shooting4fun

Good Day, There are a sizable number of folks on this forum that compete using Glocks. Many of those have high round counts successfully cycled through them. If there was a trend for frequent equipment failures you would most likely be able to see clear evidence. It would also occur frequently, again supported by evidence. Evidence that can be verified. As it has been stated there are always conditions that will promote mechanical failures in any manufactured product. Especially when used outside of designed parameters. Hard use, abuse, are all contributing factors that increase the potential for an issue. Most Glock owners who compete are pretty satisfied with the overall performance of Glock products. Reviewing the extensive use history of military, law enforcement, and civilian use of Glocks does not identify significant failure trends. Many here on Brian's Forums have done extensive competition shooting beyond that of casual Glock owners. Again there are no significant failure trends. You can decide how much attention you are going to assign to a dramatic post compared to a vast body of knowledge and experience. Cheers!

Hi! I have been shooting, and enjoying, the sub-compact, compact, and full sized Glocks for several decades. I have not observed any significant difference in accuracy shooting the different sizes. I appreciate the consistent performance across Glock product lines. Note: I've also not been compelled to make deliberate measurements for comparison since I find they all perform well. What I have noticed when shooting lighter weight pistols they require more hold effort to keep the gun steady while working the trigger. Guns with more mass, inertia, aren't so easily moved off alignment. Have a good one! Cheers!

Good Day, The 26 and 17 have worked well for me. I do prefer using the 26. The sub compact 26 simply drives better for me. I believe it is the lighter weight package. The only deviation from stock configuration is the installation of luminous night sights. The optional sights have a better sight picture and have been very durable. Also the option of having a thin front sight is helpful for quicker alignment. I hope this helps. Cheers!

Good Day Again, Yeah, I forgot to add that using your carry guns in competition you are able to learn where all the rough or sharp spots are. That way you can figure out what need to be polished or smoothed over. I can also point out my great appreciation for Glock's consistency. Regardless of caliber or model they all pretty much handle and shoot to the similar point of aim matching the point of impact. Cheers!

Good Day! I compete using my carry guns, wheelies and bottom feeders. It has been helpful to gain experience with each of them in a variety of shooting situations. Through that experience you gain an understanding of what performance you can expect from each platform. I've also confirmed my carry gun selection is solid as each of them have allowed me to do well. I hope this help encourage you to use your carry piece as much as you can so you get better with it. Cheers!

It is possibly attributed to tolerance stacking of multiple elements (parts). Sometimes you can win, then there are those other times where things are not happy. Good to hear you have achieved a workable solution. Good on you for the persistence and solution. Cheers!

Howdy ColbyJack, and et al., My G26 is carried a lot and shot a lot too. I use mine regularly for pistol matches which keeps me in working practice with one of my principle carry pieces. It is a basic rig, standard mags no extenders. I tried several variants of the mag extenders and always came right back to the stock flat bottomed ones. No fuss, they just work and I'm able to always hit the reload well. Mine came with Meprolight night sights. I tried these out for many years and figured out that I really didn't care for that fat front sight filling up the rear gap. So took a swiss file and opened up the rear gap to the full width. Much happier now. Even now over 8 years + the sights are very bright compared to my newer night sights on other pistols. One of the first things to go was the serrated trigger. I just swapped it for an equivalent part on the G17 which has a smooth trigger face. Also I pretty much run stock Glock parts, either a # 3.5 glock connector or the standard # 5.5 connector. I've still not figured out which I like best even after all these years. What I really like about the G26 is the size. It handles well, shoots great, and pretty much looks like a cell phone on the hip. More than once have friends and co-workers over look the pistol in plain sight on my hip in a paddle holster. I've had an instance where I spent most of the morning spent with a friend only to have them finally realize it was a pistol on my hip rather than a cell phone. Another instance was where I met up with a co-worker a day after seeing them out in the SE AZ desert trails and they mentioned at work that they were surprised to see that I was out with out a firearm. Yup you guessed it, right on my hip, hidden in plain view. Only you can decide what suits your needs. I can only encourage you to try one out. Either borrow or rent one. I was fortunate that I had friends that loaned me a 26 and 27 for comparison. Run it through both static and dynamic shooting as you're intentions are for self defense so you really want a good idea on how this little gun handles. That is just what I did with both the 26 and 27. I found the shot timer is impartial and will let you know which one runs better for you. As for carry methods, again you'll want to do some research and find out what works for you. Glocks are different and owners need to capitalize on that. Good luck with the research! Hopefully that economic stimulus package will facilitate your acquisition. Cheers!

