Like other have said above, I have bigger hands so my 45 is a lot more comfortable to shoot than my 19. My first answer would be buy both, but if I had to choose I would go with the 45.
Like other have said above, I have bigger hands so my 45 is a lot more comfortable to shoot than my 19. My first answer would be buy both, but if I had to choose I would go with the 45.
It depends. What is more important to you? Concealment or performance ?
If performance, it's not as simple as "hand size."
The G19 grip is not only shorter, but it has a more pronounced "hump" which sits higher up on the back strap. This fits some people's hands and shooting style better than others.
From what I've seen among different officers at work, most people shoot one (G19 grip or G17 grip) 10-15% better than the other. Maybe 20-25% are agnostic between the two.
I, myself, shoot the 17 grip about 10% better than the 19 grip but it's worth noting I shoot best with different size backstraps on the two different grips.
I have small hands and the G45 was a vast improvement for me in not only times, but accuracy. As @HCM stated, the location of the backstrap swell on the 19 tended to not allow me to get as good a grip.
"And for a regular dude I’m maybe okay...but what I learned is if there’s a door, I’m going out it not in it"-Duke
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^^^ this.Originally Posted by HCM
Prior to the Gen 4, I’ve found the 19 to be awkward. The 4 without the backstrap is tolerable. I personally feel GLOCK made a mistake with the Gen 2 G19, as a 17 chopped to 19 length has a different, and in my opinion, a much better feel.
Still, if concealability isn’t an issue, I still prefer the extra grip, even if it does hang below my grip in my medium sized hands.
The 45 is the gun I regret selling. While I have smaller hands I prefer the way a 17/45 grip feels in my hand. A full size grip just feels good and the shorter barrel balances well. I cant explain it I thought it was the dumbest thing ever when I first read about it. I like the fact that the 45 fits comfortably in my 19 holsters. I find I normally carry my 26 in the 19 holster but would prefer the 45 for times when I can conceal a little more. If I had known the Enigma would be released I would not have sold my 45. I will buy another when things settle and guns become available.
Of the two, I would go with the G45, though my sample pistol is the similar-dimension G19x. (I do plan to add a G45, when availability improves.) I never shot a G19 as well as a G17, and can no longer even use short-grip 9mm pistols, if my right hand is the weapon hand. Not just pain, but swelling and discoloration, started in 2017, with Gen4 G19 pistols. If the rear of a pistol’s grip does not firmly engage the “heel bone” area of my hand, it is, now, useless to me. I traded-away my three G19 pistols last year.
My hands are not wide, and I have skinny fingers, enabling me to get a three-finger grip on compact pistols that most males can only grip with two fingers, but, my hands, if not my fingers, are long, so actually thrive with handguns that have full-duty/service-length grips, and, not too much of a rounded butt.
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
While I prefer the full-size guns, if it was between the 19 and 45... I’d go 19. Not because I’m issued one, but because of the ability to use both 19 and 17 sized magazines.
I rarely carry it off duty, but the two extra rounds doesn’t mean a lot (that I could just get +2 bases or 17 rounders), especially if it is the same gun I train with.
I would strongly prefer the 45 with the grip chopped to accept 19 magazines.
If I wanted a full size pistol I’d rather have a 17 or 34.
You’re not alone. My main defensive gun for over a decade starting in the early 90s was a 23.2, and it never really fit me. My 19.4 and 19.5 are a huge improvement.
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
I had a 19 and sold it off to get a 45 and don't regret it. As HCM pointed out there's a good difference in the hump between a 19 and 17/34/45 grip. When I would go to draw with my 19 the more exaggerated hump seemed to somewhat impede a full grip out of the holster because of how it would hit my palm on the pinky side. The 45 grip hump is farther down and less pronounced to where I don't get that hinderance and I feel my grip is more solid on the draw.
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