Glock 30S

[wvincent]

Anyone running one? Happy? Known issues? How much girthier is the grip compared to a Glock 26 Gen 4 with the smallest back strap?
Have a chance to grab one at a good price, but haven't seen or handled it yet.
I'm not finding a lot of info out there, except that SIS likes them, which says something. Oh and lots of gun writer reviews.
I would much rather hear from someone who is an actual end user, not just a reviewer for a gun rag.
TIA

[okie john]

Tag.


Okie John

[43Under]

The grip of the 30S is the same as the G30SF, which puts it in the "significantly fatter than a G26 grip" category.

I've been tempted to get one a few times (used to have a plain-Jane G30), but haven't pulled the trigger, so to speak. I have read, anecdotally, that the 30S lacks the accuracy of the "regular" G30, which enjoys awesome accuracy (some say the best of all stock Glocks). But, at this point, I'm only parroting what I've heard, so I'll stop now.

[4gallonbucket]

I think you’re parroting Mas. I’ll forgive you.


The grip of the 30S is the same as the G30SF, which puts it in the "significantly fatter than a G26 grip" category.

I've been tempted to get one a few times (used to have a plain-Jane G30), but haven't pulled the trigger, so to speak. I have read, anecdotally, that the 30S lacks the accuracy of the "regular" G30, which enjoys awesome accuracy (some say the best of all stock Glocks). But, at this point, I'm only parroting what I've heard, so I'll stop now.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SAWBONES]

I have read, anecdotally, that the 30S lacks the accuracy of the "regular" G30, which enjoys awesome accuracy (some say the best of all stock Glocks). But, at this point, I'm only parroting what I've heard, so I'll stop now.


I'm interested to hear this, as I have two identical Gen3 G30s, both purchased NIB in the latter '90s, and have always been impressed with their accuracy and precision.

They were my daily CCW for years, and I used them in training classes back then, where they more than met all necessary requirements for reliability and precision and accuracy.

They're relegated to other roles now, and my daily CCW is a Gen 5 G26 95% of the time, but I've repeatedly thought of getting either a G30S or G30SF, as I've always been impressed by the visible effects of the momentum of the .45 Auto 230 grain bullet in standard loadings (compared to the 9mm) when shooting steel, and I hadn't ever heard till now that maybe the newer G30S was less accurate than the older G30.

[1Rangemaster]

I have one, but have not shot it since last fall, choosing to work with Gen5 9s. As far as “girth”, it feels a touch wider than a G26 w/o backstraps; I typically do not use the back straps. Mine were fitted with AmeriGlo night sights, orange front. I shot a few matches with it, qualified with it and cannot remember any stoppages-this all with factory ammo, mostly 230 ball. My opinion, FWIW, is to just use standard pressure ammo in short barrels-in this case, 230jhp. I have fired a few magazines of “+P”-no malfunctions. I believe the “+P” goes out the muzzle in extra blast and flash so I don’t obsess over velocity, foot-pounds, blah, blah.
“Casually” concealed when I carry it in a GLOCK belt slide holster. Sorry, no A/IWB-not my preferred mode. It has been comfortable for me to carry; the slimmer slide has some effect, and in my hands seems to transition from point to point more smoothly than a regular 30.
Handling requires I believe, a bit more attention as the frame is short. So, on a “speed load” I just slow down a bit relatively speaking. I am not going to load this as fast as my 19, for example, but that’s not a deal breaker for me. I should mention that a G21 mag fits and functions.
As mentioned above, qualified to 25 yards with it. I have put rounds on a steel “IPSC”silhouette at 50 yards, but did not group at that distance. The silhouette rang, I’m good with that!
I hope this of some use.

[psalms144.1]

I had one, and gave it a pretty good workout over the course of about 18 months. My thoughts:

1. No idea why they don't make this pistol in the Gen4/Gen5 grip (texture and lack of finger grooves would be a big improvement).

