Firearms - Glock 35

Personal choice of my first firearm was made within only a few months of being introduced to shooting center fire handguns. I had a very limited knowledge of what was available, and even less practical experience in handling and shooting pistols. Even so, four years on, I stand by my choice.

First choice has to be the manufacturer. Looking at what was being used at the club and at competitions, I discovered that Glock was a very common choice. On reading several 'Torture Tests' where Glock pistols were very badly mistreated and still functioned, I was not hard to convince to follow suit. The cost of Glock pistols was also an important factor, since economy is my middle name!

According to the official Glock Site, they have 20 pistol models divided into 6 classes. (not counting special law enforcement models). When considering my own personal choice, that very quickly reduced to 6 models in 3 classes. Standard, Practical Tactical, and Competition, each in 9mm and .40S&W. Since this firearm was to be used primarily for Practical Pistol competitions I decided to go for .40S&W to make the Major Power Factor,^* further reducing the choice to just 3 models.

* See the Practical Pistol section for a discussion of Power Factor.

Model	Slide Length (inches)	Barrel Length (inches)
22 (Standard)	7.32	4.49
35 (Practical Tactical)	8.15	5.32
17L (Competition)	8.85	6.02

All three models share the same frame, so each increase in slide length leaves more and more hanging out front. The weight, fit and balance of any handgun is very personal to the shooter. What fits one individual will be awkward to another so it is best to try before you buy. Since all three pistols under consideration use the same frame, fit is the same, but balance differs according to the length. I couldn't find anyone with the 17L and in any case I thought that it was probably over-long and a too muzzle heavy. On comparing the models 22 and 35, I found the 5.32-inch barrel and 8.15-inch slide length gave me the best muzzle feel, slightly but not overly muzzle heavy - decision made.

Good Points
Not too hard to pay for.
Very Reliable.
Spares easy to obtain and fit without gunsmithing.
Plenty of them in use so emergency spares may be borrowed from friends?
Probably as accurate as you need and very servicable straight from the box.
All three safeties are automatic so simply draw and fire.

Bad Points Glock call this a safe action gun. It is actualy a permanent double action gun. This is actually not that bad. While the trigger pull is long, it is not heavy and you soon get used to it.

One American Shooter, Walt Rauch says:

After working extensively - for too many years to think about - with a 1911, drawing from a holster, and then switching over to the standard-sized GLOCKs, I find that my muzzle goes right up past my aiming point unless I make a conscious effort to stop it, for the standard GLOCK guns don't have that extra bit of forward weight to which I've become accustomed with the 1911. As an aside, I don't have this problem with the Compact Model G19 (9x19mm), Model 23 (.40S&W), G29 (10mm) or the G30 (.45ACP). I tried the Model 17L and the 24 and the problem corrected itself, but then I found that the guns were just a little too long to effectively draw without bringing them up too high during the draw stroke. I also felt that there was too much slide and gun hanging out front, moving around when I was shooting.

The distance between front and rear sights on the new Glock P/T guns measures 7.32 inches. The WWII 1911 A1 measures 5 inches and longer on most custom 1911s, since the rear sight is usually moved further to the rear. All this is subjective, of course, but now that I've had the opportunity to shoot both Glock P/T guns, I find that, paraphrasing Goldilocks and the Three Bears, "They're not too long, they're not too short, they're just right." I feel very comfortable with both because they're so close in balance to my 1911 s.

Glock 35 Specifications