Over the last year, I’ve been helping law enforcement agencies with Tactical Combat Casualty Care instruction, patrols, fugitive recovery and warrant service. One of the departments I work with insists I carry a .45ACP full-size GLOCK 21. So my new duty weapon is the GLOCK 21SF . . .
A couple of years ago I shot a GLOCK 20 for the first time. I found that large framed GLOCKs fit my hand far more securely and comfortably than my first choice for GLOCK-flavored concealed carry (the G19). When it comes to getting a grip on the gun, the G21SF (for Short Framed) is darn near perfect.
I know people complain about the GLOCK “bar of soap” feel. I’m not getting that here. And I like the finger grooves. (GASP!)
In fact, I have no desire to change the pistol’s grip in any way. I don’t need some new texture. I don’t need to get rid of finger grooves. I don’t need to undercut. Either single-handed or two-handed, this GLOCK 21SF is right at home in my size large hands.
Mind you, the G21SF doesn’t seem to work for people with smaller hands. At all. I asked a few different people to shoot the G21S. Every women (and one man of smaller stature) complained that the G21SF’s grip felt too big in their hands, with a resulting loss of . . . wait for it . . . confidence.
Prior to the Gen 5, stock GLOCK sights were ripe for replacement. And for good reason. They’re small and work best in bright light — when you have a minute to find them. They’re also straight up plastic, highly vulnerable to marring and deforming.
If your goal is a body mass mag dump at 15 yards, the G21SF’s U-shaped sights work just fine. If precision or low-light shooting is the order of the day, consider one of the many replacements available on the market.
The GLOCK 21SF’s trigger is even more notorious. Luckily, I’m not serving and protecting in New York City, where The Boys In Blue must attempt to cope with a 12-lbs. trigger pull. The stock G21SF pull registers right at the advertised 5 1/2lbs, with a lot of stack and a good amount of squish near the break.
I was trained for a long, long time to never use the slide lock as a slide release. Then, after a class with Bill WIlson, I’ve trained myself into using the slide lock as a release. Only not with this gun.
During reloads, I missed the G21s minimal slide lock/release over and over again. It’s difficult to use even when not under stress. For the G21SF, releasing the slide by pulling back on the slide and letting it go is the only practical solution.
Note: be careful not to ride the slide forward or you will likely cause a malfunction. Yes, a malfunction. That said . . .
Unlike my G19s, I couldn’t “limp-wrist” the G21SF to jam. Holding the gun in my right hand fairly loosely and firing it across my body sideways, the gun cycled every time. I did the same drill on my back, which almost always causes my G19s to short cycle. Not with the G21SF. If I was holding the gun in a remotely safe manner, it cycled just fine.
I had a little trouble with this gun’s reliability. But only with two new GLOCK-brand GLOCK magazines, and only for the first few strings of fire. After that, the gun ran like a champ. Those same two magazines had trouble in another gun, but the one magazine supplied with the pistol had no issues at all.
After the first few magazines, I had no issues to load, fire, or eject. The magazine never failed to seat and it never failed to drop. I put 500 rounds through the GLOCK 21SF for this review. I have at least twice that through the gun now. Running completely stock, the G21SF performed flawlessly, fed a wide variety of ammunition brands, types and weights.
This brand new gun rattles a bit, though not as bad as an old Colt 1911 or a new Ruger SR1911. There’s also a good amount of space between the slide and the frame. As far as function, that doesn’t concern me much. But it’s a great place for dirt, snow and mud to find its way into the recoil spring and the action.
For a fairly lightweight .45, the G21 doesn’t have a problem with recoil. The recoil impulse is fairly mild and easily controllable. The slide goes back and forth on the rails with minimal muzzle flip. Keeping the muzzle down in fast fire for controlled pairs or the Mozambique Drill wasn’t a problem. Great but . . .
The G21SF let me down in the accuracy department.
Firing Hornady’s Critical Defense 185gr FTX round off bags at 25 yards, I scored a fairly consistent 3″ average five-round group. Shooting the classic Winchester white box 230gr FMJ, I generated the exact same results. The winner in the accuracy department: Remington Ultimate Defense 230gr JHP round, delivering 2 3/4″ groups.
