to change the barrel.

5. See number 1. Or better yet do a Google search about Glock torture test and see for yourself.

6. I’ve witnessed it. The .40 in 185 grain and 165 grain both penetrate farther than a 230 grain .45. ¾ of an inch, and 1 inch respectively. Bullet upset was noticeably more pronounced in the .40 as well.

So there is my argument. The Glock is ugly, unless you find simplicity and black plastic pretty, but it is virtually unstoppable. Even if it does eventually break, you can be back in business in about 4 minutes, and for less that you spend on a 20 ounce coke in most cases.

In closing, it all about reliability and Glock has no equal, period.

In next Thursdays Range Bag, I’ll introduce you to what I feel is the ultimate home defense weapon…

That is all…