Howdy Bill J, and et al., Welcome to the forum. This has been a pretty helpful place to find and share information. While I'm not sure of the exact cause of your jams, the marks appear to be from a breakover impingement as the cartridge is trying to get straightened out enough to go into the chamber. The smile or dimple is formed when the slide is pushing the cartridge forward and it is not clearing enough to gracefully align into the chamber. In the past when I was dealing with Semi-wad-cutters < SWCs > there was not much joy until I found a reference by an older gent who reloaded his ammo for years. The point that he shared was that with SWCs you really can't measure based on the overall cartridge case length since the nose portions on the various versions were so different. He found that the bullet shoulder length right at the case mouth was a more significant measurement. By setting that little shoulder from 0.018” to 0.020” beyond the case mouth, that was the measurement that provided the optimal break over length to feed into the chamber for the SWCs. Cartridges loaded outside (shorter or longer) that window just didn't seem to work well. So I gave it a whirl and had great results in several platforms 1911s and Glocks. Now your mileage may vary but at least you've got options to consider at this point. Hope this is of some assistance. Good Luck! Cheers!

Howdy Ekim35, and et al., Ran across this thread and thought I'd add to it. Welcome to the forum! I'm left handed by birth, right handed by force and confused by nature. That should set the stage for my level of experience. Personally, there were no mods required for me to run the Glock patterns left handed. I shoot calibers in both the large frame and small framed Glocks. All of then basically have just had the sights changed to night sights. I do have a G17 which is my skunk works platform which I have mucked about with trigger mods to see if I like them. I do have a stock trigger bar to revert it back to a stock configuration quickly. There are alternative techniques that I adapted to help me through the years of shooting steel, and UPSPSA type matches. First one is using the trigger finger to activate the mag release. This was a great realization that I came on to when I was shooting my old Ruger P95 with an ambi mag release. I did it during a match and realized just how much faster and easier things were going when I used my trigger finger instead of my thumb. The other side benefit is that you are assured your finger is out of the trigger area when doing your reloads. The other technique is not to use the slide lock as a release, just sling shot the slide. This is taught in a number of training facilities relating to recovery drills. In keeping things simple this works on most pistols patterns rather than trying to activate a smallish slide release. Have fun out there shooting! Cheers!

Howdy Cuzinvinny, and et al., Hope you and everyone else were able to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. Just happened to browse this thread and thought I would chime in with my experiences. There are several folks that shoot the regional monthly club matches with SIGs including an individual who uses an X5. He is constantly reminding himself, “ I have a safety...” as he walks up and preps for the Load and Make Ready. They all do well in the club matches. I have not seen any folks run them at the larger matches. I purchased a certified pre-owned SIG 226 about a year ago. I've enjoyed shooting it once I got all the accessories necessary. ( sights, holster, mags, etc..) The CPO SIG was a much more affordable way to get one. I find my SIG more comfortable to shoot vs. my Glocks, this is due to the grip. When I'm done shooting matches with the Glock my hand is fatigued from the shooting. Not so much when running with the SIG. The DA/SA thing is not an issue for me as I'm pretty much with Bruce on trigger prep being a good thing regardless of platform. I like variety in shooting so I tend to shoot lots of different platforms with really varied triggers so for me, no big deal. Still got to prep the trigger and align the sights or is that reverse in order....??... oh well, they all shoot and they are all fun to shoot! Cost as a factor? Maybe, but when you realize the full cost of the high end 1911 patterns compared with the price of the X5, both are very close. Also from the X5 owners that I've talked to, their X5s don't see a gunsmith before running them. So I just don't see the cost thing being a strong issue. Complicated to operate? Not really, just as learning any platform you could argue engaging a manual safety at the LAMR is similar to the de-cocking action. Complicated to maintain? Yup! In getting into the IPSC/USPSA type shooting I've learned to maintain my sidearms myself. This level of maintenance goes beyond the basic field strip. The SIG with all the pins, springs and parts / pieces is daunting at first. As with most things if you have taken the time to arm yourself with good knowledge, and good tools things are not out of the question. Yes, those parts and pieces can add up to money if you loose, or have to replace them. My pistol has held up nicely. So far I've been able to find all those fly away pieces... So why not so many SIGs at the matches? I don't know why. They run well and are very comfortable to shoot. I can only guess that other patterns are somewhat cheaper to get into a basic shooting setup with. < gun, holster, mags, mag holder > In my case I can drive my Glock a bit faster over the SIG but there is not that much of a difference to say that one is better than another, just different. I like both patterns and will continue to shoot both patterns. Good luck in your quest for knowledge! Cheers!

