TTAG commentator Blake W. Hiatt sent me this email:

I’m a 1911 guy, through and through. With that said, sometimes a little variety is good. I wandered down to my local range recently and decided I’d rent a Glock to shoot alongside my 1911. I thought it would be interesting to see how shooting a Glock compared to a 1911. I admit it was somewhat of an apples to oranges comparison, because the Glock was chambered for 9 mm . . .

The Glock fit my hand well, felt good and shot well. I was surprised at how well the Glock shot, considering this was a range rental and who knows when the gun was last cleaned.

I’ve long been reasonably certain my only knock against the Glock was purely aesthetic.

I put 43 rounds down the barrel  and then shot for score. 7 rounds, 7 yards. I think the target says it all.

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20 COMMENTS

    • Well, 9 mm is a bit easier to shoot than 45 acp. 🙂

      Seriously though, I’m somewhat in the market for another pistol. I thought about upgrading from my RIA tactical to a more expensive 1911, but, the RIA shoots as well as a lot of guns costing 3 or 4 times as much. The RIA is just not as pretty.

      Anyway, I’m now intrigued at the idea of a Glock chambered in .40 Smith and Wesson.

      • Well, if you don’t want to give up your .45, you don’t have to. As a former owner of a Glock 30 (and I’m sure current owners will chime in as well), I can tell you it was one of my favorite firearms.

        (If you’re wondering why I’m a “former” owner, it’s because I had a Ruger SR9c I was more partial towards at the time, and the Glock went towards a backup gun. There are still plenty of days where I kick myself for doing so.)

      • “Well, 9 mm is a bit easier to shoot than 45 acp.”…

        I disagree – shooting a Glock 9mm and Glock .45ACP is the exact same thing up until the point when the bullet comes out of the barrel. I think the slight (very slight) dimensional changes are negligible and are out of any statistical comparison. I think what you are referring to is that you react less to the 9mm than you do your .45 and thus “shooting” becomes easier, and by shooting I mean follow-up shots and close-pair shooting. Shooting a 9mm and .45ACP at a leisurely pace is identical (sans recoil of course).

  2. Blake, as a fellow 1911 owner, I completely understand the conundrum you are dealing with! I have a springfield mc loaded operator that has had full work done by Teddy Jacobson. The 1911 shoots lights out, probably the most accurate gun I will ever own. Well, my home was burglarized, and long story short, the cops now have my gun and will for a while (waiting for the jackoff to go to trial and get sentenced). I wanted an autoloader, so i picked up a used gen2 G21. This gun was manufactured in 1991, and still blows out Xrings at 7 yds. I do not know how many rds it has through it, but it performs great, and the recoil is less than the 1911. I wont feel bad knowing it is in my safe when I get my 1911 back, since i gave under 400 for it, and i know that she will be ready to go if i ever have to pull her out of the safe and go!!!

  3. But they’re so ugly! Recently I’ve been tempted to try one out at the range but I’m afraid I might like the thing.

  6. The target was shot with a Glock 19. If you’ve got great eyes you can sort of make out my writing on the target.

    I can blow the center out of a target at 7 yards with my 1911. However, I’ve put probably 4000 rounds through the gun.

    Versus picking up a completely unfamiliar gun and 6 out of 7 in the X ring after shooting the gun for a short period of time.

    What intrigues me is the idea that shooting the 1911 may have helped me with the Glock, because the 1911 is not an easy gun to learn.

    Oh, and rest easy 1911 people. No way I’m giving up my 1911. A Glock will eventually join my arsenal as an adjunct to my 45.

  7. I have a RIA in 38 Super that I am just learning to shoot. Been a rifle and shotgun guy most of my years and it is my first handgun. It wears the old mil grade sights which obviously need to be my first upgrade, but I dont do too badly with it. All that being said I do have my eye on a Glock 20SF, for use in the deer woods.

    • I have a Glock 20SF in my sights as well. Just sold a pistol to my buddy and once I get the cash a Glock 20 will be bought. I do a lot of Jeeping and camping and I see a good hi-capacity 10mm as the perfect gun to stash in the console. I’ve never owned a Glock but have shot a 27 a fair amount. Even though the 27 is a little firecracker to handle I’ve come to really appreciate the Glock platform.

  8. Why does the word “Gaston” always have to appear around here whenever “Glock” is mentioned? Yes, I realize that’s the dude’s first name. Just too smug for the way I talk.

    • “Walter PPQ in 40 S&W – nice alt to a 1911, and much prettier than a Glock.”

      -until you have to disassemble it. Not that you ever will have to disassemble the Glock, it couldn’t be any easier weapon to completely strip and rebuild.

      I used to sit in the dark at my coffee table and practice a COMPLETE disassemble and reassemble (Not Field Strip) and test it at the next range trip. Usually took under 60 seconds.

      Most attractive gun on the planet? Definately not!

      One of, if not the most reliable?

      Probably.

  10. Is it just me or is this the firearm equivalent of someone posting that they took a Nissan GTR to the 1/4-mile and saying that it went fast? I know a half-dozen people (my wife included) that can do this with a J-frame. I don’t think the accuracy of a Glock was ever in question, nor its reliability. It is supposed to shoot like this for “newbs” (to Glock or otherwise) b/c afterall it is marketed mainly to LEO’s.

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