Glock 9mm vs. glock .40

[Dberm118]

So I'm coming down to the wire and ready to jump. Never been a huge glock person yes I've shot them back to back with XD and M&P all full size pistols.

I currently shoot an XD9 for 3 gun but would like to get into USPSA and more pistol only shooting as well. With this being said I have an m&p 9mm and a s&w sd40ve. So I'm doing ok if I want to shoot production, I'd use my XD which I'm most comfortable with.

So my question is, getting into pistol only do I go 9mm or .40?? I see a lot of talk on shooting minor/major and want some honest feedback on what a good choice would be keep in mind I have production guns that I could use. My reason in going glock and building a nice pistol is to build a bitchin gun as there is everything under the sun for a Glock.

I'm looking at G17 G34

Or G22 G35

Any and all feedback is appreciated.

Also what guns have more aftermarket accessories to make it MINE.

Thanks all

Edited July 29, 2016 by Dberm118

[blairmckenzie1]

So I'm coming down to the wire and ready to jump. Never been a huge glock person yes I've shot them back to back with XD and M&P all full size pistols.

I currently shoot an XD9 for 3 gun but would like to get into USPSA and more pistol only shooting as well. With this being said I have an m&p 9mm and a s&w sd40ve. So I'm doing ok if I want to shoot production, I'd use my XD which I'm most comfortable with.

So my question is, getting into pistol only do I go 9mm or .40?? I see a lot of talk on shooting minor/major and want some honest feedback on what a good choice would be keep in mind I have production guns that I could use. My reason in going glock and building a nice pistol is to build a bitchin gun as there is everything under the sun for a Glock.

I'm looking at G17 G34

Or G22 G35

Any and all feedback is appreciated.

Also what guns have more aftermarket accessories to make it MINE.

Thanks all

So shoot production. The gun doesn't matter that much. Shoot what you have and practice.

Edited July 29, 2016 by blairmckenzie1

[Dberm118]

I understand your point. Which I plan to my first few matches. However with 3 gun it's pretty much a run what you got unless you're running RMR or other optics. So I would like to build a nice pistol and am wondering for future purposes what would be most beneficial in USPSA 9mm or .40 . After much reading here I've seen a majority of the people going 17 over 34 as it's not much benefit. I've shot a 17 hated the sights hated the grip. They'd be the first things to change. Which leads me to my debate of 17 or 22.

What has a greater room for growth as in more parts more personalized accessories and what caliber is more common/recommended for USPSA.

Thanks

[RangerTrace]

Sounds like you really want to change a bunch of things which will most likely keep you from shooting Production. So, as if you don't mind shooting Limited minor, I'd go with a 34. If giving up points bothers you, I'd go with a 35.

[davsco]

check out the uspsa equipment survey that spells out what guns everyone is using in the various divisions, might give you some ideas.

i guess first thing is what division do you want to play in. 9mm is the logical/majority choice in production, with .40 being the logical/majority choice in limited.

9 also is a great choice for 3 gun, steel matches, idpa and the like. .40 works in these games (and uspsa production) but you're at a recoil disadvantage unless you reload or buy minor power factor ammo.

as far as 17/22 vs longer 34/35, i think the surveys show the longer versions being more popular, but it is certainly a personal choice. shorter seems to point better but longer has longer sight radius. both have tons of aftermarket parts and accessories. i changed all my glock sights out to warren sevigny competition fiber front and wide rear notch.

i'd say find a range that has all four glocks and give them all a shot or 50 and see what you like best. frankly if you like your current 9mm that may be the best and easiest choice. using one gun for everything will give you consistency which is a good thing, but we all like having a few toys to use for various applications.

[blairmckenzie1]

I understand your point. Which I plan to my first few matches. However with 3 gun it's pretty much a run what you got unless you're running RMR or other optics. So I would like to build a nice pistol and am wondering for future purposes what would be most beneficial in USPSA 9mm or .40 . After much reading here I've seen a majority of the people going 17 over 34 as it's not much benefit. I've shot a 17 hated the sights hated the grip. They'd be the first things to change. Which leads me to my debate of 17 or 22.

What has a greater room for growth as in more parts more personalized accessories and what caliber is more common/recommended for USPSA.

Thanks

you kinda didn't get my point.

I nice pistol is going that is most beneficial could be anything from a Glock 34 with sights and a trigger to a $5000 dollar Custom Open gun, depending on which division you want to shoot.

There are tons of parts for glocks, for every gun and every division. And there are multiple companies that make good stuff for XDs. You already said you hated the Glock grip, you can't change that very much.

to my point, whatever division or gun you decide to shoot nothing matters more than putting in the time and practice to get better

[Dberm118]

Rangertrace

I do want to change a bunch of things!