Good Day mjohns930, and et al., Be well over there! I'm one of those folks that was left handed by birth and right handed by force, so I'm confused by nature. Not sure if this recommendation has come your way, when shooting left handed, the trigger finger is a pretty positive way to activate the mag release. Added benefit is that you know your finger is clear of the trigger. Take care!

Howdy Krautwagen, and et al., Congratulations on running through your first match. Things of this nature do happen from time to time. Especially when dealing with the raging tide of juice (adrenaline) running through your system. The fun part is that all of us suffer brain fade from time to time. Welcome to the sport! A mulligan is the term that seems to apply to what you describe. Those are typically found at the larger matches where you can possibly add to the fun factor by putting money down to help out a train wrecked stage run. Be well! Keep us posted on new developments! Cheers!

Howdy Craig, and et al., Just a couple of thoughts to add in response to your question. Politically thinking, if you are able to have full capacity mags then that is a good thing. Full cap mags are versatile in that you are able to use them regardless of shooting class. Functional considerations would be that yes, most of them are easier to load over the limited capacity mags. This is evident when you get to loading rounds 8, 9, and 10. The cost savings in the limited capacity mags is marginal, only you and your financial officer can assess that level of significance. Lately I've been able to find full capacity mags on sale from place to place at or near the same costs that some have posted already in this thread for the limited capacity mags. Interesting sidebar, all those new mags that I've received in the past couple of month have been MFR'd with the cutout for the ambi-mag release. < large and small framed calibers > Limited capacity mags make really good loaner mags! Kind of like loaning out a pen while retaining the cap, you'll get your pen back. Good Luck in your purchase! Buy them while you can find them! Cheers!

Good Day Jimmy and et al., It is an act that none of us want to deliberately commit. Hence the term AD. Fortunately, you have taken a path that puts you beyond the event in a positive and more enlightened way. Gathering support and advise from those with vast amounts of trigger time is advantageous. Your squad is fortunate to have you as a member. I'm glad to hear that you did not let this event derail the wonderful opportunity to participate at that level of our sport. Well Done! I witnessed a similar situation at one of our regional matches where a GM level competitor played out a very similar situation. While there was an opportunity to debate the legality of the situation, the GM chose to “do the right thing” and accept full responsibility for the event and continue through it. The GM also chose to stay and support the squad throughout the rest of the multi-day event. Some of the best target pasting and stage advice I've witnessed. Interesting coincidence, Jerry was at that match too! He is quite the gentleman. We are fortunate to have folks like you and Jerry participating. Thank you for sharing your story with us. While we can commiserate with you about a historical event. It is beneficial to continue on to make history! Be well!

Good Day John C from Maryland, and et al., I'm left handed by birth, right handed by force. This might not be the right answer for you but I shoot both. I've got holsters for both sides. Typically end up choosing just before the match when gathering up my gear. Fortunately the new kydex holsters are not that expensive and are easy to get in either configuration. The other holster that works good and is totally convertible is the Hogue PowerSpeed. If you're using a square on to the target, isosceles hold, you'll find that for either eye you only have to adjust less than an inch when holding the pistol up to the target. I do sometimes forget which side the mags are located on < autumnal-ism > . I do find that mag changes for the left side are slightly faster and easier as I can hit the release with the trigger finger rather than have to jostle the pistol over to punch at the release with my thumb when shooting right handed. All the best to ya in your search. Good Shooting!

Good Day Slidelock1, and et al., Yes, I'll second the recommendation on CDNN. I recently got a new to me 226. The point of aim and point of impact were definitely not the same. I looked about, made some phone calls and burned up bandwidth. Ended up finding pages that were not linked on CDNN but turned up in their search. Found the following page: http://www.cdnninvestments.com/sigsauer10.html I was not looking specifically for an adjustable sight. I was willing to entertain one if it was somewhat lower profile and reasonable in cost. I ended up getting several of the fixed sights and found the one that worked well for me. At the low prices listed, all is good. In my search, I found there are the LPA < several series to consider >. I've also had good luck with LPAs on other pistol platforms. They are target style so they do stand out and have really sharp edges. MMC is another consideration, if you don't mind having to swap out the front too. I wish you well in your search. I did manage to run that 226 in a match last weekend with pretty good results. I will need to get accustomed to that DA/SA along with working out the trigger reset being different than I'm familiar to. Best of luck to ya! Keep them on target!