2. It recoils noticeably sharper than a Gen4 G30 I shot it side by side with (not a shocker)

3. While the slide is G19 width, the frame is slightly oversized, so it might or might not work in G19 holsters, and G30 holsters will be "sloppy"

4. Accuracy was good, as is normal in my experience with .45 ACP Glocks

5. Grip shape didn't really work for MY hand, I found I was more prone to shoot this pistol low and left than any other Glock I've shot in a while.

I eventually sold mine off. For my money, in a polymer 45, the M&P 2.0 is the pick of the litter. If they would produce one in a true compact (4" slide, chopped grip), I'd be on it like white on rice. By the same token, if Glock brings a Gen5 G30 or G30S to market, I don't doubt I'd pick one up in short order...

[lwt16]

I love mine.

37777

That target already had 4 .38 special wadcutter holds in it. Page 85 of the 25 yard freestyle thread.

I can shoot mid to high 90s with my stock G30s. 25 yards freestyle with S&b 230 g FMJ.

Great pistol if it fits your hand.

[psalms144.1]

I love mine.

Great pistol if it fits your hand.EXACTLY. For whatever reason, I never "meshed" with mine, while you do some of the best Glock shooting I've ever seen with your large frame pistols. Hard to know what will happen until you get one and start shooting it.

[Dave T]

I waited for months hoping Glock would bring out a G4 G30S. Finally got tired of waiting and bought a G36 slide off GB and built my own. Ordered an after market 4" G36 barrel, because I have always believed Glock should have made the G30 & G36 with 4" barrels & slides. Getting a slide lengthened is too expensive but a 4" barrel is dooable. Installed on my G4 G30 frame the new configuration fed Ball, 200g H&G #68 SWCs (which I've been told G30s won't do) and every brand of HP I had on hand. Since I don't worship at the 9mm alter the G4 G30S has been my carry gun for a couple years now. Does it recoil more than the G30? Yea, I guess, but I've been shooting 45 ACP handguns (1911s, Glocks, & revolvers) for so many years and for so many rounds I have to think about it to notice.

YMMV,
Dave

[wvincent]

I'm thinking I really want to try this, but I have small/med hand size.
psalms144.1, you say it doesn't work for you hand, is it size wise?

[psalms144.1]

I'm thinking I really want to try this, but I have small/med hand size.
psalms144.1, you say it doesn't work for you hand, is it size wise?The size doesn't feel awful in the hand, but trigger reach is a stretch (literally), which, IMHO, leads to the left/low shooting.

Don't get me wrong, the pistol is hella accurate - much more accurate in slow fire than my Gen4 G19. The problem came when I tried to run the gun at speed, then my groups started to run low and left in a hurry. For reference, I wear a Medium glove in a lot of styles, a Large in others.

[farscott]

I have a G30S I inherited from my father. I only shoot it occasionally to celebrate his memory. I cannot shoot it at speed as I shoot it left, but it groups extremely well in slow-fire. I do not know what it is with Glock and .45, but the combination yields the tightest groups. The frame is too big for my hands, which is not surprising.

[HeavyDuty]

I’ve wanted one for a few years, but have decided to hold off and see if something ever pops up in a Gen5 without finger grooves and a slightly longer grip. The 43x has given me hope that they may re-engineer the concept.

[lwt16]

37783

37784

37785

37786

Pics with G26.

Hope this helps.

[MattyD380]

I read somewhere that the .45 cal Glocks used an 8 groove rifling pattern. They also seem to have a reputation for being "hella accurate" as previously noted. Correlation, perhaps?

Personal anecdote: I rented a 30, 30s and a 36 all on the same day. Damn. Holes on holes with all three. The accuracy really was surprising--I don't typically shoot Glocks/SFA guns that well, either. Based on that, I'd say there is some kind of an X factor with the .45 Glocks, as it relates to accuracy.

I remember the 30 being the most accurate. But the 30s and the 36 weren't far off. The 36 had a FTFeed as well--which I hear isn't entirely uncommon.

