Glock 21 .45

A lot of guys have discovered the Glock 21.  Glock’s full sized .45 pistol.  Even Guns magazine has a gushing article about it.

Yeah, it’s a great gun.  But why have that, when you can have the model 20 in 10mm and have something amazing?

10mm > .45 Auto.  Always.

33 thoughts on “Glock 21 .45”

  1. Yup, and a two round advantage.

    Though I wish FN would make a Tactical in 10mm. Or any pistol in 10 for that matter. If my mags hold 15 in .45 then it will hold 16 or 17 in 10mm.

  2. interested in the 29 myself. any major reliability loss vis a vis the 20? Fully cognazent that shorter slides/barrels=reduced mechanical reliability in most autos, but Glocks seem to be exempt from this

  3. Ahh, gotcha. I don’t want a .40 with more muzzle flash. So how does the 20 compare with a Delta Elite in the shootability/muzzle flip department?

    1. I’m maybe biased since I’m typing this with a G29 on my hip, but I’ve never really understood this argument. If you shorten a .40 up to the same length as the 29, it’s going to see a significant loss compared to that full size .40 you are trying to compare the 29 to.

      1. From everything I’ve read the loss in velocity is greater on average than that of a 22 to a 23 or a 21 to a 30.

        When the 29 first came out it was significant enough to be mentioned by the person who wrote the article in Combat Handguns. But I’ve also seen other comparison tests and they show the same thing. Heck, look at Mike McNett’s velocity figures for his 10mm loads and it’s there as well.

        1. Well, after some recent research (as of just now) gimme a plate of crow to eat.

          It’s not as bad as it used to be. And there “was” a glaring differnce but that appears to be in the past. From what I see now it’s barely there. But not enough for me to forgo a 29 if I wanted one.

          1. Wait a minute…..someone returning to an internet comment section to admit he was wrong?!

            Look! Over there! That pig has wings!

  4. 10mm > .45 Auto. Always. Unless the equation is .460 Rowland > 10mm. Wild West Guns does a brisk business up here converting .45s to .460 Rowlands.

    1. Had a .460 Rowland for a while. Significantly increased the wear rate on my host 1911. Sold the kit off and went back to a .44 special with Skelton loads. But then again if I feel the need for a big bore handgun I can always use my .475 Linebaugh. 😉

    1. Not a problem if you load your own. And if you are worried about liability just have your LGS order some carry ammo. It’s not like you are going to go through all that much of it. Practice is predominantly done with FMJ’s

      And of course there are those who look past the price (well, choke it down) in order to have a fistful of awesome.

  5. Look, 10mm is very clearly ballistically superior to .45 ACP. And more of them will fit in the same size magazine. There’s no question of that.

    But it’s going to cost you, not only in price but in AVAILABILITY.

    Doesn’t matter how much money you’ve got in your pocket when there’s an empty space on the shelf. Or, even more likely, when there’s not EVEN a space on the shelf marked “10mm”.

    1. This hasn’t happened in a while because he likes to stock 10mm (UMC, American Eagle, Privi Partisan, PMC) but when he’s out, all I have to do is ask my LGS to order some and he does. It comes in and I buy some. When he gets low I ask him to buy more. And I’m not the only one who buys it. There’s a few guys in the area that shoot 10 so he likes to keep it stocked. The only stuff I really need to ask him to get is carry ammo.

      But for practice there is zero problem with availability. Though I realize that not all are as fortunate as I am.

    2. I can go to any gun store in this area and buy 10mm ammo. To get a particular load, I may have to shop around to find a shop that has it. Pretty much like most other calibers. I generally keep enough ammo around that it isn’t much of a concern. I recently had to call around in order to find a place that had Silvertips in stock. Turned out I had plenty; I had just forgotten where I put them.

  6. Love the 10mm but finding ammo let alone brass is tough enough. Reminds me of my 454 cAsull hunting sidearm love the power but I almost never shoot it.

  7. I have a rifle in a semi-exotic chambering, a K31 in 7.5x55mm Swiss.

    And I know exactly where to go to buy new ammo for it. There are actually two places. One is a Cabela’s, and the other one is just a small gun shop that has a decent inventory. Both are in the same town, just over 100 miles away.

    Haven’t looked for 10mm, because I don’t have one, but I’m pretty sure it’s in that same category. Wally World doesn’t carry it, and our one and only local gun shop doesn’t carry it.

    That’s likely different for most folks, but I live not EXACTLY in the middle of nowhere……but on a clear day, you can see it from here.

      1. Your experience and mine are entirely different, then.

        I reload, so it’s not a huge burden once I have the components. Cheaper that way, too.

        Don’t get me wrong: I would dearly love to have a 10mm pistol. I’d almost certainly carry it every day, hug it, squeeze it, and call it George. I LIKE the cartridge. It’s a heaping plate of awesome, topped with awesome sauce with a light sprinkling of awesome.

        But, FOR ME, ammo availability is a challenge. As in, 3 hours of driving worth of challenge. YMMV.

        1. There’s all kinds of stuff that I can’t find on shelves locally, but it doesn’t stop me from buying them. You obviously have an internet connection. Anything you can legally buy (and a number of things you can’t) can be ordered online and sent straight to your house. It’s even more convenient than going to a local store.

          10mm ammo:
          http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ItemListing.aspx?catid=731

          7.5 Swiss:
          http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ItemListing.aspx?catid=605

          1. I actually have to disagree with this… It’s almost impossible for me to order ammo online and have it shipped to my house. Virtually all small package shipments to Alaska go by air; its theoretically possible to ship ammo by air but almost no seller or carrier understands or is willing to do the paperwork.

            But, Alaska Airlines allows up to something like 50 pounds per traveler in checked baggage, so I try to max that out on the rare occasions when I travel out of state. Otherwise, we are limited to what is in the stores up here. Which again, hasn’t really been a problem where the 10mm is concerned. It IS a problem for certain loads in some calibers though. I had to get a local store to special order 7.62×25 WWB for my CZ-52 because all I could find here was crappy surplus.

            The shipping situation is also the reason why I have 3 boxes of dangerously overpressure (blown primers in my G20) DoubleCrap ammo that I can’t return to the manufacturer, and I didn’t save the receipt so I can’t take it back to the store, which has a no-return policy for ammo anyway. Probably end up pulling the bullets, saving the brass and melting the lead.

  8. It seems that 10mm ammo availability kind of depends on the local demand which depends on whether or not you have large game in the area in your area especially bears.
    Sometimes you want a specific caliber because you want that specific caliber regardless of ammo availability/expense. For instance I have this jones for a Glock 20SF with the G.I..50 Conversion. I can chew your ear off about the advantages to that particular round but it boils down to desire.

  9. I have a G20 SF and a G21 SF. Both are 3rd generation. Both are also accurate and fit my hand damn near perfectly. That polymer frame soaks up recoil nicely, something my local steel match scores can attest to for the G21. My Springfield Armory TRP is a virtual safe queen now because of my G21.
    I use Kudo Custom 180gr ammo in my G20 for black bear medicine. I can shoot it reasonably fast if need be, but to date, I have not had to use it for that purpose. It does perform well on eastern white tailed deer.
    So my advice is to pick up one of each pistol and enjoy!

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