Is that ok? Sure, but it’s nothing to brag about. The mediocre accuracy in controlled, braced slow fire partially explains my lack of accuracy in fast fire.
I ran the Bill Wilson 5X5 test over and over with this gun, never scoring anything better than Sharpshooter. My average time was 31 seconds. I can score 10 full seconds faster with my Beretta 92FS, sometimes even better. I score in the mid 20s with my stock Colt Government 1911.
That poor score isn’t because I shoot too slow with the G21SF. It’s because I shoot too fast to remain accurate. I really struggled to stop this gun and keep it stopped when it came time to pull the trigger. I ended up with a lot of rounds just outside the target circle.
It’s not the grip angle. Yes, when I draw and present the gun, that was a big change I had to get used to. But I’ve been shooting GLOCKs heavily for a little over a year now. I do my daily dry-fire with a G19 and I put at about 350 rounds a week at the range through some GLOCK. I’m starting to get it.
The challenge: odd grip angle and more of a less-than-ideal trigger pull, combined with a fairly light weight front end. The combination makes it too easy to move the gun in fast fire.
Here’s a pic (above) of my best full magazine: 13 rounds in 13 seconds standing at 25 yards. Note this is my best attempt. You can see that the gun isn’t over any of the bullet holes and that they are well spread out in the target circle. Several are outside of it entirely. One round a second isn’t necessarily slow fire, but it’s not burning up the clock either.
Combine my difficulty keeping the gun still through the trigger pull with the mediocre basic precision of the gun, and I end up with a gun I’m not ready to count on in combat. Yet. But I’ll get there.
The GLOCK 21SF is the duty pistol more or less forced upon me. I could do a lot worse. I have a lot of work to do before I’m really comfortable with the gun, but the basics are there for a reliable duty pistol, or a suitable gun for personal defense.
Specifications: GLOCK 21 Short Frame
Caliber: .45ACP
Length: 8.03 in.
Width: 1.27 in.
Length Between Sights: 6.77 in.
Height: 5.47 in.
Barrel Height: 1.26 in.
Barrel Length: 4.60 in.
Weights: 29.30 oz. (unloaded)
Barrel Rifling: right hand, octagonal
Magazine Capacity: Standard, 13 Optional, 10
MSRP: $640 (on Brownells for less)
Ratings (out of five stars):
Style and Appearance * * *
The finish on the G21SF’s slide is even throughout, with no obvious tool marks or unevenness. It largely resembles a diving board from the top. The frame is a just blackish plastic in multiple geometric shapes. It works, but it’s not pretty.
Customization * * *
No changing the back straps on this one and there isn’t nearly the aftermarket support for it enjoyed by owners of the G17, 19 and 34.
Reliability * * * * 9/10ths
There were some magazine related issues at first, but cleared up quickly. The gun ran flawlessly after the quick break in.
Accuracy * * *
3″ groups were the norm. On a pistol this size, that’s exactly average.
Overall * * *
The GLOCK 21SF is a relatively inexpensive and reliable pistol with reasonable accuracy (when coupled with consistent training.) It’s also a known quantity, simple and easy to use. It defines the phrase “good enough for government work.”
I’m not a fan of Glocks. They’re very functional, the S&W model 10 of today’s world, I just don’t care for them. Mostly it’s the plastic brick feel of them.
But of all the Glocks I’ve handled and shot the 21sf is the one I would have if I was required to buy a Glock. It manages to fit my hand better than the others.
I don’t remember the model number but the .40 cal with a can was my worst, by far, experience with a glock.
The S&W Model 10 is a great revolver, a true classic.
I liked the G21 (regular frame) that I use to own (traded for a G19) other than the fact that the grip seemed just a hair large, and the whole gun seemed pretty big for CCW.
I bet I’d really like the SF version of the 21, though I’d probably go for a 20 in 10mm instead (bears you know). The G21 seems like a good duty gun. Were I a police officer, I’d prefer the G21 to the G22, or G17.
Good review. Thank you. Like seeing shot targets more than “out of the box” reviews.
