Sunday, March 15, 2009

I Become A Heretic

A while back I mentioned that I wanted to purchase a new gun with my tax refund. I was thinking of either a stainless 1911A1 or an M1 Carbine. I wasn't sure which to get.

Well, I decided. I bought one of these:



Yep, I've become a heretic to the memory of John M. Browning (PBUH) and purchased a Glock 21, .45ACP caliber. Why did I do such a thing? Because I've owned 1911A1's in the past, and although I love them and respect them, I've never owned a Glock before, and wanted to experiment with something new. 1911A1's were one of the best semiautomatic pistols of the first half of the 20th century; Glocks were the best of the last half of the 20th century. I am limiting myself by not owning and becoming familiar with one.

I'll be evaluating this Glock in the months to come, and I'll report on my findings here. Of my first impressions, all I can say is that I wonder about the grip; finger grooves should be omitted, because shooters have fingers of varying sizes and grooves necessarily force fingers to position themselves on the pistol in ways that may not be the most comfortable or suitable. It seems more compact than a 1911A1, more chunky, more...square. More...black. The absence of multiple safeties is both disturbing and refreshing at the same time. I've been mostly a revolver shooter for most of my life, so lack of external safeties in itself doesn't bother me. As for possibly snagging the trigger when holstering, I don't think it will be an issue. Time will tell.

Well, congratulate me or curse me, as your inclination takes you. Discussion welcome.

4 comments:

Borepatch said...

Hey, celebrate diversity!

Congrats. Does it still have that "new gun" smell? ;-)

TOTWTYTR said...

Congratulations. I'm also a heretic in that I've never seen the attraction of the 1911. The .45ACP, yes, but the specific platform, no.

I've opined on various shooters forums that it seems to me that people by various 1911 variants and then spend a small fortune making them more accurate and more reliable. If you read Xavier Thoughts (a great blog) you will read many excellent posts on the 1911 including several that talk about various modifications.

Although there are all sorts of after market parts of Glocks, it seems that most owners don't partake of them. I had a G23 and never felt any need to customize it. It shot well out of the box and was very reliable. I thought long and hard before I sold it and no part of that decision was unhappiness with the firearm.

Enjoy the G21, it's a fine weapon.

ASM826 said...

I have both. The Glock 21 is the bedroom gun. I shoot it some. I use the 1911 as a competition piece, shooting USPSA in single stack.
My carry gun? An XD compact, also in .45ACP
I can respect the Glock for what it is, and use it. But the difference between the Glock and the 1911 is like the difference between a Ford Taurus and a '67 Ford Mustang. Both get you there, one has more style, can be more temperamental, and requires more work, and you still prefer to use it.

Bob said...

ASM826: Thanks for visiting. You're going on my blogroll.