Glock 26 suitable for carry??

[skipper]

This Thursday I intend to take my Glock 26 to the range for review and consideration for carry duty. I've owned this pistol for a couple of months and want to do a detailed evaluation as a carry weapon. Even though I am of that group that thinks the Glock is as ugly as a pistol can get, I am open minded enough to look past the ugly duck syndrome in the hopes that I can find an alternate concealed/carry weapon. Here's a picture of my Glock 26, 9mm pistol. The Kimber Ultra Carry II I usually carry is starting to show signs of wear and tear from the constant bumps, dings, and abrasions of every day use. It's just too beautiful to continue to subject to this type of unnecessary abuse. I need to find an alternate that can serve as a daily carry pistol and is something that I could justify beating up and still trust at the same time.

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[Rick in Oregon]

Skipper, you already know the answer to your question, not sure why you're fishin', but that should be about a perfect concealed carry weapon.

As one of my sons is a LE Mgr for Glock, and being very familiar with it since it came to us in the 1980's, I'd only bring one thing to your attention...and that is the legacy of "Glock Leg" or variations thereof. Re-holstering a Glock has inherent dangers.

Also, this weapon must be disassembled by first dropping the hammer on what should be an empty chamber. That said, there has been more accidental shootings with Glock than any other pistol during this procedure. I personally know of one Federal LE agent that being late for a dinner call from his wife while preparing to clean his duty weapon on his garage workbench, promptly shot himself through his left thumb 'drumstick', exiting then re-entering his wrist, finally exiting through his upper forearm. Can you imagine the pain from a .40 cal HP doing this to your body?

Yes, I own a G43 and use it for my 'outback' truck gun, but am aware daily of the hazards of this type of trigger, no visible hammer, and no manual safety. And I'll freely admit these are among some of the reasons I'm a sworn lifetime 1911 user.

You and your Glock will do fine as long as you practice drawing it from concealment, as these tiny guns don't just fall into the shooting hand. Load up a bunch of 124gr range ammo and go have at 'er! Give us a range report when you get a chance, and remember the story above when disassembling for cleaning.

[skipper]

As one of my sons is a LE Mgr for Glock, and being very familiar with it since it came to us in the 1980's, I'd only bring one thing to your attention...and that is the legacy of "Glock Leg" or variations thereof. Re-holstering a Glock has inherent dangers.

Also, this weapon must be disassembled by first dropping the hammer on what should be an empty chamber. That said, there has been more accidental shootings with Glock than any other pistol during this procedure.

Thanks, for the warnings Rick. I promise to be careful as always. When I get to Hot Wells Shooting Range the one thing that will be foremost on my mind is safety since there was an accidental shooting there where one of the patrons was killed. I have NO DESIRE to become a casualty from my own hands much less the hands of anyone else. Hot Wells is a rather large facility with provisions for rifle, pistol, skeet, 5 stand, and even a place where law enforcement can practice dedicated just for their use. I always have a heightened sense of caution/awareness whenever I go to such a large shooting range. I actually left a local range once because there were shooters not following the rules and I became very concerned. The range officer had warned them about rapid fire but as soon as he walked away, they continued.

[skipper]

I didn't get to the range Thursday as I had planned. I broke a tooth and ended up at the dentist's office. I did take a picture of the sights and magazine to post so you could see the differences between this Glock and other pistols I've been reviewing. The gun comes with a good set of sights which I didn't expect. The sights are better than the set the came with my Kimber Ultra Carry II but just on par with the sights of the Smith & Wesson 686 Plus. I ended up changing the sights on the Kimber to a decent set of tritium sights from Midway but I think I'll just see how this pistol stacks up before making any changes.

Speaking of stacking up. The double stack magazine contributes to the extra wide body which makes this pistol feel like it is much bigger than it really is. I could probably get used to the width if the rest of the gun is suitable. I really like the narrow width of my Kimber and this double stack magazine only results in three extra shots. Seems like a waste.

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[Rick in Oregon]

Skipper, agree that the double-stack pistols are a bit hefty in the hand, and much more bulky than their single-stack brothers.

I quit the double stack club long ago when I realized that if 8 or 9 .45's were not enough, or nine or ten 9mm's could not solve the 'social problem' that had presented itself, then three or four more rounds are probably not really gonna make a difference, but carrying all that bulk sure does in every day comfort, at least to me.

Virtually all my EDC's are now single stack and it'll stay that way. But for others, maximum firepower is paramount, and that's okay too; that's why I carry at least one spare mag.