Definitely with you on the slide / frame ‘gap’ issue (one of my biggest pet peeves about polymer framed weapons, don’t like strikers, don’t like the rattle). You’d think some after market company could cure that for them.
I don’t know why 3″ groups are the ‘norm’, my (burnt / non-swimming) Taurus PT1911 stock could do better (by almost half?). Once I put in a threaded precision barrel, it did even better.
hmm a glock i might actually buy, i like the SF alot.
Reliability is the key factor in why Glocks took over the pistol market. Until they came out semi-autos weren’t considered reliable enough for police work. Sometimes accuracy suffers to get that reliability. But this is only a sample size of one and there are many people who get better accuracy from their Glock.
But somehow semiautomatics were reliable enough for the military where they were more likely to be used in combat? I think you drank too much Glock Koolaid. The reason that police departments switched to semiautos was that the bad guys did. Classic arms race among those who can’t shoot straight.
The military has been using semiautos for some time, for the simple reason that you can field strip one for cleaning, and once apart, you can replace most parts. Not so with revolvers; if they jam up, it’s off to the armorer.
I don’t think the current U.S. military uses handguns in combat/self defense more than the American police do. Military tends to use rifles and other more powerful weapons, while law enforcement shootings tend to be with handguns.
I would say that semi automatic hand guns have been pretty reliable since right around 1911. 🙂
“Until they came out semi-autos weren’t considered reliable enough for police work.”
David, many departments both in the US and abroad were using semi-automatic pistols for quite some time prior to the release of the Glock.
Glocks became popular in police departments because they were reliable, easy to use, accurate enough, and just plain ol’ dirt cheap.
JW:
The notion that reliability is measured by a high round count was started by some prominent training gurus because of their observations from their classes. I have no idea how many rounds I can put through my carry guns without a failure because I keep them clean. I never get to the failure point. From a practical standpoint if you can put two or three magazines through a clean gun without a failure 100% of the time it’s probably good enough. If I knew that I was getting into a 500 round gunfight I won’t be relying on my handgun. I am bringing an AR and couple of buddies to the fight.
I believe what hes getting at is that before glocks came along, most semi auto pistols wouldn’t make it through a mag or two without a failure of some kind. Even the holy grail 1911 was only good if you shot 230 grain round ball from it, hollow points? nope.
But when glock came out, it would eat nearly everything and do so without hiccups, so it really made more people aware of semi auto potential and pulled hard core old timers away from the revolver era.
Not so much that it will eat 500 rounds without a cleaning.
I don’t think so. It’s a myth. Hi Powers, Beretta 92s and 1911 were plenty reliable.
I thought it was because they were dirt cheap for departments to buy and that you worked on them with a dental pick and a hammer.
Never underestimate the power of catering to a skin-flint, bean-counting, bureaucrat.
Close is good enough for them.
“Sometimes accuracy suffers to get that reliability. But this is only a sample size of one and there are many people who get better accuracy from their Glock.”
Yes, high grade tolerences decrease both intrinsic accuracy and production costs. But statistically there should be (and are) plently of stock Glocks floating around that are quite accutrate–these just happened to be assembled from components coming form the extremes of the tolerence range and that (purely by chance) resulted in a tighter fitting gun.
How did it have problems running with a few magazines but also run flawlessly? I think this is where the legendary reliability of Glock comes from, people forget when it malfunctions…
I agree with you that many people forget, or maybe just excuse their issues with their Glocks.
But in this case, I was pretty clear. The malfunctions only occurred with 2 magazines, not all magazines, and they occurred with another (non-Glock) firearm, and they only occurred for the first few magazine cycles. After that first few cycles, it ran for another 1,000+ rounds without issue. In this case “flawlessly” was warranted.
There are plenty of semi-auto handguns that are flawless right out of the box without requiring any break-in period. So, I would state that reliability was “flawless after a break-in period of 50 rounds” or something to that effect.
Also keep in mind that we are splitting hairs here since you were VERY clear as to what exactly happened and I give you the highest marks for being so forthcoming.