[wvincent]

lwt16, thank you for that. Sure is a chunky little fella. Based on what I'm seeing, I may have to take a hard pass now.

[Lost River]

I have had one for a while now and think highly of it.

That said I modified mine slightly to fit me.

http://i.imgur.com/JFF7PvR.jpg (https://imgur.com/JFF7PvR)

I ground off the finger grooves and undercut the trigger guard so I could get a higher grip for my size XL hands.

Now it fits perfectly and I don't pinch anything when I do reloads, as used to be the case with the standard G30-G30S frame.


For comparison, the G30S is rather extremely close to a G19 sized gun instead of a G26.

In fact I use a couple of G19 holsters interchangeably.

I originally purchased the G30S after contemplating what would be an ideal all around combination of big bore carry semi auto handgun for the mountains (we have mountain lions, a lot of wolves, bears, pretty much anything and everything) and a CCW type piece, versus a revolver.

The G30S made perfect sense.

I often carry a G21 .45 as a sidearm in the mountains when weight is an issue and I do not want to tote a rifle (such as when I am doing return trips, packing out a quartered up animal such as an elk). The Glock 21, while a large auto, is a rather light weight sidearm, and has an excellent firepower to weight ratio. In fact, with 13 rounds in the magazine, and one in the chamber, it still weighs less that an EMPTY steel framed 1911A1. It is also the softest shooting .45 auto I have ever used.

Since I hunt and do recreational things in the heart of wolf country, I feel better with more than just 6 rounds on deck, prior to being forced to reload. The .44 is an incredibly practical cartridge, and a long time favorite, but it could be very easy to go through 6 rounds at a pack of fast moving wolves (or even trying to stop just one or 2), and end up with an empty gun, while still having numerous targets available. This is one of the reasons I sometimes favor a lightweight big bore such as the G21.

The G30S made sense as a lightweight, compact big bore sidearm with adequate firepower on deck initially (10+1), with a G21 mag for a reload. The standard 13 round capacity, with a plus 4 baseplate, gives a person a 17 round magazine.
17 rounds of 230 grain .45 caliber slugs should likely handle most things a pistol is capable of handling.


Without question I am still a huge advocate of the "Goldilocks" sized Glock 19 9mm for an all around personal defense, home defense, and general purpose sidearm for defense against people.

With that said,the G30S makes a bunch of sense (to me) as an ideal sidearm for those who both carry CCW, and also may work around large livestock, along with doing outdoorsman type activities where large predators such as bears, wolves, etc reside.

SIDEBAR: Lots of people say "But I don't live in big bear or predator country" but don't even consider livestock. FAR more people are injured and killed by cattle and horses every year than black bears, mountain lions etc. The fact of the matter is that an injured horse or cow will stomp you to death in a heartbeat. They get loose in all manner of places, even in urban areas, and on roadways(think traffic crashes while being transported). I have put down a fair bit of injured livestock and I will take a large caliber handgun over a small caliber every time.

Reference the recoil; Yes I think the G30S has a bit more recoil/bit snappier than the standard G30. That said, it is not hard to shoot well, and when doing a side by side shooting comparison with my Lightweight Commander .45, (Which I love for all the sentimental reasons I should) the G30S is much easier to shoot well. It may not have the cool factor of an old Colt LWC, but there is no doubt which one is easier to get top performance with.

[Lost River]

Some weight comparisons.

5" 1911 with 8 rounds of 230 grain ammo.

2 pounds 15 ounces.

http://i.imgur.com/9gkZtmO.jpg (https://imgur.com/9gkZtmO)


G30S

11+1 in gun

plus a 17 round reload for 28 rounds total

= 2 pounds 13 ounces..


http://i.imgur.com/SSBbonA.jpg (https://imgur.com/SSBbonA)


So 8 rounds in a 1911 .45, or 28 rounds in a Glock .45.


A bit of an eye opener..

