Firearms Confessional: My Glock bores me.

wpid-20130907_094421I know my Glock 23.  I trust my Glock 23.  I’ve put thousands and thousands of rounds through my Glock 23.  I’m pretty dang accurate with my Glock 23.  It really and truly is the optimum balance of Size, Weight, and Firepower in a package that makes it the ultimate Jack of All Trades.

I have invested more time and money and effort into tweaking this Glock 23 to as close to “Perfection” as possible.  I’ve tried tons of different trigger groups and combos in this thing… The best combo I have found, is the SKIMMER TRIGGER from GlockTriggers with the 3.5 Disconnect and 8 pound spring from Lone Wolf.  This combo gives me the best Carry trigger pull short of a straight up Competition trigger.  Warren straight 8 style night sights.  This gun is fantastic.

But it’s lacking… something.

I would trade it for a Commander sized 1911 from Springfield in a heartbeat.    But why?   The Glock lacks Soul.  Character.  It is a shooting appliance with as much soul as a Whirlpool Washing Machine.   Sure, it’s reliable and does just what is expected every time… but it just doesn’t…. Hmmm… I can’t put it into words.   Let’s try it this way.

You know how you have a motorcycle or car you like, and you park it and start walking away… you turn and look at it.  Because you like to look at it.   The Glock, I don’t like looking at it.   I don’t like holding it.   I don’t get that vibe that my other handguns gives me… My 1911, my Beretta – Pretty much those guns give me great satisfaction just holding them and looking at them.   The Glock doesn’t do that for me.  It bores me.  If this was a marriage, I’d be cheating on the Glock, because there is no LOVE there.

That thing about Glock Reliability?  That’s true.  That gun has never jammed on me.  You know what?  My other guns have never jammed on me either.  So how’s that for reliability?  Does reliability get any more reliable than that?   Maybe… but I’ve yet to experience it in my 4 decades of shooting.

Tell ya what.  If there is someone in North Carolina with a Springfield Armory Champion 1911 that would like to trade for a Glock 23, let me know…  It can be old and rough, it can have no finish left.   A project gun.   I’d like that.   Maybe I’ll go to a gun show.

 

23 thoughts on “Firearms Confessional: My Glock bores me.”

  1. Maybe that’s why I’ve never owned a Glock. I have an RIA 1911 (ony problems I’ve ever had were either bad magazines or worn out parts) and a S&W M&P. Both fit my hands well, are a joy to shoot, and I like looking at them. I’ve never had as much fun shooting a Glock as I have had shooting those two pistols. As was said in Quigley Down Under “I said I never had much use for one. Never said I didn’t know how to use it.”

  2. ” It really and truly is the optimum balance of Size, Weight, and Firepower in a package that makes it the ultimate Jack of All Trades.”

    You’ve physically altered the grip, changed the trigger and the sights, put thousands of rounds through it and it’s been reliable through and through….and you want to ditch it because it doesn’t have “soul”?

    Dude, it’s your carry piece…you have plenty of other pieces to ogle but what you have here to defend yourself and your family horde hits all the points your yourself probably would tell someone else makes the perfect carry weapon.

    I say sit on the urge…go hit the range and launch another couple hundred rounds from it….and if you do feel the same way THEN go for it…

    Funny thing about that 7 year itch….most of the guys I know that scratched it hated themselves for it later….

  3. Feh. It’s a Glock. It’s easy enough to replace. Of course, I don’t think anyone is going to trade you a 1911 for such a well-used gun.

    You HAD the perfect Ogrish pistol: A Glock 20. With customization from Crusader it would’ve been perfect. Alas.

    Rock Island makes a 10mm 1911 now…

  4. Okay, you like the firepower of the glock, but prefer the aesthetics of a 1911. Hypothetically, what about a midsize double stack 1911 build? A .45 would match the capacity of your glock, but if you want to stick with .40 you get 15+1, plus the option of a second barrel in 10mm. I don’t know, could be a good fit for you.

  5. Glock is not meant to evoke passion or excitement, or novelty. It is a work gun, a business gun, designed for simplicity and ease of use. As close to a one size fits all type gun that we can get from this industry. That’s the beauty of it, that there is no beauty.

  6. I just came to own a Glock, and I find myself embracing it for much the same reason that you are losing interest in yours – it’s boring. Boring accurate. Boring reliable. Boring trigger. Boring looks and finish (though still sharp-looking) that I won’t get all bent if I ride it hard and trash it.