Good review, did you go through a TX BLET program? Considering a local part-time program myself for a reserve support role, agencies require all members to be certified sworn officers. Considering your 68W background, I’m assuming they approached you.
I did not go through the TX BLET program. I did go through the full training and testing program required of all officers. The department has asked that I not name them. Yes, they approached me.
I am absolutely blown away at how the Glocks in .45 manage to soak up the intensity of that round.
As far as the grip, I am the size of an average Japanese man (5’6″ 150 lbs) and I have small hands. I have trouble with the big frame Glocks, but the SF solved that problem – very ergonomic.
However, I just sold my Glock 30SF because . . . . it was too chunky to conceal.
I had always considered my M&P 45’s to be the softest shooting 45 on the market, but I recently picked up a Gen 4 G21 and I think it has a slight edge!
Glock perfection. Right.
Is the “No one is coming, it’s up to us” gun mat from 30 Seconds Out or did you make it?
Absolutely from 30 seconds out. They have a sister company, stencil tiger, where you can buy that stencil and many others.
Oh God, not information a rattlecan junkie like myself should have…
Thanks though.
I had a 21SF. For some reason, it wouldn’t work well for me. It had these weird hangups where the slide wouldn’t go all the way into battery and light primer strikes. I cleaned it multiple times and it never got through a range session without some kind of problem. Maybe mine was a dud, but I sold it for a FNX-45, and it runs flawless. I wouldn’t mine giving the 21SF another try though.
I had a G30s or sf with the same issue. I dug into it and it sounded like it was a trigger bar issue. Swapping them out for newer versions seemed to help for some people , but I sold mine before trying it.
Glock makes a factory slide release with more of a bump that is a must. Why they don’t come with them stock is beyond me. It cures that one issue you mentioned perfectly and is still very unobtrusive. That and a 3.5 connector and call it done.
That’s a lot of challenge coins to have to carry (and rub).
I prefer the Glock 41 – easier to hit with for some reason. Maybe its the slender slide.
The slide “release” is a part labeled “slide stop” by Glock. Anyone trained by Glock is trained to slingshot the slide, but there’s aftermarket parts available, and an OEM bigger slide stop if you really want it. Personally, I hate more stuff on the side where my hands/fingers/thumb rest.
The weird thing is the accuracy. I’ve had the complete opposite results. The G21/30 have been the most accurate Glocks I own. None of them are that bad to have 3” groups though. OEM barrels are cheap to replace if you feel you need to. Good write up.
I have a 20SF (same frame in 10mm). That is fine but echo some of the comments about the 21SF. However, my 21 is a Gen4 and it is a DREAM to shoot. I shoot that better than any of my other Glocks. The grip without additional backstraps seems a bit smaller than the SF and the double recoil spring seems to do the trick. Highly recommend you try.
Seems like some people just don’t like Glocks. I have a few, a 30SF that I carry in colder weather. It has functioned flawless in the years I’ve owned it. Many malfunctions are related to magazines, I have been marking mags for years for that reason.
Interesting.
The G21 is one of the more accurate pistols I own, particularly at 25 yards.
I mostly stick with ball 230 grain rounds.
My 21 is affectionately called a railroad tie with a grip. Never an issue with any ammo and totally combat accurate.
Plus it’s dishwasher safe, and pistol whipping approved.
Amen to that.
Get some Talon grips, “sand paper” type…don’t worry they feel great and will help your grip on the gun. I have a gen 3 with Glock light and laser and it is my nightstand gun. You can also do the “25 cent” trigger polish job, many videos on that or it will usually smooth up over time. As someone else said their is an inexpensive slide stop made by Glock for easier engagement or you can go more expensive and get a “Vicker’s” version. Last, but not least when shooting, imagine yourself in a life or death situation and shoot a couple of mags that way. Like “Josey Wales” said, ” Sometimes you just have to get plumb mad dog mean and that’s just the way it is.” or something to that affect/effect…😂👍🍻
I have a G21 and a G21SF, and frankly I don’t feel a lot of difference between them. I love them both. I carry the G21 (and have since 2001), and the G21SF resides next to my bed with a light on it. I do not have large hands, but I don’t have any issues shooting tight groups with either of them. Yeah, I love Glocks, but I also love my 1911s, Jericho and Beretta 92. Glocks are just one of a lot of great guns available to Americans who love the Second Amendment and the freedom we have to protect ourselves and have fun shooting.
