Choosing New Duty Pistol

[FNFAN]

Between a G22 and G23 for uniform duty, I'd go with the G22 all day long. You're still getting a relatively compact gun; you get two more rounds with factory stock mags and the consensus seems to be that they're easier to shoot, stand up better to high volume shooting and maybe have an edge in reliability.

[Default.mp3]

I am reminded of this quote that DocGKR has up in the Service Caliber Handgun Duty and Self-Defense Ammo thread, made from the guy that was behind the Roland Special:

Not getting into the weapons transition issues from frame design to frame design (it's the reason I love to hate the Glock), the fact of the matter is that the recoil on the G23 crosses the magic line of running the shit out of your pistol. Allow me to explain... Most of the guys mentioned that they can handle the reduced size of the 19 and the recoil increase over the G17 is acceptable. Most of us have also determined that this does NOT cross over to the .40 cartridge. Guys with a firm handle on recoil manipulation can use the G22 and G35 with acceptable results. However when you go down to G26's and G23's, the juice is not worth the squeeze. The recoil is now noticeably effecting times and it's measurable. If you can't effectively control recoil and are wasting time allowing your pistol to settle between shots then this is all a wash and means nothing to you, but if you can apply the fundamentals effectively you will quickly see that you can't run a sub compact 9 or a compact .40 worth a shit. So a decision to accept a larger pistol in order to have an acceptable recoil impulse based upon caliber must be made. The smallest 9mm Glock recoil that I will accept is the G19 and I will not go below the G22 when bumping up to .40.

[SLG]

I am reminded of this quote that DocGKR has up in the Service Caliber Handgun Duty and Self-Defense Ammo thread, made from the guy that was behind the Roland Special:

I have to strongly disagree about the recoil of the 23. For low level shooters, sure. If you understand recoil control though...there is very small difference between a 23 and a 22. I guess I don't understand recoil control very well.

Either way, I would take a 22, simply for the increased reliability.

The OP only mentioned .40 If he can, I would follow Wayne's advice above, and get two 17's.

[GJM]

I also strongly have to disagree about the recoil of a 26. I think it shoots about as smoothly for me as a 19. Slower to reload and less sight radius, but in terms of splits on a Bill drill, or other tests of recoil, hardly a difference.

[Kyle Reese]

I'd select the 22, if you must carry a .40. I'm issued a Gen4 23 and am less than thrilled with its reliability.

Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk

[psalms144.1]

I will add that some of the perception of shootability of various .40 pistols is likely ammunition related. I've shot plenty of FBI-provided .40 S&W through plenty of pistols (Sigs and Glocks) and found it to be pleasant to shoot and very controllable. I've also shot quite a bit of my agency's issued .40 S&W and find it distinctly UNpleasant to shoot, even in our heavy as hell issued Sigs.

Of course, I long ago gave up chasing the "performance" genie and just settled on 9mm as good enough for my needs, so my perceptions of all .40 S&W recoil are flavored by what's "normal" for me.

[GJM]

A very experienced senior SOF NCO who has battled many of our Nation's foes and who has the distinction of having used 9mm, .40, and .45 Auto pistols in combat during various phases of his career wrote the following superb analysis discussing pistol calibers:

He may be the world's best face shooter, but he is mistaken as to how a G26 can be shot:


http://youtu.be/gSPPdK8bVmg

[Default.mp3]

He may be the world's best face shooter, but he is mistaken as to how a G26 can be shot:


http://youtu.be/gSPPdK8bVmg

I guess the question is, does the shooter (whom I assume is you) run the Bill Drill any faster with a Glock 17 or Glock 19? What if other factors are added, such as fatigue, gloves, rain, etc.? basicload's not saying that one can't run a Glock 26 or Glock 23 at a high level, it's that one will not be able to run it as well as a Glock 19 or Glock 22.

[SLG]

I guess the question is, does the shooter (whom I assume is you) run the Bill Drill any faster with a Glock 17 or Glock 19? What if other factors are added, such as fatigue, gloves, rain, etc.? basicload's not saying that one can't run a Glock 26 or Glock 23 at a high level, it's that one will not be able to run it as well as a Glock 19 or Glock 22.

I think GJM's point, which I agree with, isn't that a 19 or 17 (or 23 or 22) can't be run "better", it's that all of them can be run at a very high level. The original quote seems to say that no matter how good a shooter you are, you cannot shoot a 26/27/23 well. OTOH, I happen to not be in the camp that cares about splits for defensive use, so the idea that any of them can't be run very well, is foreign to me. My splits with any weapon are just not that fast. 23 or 22, my splits are right around .20. I'm using 180 power factor ammo, fwiw.

BBI, what grain/weight/power factor are you shooting? Mine is a 180 at 1000. I think it is quite easy to shoot, but it is certainly full power .40.

[Hambo]

Long story short, I have the opportunity to select a new duty pistol.

What do you carry now? Do you have to switch, or is this just an added option?