Glock 19 or 23; 9 mm vs. .40?

[Steyr M40A1]

So the last 2 or 3 rounds of your mag of lead should be FMJ.
That is what I do!

And I have 1500 rounds of lead 9mm to shoot!

[billt]

I've never been much of a fan of shooting crap out of a gun, lead or otherwise, as opposed to cleaning it out. A barrel obstruction is a barrel obstruction in my book. I know it's done every day without any consequence, but all the same I avoid it. Lead bullets have no place in Polygonal rifling, just as 60 weight motor oil has no place in the crankcase of a truck in Fairbanks in January.

With that said, I've been on a big Glock kick lately. I bought 2 last week, and 2 more yesterday. I figured it was time for me to "get into" shooting the 9MM cartridge, so the wife and I took the plunge with 2 new Glocks and a really nice Sig/Sauer P-226 that came with 4, 20 shot magazines. The Glocks are a Model 17 and a 19. The 19 really impressed me as a really nice carry package that falls in between the "Mini" Glock 26 and the 17. I refer to the Glock as the "AK-47 of pistols". They will run when most others fail. They don't cost an arm and a leg. And there are literally millions of them out there doing what they are supposed to do, protect peoples lives and property. Like the AK-47, the Glock does it's job without a lot of bells and whistles, and is so easy to shoot and operate, a child can master it quite easily.

The Sig on the other hand really impressed me from a high quality, and fit and finish standpoint. This is my first Sig/Sauer handgun, and rest assured it won't be my last. I've avoided Aluminum frame handguns for the longest time in favor of steel, but when the military went with the Aluminum framed Beretta, I took a long look, and reevaluated my thinking. While Aluminum doesn't offer the overall durability of steel, with todays modern coatings like Sig's Nitron finish, they are plenty durable. This gun has the kind of feel when you pick it up akin to a pair of fleece lined bedroom slippers. It just plain belongs in your hand! While it is more complicated to operate than a Glock, it isn't anything which cannot be mastered with some range time and practice.

I still have to get used to the size of the 9MM round as opposed to the .45 ACP, which I've been shooting for decades. With todays modern ammunition, that playing field has been much more leveled. The performance advantage between the 9MM and the .45 ACP has been brought closer together by todays well designed, dependable, expanding bullets. Now I just need to find a good supply of 9MM ammo. Every shop I visited yesterday while on a quest to purchase these handguns, was out of 9MM. Not a single round in the house, including Cabela's and a Sportsmans Warehouse. Hussein has certainly been busy striking fear into the hearts of shooters everywhere.   Bill T.

[Rob10ring]

The issue is the polygonal rifling used by Glock (H&K and Kah, too).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygonal_rifling

Quoting from Wikipedia:

"One suggestion of what the "additional factor involved in Glock's warning…

Keep in mind that this is from Wikipedia and anyone can post there. It sound pretty good to me though.

[txblumu]

I had 9mm's in 2007. After the 2008 elections and everyone bought up everything there was, I found that the only ammo that was available, was .40 ammo. I purchased the Glock 27 and was very happy. It seemed there was always .40 cal ammo around. No 9mm or .45 was to be found. I stocked plenty and shot the 27 often. I got very used to the recoil (minimum) and it slowly became my edc. After the 2012 elections, (remember?), the same thing happened. I can get .40 at Walmart and Academy all day long but there is minimum 9mm available. (at least in the Houston area) I now own the 27 and the 23 for my ccw. I own a few 9's, 45's, .380's and others (revolvers of different calibers). I find no difference in the recoil of the 40 or the 9. Buy what you like and you will shoot it more. Recoil is all about perception anyway. Way to many experts out there. Everyone will recommend what they own. Chevy, Ford or Dodge. Same thing.

[les snyder]

in the 1911 vs. Glock debate... I shot over 300,000 rounds of .45 in a 1911 format for USPSA competition, but currently shoot a G34 in 9mm for the following reason....

[Sponsor]

[kmitch200]

in the 1911 vs. Glock debate... I shot over 300,000 rounds of .45 in a 1911 format for USPSA competition, but currently shoot a G34 in 9mm for the following reason....

1. In 300,000 rounds, what other failures did you have beside this one?
2. If there were more than this one, why is this one the one?

[les snyder]

Kmitch.... I started in IPSC/USPSA around 1981 and there were very few "custom" pistols, so we did a lot of  development.... off the top of my head and aging memory

couple of finger bushings
1 solid bushing
couple of plunger tubes loosened or came off
couple of slide stops broken
two cracked firing pin stops
 BoMar sight pin breakages
one aftermarket stainless barrel cracked from chamber almost to muzzle
one cracked slide
one mainspring housing pin break
one extractor hook
one cracked dust cover
couple of links improperly fitted.... two properly fitted links....the pictured link happened at the 2007 Ft Benning 3 gun match on a properly fitted barrel.... at which point I switched to a different format and caliber... I shoot Limited minor for USPSA with the G34

the transition to the Glock (especially the trigger) took a bit of time after the excellent triggers I had on the 1911's....my Limited Master card was shot with a single stack.....my G34 is not nearly as accurate, but with increasing age, neither am I any longer... additionally I had been carrying a G23 in an off body bag for a carry pistol, and having two platforms is not the smartest thing to do

[kmitch200]

Gotcha.
It took me a little bit to get used to G triggers. And now that I haven't been shooting in a while, I know it's going to take a couple of mags to get back into the groove I want to be in.

[kmbrman]

It's probably going to depend on whether you are going to re- load or not.  Most of your 9mm cases are probably not going to be bulged at the base because 9mm runs at a lower pressure. The .40 S&W however, is known for having enough pressure in Glock pistols to make a bulge in the case at the heel, because of a lack of full case support right where the feed ramp meets the chamber. Generally it's not a good idea to try to reload  40 S&W  . I only shoot new ammo in my 23 . Save reloading your 40 cal. for pistols with match grade chambers such a a 1911 .

[TAB]

BArsow makes a barrel that fully supports the 40, but they cost 250,  they great but at almost 50 % of the guns cost they are not cheap.