Geez. Didn’t read most of the comments but it really sounds like he’s down on Glocks. I have owned over 15 in most all calibers and they are the most accurate pistols Ive shot maybe with the exception of a few 1911 Colt’s or a Remington R1. The 21 SF IMHO is a fantastic gun. One of the BEST. I think this guy needs to shoot some more. Just Sayin!!
Judging by the group shown, I would presume that the shooter needs to modify his strong hand grip. Looks like the gun is shifting slightly in his hand as he’s pressing the trigger.
All my Glocks are more accurate than I am.
On the topic of limp wristing a 21SF, it can be done. A friend of my daughter’s came to the range with us and wanted to shoot with my 21SF since he shot with his father’s 21SF before. He would have a failure to feed every mag, very often more than one. Then I took it. Shot 2 or 3 mags worth with no trouble. He took it back, still having the same problem. The RO came over, disassembled it and lubed it. No improvement. The boy said he had no problem with his father’s 21SF. I suspect the difference is he shot using my handloads, which were loaded to “starting powder charge” from the loading table, therefore had a bit lower recoil. I told him to hold the gun really firmly. His failure to feeds didn’t completely disappear but they improved dramatically. So it is possible to limp wrist with a 21SF, but perhaps not with ammo not on the lighter side.
I have owned a Glock 21 for about 21 years now. I have big, fat hands, so the Glock 21 fits my hands just fine.
On the range, I have no problem getting a 3 in. grouping at 15 yards. The few times I have had with jamming , has been with the magazine.
Complaints. This is a hand gun for big hands. Also, it has quite a kick. But putting 50 rounds down range helps me with that. Two, it is a big, fat weapon. It is a challenge to cancel. However,, I have butt pack that solves the problem.
That target looks real good for shooting at 75 feet! You probably couldn’t do much better with any other gun in 45acp at that distance. Also, you had better prepare for one helluva court battle if you shoot anyone at such a distance. The gun is not marketed as a “target” gun to begin with. I own 3 Glocks and would stake my life on any of them. At the typical combat distance of 21 feet and in, you shouldn’t even be concerned with sights.
bought a g212sf.came with 2 13rnd. magazines. cannot buy any more (even from glock
) weird .
Brownell’s, Midway, Gunmag warehouse and many others have 10 and 13 round mags as we speak…
You mention a rattle from a Ruger sr1911. Mine has none. What are you referring to?
The Glock 17 is the original and best Glock for reliability and durabiity IMO. I favor the Gen3 variant as it best adheres to the KIS principle and has a single coil recoil spring that is less likely to cause stoppages if debris gets inside the pistol than the dual coil recoil springs used in later variants.
https://www.ballisticmag.com/2018/05/23/glock-17-torture-test-ocean/
Got my G21SF a few months ago. Took me a couple weeks to get a decent grouping shooting from 20ft at 1 bullet per second, but once I got the grip and trigger pull down it was no prob. Big hands, big donger, no excuses. I’m shooting 200 grain now. Feels better and travels faster. I put an Agency Trigger on it now and its got 2.5lbs of pull. Feels like butter.
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I have carried a Glock 17 since 1989. The only malfunction was a shooter induced failure to fire because I didn’t insert the magazine fully. I put an Apex trigger and a Wolf rifled barrel on it and carry it in a We The People IWB holster. As a back up I carry a S&W Airweight 442, in a pocket holster in my left front pocket. I have never failed to qualify at 99% with either weapon. In high risk situations I pack my Remington 870 with an extended tube. Before I got my Glock in 1989, I carried my issued Ruger .357 magnum Speed Six. It outshoots every other revolver I’ve used. If I couldn’t carry my Glock, I’d carry that Ruger. It’s built like a tank. When my agency first went to .38 Spl p, Smith said shoot only enough of the P to qualify. Colt said not even in their flagship Python. Ruger said their revolvers could be used with any factory P all day long.
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