:cool:

[farscott]

SIDEBAR: Lots of people say "But I don't live in big bear or predator country" but don't even consider livestock. FAR more people are injured and killed by cattle and horses every year than black bears, mountain lions etc. The fact of the matter is that an injured horse or cow will stomp you to death in a heartbeat. They get loose in all manner of places, even in urban areas, and on roadways(think traffic crashes while being transported). I have put down a fair bit of injured livestock and I will take a large caliber handgun over a small caliber every time.

Quoted for truth. I live in farm country and drive more often than not in complete darkness. I have come across armadillos, cattle, cats, chickens, deer, dogs, foxes, goats, horses, pigs, and wolves. Never saw a bear but my wife has. One neighbor has goats, which love to escape. That is one of the reasons I have been accused of "doing 25 in a 45 zone". More than once I have come across an accident with a totaled car and a badly injured deer. We had a fatality due to a deer stuck in the passenger compartment, kicking the driver to death. Not too long ago, we had a fatality due to someone trying to avoid a dog in the road, causing the vehicle to leave the road and strike a tree. Once a truck taking chickens to the slaughter plant overturned on a US HWY, causing havoc.

[Chuck Whitlock]

This last rut season I hit 2 deer on duty within 2 weeks of each other on the same stretch of road. It was definitely 35 MPH in a 70 MPH zone after dark. I would count anywhere from 20-40 of them a night per circuit. And that doesn't include the loose cattle.

[Mitch]

I ran a Glock 30s for about a year, included 1 class and just shy of 3000 rounds. After a 1 day class with 400 or 500 rounds (can't remember), my wrists were hurting for a few days. My friend had a glock with an RMR there that I wanted to try but at the end of the day the last thing I wanted to do was shoot any more.

I enjoyed it overall, the gun really makes you focus on fundamentals. It really helped my grip and stance. 9mm lets you get lazy there sometimes, a compact 45 will keep you honest. I have smaller hands and I did just fine with it, so don't let that stop you. If you know how to grip a gun and the rest of your fundamentals are on point, you'll be fine. If not, well then it doesn't really matter what you shoot anyway. Will a gen 4 or 5 9mm be easier to shoot than the 30s with smaller hands? Yeah, a bit. But it's not like it's impossible or anything.

I was second to last man standing at the class on the walk back drill. We were shooting A zone size steel, I think I got back to 50 or 60 yards, again can't remember. On large targets I could keep pace with people shooting 9mm when we were doing speed drills. On a little more comprehensive drill like the Casino drill I can tell a big difference between a 19 and a 30s for me.

That all being said, I think the experiment is over for me. I originally got it because the way the political winds were looking in my state I was pretty sure I was looking at a 10 round mag limit, and I had nothing that would comply. If I had to deal with that I'd probably go gen 5 Glock 26 now, or maybe a VP9SK. The juice wasn't worth the squeeze for me between ammo cost and added recoil. I believe in my heart of hearts that a 230 gr +P HST round is better for terminal performance than any 9mm round you're going to get. BUT, that is a small, small element of the overall total package of a caliber or gun in general. It's pretty well settled science at this point that modern 9mm is sufficient, and shot placement is the most important thing whether you're shooting 9mm or 45.

You know what's really nice about Glock 9mms? You can get shit for them everywhere. Finding extra mags, mag carriers, and a strong side holster at the last minute for a large frame Glock was a pain in the ass compared to a 9mm.

[wvincent]

I think I'm going to give it a shot.
I wanted the 30S for all the reasons Lost River stated. May end up giving the grip a reshape if needed.
Lost River, what sights are you running?

[JonInWA]

I have had one for a while now and think highly of it.

That said I modified mine slightly to fit me.

http://i.imgur.com/JFF7PvR.jpg (https://imgur.com/JFF7PvR)

I ground off the finger grooves and undercut the trigger guard so I could get a higher grip for my size XL hands.

Now it fits perfectly and I don't pinch anything when I do reloads, as used to be the case with the standard G30-G30S frame.


For comparison, the G30S is rather extremely close to a G19 sized gun instead of a G26.

In fact I use a couple of G19 holsters interchangeably.

I originally purchased the G30S after contemplating what would be an ideal all around combination of big bore carry semi auto handgun for the mountains (we have mountain lions, a lot of wolves, bears, pretty much anything and everything) and a CCW type piece, versus a revolver.

The G30S made perfect sense.

I often carry a G21 .45 as a sidearm in the mountains when weight is an issue and I do not want to tote a rifle (such as when I am doing return trips, packing out a quartered up animal such as an elk). The Glock 21, while a large auto, is a rather light weight sidearm, and has an excellent firepower to weight ratio. In fact, with 13 rounds in the magazine, and one in the chamber, it still weighs less that an EMPTY steel framed 1911A1. It is also the softest shooting .45 auto I have ever used.

Since I hunt and do recreational things in the heart of wolf country, I feel better with more than just 6 rounds on deck, prior to being forced to reload. The .44 is an incredibly practical cartridge, and a long time favorite, but it could be very easy to go through 6 rounds at a pack of fast moving wolves (or even trying to stop just one or 2), and end up with an empty gun, while still having numerous targets available. This is one of the reasons I sometimes favor a lightweight big bore such as the G21.

The G30S made sense as a lightweight, compact big bore sidearm with adequate firepower on deck initially (10+1), with a G21 mag for a reload. The standard 13 round capacity, with a plus 4 baseplate, gives a person a 17 round magazine.
17 rounds of 230 grain .45 caliber slugs should likely handle most things a pistol is capable of handling.


Without question I am still a huge advocate of the "Goldilocks" sized Glock 19 9mm for an all around personal defense, home defense, and general purpose sidearm for defense against people.

With that said,the G30S makes a bunch of sense (to me) as an ideal sidearm for those who both carry CCW, and also may work around large livestock, along with doing outdoorsman type activities where large predators such as bears, wolves, etc reside.

SIDEBAR: Lots of people say "But I don't live in big bear or predator country" but don't even consider livestock. FAR more people are injured and killed by cattle and horses every year than black bears, mountain lions etc. The fact of the matter is that an injured horse or cow will stomp you to death in a heartbeat. They get loose in all manner of places, even in urban areas, and on roadways(think traffic crashes while being transported). I have put down a fair bit of injured livestock and I will take a large caliber handgun over a small caliber every time.

Reference the recoil; Yes I think the G30S has a bit more recoil/bit snappier than the standard G30. That said, it is not hard to shoot well, and when doing a side by side shooting comparison with my Lightweight Commander .45, (Which I love for all the sentimental reasons I should) the G30S is much easier to shoot well. It may not have the cool factor of an old Colt LWC, but there is no doubt which one is easier to get top performance with.

Great write-up. For years I've also carried a Glock G21 as a woods/wilderness/hunting back-up gun, with Buffalo Bore cartridges, but this past hunting and hiking season I've switched to my Gen4 G22, with Underwood Lehigh Penetrator bullets (either as the on-board cartridge, or as a back-up magazine to my 180 gr grain Speer Gold Dots/Federal HSTs). The G21 isn't going anywhere, but it may be assuming a more second-choice, or selective scenario-dependent choice role.

The G21 is a great pistol, but it is, shall we say, big and tall-sized. Not unconcealable, but the 30S would be significantly easier to carry concealed.

Best, Jon

[Lost River]

I think I'm going to give it a shot.
I wanted the 30S for all the reasons Lost River stated. May end up giving the grip a reshape if needed.
Lost River, what sights are you running?

They are Glock factory night sights.

If it was going to be a primary CCW gun that was carried daily I would spring for some Ameriglo Bold sights such as the FBI contract ones.

However since that was not the case (for me) the standard, 3 dot tritium Glock factory night sights work perfectly fine for the role.


Lousy pic but is was a beautiful day!




http://i.imgur.com/GYhuqB3.jpg (https://imgur.com/GYhuqB3)