Garanddaddy
Inactive
Hi all,
I thought it was about time to for me to contribute to the forum by giving my perspective and review on one of my favorite hand guns, the Glock 30s. I will go through the philosophy of why I picked it, the upgrades I did to it, and shooting impressions. I attempted to break this review up into categories so people can pick and chose what each person finds pertinent.
A quick disclaimer. I am not a professional by any means but I am simply someone who loves to shoot. Take what I say at face value and my opinion may differ from others. I have about 3000 round through this handgun so I have a good idea of how the gun is but there is much more to learn with more ammo.
Why I picked a 30s
I wanted a semi auto concealed carry 45 I could get a full grip on. There are a plethora of concealable 45s out there but the glock offered a few things that I like. First, it is a glock. The 30s is my 4th glock and it runs like all of the others. It just works all the time, every time. It is simple and proven engineering. I also like the very low bore axis which helps me drive the gun very well. The 30s offers 10 rounds of 45 (with the pinky extension) which is the most of any 45 in that size range. Conveniently 10 rounds is the maximum magazine capacity in some states so I can carry it at full capacity just about anywhere that allow carry. The 30s is relativity light like all other polymer guns out there. The size is just right for ME. The 30s with the magazine extension is about the size of a glock 19 so it isn't "subcompact" but compact. I have medium hands so the grip is just right (30sf frame), I don't know if I would recommend this pistol to anyone with smaller hands. The pistol allows a full grip which is very important to me.
Upgrades
The parts I upgrade are as follows: sights, trigger, guide rod, grip, and magazine extension. My philosophy of upgrading a concealed carry handgun is keep everything moving as stock as possible. As you can see from the list I didn't exactly follow that rule 100% but the gun has yet to prove unreliable. The barrels on glocks are amazing so I didn't want to change that out and I don't reload so I don't need a fully supported chamber. The trigger assembly I have is a ZEV duty trigger. This trigger is basically the standard trigger on the glock just CNC machined and polished. It keeps all of the stock safeties but with a better much better trigger pull and I am very happy with it overall. Next I put in a laser max guide rod. The Wolff springs in the guide rod are great and the guide rod seems to smooth out the recoil when shooting. The my only complaint is when you replace the take down lever for the glock with the extended lasermax one, it has a tendency to be bumped when firing if using a two thumbs forward grip. This can easily by avoided by slightly curving the forward most thumb so it does not contact the take down lever. I changed out the sights from stock to XS big dots to Trijicon HDs. I didn't love the XS big dots but they did work well. I feel that the HDs do everything the big dots do but better but this could be because I am used to shooting pistols with the three dot sight picture instead of "dot the i" kinda sights. I feel the glock plastic is a bit slippery especially when wet so I put on Talon sand paper grips. These were fantastic and I love the feel of them but it had a huge problem. When carrying the gun (using a crossbreed supertuck) the sandpaper grips would catch on my shirt. This would make the gun print a lot more. I switched out the grips for Talon rubber grips. They work well, better than the stock set up but not as well as the sandpaper. The rubber eliminates all of the problems that sandpaper gave me and it still did a good job. I changed out the magazine extension for a Pierce one since I like the texture better on the Pierce and the stock one seemed to pinch my finger when shooting. I have not changed anything in the slide and spring weights are stock. I put a glock extended slide release on the pistol but I didn't find it necessary so I took it off. I am very happy with all of these upgrades and the pistol has been 100% reliable with the upgrades in.
Shooting impressions.
What you have is a compact, lightweight, short barrel 45 ACP so it will inherently recoil more than the full size all forged steel 1911 you probably own. I have a Springfield 1911 MC operator (full size with a rail) and the thing very heavy for a handgun. The 45 in the 1911 is a slow push while the 30s is a bit more snappy like a 40. The great news though is that for its size and weight, the 30s does a fantastic job at managing recoil. I don't think you will find a compact 45 that weights the same that recoils less than a 30s. The bore axis is low, you can get a full grip on it and with some practice it is very controllable for its size. The gun has a shorter sight radius than most but it isn't meant for group shooting. The gun is mechanically accurate and will probably out shoot most shooters shooting off hand (including myself). My carry ammo is Barnes Tac XPD 185gr +P and the gun loves that ammo. It is pretty soft shooting and I can almost make all the bullets touch each other at 7 yards with a shot every second. It is very easy, however, to get off target with this gun if trying to do very fast shooting. I can shoot my g17 very fast and get a good group without trying too hard but the 30s does like to buck so paying attention to when the sight picture looks good is critical for fast shooting. Trying to shoot at 7 yards fast firing (2-3 shots in a second) for me leads to a very wide group. The balance is great when holding it too.
