First of all, let me start off by saying that the Glock 19 is the gold-standard world wide for service and civilian pistols. As someone internet famous once said, “It’s big enough to fight with, but small enough to actually carry”. And I can’t disagree with that statement one bit.
And when I was officially introduced to the Glocks by a colleague some years ago, he was recommending the Model 19. He was 30,000 rounds through this 19 and showed no signs of ever looking back. My drills went well and I ran the Glock through the paces and scenarios to everyone’s satisfaction.
Easy peasy.
Then later that afternoon, the boss called me into his office on other matters. As we finished up the work, he wanted to know how my transition from the 1911 was going? And if I had decided on a direction? He heard I was on the range shaking down a Glock 19.
My response, “Things went well. Shooting a pistol with 15 rounds in it feels like cheating. But every once in a while the magazine would bite my hand [on reloads].”
The old man got a knowing look in his eye and said, “The 19 does the same on me. And those gripped reduced 19’s that [name redacted] does bites my hand something terrible”. He then reached across his desk and slid a grip-chopped Glock 19 my way and says, “It’s hot. Unload and reload it”.
Immediately it bit my hand so hard, my skin was split open drawing blood. “Yeah, that’s not going to work if I’m shooting all day”, I said.
My boss then pulled out a bunch of guns and we discussed an often over-looked subject in the firearms community: guys with large hands. My then boss was actually known for his ridiculous, mongo sized tree-climbers. The joke used to be watching him shoot a j-frame was like watching an elephant grab a baseball. And you know what, that was not an exaggeration! It really was freaky looking. But I digress…
During that conversation, it became obvious to me that while the Glock 19 is a standard firearm and advocated by a few well known instructors as “the” gun, those same instructors incidentally are all of much smaller stature than me.
That isn’t a criticism so please don’t take it as such! It’s just a fact. I am not a small guy and I don’t have small hands. I do better with larger handguns and physically have zero issues CCW’ing full sized service pistols. Note: I concealed a 5” steel 1911 professionally for 12 years. Every. Day.
My point is when some of you folks are out there looking for handguns, don’t just follow the crowd and do what Marky or instructor X says. Get some experience and find what works for you. Resist the urge to let ego or peer pressure drive the train. If you immediately start having problems, don’t ignore them. Maybe you can’t reach the trigger comfortably? Maybe the controls collide with your hands under recoil? Maybe you get trigger-bite? Perhaps the gun slides around in your palm like a greased pig? Address it. Train it out. Modify. Or…change guns.
What did I decide? While I did have some Glock 19’s in the armory, I went in a different direction and stuck with a larger sized service pistol. It’s my comfort zone.
But what if you aren’t given a choice and you must run a Glock 19 either because of policy or lack of funds to replace your mistake? I do have a suggestion but I haven’t personally tried it yet. The last few years we have seen some lower-profile, bolt-on mag wells for the Glocks. When I get time, I will find one and see if it makes just enough difference in grip length to cure my G19’s of the mag-bite issue.
Because not all Glocks are too big and lacking in ergonomics. For some of us, some Glocks are just simply too small.
Marky
www.john1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
- Wilson Combat – Project 1 – Springs - December 21, 2024
- Wilson Project 1 – Muzzle Flash - December 20, 2024
- Wilson Combat – Project 1 Magazines - December 17, 2024
