Thursday, May 31, 2012

Glock 26 vs Glock 19

Recently picked up a subcompact Glock 26 from a local  guy selling on gunlisting.org. This is a fairly mint low-round unit in olive drab that had been a daily carry. Subcompact has its own category in competition thus I could enter two divisions without a barrel change.

Handling the 26 subcompact seems more challenging than its larger counterpart in that there is no gripping surface for your pinkie finger, except for the magazine extension. The actual firing of the gun though is much more alike the 19 than not. Somehow, I am not aware of the smaller grip.

The other big difference ought to be in the shorter barrel and sight radius. In both cases, the results are almost identical to the larger 19 compact -- more than I would have ever expected.

My recommendation if you are trying to decide between the two, the handling and firing are not different enough to notice. So you can base your decision simply on which size would be more useful for you.

Spring Trip Plan


View Spring '12 in a larger map

Monday, May 28, 2012

Glock 19C vs Glock 19

I wanted to compete in a couple of stages in the nearby Glock shoot-outs, but my 19C was only eligible for the Competition class.

The 19C is a compact 9mm with a ported barrel and slide that shoots a small part of the explosive gasses up, giving a downward force. This compensates for the upward kick caused by the tangential location of the barrel relative to the point of contact with the shooter's grip. Some shooters notice that this produces the side effects of more loud report, muzzle flash, and percussion wave.

It is possible to convert the C model into a plain 19 by acquiring a genuine Glock unported barrel and switching into the slide of the 19C. Almost as soon as I learned that, I came across such a barrel for sale on eBay. I sniped that auction to acquire the piece necessary to allow me to enter the  Civilian competition, which also recognized my advancing age as a Super Senior.

Shooting two different configurations at the Dayton competition did give me slightly better results with the C model, but not enough to be statistically significant. So call it a wash as far as being a complete rookie goes.

In my experience, the 19 does have somewhat more recoil than the C model, but in the 9mm calibre, this is not as noticeable as it would be in larger sizes. I feel totally competent with the uncompensated arrangement, and will probably be shooting the ported barrel a lot less. In training especially, handling more recoil is a plus, as is less flash and report...

My recommendation for most newbies: Get the 19C. It is a great first experience. Then you can decide if you want to go in the direction of the second barrel or a second gun. I am completely happy with doing that.

http://us.glock.com/products/model/g19

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Dayton Competition

Competing at the Tri State Regional Classic II in Dayton. First time ever. Shooting a Glock 19C in two classifications by switching from a ported barrel  to a solid one that came from an eBay seller. Need more practice in shooting with adrenalin flowing.