Right before Christmas my garage got broken into and my wife and I’s trucks were in the garage. The A-hole got a gun out of each truck, not to mention GPS, Ipods, and other stuff.
They took my G23 out of my truck, which is my carry gun when needed and my Beretta PX4 in 40 cal out of my wifes truck. That is what I kept in her truck incase I wasn’t carrying.
Anyhow, I know for a fact I’m replacing my G23 as I love that gun for carrying. It suits me well.
As far as replacing the Beretta, I’m thinking of going with a new G35 to compliment the soon to be replaced 23, and my other G22RTF. The delima is…do I get the 35 or should I buy a new Gen 4 22? I’m struggling with this one.
I plan on using the full frames only as glove box guns, or one of the for HD. The other plan is to use a full frame in case the social fabric of our nation decides to unwind. I also plan on taking a pistol training class this year and will be using either the 35 or 22 as my training weapon.
I have posted this same thread over at Glock Talk and have been getting some feedback there, just wanted some input from a different crowd!
Thoughts? (If I buy the 35 I will put the RTF frame under it for classes or the worst case scenario)
Question - are you committed to the Glock platform? By that, I mean do you still have a substantial investment in magazines, holsters, etc?
If so, how much fun it is to get concealment rigs for a G-35? I know you said it’s a glovebox gun, but it’s pretty handy to be able to conceal any pistol, without simply stuffing it in the waistband of one’s dungaree’s.
Especially a Glock with no external safety… Just sayin’.
You may also be able to pick up slightly-used G-22’s or G-23 for cheap soon, if you want a third gen gun.
John_Wayne777 has been moving from the Glock platform, to the Smith and Wesson M&P platform. He’s pretty in-depth on his comments. You might want to read some of his posts.
Good luck to you, and I’m sorry to hear about the burglary. It’s why I do not keep a weapon in my vehicle anymore.
I’m a big suppoter of one caliber, one platform for social guns (ie. Glock and 9mm for me). The model out of my different models that is carried and used the least is the G34. I think you would be better served with the Gen4 22 since you are going with the 40 cal.
Interesting. I do want to stay with the Glock platform, as I am not a fan of the new M&P’s that I have shot, not a fan of the XDs either. If I was to change it would be to Sig, but I’m not really a fan of the variation in trigger pull from double to single action, even though I think they are probably the best side arm going. So for me I’m stuck with the ugly old Glocks for now…LOL
I have a G22RTF now, that is why I’m thinking about going to the 35. I can imagine that for range trips I would shoot the bigger frame gun much more than the 23, even though it is my carry gun.
I guess I’m looking at the value difference beteen a Gen3 35 and a Gen 4 22 in terms of longer sight radius, longer barrel versus the new design with the captured guide rod. Which the new guide rod set up is the only thing that I find value in in the new generation…
IMO you are better served with the Gen4 and the new recoil spring due to an increased reliability than the longer sight radius and barrel of the 35.
I can hold my own when it comes to shooting handguns and I’m just as fast, accurate, and in control with my G17 as I am with my G34. If I’m drawing from my waist I’m a little slower on target with the 34 due to the longer slide.
I feel you would be better served with the Gen4 22.
Swatcop1911~
I value your opinion. I keep going back and forth, but I think the new Glock Gen 4 set up is going to be good. In addition to the new guide rod, I like the idea of having a much larger mag release button. And I’m pretty sure that within a year or two everything will be switched over to the new set up.
I think a new Gen 4 G22 is going to get bought next week if I have time, but it may be the week following it. Then I will always have my Gen 3 RTF as a back up to the Gen 4. It will be a decent pair in a handgun class this season.
I just hope since I’m buying a G23 to replace the one that got stolen that I won’t want to upgrade it as soon as the new gen comes out in that model. LOL I don’t need another handgun, I need to get my rifle finished…
No worries. I’m still love my G34 but I think the G22 will be a better fit. Besides you can pick up the Gen4 G23 after you finish your rifle, and the a G35, and then…
This has also been my experience across 17s, 34 and a 17L even.
I’m deep into Glock 9’s and just bought a M&P Pro9 to see what all the fuss is about. It’s pretty dang nice. If i were starting over building up a battery . . . I dunno.
Since you’re looking for some additional input beyond what you’ve gotten from the Glock forums, you should look seriously at the M&P 40. The M&P pistol series is thought by many industry experts, including Larry Vickers, to be an “improved Glock”. Larry recently feature the M&P on his TV show, we have a thread about it here.
Since you like the .40 in particular, note that the M&P platfrom was originally built on the .40 caliber, it was not simply a 9mm upgraded to the .40 as so many others are. Many knowledgeable pistol experts believe that the M&P .40 is perhaps the finest combat pistol available in that caliber. For example, search for comments on the M&P .40 in this forum by DocGKR. I’ve found personally that the M&P soaks up recoil far better than any similar-caliber Glock I have owned or fired, and is generally more comfortable to grip and has more accuracy potential than a Glock. Those assessments are obviously subjective, but I am not the only one who thinks so; it might be worth your time to test-fire an M&P .40.
