G21 vs 1911
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G21 vs 1911
Finally got out to try the Glock last night. Just an informal first impression/comparison against my Springfield Mil Spec.
Glock Gen 3 21 (Lone Wolf Ultimate Trigger Stop and tungsten guide rod)
Springfield Mil Spec (Wilson trigger/sear/hammer)
Used factory Glock 10 rdrs and 10/13 mags, and ACT 8 rdrs in the SA. American Eagle 230g fmj in both.
Glocks were a real pain to get 10 into, typically ran 9. With 10, mags were a chore to seat on a closed slide. Not a huge advantage over the 8 in the 1911, although mag changes are idiot proof with a wide magwell like the Glock has.
Surprised at how easy the 21 was to shoot, full frame really fills the hand and its very pointable. Negligible recoil, it is really easy to keep muzzle on target for follow up shots. Two hand or one, dumping mags is a breeze. Found it is easier to keep it on target one handed than the 1911, although need to concentrate on trigger control a bit more. Not used to the take up, few times pulled a bit and caused some bad muzzle dip at release .
It was pissing rain the whole time, bit of an advantage to the Springfield with Pachmyer wraparound grips. Although the Glock never really got slippery until it was covered in mud.
Shooting at 7-10 yds, both pistols were printing pretty tight when rapid firing (I had three targets set up: two at three feet apart with a third about ten feet off to the side). Got to pretend I was dealing with multiple threats .
No holster or mag pouches for the Glock so it was strictly pocket carry with a spare mag in hand. Mag change while transitioning to third target was faster than with a single stack but not as fast as dumping the Glock and drawing the Springfield from my Milt Sparks (wonder if anyone actually watches the security camera at the range? They would probably think I'm an idiot who shouldn't be allowed to touch a gun!)
Gratuitous pic because I didn't take any of my targets:
Found the sights to be pretty bulky but up close they are fine. At 25 yds I'm not too confident for "fine" work, but a human sized target was getting good peppering. Not sure about movie style head shots at that range, especially if there was a bystander in the way . For precise shooting, the edge goes to the Springfield (at least in my hands).
As I said, raining pretty hard. Gave both pistols a quick torture test. Unloaded, overhand throw as far as I could chuck them down range. Retrieved, and bore snake down barrel just to ensure no obstructions before shooting. The Glock barrel was full of dirt and grass from muzzle to chamber, had to poke it out with a stick before swabbing. Banging it against the shooting bench did nothing, it was packed.
New mag, dumped full mag without a hitch.
Springfield got same treatment, full mag fed flawlessly (although trigger failed to reset completely a few times after its "flight". Turns out its a bit more fussy with mud in it.
Put 500 rds through the two pistols over the course of the evening, both worked great. No ftf/fte, good fun and both ran great. My only complaint with the Glock is the mags, they are a pain to load and its difficult to seat mag with slide in battery. Other than that, so far I think its a great pistol. The trigger will still take some getting used to, but overall ease of operation and controllability makes it a breeze to shoot.
Another pic for the hell of it:
Conclusion: I like the Glock. I'm not going to sell my 1911, but I'm impressed with this piece of plastic. Thanks for looking, if it wasn't informative, I hope it was at least entertaining!
Glock Gen 3 21 (Lone Wolf Ultimate Trigger Stop and tungsten guide rod)
Springfield Mil Spec (Wilson trigger/sear/hammer)
Used factory Glock 10 rdrs and 10/13 mags, and ACT 8 rdrs in the SA. American Eagle 230g fmj in both.
Glocks were a real pain to get 10 into, typically ran 9. With 10, mags were a chore to seat on a closed slide. Not a huge advantage over the 8 in the 1911, although mag changes are idiot proof with a wide magwell like the Glock has.
Surprised at how easy the 21 was to shoot, full frame really fills the hand and its very pointable. Negligible recoil, it is really easy to keep muzzle on target for follow up shots. Two hand or one, dumping mags is a breeze. Found it is easier to keep it on target one handed than the 1911, although need to concentrate on trigger control a bit more. Not used to the take up, few times pulled a bit and caused some bad muzzle dip at release .
It was pissing rain the whole time, bit of an advantage to the Springfield with Pachmyer wraparound grips. Although the Glock never really got slippery until it was covered in mud.
Shooting at 7-10 yds, both pistols were printing pretty tight when rapid firing (I had three targets set up: two at three feet apart with a third about ten feet off to the side). Got to pretend I was dealing with multiple threats .
No holster or mag pouches for the Glock so it was strictly pocket carry with a spare mag in hand. Mag change while transitioning to third target was faster than with a single stack but not as fast as dumping the Glock and drawing the Springfield from my Milt Sparks (wonder if anyone actually watches the security camera at the range? They would probably think I'm an idiot who shouldn't be allowed to touch a gun!)
Gratuitous pic because I didn't take any of my targets:
Found the sights to be pretty bulky but up close they are fine. At 25 yds I'm not too confident for "fine" work, but a human sized target was getting good peppering. Not sure about movie style head shots at that range, especially if there was a bystander in the way . For precise shooting, the edge goes to the Springfield (at least in my hands).
