So if a G20 is near-perfect, is a G21 a mistake?

[Baldanders]

Right before covid, I shot a G20 Gen 3. Before, I thought of Glocks as solidly engineered tools, but not my thing.

I shot the G20 better than any other centerfire semi I have ever shot, accuracy-wise, other than a Les Baer 1911.

So is buying a G21 the wrong move? PFers with big paws seem to like both. I don't care about anything but accuracy. I want a backyard false confidence inducer, period. I am set up for .45 reloading, not 10mm. That's the decider right now.

Or given the parameters, does a G40/41 make more sense?

My LNGS claims they can obtain a sub-$600 G21(Gen 4?)for me sometime soon.

[PNWTO]

G21s are scary accurate as well; so if you’re better set up to feed .45 then the answer seems pretty clear.

Never handled a G41 but a good friend has the 40 and that long snout isn’t my cup of tea. Maybe if I were to use it for competition or hunting but not for a GP pistol. I guess an analogy would be the handling difference between a 3-4” wheel gun and a 6” one.

Doesn’t help that every time I see one of these threads I go browsing for a 20 or 29 since 10mm just seems fun; even though I made a lot of effort to stay with the 9mm and .38 for everything, from yard work to backpacking.

[PD Sgt.]

My sample size of one Gen 3 G21 was that it was extremely accurate with outstanding reliability. The only reason I got rid of it was for me it was larger than I wished to conceal and Glocks (at the time) were not authorized for use by my agency.

[SW CQB 45]

I know a guy who is very good with a handgun.

We were all at a LEO pistol match (early 2000s).... he always shot a Les Baer 5".

He had a factory plastic sight G20 at this match.

Part of our match was (IIRC) called match 5 (I think 60 rounds) and 24 of those rounds were from 50 yards. I dont recall the time, maybe 2 minutes.

He knocked the center out of the B27 Xring with a fricken G20. He told me, no hold over no bullet drop. He must have had some good eyes too.


G21 is a great piece.

[ECVMatt]

I have had my 20 for about 15 years and it has been a great gun. I use it for hunting and outdoors. I recently bought a 21 police trading upper. It slides right on with no modification to the frame (Gen 3) and works like a champ. I posted somewhere here that I was shooting with my buddies who had a couple of Nighthawks and a Wilson Combat, I also had my TRP and as an afterthought I brought my 21 and it was shooting pretty close to the other guns. I was amazed. Since then I have been spending more time with the 21 and it continues to impress me. So another vote for the 21!

[Duelist]

Get the 21, seems like a very good solution.

[vandal]

Have a 20SF I bought for a woods gun, and it has a 508T Gen 1 on it. I wish I had bought a 29 Gen 4. The 20SF is just big. Carrying it while hiking/backpacking is a commitment. And I feel like I have to load it to capacity so it gets heavy.

[GJM]

I think the 20/29 make better .40’s than 10mm’s, meaning they run better with 10mm loads that replicate stout .40 S&W loads. Of course the new Gen 5 .40 pistols may do the same thing.

[KevH]

G21's are fantastic guns.

I still have the G21 I bought new in 2006. Boresight a grip reduction on it 2009 which made it damn near perfect.

They're pretty big and heavy for a Glock, but they're wonderful shooters.

[HeavyDuty]

I have my late wife’s 21.2, it’s a physical handful but soft shooting and scary accurate - I’ve always shot it well. A few years ago I picked up a 41, the Gen4 grip changes make it a much better fit and I shoot it just as well as I do the 21. I would suggest giving them both serious consideration - I happen to prefer the 41 and back in IL even carried it IWB quite a bit, it carries for me almost like a 1911.