Good Day All, There is a nice segment on Downrange.tv on high speed point shooting where DR Middlebrooks (sp?) shoots both stars. Interesting technique. So if time, motivation, and bandwidth permit, have a go at it. Cheers!

G'day Brendan, and et al., Just a couple of information points to share with you. You didn't mention which you were looking for new or used. A couple of years back I learned about Scottsdale Gun Center [near Scottsdale Road and Thomas]. Don't confuse it with the Scottsdale Gun Club. Anyhow, I did yellow page search and came across them when I was up in PHX visiting for a few days. When I got there they had both new, used, and refurbished Glocks. I ended up getting a refurbished second generation Glock for what I felt was a reasonable price. (I confirmed this later when looking about after the fact) They treated me professionally and I didn't get any gun store stories. Also as of lately when I'm up in PHX or TUS I will try to swing by Sportsman's Warehouse for this or that. I've found they have pretty reasonable prices on new Glocks. One of their advantages is their inventory is usually pretty good. If memory serves you might care to have a go at their web page. There is some traveling exhibition going on where they are going to have some discounts on things at each of their stores. Now you can take your time and look about some of the local matches and find out who some of the individual FFL dealers are. There are times where they will do transfers or somehow manage to find a really good deal and pass along their low overhead = savings to you. Good luck to ya in your quest for a new launcher! On a side note I'm going to have to swing by Chandler on my next run up there. I want to see how much things have changed since I moved away from there....aaaah I remember when Gilbert was just a couple blocks long on the main drag.... I even remember when it used to be called Williams Field Road instead of Chandler Blvd! Memories.... Cheers!

G'day Mark, Neal, and et al., I'm just that guy that was behind you all in line, you know the one with the funny looking hat! (that hat seems to generate some interesting comments where ever it shows up) Happy Holidays to all! I'm glad everyone is having a blast! It is always much more fun with your friends there! Either laughing with, and on some occasions at you. Now we have another friend to add to the fun! Well done Mark. We just have to get Charlie reunited with Special Ed for a striking good time at those bowling pins this weekend! Be well & Cheers! Rod

G'day Thunderstick and et al., I've got a Federal Arms conversion barrel that I run in my G20. I call it my G20/40 and runs quite satisfactory for what I use it for. Since you ask, I've got some experiences to share. First, in my case I was fortunate that at under 50 meters both barrels shoot pretty much to the same point of aim. Yes, all you do is swap the barrels. The recoil spring and the mags are used with either caliber. I've not had this setup hang with any factory rounds. [i've just not purchased dies for 10mm / 40SW yet or have I purchased bullets either] The recoil is pretty soft when using 40 SW in the conversion barrel. It also has a “funky” feel to it on occasions. I suspect when the round is forward biased in the magazine and the slide get an additional running start to it before it makes contact. It is sort of a intermediate clunk before it fully chambers. Again, when running factory ammo, I've not had any problems. Additionally, there is a slight issue when using the 40SW in the 10 mm mags. If the rounds are slightly forward biased it is difficult to see them through the witness holes in the back of the mag. A properly oriented persuasive tap into the palm of your hand will usually settle them towards the rear so that you make use of those witness holes again. Now as for running 40SW out of the standard 10mm barrel. Yes, it can be done. I've never had any of the rounds I've fired escape the hold of the extractor claw. If it did, it could be interesting! Might need to fish it out if it would not slide back on it's own. Racking the slide will probably do you no good as it will sink into the chamber quite a ways. That could be an issue if you wanted to get the gun back into action quickly. I purchased the barrel principally out of safety as I wanted to maximize the amount of support. Also to minimize the amount of freebore the bullet would experience. I was motivated by a number of issues: 10mm is not cheap to shoot, but I've always wanted to own one and the opportunity presented itself. Also the conversion barrel was on sale at the time I was shopping around. I still don't shoot this pistol as much as my other calibers, that may change once I'm willing to purchase the dies and bullets. This was a heck of a lot cheaper way for me to get a higher capacity major caliber launcher than the 1911 patterns. The cool part for me was that this setup works with all the holsters and mag holders I already had for my G21. So there you have some additional information to consider. Hope this helps. Let me know if there are any other questions you might have. Best of luck in your research. Happy Holidays! Cheers!

G'day Mark, and et al., I feel your pain! Nothing like those self imposed oopses that make you just want to cut loose with some really colorful metaphors. [That English as a second language thing can be pretty handy as most people won't know just what you said] You recovered with style for the rest of the match. Just work on focusing on what you need to "see" for each shot and take the time during the walk through to program things in. Got that ?... GOOD! Now, get your gear and schedule in line for mid-March so you won't replay that performance for the Dust Devil Classic 2007! I'll see you there! Cheers!

G'day Jedb, and et al., There was a thread on 10mm conversions on another forum. [Going the other way. P-16/40 to 10 mm] The comment was that the OAL for each caliber was very significant. I believe the gent who had the most knowledgeable comments was Bob Hunter from Hunter Custom Guns. Might be helpful to reference information on his web site regarding the conversions and possible OAL loading considerations. On a parallel note, I've launched a few 40 SW out of my Glock 20 (10mm) successfully. I was simply verifying that it could be done, not advised for the reasons already posted on head spacing. I did not experience any issues with primer deformation in my very limited testing. I did purchase a conversion barrel which allows me to shoot 40 SW with the proper chamber support. It is one of my preferred setups for go fast mode. So far the only slight negative I've found is that with the shorter 40 SW rounds don't always sit to the rear of the magazine which makes limited use of the witness/index holes. Just have to look extra close to see how many rounds are on board the magazines when setting up in between stages. Best of luck to ya. Cheers!

G'day All, It was a bright clear, cool spring, sunny SE AZ day. A good day for a handgun match! I chose to shoot my G20 / 40 setup for this match. It is a G20 (10 mm) with a Federal Arms conversion barrel to run 40 SW. This is a fun setup for me as it has a nice sized grip along with nice recoil characteristics. I believe the larger diameter grip helps me in a number of areas, better / natural trigger finger placement, also more surface area to distribute recoil. [What little recoil there is, as it shoots pretty soft with Winchester White Box from Wally World] Shooting this club match a week after shooting the 2006 Dust Devil Classic was just another extension of shooting enjoyment for this kid. THXs to Debbie Ferns, the entire crew at the Pima Pistol Club, and all the Match sponsors for making it an absolutely fantastic first regional match to attend! Well Done! Looking forward to attending the next one. Also working on getting the word out to others to expand on the fun. This match was four stages, all of them based on the level of evil that the match director had for breakfast. He shot the 2006 DDC too. I'm sure that experience augmented his creativity for the day. Since this pistol setup is relatively new to me, I drove it conservatively focusing on going mainly for A/Bs and shooting cleanly. Things were running smoothly for me on the first three stages. I was satisfied with my performance in shooting clean, not fast, no major brain fade. Stage four was insidiously tempting to just grip and rip the array of 7 up close linear targets only to have to hold together long enough to pick off the steel quail sitting on a 1.5 meter high post at 40+ yards. After cleanly engaging the first two targets things were going good, had to keep from getting too greedy before clearing the rest of the target array. Now the moment of truth, could I pull it together to tag the stop plate? Only had a couple of rounds left to throw at the stop plate before a reload....oh no! Ended up picking it off on the second shot after the reload. I really thought this stage was my undoing for the day. It seemed like an eternity throwing those four rounds at the stop plate, especially with that forced reload. Since this was the last stage of the day. the squad broke up after the shooting concluded. I ended up helping a friend get his sights adjusted and then assisting in the stage breakdown. I didn't find out about my score until just before packing up to leave the range. Scored way better than I perceived my performance allowed for. It seems that it is better for me to focus on shooting for the A/Bs (accuracy emphasis) and keeping each stage clean. Should be interesting for next month's match. More data points to analyze! Gosh I just love this type of testing! May you all be well! Get in some range time while the weather is great! Cheers!

G'day Exiledviking, and et al., No worries! You should be fine. I have fun with my Glocks and 1911s at the local club matches. In my case it works out to about 6 months with each pattern in a year's worth of matches. Be Well!

G'day AikiDale, and JFD, Appreciate your warm welcome and sage advice. Just got back from a run to the post office to drop off my match application. I'm going to have a go at it in the production class. I figure the fun factor is pretty high with my 9x19. The other added benefit is that I get to see Jerry do his stuff with a wheelgun too! Thanks again for your timely information. See you on the range some time! Cheers!