    I like boring. I like it, and I hate the drama of some other guns I have had. Sigs, in particular – you saw those fail – but others too. My 1911s… even with a SA trigger, I just can’t shoot them as well as others. A Model 10 snub… Beautiful gun. Gorgeous. Fits me well, and damn if that DA trigger doesn’t just sing to me. But guess what… Put the G23 and the snub side by side, and the Glock wins in every category.

    I’m going with boring.

  7. I really liked my Glock 19 but I still ended up trading it for a SIG P228. The heart wants what it wants.

  8. I’ll bastardize a quote from comedian Christopher Titus here: Glock’s are kind of like a Toyota Corolla. Reliable, but uninspiring.

    Now that being said I’ve never actually owned a Glock. Let alone carried one. Perhaps I’m odd but I really couldn’t get used to the balance of the G21 I was shooting. And that DAO trigger… I don’t think that’s for me.

    Oh, as the post says there’s probably any number of trigger options to make a Glock work for me I tend to prefer not doing extensive modifications to my primary defensive weapons. This probably makes me kind of odd… but then again I usually don’t have a lot of funding to spend on extensive aftermarket mods.

  9. “If there is someone in North Carolina with a Springfield Armory Champion 1911 that would like to trade for a Glock 23, let me know…”

    You may be waiting for a very long time…

  10. The only Glock I ever liked was a dealer sample M34 converted to
    full auto. I kept it on a five-gallon bucket at about 10 yards.
    That was fun.

    Others never felt good to me at all.

    The S&W M&P, on the other hand, feels good and shoots
    fine too. I may end up with one of those one of these days.

  11. I have to admit I feel the same way… Not just with Glocks, but with most of the plastic guns. I have even felt the same way about Sigs. I like the idea of making it mine. Sigs are better then they used to be. At least you can change the grips on most models. I liked the bit about “cheating” on your Glock. I was married twice. I never cheated, but I sure grew weary of eating the same cheeseburger night after night.

  12. I agree with the Corolla comment. Having said that, what is your goal? Self Defense or scratching another itch. I end up carrying my 220 which was a Trade In pistol from The Henrico County Police Department. It works. If not that, then a Glock 17 or M&P in 9mm. 1911s end up for range or matches.

  13. I am quite sorry, but you may NOT have my Springfield Armory Lightweight Champion! I carry it every day, even though I do own a Glock. The Glock is my bathroom gun, but the Springfield is on my hip whenever I walk out the front door.

    Naysayers and poly-gun fanboys can cluck about my choice, but I feel perfectly confident that my 1911 will go bang when I need it, and that it will do the job. Nothing against the poly-guns if that’s what you like, but I have no doubt I can get it done with my .45 ACP dinosaur.

  14. I know what you mean about Glocks leaving one feeling flat.

    When I handled my current carry gun for the first time I got goosebumps. Many people don’t care for it, say it is too heavy or has a trigger that needs 1000 rounds to smooth out but it is reliable as hell. It is a CZ 75 P-01. I may buy other handguns but this is my first love and it fits me perfectly. I still love the way it looks, feels and shoots after several years.

    Can’t see myself feeling that way about a Glock, although owning one is on my bucket list.

  15. The Glock is a great weapon, it responds to a great variety of users, an almost generic defense pistol. Like decades before the S&W Model 10 revolver, functional but lacking asthetics. Two handguns that most all of us could pick up and use with reasonable confidence would be the Glock and the old Smith K frame M10.
    But while a Fiat 500 moves our fat asses, the Ferrari moves the soul.
    At the time I owned my first Glock 17, I owned a Star 30M…I customized the Star. I shot it more.
    Later needing a smaller concealed weapon I bought a M43 Firestar, with Starvel finish.
    Had the Glock as a duty gun. But generally enjoyed my Star 30M and Firestar more.
    Ironically I had a Colt Govt Model, the series 70, spent quality time with…but a old Webley MkVI converted to .45 acp/auto rim I actually shot better with.
    Maybe its perception, also everyone shoots Glocks. But a handgun is a personal thing, it’s like a wife…
    Sometimes it’s how you feel when you are with her, and not what others say about her looks that matter.

  16. I had a Springfield loaded Champion. Stainless with the cocabola grips. It was gorgeous. Couldn’t hold a six inch group at 21 feet. Got a Rock Island 1911. Shoots like a Springfield ought to. cost half as much. Wish I had your trade offer before I sold it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *