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Rethinking the Glocks: The Model 23 RTF2.

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I knew I was going to catch some flak from my 1911 Brothers out there for selecting, of all guns, the Glock in a .40. The Anti-1911. You wouldn’t believe the amount of flak I’m catching from work! They have been merciless. Let’s just say I don’t work at a Glock Shop. Guys, I am not turning my back on the 1911. I am still a 1911 Guy. But before I am a 1911 Guy, I’m a Gun Guy… which means I like guns… all guns.

The Glock’s biggest criticism is that it’s ugly. Many owners think it beautiful. Regarding the Glock’s beauty. I’ll be the first to say… it’s not Pretty. However the Function of it is what can make a Glock absolutely gorgeous. The low bore axis helps reduce muzzle flip. Combine that with that funky grip angle that helps return the gun to point of aim faster… now lets add in what really is a fine trigger pull… consistent and the same every time… with a super short Trigger Reset… And it’s simple. Nothing complicated. Nothing “trick”. It’s about as straight forward of a mechanism as it gets. The Glock really is the whole enchilada when it comes to Function. That’s why I am going to give the Glock another chance. I didn’t contact Glock for a Review gun, I ordered one for my own outright purchase.

When my Glock 23 arrived, I took off my SIG P229R and picked up the Glock. I had to carry it. I loaded it up with some 165 grain PDX1’s from my SIG Mags, and tucked it in. I know I usually advocate the test firing of your carry gun with your choice of carry ammo, but in this case, I had no concerns. There are 3 lines of guns have always felt comfortable with right out of the box. HK’s, SIG 22X series, and of course, Glock. See, I’ve owned a Glock before. A Gen1 17. I’ve been to this rodeo before… I know the Glock well enough and have always respected it’s reliability.

I dismissed them when the Gen2 came out, and I’ve not paid any attention to them since. They just didn’t feel right in my hand. The RTF2 grip feels much better to me, I don’t know why. I started looking at the Glocks again when we got in a 17RTF2 and I thought, “You know, this isn’t bad at all.” I’ve got friends who are into Glocks and they all kept recommending them. A lot of guys I respect recommended them. LittleLebowksi from WeTheArmed.com is one of them, but the kicker came Las Vegas. At SHOT Show, my friend Mark Walters and I sat down at Ceaser’s Palace and we had a good conversation. During which Mark gave good testimony about his favorite gun, the Glock 23. It was a convincing argument. I promised I’d give Glock a second look. So I did.

I borrowed a Glock 17 and shot several magazines through it. After a few mags I got used to the grip angle. It shot just as I expected it would. Reliable and predictably accurate. I had no problem with it. However I’m just not all that interested in a 9mm. I’ve become reacquainted with the .40, a caliber I used to stake my life on back in Virginia. My 229 is incredible with the .40 when it comes to shootability, but it’s heavy. When I carry I do the “AllDamnDay” Carry and that usually means from 6AM to 10PM. That’s a long time to have a Heater strapped on. As much as love the SIG P229… and I really do… I want (no, not need… just want) a lighter gun for all day carry. A mid-sized gun, not a compact, not a mouse gun for pocket carry… a Mid sized gun in a mid sized caliber. From Glock that means Mark’s beloved model 23. The balance of form, function and firepower is just perfect for what I was looking for. The Glock 23 is just “it”.

The RTF2 grip texture is said to be too rough, but it does perfectly what it was designed to do. Lock the gun into your hand so it wont slip. Oh, it does that. But it isn’t “Fabric Friendly” so you gotta watch what you wear over it, and you sure as hell want to wear something under it… it can be… abrasive. But when you draw the gun, and it’s in your hand. It’s going nowhere.

The large Tritium front sight post of these Warren Tacticals.

The trigger is one of the things that Glock Owners like to brag about. It’s worth bragging on, because it’s pretty dang good. The pull is consistent, shot to shot. But the trigger reset is what really sets it apart. The distance which you let the trigger move forward, to where it resets so you can fire it again… very short in the Glock. One of the shortest, if not the shortest resets on the market. What this does for the shooter is to allow that trigger to be run quickly and efficiently… which makes for fast and accurate shooting. Something Glocks are very good at. When I roll into an IDPA match, I note who’s shooting Glocks. More and more frequently it’s the guys with those Glocks that are on the tops of the Leader Boards.

ADAMS HOLSTERS
Accuracy? That goes without saying. Glocks are going to just as accurate as any other service auto. And when it comes to practical accuracy, they can be even more so. From the holster to putting rounds into the target, they are just as fast as the classic old 1911 while shooting groups that rival John M Browning’s Masterpiece. This is why so many Law Enforcement Agencies have adopted Glocks. Combine this accuracy, the utter reliability, and the simplicity of the Glock system, you have something a Department can issue to all its officers with little more training necessary than with a service revolver. Many departments have reported improvements in qualification scores overall after a Glock adoption.

Does this mean I have gone over to “The Dark Side”? Why, yes, I think it does..

Weapons

Favorite Pistol

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Have to admit, I keep coming back to my Glock 23 RTF2 as my favorite pistol.
The balance of size, weight, and fire power is perfect.
Reliability has been flawless.  Accuracy has been very good.  It fits my hand very well thanks to the work I did on the grip.  I love it.
What’s your favorite?