And my logic here I guess or at least what I wanted to do was go either caliber. As I have a press for reloading 9 & 40 as well as 9 and 40 pistols. So ammo isn't an issue as it is already ammo I have or can reload myself.

Anyway before side tracking my logic was to build an awesome all around gun something good for 3 gun and shooting limited in USPSA not production as I have pistols to do so right now. Maybe I should've clarified my intentions. Howeverto clarify blairmckenie1 I uderstand and i do understand that shooting what I have now And practice will get me where I need to go I also should have mentioned with a standard XD I am limited with accessories and parts out there. Which isn't really the problem to be honest I WANT another pistol however I ant one I can build to be competitive in any type of matches I go to shoot and with a lot of the reading and looking that I've done it seems that the glock route is the most universal because of what is out there for them.

Edited July 29, 2016 by Dberm118

[bigtimelarry]

Glock 17 Gen4 would be a great gun.. I like my G17 over my G34 but thats me.

[igolfat8]

I've got a G27, G23, G22 and G35 and I shoot my 35 best. Its my opinion that longer barrels / longer sight radius are more accurate, at least in my hands. I recently picked up a 34 and its equally as sweet as the 35. As others have said, you can't do anything to the Glock grip to change it other than adding skate board tape (Talon) to it which is a great mod.

Keep in mind that the grip angle of the Glock differs dramatically from the M&P and XD lines which the latter two both copy the 1911 grip angle. The Glock grip angle puts your wrist in a downward angle purposely to counteract the muzzle rise and give the shooter more control The Glock also puts the hand closer to the barrel center line than other competitors which also improves control of the gun. Watch Bob Vogel's grip on YouTube and the light should come on

[JD45]

Everybody needs a Glock 17 for something anyway. Gat a Gen. 3 and keep it.

[Southpaw]

Shooting Limited is more fun than Production so get a G35

[Dberm118]

Southpaw

What is more beneficial for limited 9mm or .40 this is the route i've been somewhat set on. I see much debate between 17 and 34 so i guess my question is does the 35 outweigh the 22? Also does .40 outweigh 9mm.

If i'm reloading will a 9 be sufficient as i could potentially load a 9mm major to be competitive in limited?

[Dr Mitch]

You hardly need to "build" anything to be competitive. Buy a ton of ammo and get shooting, dry fire every day, build your skill. You'll end up finding that your equipment preference is merely preference and that being competitive comes from something you can't buy.

Also, Limited = .40S&W

There is no getting around that

[Southpaw]

Southpaw

What is more beneficial for limited 9mm or .40 this is the route i've been somewhat set on. I see much debate between 17 and 34 so i guess my question is does the 35 outweigh the 22? Also does .40 outweigh 9mm.

If i'm reloading will a 9 be sufficient as i could potentially load a 9mm major to be competitive in limited?

.40 is significantly more beneficial in Limited than 9mm. The rules do not allow you to shoot 9mm major in Limited. To be scored major you must be shooting at least a .40 or larger. If you're just planning on having fun at local matches and don't care about your score shooting Limited minor with 9mm might be ok for you, but if you're planning on getting serious about shooting Limited and will shoot major matches I'd get a .40.

Some people say they prefer the 17/22 to the 34/35, but I personally don't get it. You can try both before buying and see which you prefer. A longer sight radius makes it easier to shoot more accurately...that's just science . And pretty much all of the top Glock shooters shoot the long slides...that's what I would call a clue . They're all using the 35 or 24 in Limited. I'd only get a 22 if you're planning on adding a Taylor Freelance sight block.

[mlmiller1]

The 4 glocks you mentioned all have exactly the same size & shape frame. It is NEARLY impossible to tell the 9mm frame from the .40. The extractor is the only difference. As far as weight goes, the difference in weight, if there is one between the 22 & the 35 is minimal. That weight could be adjusted with milling the slide. (if you look at the 22 slide & the 35 slide, you will see a cutout in the 35. This reduces(or possibly eliminates the weight difference).

You can NOT shoot 9mm major in limited. Must be .40 or larger (.357 sig is an exception) to be scored major.

The 35 is the most common among serious glock shooters in Limited division, however if you are just having fun & not terribly serious about competing, go ahead & get a 22 or even just a 17. 9mm limited division max length mags will hold a couple more rounds than the .40s .

All the things you can do to personalize the gun are available for all of these guns, just depends, are you playing the game for show or to win? Just to personalize, aka just for show, get the 17 & dress it up.

MLM

[Dberm118]

Southpaw and mlmiller1

That's the information I've been looking for. The plan is to get pretty serious I guess I was looking at more opinions on what caliber I should go as I would like to shoot limited once I get a few matches in. So that information is very helpful. Ive downloaded the rule books and have been reading up a lot more on uspsa.

