I've fallen in love with my Glock 21 Gen 4 and it's 14 shots of .45 Auto. Over 2200 rounds without cleaning and no stoppages/malfunctions/breakages has made me start to consider it as a contender for a serious use pistol.
However, upon reading about it more, I see where over the years the G21 has been poo-poo'd on by two high-profile individuals in particular, and two large police agencies. Portland PD and the LAPD withdrew their G21's from service because of malfunctions, and in Portland's case, some Kaboom incidents. This was in the 2005-2006 time period from what I can gather.
I've found posts in the same time period from our very own DocGKR in various places also talking about the G21 not being a durable and reliable service-grade pistol. However, I have seen where he's said in more recent years that the G21 Gen 4 is a good pistol, and he recommends it as one of the best choices if an LE agency/department is going to use a .45 Auto pistol (along with the M&P 45 and HK45).
I've also seen where Larry Vickers decried the G21 in the early 2000's as being "the worst gun Glock makes" and "a dog" after a non-scientific sand test.
It seems that even DocGKR has given the G21 Gen 4 the stamp of approval, but it's made me start to wonder about it. I thought I'd tap into the pool of experience shared by many here who may have dealt with the G21 professionally (particularly interested in the Gen 4). It's my understanding that certain SWAT teams have used it extensively, and it has been widely issued to many PD's over the years?
Is this a durable, reliable .45 Auto for the long haul? I would like the answer to be yes based on my very limited sample of the several I've owned over the years, but I'd like to hear the thoughts of those with perhaps more experience than I. I like the idea of a tough, reliable, proven 14-shot .45