Training, Weapons

The Glock 23 in School

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The MAG-40 class is a subject unto its self.  And will be.  My thoughts at the moment are about the Glock 23 .40 caliber pistol that is on my hip right now, and was with me through the course.  Riding of course, in my Sharkhide rig from Adams Holsters, which was asked about all the time through the course.  Sharp looking rig, good rig, and it worked great through the class.

I will make this point as clear as I can.  The Crusader Modified Glock 23 RTF2 performed flawlessly. It shot point of aim, point of impact when I did my job right.  The gun was digesting some horrid ammunition.  I did what I had sworn that I would never do… I used steel cased ammo for the class.  500 rounds of Tulammo, 180 grains.  Let me tell you, this stuff is complete crap.  I could feel the differences in pressure from one shot to the next.  Some rounds felt like 10mm loads, others felt like they were damn near squibs. But it was cheap. 14 bucks a box, so I snagged it.  I am impressed with the Glock in that it shot all of that very well.  I had zero malfunctions of any sort.  Period.

I do believe that my groups could have been better with some better ammo, but I can’t make any excuses.  Just before the course, Gundoc gave my Glock a Trigger Job, which caused me some stumble at first – all the sudden I had a different trigger than I was used to!  But I quickly adapted to the new pull and I was well pleased with the result.  The same weight, but it was crisper and there is no over-travel.  Very nice.  Using this combination, I shot a 298 out of 300.  I’ll take that. I’ll happily take that.  I wanted 300.  I wanted it bad.  But the shots I dropped, high and left, were not the fault of the gun or the ammunition.  Those were my mistakes and I’ll own those.

I’ve taken other guns to other courses and sometimes I come away unhappy with the gun or pleased, depending on things.  I was less than satisfied with Beretta and CZ in some shoots… HK and SIG has pleased me… and now this Glock has pleased me a great deal.  I am very confident with this pistol and I am more and more impressed with it.

I think I’d like to change up the Warren Tacticals.  I like the straight 8 configuration, but I wish the front sight had a white ring around the tritium insert.  There was a couple instances where I lost the front sight post…. totally my fault, but I think some more visibility would have been a help.

Other pistols in the course I observed had some issues.  I observed a couple XD’s with light primer strikes, and one that had a trigger return spring that failed and the shooter, Gail Pepin, had to change to another weapon.  Kimber’s had some issues after the first day… one just didn’t want to run.  Others had failures to eject.  S&W M&P’s ran gun, only a couple failures to feed a couple times.  I saw no failures with any of the Glocks on the range.  Now, my Glock did give me some trouble with failing to lock back on an empty mag.  Reason being, Gundoc also gave me an extended slide release and my Ogreish thumb kept riding it.  This didn’t slow me down though and my mag changes were just fine.  It’s easy to count 6 Shots when you only load 6 rounds n the magazine every time.

The solid reputation for accuracy and reliability of Glock handguns is well earned.

If I was going to take the MAG-40 class again, I think I would bring a 4″ revolver.

 

Weapons

The gunfight is going to happen. Bring it.

32 Comments

You know it’s coming. Grab your long gun and your side arm. I think I had that question four or five times today talking to different people. Not zombies, not monster hunting, but a simple good old fashioned gunfight. What will you bring to the fight? And don’t say “Friends with Guns.” Just you. High Noon.
In all seriousness, if I know a gunfight is going to happen, I’m bringing one of my 870 Tacticals… most likely my old Police Gun. It’s slick as hell, being all Slipstreamed and running as reliable as the Sun Rise. It’s going to be loaded with Federal Premium FC 00 Buck. My pistol is going to be my Glock 23 in .40, loaded up with Winchester PDX1’s.
Why? Because they are SIMPLE and they are RELIABLE. Above all, they are going to deliver my violent will when and where I need it. No bells and whistles and tricks to remember. They are potent enough, with enough firepower on tap to end a hostile encounter – and to win that encounter.
I was thinking about my Crusader tuned AR… Gun’s not a problem. But my optic runs on batteries. Will they fail me? I don’t know. My Shotgun’s sights wont. I was tempted to say my Springer GI – because I can hit with it very well. But I like hollow points and I just don’t know for an absolutely certainty that that old 1911 is going to run my PDX1’s as flawlessly as I require. My Glock does, and I have more in the gun with one mag than my 1911 has with two, and that is an advantage.
I trust my Glock. I trust my 870. I trust them with my life. Hype, popularity, online smack talk… I don’t have time for that. It’s about Trust. Also, if I have to go Mele… I’m bringing a baseball bat, a heavy wooden one. A Louisville Slugger. Just saying.

Weapons

Glocking it today

8 Comments

You guys are of course well aware that I’ve been packing a 1911 a lot lately.  Let’s clarify just what a lot lately is.  About 3 days a week I’ve been packing my ATI 1911 Commander.  I’m pleased with it.  But the rest of the time, I’m packing my Glock 23.  Still.

Reason being, there is no doubt or question about the Glock.  It’s going to be there if I need it, and it’s going to do just what I need it to do.  Simple as that.  Also, it’s packing as much ammo in one mag as the 1911 packs in 2.    That’s a bonus.    Pretty much, the Glock 23 remains the perfect carry gun.