Most guys are comparing the Glock to the 1911. I’m going to compare it to the 911…
For the last 40 years Porsche has been remaking the same design and calling it brand new, and the fans have been lapping it up and eagerly await the next version. Those on the outside look at it and see that it is the same thing. The engine was misplaced, tacked on the rear like an afterthought outboard motor. Every one is waiting for Porsche to scoot it in a bit to improve the car’s balance.
Glock only comes out with a new gun when someone makes a new caliber… In the twenty years of Glockdom, we have seen new generations which we are told are better than the previous ones, and the Glock Enthusiasts will happily explain it to you like evangelical missionaries. But those on the outside look at it and see the same fault… That grip angle. It’s wrong. It’s not the same geometry that Saint J. Moses Browning chiselled in stone, so it can’t be right.
Now here is the thing about both the car and the gun… Like them or not, they work. The racing beetle continues to be one of the worlds very best sportscars, as the Glock continues to be one of the best handguns. Wrong or not, there is something very right about them.
In a manic moment brought on by a massive coffee overdose, I daydreamed about a Glock that was built with the 1911 grip angle and took 1911 magazines. Single stack 45 in the Christian pattern…I saw it clearly…ugliness that approached that of Hi-Point, and yet…and yet…logical…for a percentage of American shooters.
I know the grip angle on the Glock is a problem for many shooters, and a blessing for others. I happen to be one of the degenerate people who prefer Gaston’s obscene angles, but understand that it is a poor fit for others. Maybe a Glock with the Wholesome Angle would bring in a new market segment?
I just don’t get the problem with the grip angle. I am a long-time 1911 user and I have no problem with the Glock grip angle — in fact, if you measure it against that of a 1911 are they really that different?
“in fact, if you measure it against that of a 1911 are they really that different?”
I tried holding a Glock up against my 1911 to compare them, but a HellGate started to open, so I had to stop! 🙂
Yeah, don’t do that. That violates Divine Geometry and can allow unclean beings to slide into our world.
We call them IPSC shooters.
Grip the cleared and empty pistol properly in one hand. Hold it down at your side. Find a point on the wall at eye level. Something, anything. Close your eyes and raise the pistol as if pointing at the spot. Open your eyes. The sights on a natural 1911 grip angle will be spot on. As it is when I hold a BHP or pretty much all my other guns. When I’ve tried this with a Glock the bottom of the front sight is in line with the horizon of the top of the rear sight.
To align the pistol I have to cant the Glock downwards a little. That to me is not a natural grip angle.
A Glock with a grip angle of a 1911, AKA the S&W M&P pistol. It is now my favorite carry piece.
Hmm. Allegations of Glock fanboi-dom and fanatic cultists of Glock, but, it’s the 1911 community which consistently talks of fire and brimstone for changing a grip angle.
Maybe handguns are more like religion than we thought. There isn’t a single right one, there’s what works for you and what you believe.
And fwiw, I own 1911s and Glocks. If you’re on a budget, Glock (or XD/M&P) is the way to go – it’ll work out of the box for less than $500 or $600. 1911? You’re not getting something that will work as reliably for the same price. Spend more on a 1911, and sure, you can get reliability approaching a striker-fired polymer handgun.
That’s all I spent on my Springfield. Never fails to go “bang” when I want it to. And it’s on my hip for at least a dozen hours a day, every day, so it’s exposed to real-world rain, sweat, etc. – not a safe queen.
The problem with 1911’s, price-wise, is when folks get them and hang every accessory known to man on the thing, or buy it that way (Kimber, etc.). Get it without all the bling, and it’s not an expensive investment.
Guns as a religion may not be be as far off as you think. I’ve been told that the Glock so so close to perfect that it doesn’t matter if it fits me or not. I have to fit me to the Glock. That does sound a lot like a religion.
I bought a Glock. Tried it. Didn’t like it. Sold it.
Don’t care much for the 1911 either.
I guess I get to sentenced to Hell twice.
Your punishment is to carry a Hi Point for a month.
Purge him. Cast him out.
I spent less than that on my Rock Island Armory 1911 ($400). And the only problem I have had is wearing out springs from shooting it so much.
Didn’t Lone Wolf make a stand alone frame (for Glocks) to address just that? Or am I confused?
Religion and demonic mysticism are always confusing. Just be wary or what deceptive forms and false totems you handle!
But given that, a factory Glock with the True Angle and GI pattern mags may yet weld adversarial faiths.
I envision a Reformed, possibly Episcopal Glock that not only takes the Sanctified Single Stack of Browning, but has 1911 grip panels! Able to be removed and replaced in the textured wood Sacrament!
I see clearly, and with profound reverence, a Factory Glock that after the fitment of The Panels, has also affixed thereon, the One True Beaver Tail, also removable, thus and always for the rite of Aftermarket!
Look! See the Reformation! See the bevelled mag-well! Know the Signs! Through piety and faith, the Rift can be healed!
They do have a frame…. kinda ugly.
If the Glock had come first, would we be talking about the flawed grip angle of the 1911?
No because it’s still not a “natural” grip angle. See my reply to Mark R above.
If Glock had come out in 1907 and entered the US Army trials… We would still have swallowed the Beretta in the 80’s.
No because the polimers would have broken down and they would be on historys ash heap. J M Brownings masterpiece is one of the most copied designs in history. Steel beats plastics!
The 911 is pure German, a triumph of Engineering Over Physics.
Cross reference the Jeremy Clarkson review where he demonstrated the views of the 911, German and British.
German: From flat on your back looking up at the engine and rear suspension.
British: From the drivers seat looking out at the course AT SPEED!
Geoff
Who notes he liked the 924, but it didn’t sell and was priced higher than an RX-7.
I would take a Caymen with some tweaking.
I own both, and like both.
I have to say, the 1911 is more fun to shoot, but the Glock (22) is more fun to carry than even my lightweight Commander.
Now, the pistol and two fully loaded spare mags in a shoulder holster with 1-inch wide leather straps? Advantage: Commander. Note to self: get some suede for the straps.
You already know what I’m gonna post, but I’ll have at it anyway.
You said it yourself, the Glock grip angle is……W.R.O.N.G. Why else would there be a few companies making serious dough correcting that little deficiency?
That Gaston himself has deemed his grip angle as a hardware solution to a software problem, I’ll liken it to the current administration- I have “fixed” it. It “will” work for everyone. If it doesn’t work for you, you’re just not understanding my benevolent approach. Keep trying, you will adapt and adjust to my flawed rationale.
Eh, you get used to it.
Not to mention the fact that it helps to have bear paws to comfortably hold and shoot almost all Glocks. I’ll stick with my single stack Sig 239 and call it good.
Or the P220!
The 1911A1 was made made with an arched mainspring housing for no reason- the Army found troops were shooting low and the arched housing was to push the natural point of aim up. I much prefer it over JMB’s original flat housing-points way better for me.
Me too. Feels real good in the hand.
A Glock to a Ford Model T would be more appropriate…both were produced for decades with little or no differences between model years, both were priced so anyone could afford them, and both are incredibly rugged, robust designs.