As I said, raining pretty hard. Gave both pistols a quick torture test. Unloaded, overhand throw as far as I could chuck them down range. Retrieved, and bore snake down barrel just to ensure no obstructions before shooting. The Glock barrel was full of dirt and grass from muzzle to chamber, had to poke it out with a stick before swabbing. Banging it against the shooting bench did nothing, it was packed.
New mag, dumped full mag without a hitch.
Springfield got same treatment, full mag fed flawlessly (although trigger failed to reset completely a few times after its "flight". Turns out its a bit more fussy with mud in it.
Put 500 rds through the two pistols over the course of the evening, both worked great. No ftf/fte, good fun and both ran great. My only complaint with the Glock is the mags, they are a pain to load and its difficult to seat mag with slide in battery. Other than that, so far I think its a great pistol. The trigger will still take some getting used to, but overall ease of operation and controllability makes it a breeze to shoot.
Another pic for the hell of it:
Conclusion: I like the Glock. I'm not going to sell my 1911, but I'm impressed with this piece of plastic. Thanks for looking, if it wasn't informative, I hope it was at least entertaining!
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G21 vs 1911
Good write up MK. Even I am guilty of comparing a bone stock .45 glock to a tuned up 1911 so seeing that both of these had custom tweaks makes it a better comparison.
Mandy wrote:I meant Marcus post, he's like ninja slicer, he's nice he's nice he's nice, ....SWISH... he cuts your effin head off
- Toddinlou
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Re: G21 vs 1911
The G21 is kinda a waste in my book if you are limited to 10 rounds. Love my 21SF, I think somehow it CCs a little bit better than the 1911 but on the flip side it does not suppress as well as my Kimber. Accuracy goes to the 1911 for me due to the better trigger.
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Re: G21 vs 1911
Nice report. I thought you might not give the glock a fair chance since you love the 1911 platform so much. Seems you abused them equally for your report.
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Re: G21 vs 1911
SNL wrote:A g21 is never a waste
It's just too big to be neutered to 10 rounds. If you can't have 13 then the 30 would be my choice. Edit.... Forgot the whole no carry or self defense thing. Guess size doesn't matter for Canadians.
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Re: G21 vs 1911
Thanks guys. Fair is fair, I gotta admit the springfield has had more done to it than the Glock, although its been done by me so some of it probably doesn't actually enhance its performance. One major advantage the Springfield has is the trigger, at least when it comes to target shooting. Nice light trigger breaks at 2 lbs, where the Glock is more like 4.5-5. Hard to get an accurate, consistent reading on it with my rcbs gauge, it doesn't want to stay on the trigger haha.
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G21 vs 1911
Wow. Even a trigger gauge hates glock triggers.lol
Mandy wrote:I meant Marcus post, he's like ninja slicer, he's nice he's nice he's nice, ....SWISH... he cuts your effin head off
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Re: G21 vs 1911
Crazy to think MK would have compared the glock to the 1911. I figured he was using it to drive nails.
Nice write up MK thanks for sharing!
Nice write up MK thanks for sharing!
"Not all men seek rest and peace; some are born with the spirit of the storm in their blood, restless harbingers of violence and bloodshed, knowing no other path." Robert Howard
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Re: G21 vs 1911
In all honesty, I wasn't very kind to the Glock. When I tried clearing the mud from the barrel, I did give the pistol some good hard cracks against the side of the range bench. Not a mark on it, although some bench paint seems to have become a part of the slide finish.Ian wrote:Crazy to think MK would have compared the glock to the 1911. I figured he was using it to drive nails.
Nice write up MK thanks for sharing!
Also, when I did my New York reload, I started with the Glock in hand and the 1911 in holster. The Glock was the one that got tossed on the ground. And I gotta admit, it hurt to overhand the Springfield down range! I aimed for gravel with the Glock, grass for the 1911 haha. Guess I couldn't bring myself to be 100% impartial!
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Re: G21 vs 1911
Yeah, not ideal. But the comparison was basically evened out by using 8 rounders in the Springfield and the fact that it was a pain to put more than 9 in the Glock mags. I agree that higher cap mags would be nice, not an option for me.Toddinlou wrote:The G21 is kinda a waste in my book if you are limited to 10 rounds.
As for being a waste, I pretty much exclusively shoot .45 (of some kind) in all my pistols. Its my favorite cartridge regardless of what pistol it is.
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Re: G21 vs 1911
So I ditched out of work to go to the range today, took the two pistols again for some more practice. Not sure why but for whatever reason I was kind of feeling off with my shooting, and my targets were reflecting that I guess. Couldn't get into a groove with either the Glock or the Springfield. Close in (10 yds and under) was fine, at least as far as I know. Both pistols were consistent, although I had a ftf with the 21 using standard 230 jacketed ball.
My problems started when I pushed my targets out to 25 yds, couldn't get any kind of consistency with either pistol. Like I said, I really didn't feel relaxed or something, dunno. It was gusty and I was shooting unsupported, could only get about half my shots on target.
Circles-Glock/squares-Springfield. Numbers are for mag, I was all over the place. Embarrassing, and humbling.
My problems started when I pushed my targets out to 25 yds, couldn't get any kind of consistency with either pistol. Like I said, I really didn't feel relaxed or something, dunno. It was gusty and I was shooting unsupported, could only get about half my shots on target.
Circles-Glock/squares-Springfield. Numbers are for mag, I was all over the place. Embarrassing, and humbling.