Thanks again

[Daft]

For the price of stainless barrel and extractor, you could have both. I use pistol against reactive steel so I went .40

[Sarge]

Southpaw

What is more beneficial for limited 9mm or .40 this is the route i've been somewhat set on. I see much debate between 17 and 34 so i guess my question is does the 35 outweigh the 22? Also does .40 outweigh 9mm.

If i'm reloading will a 9 be sufficient as i could potentially load a 9mm major to be competitive in limited?

Can't run 9MAJOR and get scored major in anything but Open. This makes it clear to me at least that you really need to step back, try to learn more about the guns and game, talk to as many shooters as you can at natches, see what people use, etc, THEN think about buying stuff

[3GDad]

Go with the G35 for .40 caliber limited major for USPSA and drop in a KKM 40-9 conversion barrel to shoot 9mm for 3 gun. 2 guns in one. The heavier G35 slide and heavy wall conversion barrel makes for a super flat shooting 9mm. This will enable you to use the same lower for all of your shooting maintaining consistent grip. I have a G17 which I converted to a .40 with a G35 slide and use the match grade 9mm conversion barrel for 3 gun. The frames are interchangeable. Although the extractor and ejector are different, I did not have any problem running the G17 lower with the G35 slide without swapping extractors or ejectors. All I do is swap out the barrel and I am good to go. My son uses a G34 for 3 gun and production in USPSA. We both prefer the G17 lower grip to the G34 although they are supposed to be the same. Not sure if the G34 is slightly narrower than the 17 in different production runs but certainly feels that way. The G35 slide really takes the snappiness out of the .40 cal round, and if you add the SJC frame weight and thumb rest it is even better. Since you reload, you could experiment with light .40 loads, I'm planning on checking that out, I hear the light .40 hand loads can be even softer than 9mm. I shoot 147 grain 9mm with 3.2 grains of titegroup, hard to believe there is a softer load, but will try the light .40s as soon as I can get my press setup for .40

[Dberm118]

Sarge you are absolutely correct. I got into the gun game through 3gun which the rules are significantly different.. I'm learning more and more every day and have done nothing but ask around and read the last week or so as there are a few USPSA matches in a reasonable distance in AZ. As I plan to buy a gun to grow and use for a little bit of everything I'm growing out of my standard 4" XD as Ive been shooting pistols with a lower bore axis and just more well balanced and not so top heavy (as I feel the XD is) it's awesome don't get me wrong I love it and shoot the shit out of it. I'd just like to step up to something more common and practical in the (pistol match world) yet still have an awesome pistol for 3 gun since it's a whole different game than uspsa. With the matches I shoot now I really have no limit on what my gun can have on it.

But thank you!! Any and all information or feedback is greatly appreciated as I really hope to learn more than possible to retain and grow in the pistol world.

[Dberm118]

Sarge you are absolutely correct. I got into the gun game through 3gun which the rules are significantly different.. I'm learning more and more every day and have done nothing but ask around and read the last week or so as there are a few USPSA matches in a reasonable distance in AZ. As I plan to buy a gun to grow and use for a little bit of everything I'm growing out of my standard 4" XD as Ive been shooting pistols with a lower bore axis and just more well balanced and not so top heavy (as I feel the XD is) it's awesome don't get me wrong I love it and shoot the shit out of it. I'd just like to step up to something more common and practical in the (pistol match world) yet still have an awesome pistol for 3 gun since it's a whole different game than uspsa. With the matches I shoot now I really have no limit on what my gun can have on it.

But thank you!! Any and all information or feedback is greatly appreciated as I really hope to learn more than possible to retain and grow in the pistol world.

[ClangClang]

Sarge, as usual, has great advice.

[HCH]

If you plan on shooting Limited, you're going to want major scoring, so buy a .40. You already said you want a glock, and a "cool" gun, so buy a 35 or a 24. You already said you reload, so you can make minor pf ammo for 3 gun. The 4 rounds you give up to a 9mm won't make much difference.

[HCH]

If you plan on shooting Limited, you're going to want major scoring, so buy a .40. You already said you want a glock, and a "cool" gun, so buy a 35 or a 24. You already said you reload, so you can make minor pf ammo for 3 gun. The 4 rounds you give up to a 9mm won't make much difference.

[Dberm118]

I think i said nice and bitchin. As in one that feels and shoots like it should with whT I've out into it. Haha I mean cool? Sure but looks to me aren't as important as function and shootability. And my reason in asking about glock is it seems the route so many people take as it's a very universal gun with so much out here for it.

But thank you all for the input.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Dberm118