Glock 19 (in 9mm) and Glock 23 (in .40)
I am considering a Glock pistol for my next purchase. I am strictly looking for .40cal. Is there a specific Glock that is best suited for the .40 S&W or should I stick with the tried and true Glock 17?
EXPECTED USE: Target shooting. Lot's of it.
Your Glock options are the sub-compact
27, compact
23, service sized
22, the fits-in-the-IPSC-box
35, and the long slide
24.
Depending upon the size of your hands, you might find that you prefer the sub-compact (27), the compact (23), or the full-size (22, 24, 35) frame. Some people require more real estate (on the grip), and some (like me) desire less. Generally speaking, a firearm with a longer sight radius may be easier to shoot well. Generally. (YMMV.)
Beyond that, if the target shooting you would participate in has rules, you should consider the restrictions found in the rules of the particular sport. These restrictions, in addition to the firearms' handling characteristics, will make one firearm more competitive in a given
Division of a given sport that another firearm.
For example, the Glock 24 would fit into IPSC
Open Division, the Glock 35 would fit into IPSC
Standard Division, and an unmodified Glock 22 would fit into IPSC
Production Division. FYI: The Glock 23 and Glock 27 require an extended barrel to be classified as
restricted (rather than
prohibited) and the use of an aftermarket barrel to accomplish this restricted classification will cause the pistol to be excluded from IPSC
Production Division; the re-barreled Glock 23 and Glock 27 would fit into IPSC
Standard Division. (An unmodified Glock 23 or Glock 27, with a Glock factory barrel, would fit into IPSC
Production Division.)
In my opinion: the best compromise 9x19 pistol for all purposes is the
Glock 19; the best compromise .40 caliber pistol for all purposes is the
Glock 23; the best .40 caliber Glock for IPSC
Production Division - given the current rule restrictions - is the Glock 22, and; the best .40 caliber Glock for IPSC
Standard Division is the Glock 35. There are a veritible tonne of user reviews for each on
YouTube.