I have thought about going the M&P route, but downplayed it. I have shot a M&P 40 before. My buddy has one, and it shoots nice, but I really couldn’t tell that much difference I guess…
How does everyone like the G23 sized M&P in the 40? If I changed, which I’m unsure of, I want the manual of arms to be the same across the board for my carry gun and all of my go to guns!
Decisions are tough sometimes…you think you know what works, and then you keep investigating…lol
I have been a die hard glock fan for a long time, and shoot the guns pretty well. But if something else is taking the spot light and is a better product that is just as reliable then maybe its worth taking some consideration…
I never started doubting myself until I started asking for opinons…
They make lock-boxes that you can have permanently affixed to, say, the floor of your truck under the seat. You can make it so that they have to steal the whole damned truck to take it someplace where they have time to work on getting the thing open.
I have one bolted in place, and probably more secure than any other aspect of the truck. Since you’re spending the money to replace the guns, perhaps consider a relatively small investment in making sure you may only have to to it this one time…
The advice about securing the weapon is sage…I would suggest listening to it. Permanently affixing a lock box say under the seat of the vehicle would help dissuade all but the most resourceful criminals from stealing your hardware.
I would also suggest keeping the gun on your person whenever humanly possible, as it’s many orders of magnitude more difficult to steal it out of your holster than out of your car.
As for what to get:
The default answer would be the G19. .40 caliber Glocks suck in the reliability department. The 9mm versions are, by any measure, good handguns. Since you’ve reported that you liked your G23, odds are you will get along with the G19 just fine. As a bonus, it will fit any carry gear you already have for the G23. I would suggest buying 2.
Yesterday I was in a room with a lot of experienced shooters and two honest-to-god subject matter experts, and the general consensus in the room was that if we had to have only one gun a Glock 17 or 19 would be that gun. There are a multitude of reasons for that consensus, but the fact that it exists in a room like that speaks volumes. I like the M&P…I own three at the moment and I have two more on order. They have the potential to unseat the 9mm Glocks as the default choice in a tool for serious social purposes…but they have not actually done that yet. They are, in my opinion, worth a look if Glocks don’t suit you. Since Glocks seem to suit you just fine, stick with it.
I appreciate all the nice thoughts and advice…I have to stay with 40 cal though…just not a believer in the 9mm…I have had them and they shoot nice, but I want a little more power…
Check out the ballistics threads by Doc Roberts. I think you would be suprised. I was the same way about the 45 ACP until I really dud some soul searching. I now carry all Glock and all 9mm. It’s worth the read trust me.
Yesterday afternoon I was in a room with a bunch of people, including folks who worked for police agencies that shoot a lot of people with 9mm JHP ammunition, Ken Hackathorn, and Larry Vickers.
One of the gentlemen who worked for an agency that kills a lot of bad guys with 9mm stated point blank that they have no trouble killing a lot of bad guys using quality 9mm JHP ammunition. Larry Vickers, who trains lots of people all over the place, stated that he has yet to see anyone from a department that issues a 9mm with decent ammo complain that the cartridge isn’t getting the job done. To quote him directly: “9mm if you can carry HP ammo. .45 ACP if you’re stuck with ball.”
To be blunt, there’s no real world evidence that you’re actually gaining much by the choice of a .40 over a 9mm in terms of making bad guys stop doing the stuff that makes it legal to shoot them in the first place. By going with the .40 you are, however, taking a significant downgrade in the reliability of your weapon of choice, namely the Glock. The .40 caliber versions are not on the same level as the 9mm versions as far as reliability and durability go.
So to get a slight, largely theoretical for most, edge in terminal ballistics you are taking a very real and documented downgrade to the reliability of your defensive tool. In a real fight the reliability is vastly more likely to pay dividends in terms of keeping you alive than the slight terminal ballistic advantage of the .40. 9mm is also cheaper to train with, and as we all know training is going to make VASTLY more difference in the outcome of a critical situation than the slightly bigger bullet.
Make no mistake about this: Modern 9mm JHP ammo is fucking lethal. It is ending the lives of scumbags across the land in an ugly and unpleasant fashion. If by some magic I knew for a fact that in 1 hour I was going to be in a gunfight with a dangerous scumbag, my first choice would be a hicap 9mm loaded with 124 grain +P Speer Gold Dot ammo or 127 grain +P+ Winchester Ranger ammo without hesitation. The 9mm loaded properly will do anything you can reasonably expect a handgun to do.
I think I’m just to invested into the caliber to change at this point…but if the 9mm is so good, why is it that so many law enforcement agencies use 40 cal? It has to have its benefits over the 9mm IMO if it is getting chose over it…if I was to ever make a change now would be the time since I’m replacing my 23 and buying another 22…
I have a ton of magazines for the G22…I would have to swap a bunch of stuff around…9mm ammo is hard to get these days, at least in my neck of the woods. I’m just now getting to the point were I can head to walmart and buy ammo again…LOL
