My own hypocrisy

I swore I’d never own one.  I’m a military trained point shooter and know from my own experience that when the chips are down, sight picture goes out the window.  I’ve carried Rugers, Sigs, 1911s, XDs, Kel-Tecs, Astras, Berettas, S&W, NAA mini-revolvers…  When threatened with a brick just a few months before shipping out for basic training, I drew a Lorcin 380.

I’ve relied on all these various gun types but I swore I’d never own a Glock.  I had shot them a few times in the early 90’s and the tactical tupperware’s appeal was lost on me.  The grip angle is all wrong and the trigger feels funny, plus it is misshaped for anyone who shoots with the pad of their finger.  The slide release is too flat to actuate with your thumb so that it requires awkwardly pulling the slide back to reload.  I can’t change the grips, they are ugly, give me more time and I’ll invent more problems to justify my position on Glock.

In 2002 I had to sell off my Springfield 1911 Officer’s Model after the company I was working for went dot bust post 9/11.  That was the last .45 I owned.  Flash forward to today and I have a 9mm, a .40, and even an .22 Mag.  All of my guns have a job.  9mm is the smallest caliber I feel comfortable carrying and the Kel Tec PF-9 conceals relatively well in shorts and a t-shirt.  The NAA .22 Mag mini-revolver is my rule #1 gun (Rule #1. Always bring a gun).  I can put it in my pocket and at least I have something that can throw lead in a pinch.  The XD .40 is a great gun but I only bought it because I wanted a full size service pistol and the XD .45 had not come out yet.  I was initially very hesitant to buy a .40 S&W but with so many police departments using it now, the cost and availability has vastly improved for this newer round.   The problem with the full size XD is that it is very hard to conceal and open carry is not an option in Florida.  This makes my XD the nightstand and fishing gun.

So, there’s this hole in my little personal armory that needs to be filled.  I need a service caliber carry gun in a package that is easy to conceal.  When I say “service caliber” I am talking about .40, .45, and .357 Mag.  9mm is a minimal defensive round in my book and I try to stay away from the expensive to shoot exotic rounds like .357 Sig and 10mm.  I do miss hurling those big old .45 rounds down range.

I found myself eyeballing a Kahr PM45.  Then I flipped the price tag…  Is this a joke?  I know that the prices for good 1911s have gone ridiculous but the price of the Kahr was a shock.  The CW45 then caught my eye for the price but the fit and finish was just kinda second rate.  Over in the corner was a “used” Glock 36.  It still had that copper colored grease on it, not a single holster mark, the top of the barrel had no marks.  This gun had never been fired, its new.  The mag even still had the sticker on it.  So I turned over the price tag and had to do a double take.  $465.  SOLD

Oh wait.  This isn’t good.  I have publicly told people that I would never own a Glock.  I recommended them for new shooters to try out all the time but Glocks aren’t for ME!

So I loaded up with ammo that I’ve had sitting around in a drawer since 2002 and headed to the range.  Hello old Friend.  I’ve have missed shooting .45 ACP.  It certainly isn’t the crisp trigger of a 1911 but not a bad as I remembered.  Recoil was tame by .45 standards and certainly less snappy than a 3.5″ 1911 Officer’s.  My old stock of Hydra-Shocks, SilverTips, Cor-Bon +p, and American Eagle ammo all went downrange without a hiccup.

Point shooting drills  at 7 yards predictably resulted in hitting a bit higher than normal but still acceptable defensive accuracy without requiring me to change in any way.  Repeating the same drills with my wrist angled down put me spot on but it just doesn’t feel natural to me.  The difference in accuracy at the short range where point shooting techniques would be employed just isn’t worth changing.  I wasn’t launching rounds over the berm at low flying aircraft, just hitting a little high.  Aimed fire was predictably accurate.  The Glock 36 is far more accurate that I am shooting offhand.

Shorts, t-shirt, .45?  Yep!   The Comp-Tac Minotaur MTAC holster I picked up and the thin profile of the G36 makes concealment easy.  I’m running out of excuses to hate these guns…