Plastic Fantastic
DJ's a real fan of the 9mm Glock. I'll let him tell you about his collection:
I'm quite a fan of Glock handguns. For the last decade, I've slowly been building up a collection of lightly used Glocks in 9mm, in hopes of eventually getting one in each of the different barrel lengths and porting options offered by the factory. Although the collection is technically incomplete (the spare barrel shown SHOULD be inside another weapon), this is as far as I will be going; given their limited usefulness, I just can't justify (to myself) the cost of another G17L.I'm a diehard 1911 fan; I make no bones about that. But damn, that's pretty darn cool right there. It's a lot like folks that have a Colt Mustang, and Officer's, Commander, and Government size 1911s. Or, well, like me - I have a S&W J-frame .357 Magnum, 3" and 4" K-frame .357 Magnum, and an 8 3/8" N-frame .357 Magnum... Some folks collect stamps. Some folks collect coins. DJ collects 9mm Glocks. It's all good.
All except the G17L are 3rd Generation models; the G17L on the far right is a 1st Generation gun, as that is the only 17L ever offered with a ported barrel. All but one were purchased used, and every one is boringly reliable and surprisingly accurate. I'm planning on doing some chronographing of various factory ammo through all the weapons in the next year or so, to see how the barrel lengths and porting affect velocities.
Now, if it were the various calibers of Lorcins or Ravens...
That is all.
19 comments:
Just how rare *is* my Colt Gov't .380 Auto?
I keep hearing about Mustangs and Ponys (both .380s) but never about the Gov't .380
Very nice selection. My tupperware collection is smaller, but I do have the full set of .357sig :)
-Wally
I can't even say that I have all the subcompact Glock .45 ACPs...
Phssthpok -- The Colt Gov't .380 Autos were made from 1985 to 1997; some sub-models were produced for only a portion of that time. I'm not sure of the total numbers.
Wally -- I like the Glock .357s too (had a 32C for a while), but I couldn't shake the image of a burst of dollar bills flying downrange every time I pulled the trigger. I shoot quite regularly, so the Nines make more sense for me (alas, no time for reloading). The .357 impressed me with its accuracy more than once, though.
Jay G -- I think you have the best of the .45 Glocks right now; no need to clutter-up the safe with more plastic. ;-)
Phhht! Only J-magnum, K, L, and N-frames?
No J? No X? No I? No M? No Improved-I? No top=breaks in #1 1/2, #2, or #3? No tip-ups in #1 or #2?
;)
(WV: "momiship". As in "If I'd listened to her momiship, I wouldn't have bought a gun right after my 18th birthday...")
I'd imagine that an I-frame .357 Magnum would hurt... ;)
As for the X-frame, if S&W were sick enough to stuff 10 rounds of .357 Magnum into one, I would line right the hell up to buy one...
I assume DJ has a big pile of magazines, and hopefully a Sub-2000 somewhere in the mix.
Can you still get a ported barrel for a G17L? I have a later model one with the unported barrel, but the slide still has the cut-out.
Aftermarket wouldn't bug me, as long as the manufacturer didn't have a rep for shoddy work.
OTOH, how dazzling/distracting is the porting?
And, as long as I'm asking odd Glock questions - can you put a G17 slide assembly on a G17L frame?
Ian, all I know about my G30 is that I put the bullets in, it makes 'em shoot out... :)
a 17L slide will fit fine on a 17,31,22,or 34 frame.
@Wally: It's the other way 'round. I have a G17L frame (and slide and barrel, if it comes to that). I was wondering if I could still get ahold of the ported barrel to put in the slide, and, separately, if I got ahold of a G17 slide and barrel, if I could put it on my frame.
If the long slide assembly goes on the G17 frame, I suspect it works the other way.
Of course, I don't know where I'd find a slide assembly without a frame...
Quote from Ian Argent:
"Can you still get a ported barrel for a G17L? I have a later model one with the unported barrel, but the slide still has the cut-out.
Aftermarket wouldn't bug me, as long as the manufacturer didn't have a rep for shoddy work.
OTOH, how dazzling/distracting is the porting?
February 11, 2011 6:47 PM"
Ian, the factory no longer sells the slot-ported barrels of this type, due (I'm told) to problems with breakage near the slots. I was also told that if you break one, the factory will only replace it with a non-ported (normal) barrel, so I'm limiting use of this one. I have seen them for sale on the auction sites, so originals ARE available, but I wish you good luck in finding one at a reasonable price.
I see that at least one aftermarket company says they offer ported 17L barrels, but from the photos and descriptions, the porting looks to be very near the muzzle end of the barrel, outside (past the end of) the slide, vs. being ported through the slide like the original. I have no experience with these barrels.
With some brands of less-expensive range/target ammo, the flash can be rather spectacular, as the cheap ammo often has no flash retardants added to the gunpowder. Most modern defensive ammo includes flash retardant to reduce normal muzzle flash, and with type of ammunition, the flash is no more noticeable than with a non-ported weapon of the same caliber.
Quote from Mad Saint Jack:
"I assume DJ has a big pile of magazines, and hopefully a Sub-2000 somewhere in the mix.
February 11, 2011 4:37 PM"
HUGE pile of mags, check. Long gun that accepts same mags, not yet. I really, REALLY wanted to pick up a Sub2000, but I just couldn't do it. I love the James-Bondish nature of it, but I didn't like the sights or trigger pull (and if you've got a confirmed Glocker complaining about your plastic weapon's trigger pull; well, you'd better work on it).
I've been checking out some of the AR-related Glock-mag long guns (or similar), and I may get something like that down the road. An AR-based system could pull double duty; AR practice on the indoor pistol-rated range with more recoil than a .22 AR, and carbine/pistol pairing for competitions or ???.
Ian, as far as slide/frame swapping goes, I'd recommend having a Glock armorer check the sear/striker engagement before firing such a setup. If they are fairly close in manufacturing dates, then you'll probably have no problem, but when you start crossing Generational lines, then I'd get concerned about how the tolerances might stack up. The only real difference in a G17 and G17L frame is the internal parts installed inside it; the 17L will have the extended mag release, (usually) a lighter connector, and extended slide stop (called the slide release on most other autoloaders).
For frame swaps from other calibers, you should really install the ejector housing for the caliber you intend to use. Otherwise, reliable functioning will be a crapshoot.
Complete slide/barrel assemblies pop up in the Want Ads over at GlockTalk.com pretty regularly, but ever since the ammo shortage and price hikes, it seems like the 9mm top ends are highly sought after by folks who want to shoot their .40s and .357s more cheaply.
Ian Argent- I'm not sure how much you would gain from a ported barrel. Maybe DJ can answer that. Remember you already have more weight out front to help with recoil and ports will give up fps.
Thanks for all the info, guys. It was mostly speculative - at the current time I'm happy with what I got. I just don't have an AR-15 platform, so I have to get my lego urges out someplace. @DJ, thanks for letting me know the reason my sinister freind didn't like shooting my particular gun when he doesn't have troubel with other Glocks (the mag release bit his hand each time it recoiled).
@DJ: have you seen the MechTech "uppers"? They look a bit like AR-15 uppers, and fit on a Glock frame (or, a different model fits on a 1911 frame). The problem is they're about as much as another glock.
I had been considering a SUB2K myself - a store near me had one for just shy of $400; though that was a few months back. Hadn't heard anything about the trigger pull, just that they were dirty guns to shoot.
Ian, the Mech-Tech uppers are interesting, but rather heavy and (as you said) expensive. I'd also prefer to reinforce my AR skill set, instead of having to construct/memorize a new set for a low-potential-use weapon.
In my initial description, I may not have emphasized enough that these are working Glocks, most which get used quite regularly. Half of them are carry candidates (can be picked out of the lineup by the night sights), and many others are used in IDPA, USPSA or other defensive-style competitions. The G34 was used to win a long-range, ring-the-steel-IDPA-silhouette conventional handgun match at 50, 100, 150, and 200 yard distances (4 shots out of 5 were hits at 150 yds, and 3 of 5 @ 200). I'm not sure who was more surprised, the magnum revolver shooters, or me.
Glocks are working guns; if you want pretty, getcha some fancy-pants 1911s or BHPs, slap on some cool grips, and drop'em in yer sharkskin holsters for the Sunday BBQ. ;-)
I'll be busy spending that money on ammo and range time. :-)
All I have is the Glock, so the MechTech is probably mor einteresting to me. Though, if the local store has the SUB2K still, it's probably cheaper and easier for me to just get that. The only good thing I can say about the NJ FID is that a background check takes less time than filling out the 4473. Literally - when I bought a bolt-action .22 I handed the clerk my FID and he was off the phone with NJSP before I was done witht he 4473.
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