Publisher’s Note: As promised, the Village Armorer is continuing his series of evaluation of rescue tools and today we discuss our Village standard for sidearms, the Glock. We have been carrying and shooting these for nearly two decades and have achieved what is essentially a holy grail in the firearms community: there is no better solution for a sidearm than the Glock. Aside from the minor modifications we make, it comes out of the box ready to conduct social work. I have no desire to get involved in a handbag fight such as the 1911 versus the Glock and any other variations on that eternal dispute. If you have a High Point or a three thousand dollar 1911, great; if it serves as your sidearm and satisfies your needs, wonderful and all is well with the world. There are far more important things to waste electrons on than that particular argument. For us, the issue is settled. -BB
Again, let’s look at manipulation, simplicity, reliability and affordability. The law enforcement community has. About 60% of all law enforcement issues the Glock pistol. It is simple: it has a trigger, slide release (slide stop in Glock vernacular), and magazine release. All firearm safety is internal to the weapon, or the trigger you should not touch until prepared to fire. Torture tests show you will be hard-pressed to find a more durable or reliable gun for the money, that is light to carry, and two spare mags should get you back to your vehicle or rifle, if necessary.
Here in Arizona, most law enforcement use the Glock Model 22 in .40 S&W. One size smaller, the Model 23, is ideal for concealed carry, yet only loses a half inch on the barrel and two rounds in the magazine. Because the magazines of the larger pistols work in smaller pistols with Glock, that means backup magazines can all be Model 22 fifteen-round magazines, giving you back those two extra rounds should a firefight last longer than you expect. Based on all accounts, they always do. Even if thirty seconds seems like a lifetime.
Three things should always accompany a handgun: a holster, a light, and a spare magazine. Perhaps several spares, so you don’t have to worry about any further magazine bans. I recommend as many as possible, perhaps 20 per gun.
Training is as important as the firearm. Find a reputable trainer and train, remembering the more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.
Yes, combat is a full-contact sport. Spend as much or more money on your training as you do on the gun. What insurance policy do you have that saves the lives of you or your family, and can be “cashed-in” more than once?
Once you pick the Glock, know that there are three necessary changes, as all guns are not equal when you depend on them everyday. One, it needs a steel recoil spring guide rod. You can find them at Lone Wolf, Glock Meister, Top Glock, or Glock World. The OEM Glock recoil spring guide rod is plastic and shouldn’t be relied upon.
Second, I prefer the Glock extended slide stop (release) and not all Glocks come with them. If you used one and then the other, you will see what I am talking about. Lastly, the Glock should have steel sights, preferably Tritium. Nothing sight-related, should be made of plastic, since they can be used to clear a stoppage (very rare), or to release a slide, if reduced to one-armed combat.
Don’t use compensated barrels for self defense, unless you want to blind yourself equally with your opponent or lose the brightness of your tritium front sight from carbon build-up.