(My G43 came with the sights you show. They were quickly changed to three-dot trititum night sights.....much better. )

[skipper]

So, I'm afraid I have to confess. My Glock 26 is thinner than my Kimber Ultra Carry II when measured with my calipers. I wouldn't have believed it unless I measured myself. The first picture I took to show the difference in sights between the standard Glock sights and the aftermarket tritium sights I installed on my Kimber. I noticed that the slides were obviously of different sizes with the Kimber much slimmer than the Glock. Then my eyes were drawn down to the size of the grips of both pistols. At first I still thought the Kimber was thinner than the Glock, until I pulled out my calipers and measured. So double stacked Glock is actually thinner than the single stacked Kimber.

Glock - 1.164
Kimber - 1.315

The calipers don't lie. Now I have to process this new revelation and stop letting my prejudices run rampant. It's funny how my thinking was so influenced by my preferences. The Kimber has a thinner slide while the Glock is overall the thinner of the two pistols. I even ignored the slide safety of the Kimber which would have made it even thicker.

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[skipper]

I got to go to Hot Wells Outdoor Shooting Range today to give the Glock 26 a thorough evaluation. There have been many safety related changes at Hot Wells since the shooting incident last year. I like the changes and hope they stand the test of time. Safety always seems to wane over time.

First new rule is that you are required to leave your weapons unloaded and in your vehicle while you check in. That being said, I was told that my right to carry would not be infringed in any way, but that I needed to keep my carry pistol holstered at all times. They even gave me two orange chamber flags to use while I was there and on the firing line. Any time there is a cease fire, you're required to make a complete safe weapon and use the chamber flags. I'm all in for that change.

I was met at the entrance to the pistol range by the range officer who went over the rules and procedures for that particular range. I was allowed to choose to shoot 7 or 20 yard targets. I elected to shoot at the 7 yard targets today. I took my place on the firing line and loaded up the Glock 26. The first shot of five was in the bulls-eye which I liked. Subsequent shots were not that impressive. However, by the time I had shot 10 rounds the groups started to shrink and were in the white ring around the bulls-eye. I was impressed. The trigger pull on this pistol is longer than I am accustomed to and took some getting used to. Of course, it didn't take long for me to find the handle!! I started shooting the 115 gr. FMJs then switched over to the 124 gr. after the cease fire to change targets. You can clearly see that the first few shots were not that impressive. Then the pistol settled into a pattern.

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The other thing that impressed me was that each bench had a built in brass catcher. That's right, a brass catcher!! Check out the pictures below. Simply pull up on the board and it dumps the brass into your bag so you don't have to chase it all over the floor. Some brass did get past the catcher so I only left with about 90% of the brass I shot. Not too shabby!

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The little Glock 26 is a shooter, indeed. I'll leave you with this last picture. Without even tweaking anything about this pistol it was able to put ALL the shots inside the orange in the lower left of the target. The larger target was shot with 115 gr. bullets that I had left. Either way, 115 or 124 gr., this pistol has what it takes too earn my respect.

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[Rick in Oregon]

Well then, I'd say you've answered your original question. It IS suitable for carry. Of course, it was designed for that exact intended purpose so that should come as no surprise.

Good shooting there, Skipper! That is one dead target! Glad you liked the Hot Wells range you went to, and it illustrates why I feel so lucky to just be able to jump in my truck and drive for ten minutes into the outback to "Rick's range", and shoot to my hearts content...no range rules (just common sense), no people, no city, perfect. 'Course, some guys have it even better....shooting in their own backyards. It doesn't get much better than that.

Nuthin' fancy like you've got, no brass catcher (that is nice!), no bench, just my tailgate for staging, but free and available all the time, night or day:



We have some great "gunfights" at seven to ten yards using the steel combat silhouettes that I used to make back in the 80's, two shooters starting at opposite ends from holstered pistols. "Bang! Clang!" It really shows if you have mastered your weapon, as if the 'other guy' has knocked down all his targets before you, then you've just 'lost' the gunfight. Great way to empty brass, practice, and have mucho fun while you're at it.

[Sidewinderwa]

I have carried a Glock 27, 40 cal. for several years. It has never malfunctioned and I can hit what I aim at. I put a rubber sleeve over the grip as I have large hands and had fingers underneath the grip. It works great and shoot it one handed very well. Rick, the metal targets are always fun and more interesting than paper by far.