your advice please...

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I believe I have contacted you before. I am looking to purchase a new Glock handgun and need your advice. I am debating between the G19(9mm), G23(.40), and G32(.357). Can you explain the differences? I will be using the gun for home and personal protection. Which would you recommend? Thank you.

ANSWER: As you no doubt know, these guns are all essentially the same in different calibers. All the calibers have their advocates and detractors, and I will endeavor to not only give you my advice, but the method I used to get there so that you can reach your own conclusions.

I am distinctly unimpressed with the .357 SIG, which is essentially a .40 S&W necked down to accept a 9mm bullet. The cartridge is loud, and while ostensibly equivalent in exterior (and some believe terminal) ballistics to the .357 Magnum, consider the specifications. Generally a 147 grain bullet launched from a .357 SIG will have a muzzle velocity (MV) of about 1250 fps. Compare this to a .40 S&W, which launches a 155 gr bullet at about 1275 fps. Because it is a bottle necked cartridge ammunition is expensive. So the .357 SIG is loud, expensive, and has less muzzle energy than a .40 S&W. In my estimation, this takes the .357 SIG out of the equation and your choices are 9mm NATO or .40 S&W.

The .40 has certainly taken the Law Enforcement world by storm, and it is as good a cartridge as defensive handgun rounds can be. I've carried a G23 for years and one is on my hip as I write this.  However, the Glock .40s are not without their problems. The Glock barrels have an overly generous chamber size and are not fully supported. This coupled with the .40's truncated cone bullet can cause bullet set-back, and Glock .40s have had more than their fair share of catastrophic case failure, a phenomenon that seldom causes serious injury but frequently destroys the gun. I have seen this enough that my G23 sports a KKM stainless steel barrel that has been blackened by Walt Birdsong so as to have a stock appearance (I don't really care for "bling" on my guns, preferring them to be stock or as close as possible). This will add an additional $200 to the cost of the gun, but if you go this route while, you're at it you may as well also get a .357 SIG barrel for the .40 and have the versatility if you so desire.

Personally, however, I recommend the G19 to everyone. My reasons for doing so are: 1) Since about 2000 premium bullet design has gotten so good that it has pretty much mooted the caliber question. I would feel as well protected with Speer Gold Dot 9mm as with any other caliber or cartridge type. 2) Ammunition costs have gone through the roof. 9mm is cheaper than .40, and much cheaper than .357 SIG. Caliber considerations are not nearly as important as shot-placement is, and if ammunition is cheapER (none of it is cheap right now), you will be more inclined to practice with the gun than you would if you had to take a loan out every time you wanted to shoot. 3) .40 S&W is a distinctly American cartridge. 9mm is the NATO handgun round. What that means is that if things ever got really bad, 9mm will likely always be available, and certainly long after solely American cartridges became scarce.

That's my two cents. Because I already have both a 19 and a 23 I practice, train, and teach (even though I am provided ammunition for the latter two, my employer will sometimes only have 9mm and will not be able to obtain .40 in quantity) with the 19 and carry the 23. If I could only have one, it would be the 19.

I hope this information is helpful.

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QUESTION: First let me say thanks for the extensive answer. I prefer a gun without bling as well. Honestly I was leaning towards the G19 anyway, so I think my mind is made up. Now, where can I go to learn proper use and care for the weapon? Its kinda funny how most establishments that sell firearms offer no training in using one. Also, why don't you accept ratings? Thanks for your help.

ANSWER: Lee,

Care for the Glock is simple. Your cleaning kit should consist of:

1) A cleaning rod
2) A bronze bore brush
3) A bronze bore jag
4) Appropriate sized patches
5) Cleaning solvant (for handguns I like the Hoppes Elite, which is non-toxic and biodegradable).
6) An M16 nylon brush (a cheap, still tooth brush will do too)
7) Gun oil of your choice (I like Militec 1, Wilson Ultimalube, and Breakfree CLP in that order, but anything will pretty much do).
8) Paper towels and cotton swabs


After you unload the gun and verify again it is unloaded, disassemble per mfg specs.

1) Put the brush on the rod and push it through the barrel from the breech end ten times (OK to pull it back through once it comes out the muzzle)

2) After that, put the jag on the rod, soak a patch in solvent and push it through the bore from the breech end. Repeat this step until no more carbon (black) comes out. Put the barrel aside and let the solvent go to work the copper fouling.

3) Take the slide. With the M16 brush, brush off the breech face (where the firing pin comes through) paying attention to cleaning under the extractor. Use your brush to brush out the rails of the slide. Take a dry paper town and wipe off any fouling. Drape the paper towel over your finger and push it through the barrel aperture (front to the slide where the barrel comes through), wiping it clean. Use the cotton swaps to remove any old lube and fouling from the slide rails. You really don't usually need to use any solvent on anything but the bore of the barrel. Unless the slide is really filthy it will come clean. Set slide aside.

With paper towels and cotton swabs and your nylon brush clean out frame rails, locking block area, inside magazine well and trigger bar (Glock instructions will identify all these).

When this is done, with a patch while the bore cleaner out of your barrel, push through a patch with lube. SPARINGLY address all the lube points the manual will point out. Reassemble and you're done. With practice, it takes less than ten minutes to thoroughly clean a Glock.

Regarding schools, send me the state and town where you live and I will get you the name of the closes decent school to attend. You want to go to a self-defense shooting school, not a school that teaches mere marksmanship.

Re: ratings. I got tired of the garbage feedback I got from answering honestly people who sent questions like, "I picked up this Lorcin pistol for $50 - do you think this is a good self-defense gun?"

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QUESTION: I am in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I understand about the ratings, although, I would give you a good rating for the honest and well explained answer. One last question: I just discovered (although I should've already known) I cannot order a pistol directly from Glock's website. Can I order a new one from any local gun dealer? Thanks again and take care.

Answer
Thanks for your kind words.

I don't know the reputations of any of the schools listed near Tuscaloosa, so my recommendations would be these.

I hadn't realized how new to this you were, so I would recommend taking the NRA Basic Pistol Course taught by an NRA Certified Instructor as a starting point. I googled that phrase and there are lots of them around you.

Marksmanship and gunhandling are basic to self-defense, but they are not the same thing. It's similar to the difference between training to box against a heavy bag and sparing with an opponent.

The nearest training facility to you that I can vouch for is Tom Givens at Range Master in Memphis TN. In searching the web there are a number of lesser known schools in your area, but I can't vouch for the quality of them, and in this business, Caveat Emptor is definitely the watch word. That doesn't mean that there may not be a good one there, just none that are well-known and none that I've heard of.

No, you cannot order guns over the web, or actually you can, but they cannot be shipped to you. They have to be shipped to a Federal Firearms License (FFL) holder. Yes, a gun store is where you want to go. They'll also likely have your cleaning supplies, ammunition, and anything else you may need, such as a holster or other accessories.

Best to you.