Summary:
The 30s is a one of my favorite guns. The gun is not a subcompact size but it is small enough for year round carry using the right clothes and holster. This is a small as you can get with 10 rounds of 45 along with acceptable recoil management. It is a glock and it fits my medium hands really well but it isn't build for everyone. Trijicon HD sights are great, the ZEV duty trigger is reliable and accurate, and the lasermax guide rod is a nice addition. I have about 3000 rounds through it and I have enjoyed each one of them. If you want a compact 45 carry gun then this is a great option (the best option in my opinion).
Please pardon any errors in my review because I know there will be some. If you guys have any questions please feel free to ask me and I'll try to get back to you in a timely manner.
I thought it was about time to for me to contribute to the forum by giving my perspective and review on one of my favorite hand guns, the Glock 30s. I will go through the philosophy of why I picked it, the upgrades I did to it, and shooting impressions. I attempted to break this review up into categories so people can pick and chose what each person finds pertinent.
A quick disclaimer. I am not a professional by any means but I am simply someone who loves to shoot. Take what I say at face value and my opinion may differ from others. I have about 3000 round through this handgun so I have a good idea of how the gun is but there is much more to learn with more ammo.
Why I picked a 30s
I wanted a semi auto concealed carry 45 I could get a full grip on. There are a plethora of concealable 45s out there but the glock offered a few things that I like. First, it is a glock. The 30s is my 4th glock and it runs like all of the others. It just works all the time, every time. It is simple and proven engineering. I also like the very low bore axis which helps me drive the gun very well. The 30s offers 10 rounds of 45 (with the pinky extension) which is the most of any 45 in that size range. Conveniently 10 rounds is the maximum magazine capacity in some states so I can carry it at full capacity just about anywhere that allow carry. The 30s is relativity light like all other polymer guns out there. The size is just right for ME. The 30s with the magazine extension is about the size of a glock 19 so it isn't "subcompact" but compact. I have medium hands so the grip is just right (30sf frame), I don't know if I would recommend this pistol to anyone with smaller hands. The pistol allows a full grip which is very important to me.
Upgrades
The parts I upgrade are as follows: sights, trigger, guide rod, grip, and magazine extension. My philosophy of upgrading a concealed carry handgun is keep everything moving as stock as possible. As you can see from the list I didn't exactly follow that rule 100% but the gun has yet to prove unreliable. The barrels on glocks are amazing so I didn't want to change that out and I don't reload so I don't need a fully supported chamber. The trigger assembly I have is a ZEV duty trigger. This trigger is basically the standard trigger on the glock just CNC machined and polished. It keeps all of the stock safeties but with a better much better trigger pull and I am very happy with it overall. Next I put in a laser max guide rod. The Wolff springs in the guide rod are great and the guide rod seems to smooth out the recoil when shooting. The my only complaint is when you replace the take down lever for the glock with the extended lasermax one, it has a tendency to be bumped when firing if using a two thumbs forward grip. This can easily by avoided by slightly curving the forward most thumb so it does not contact the take down lever. I changed out the sights from stock to XS big dots to Trijicon HDs. I didn't love the XS big dots but they did work well. I feel that the HDs do everything the big dots do but better but this could be because I am used to shooting pistols with the three dot sight picture instead of "dot the i" kinda sights. I feel the glock plastic is a bit slippery especially when wet so I put on Talon sand paper grips. These were fantastic and I love the feel of them but it had a huge problem. When carrying the gun (using a crossbreed supertuck) the sandpaper grips would catch on my shirt. This would make the gun print a lot more. I switched out the grips for Talon rubber grips. They work well, better than the stock set up but not as well as the sandpaper. The rubber eliminates all of the problems that sandpaper gave me and it still did a good job. I changed out the magazine extension for a Pierce one since I like the texture better on the Pierce and the stock one seemed to pinch my finger when shooting. I have not changed anything in the slide and spring weights are stock. I put a glock extended slide release on the pistol but I didn't find it necessary so I took it off. I am very happy with all of these upgrades and the pistol has been 100% reliable with the upgrades in.
Shooting impressions.
What you have is a compact, lightweight, short barrel 45 ACP so it will inherently recoil more than the full size all forged steel 1911 you probably own. I have a Springfield 1911 MC operator (full size with a rail) and the thing very heavy for a handgun. The 45 in the 1911 is a slow push while the 30s is a bit more snappy like a 40. The great news though is that for its size and weight, the 30s does a fantastic job at managing recoil. I don't think you will find a compact 45 that weights the same that recoils less than a 30s. The bore axis is low, you can get a full grip on it and with some practice it is very controllable for its size. The gun has a shorter sight radius than most but it isn't meant for group shooting. The gun is mechanically accurate and will probably out shoot most shooters shooting off hand (including myself). My carry ammo is Barnes Tac XPD 185gr +P and the gun loves that ammo. It is pretty soft shooting and I can almost make all the bullets touch each other at 7 yards with a shot every second. It is very easy, however, to get off target with this gun if trying to do very fast shooting. I can shoot my g17 very fast and get a good group without trying too hard but the 30s does like to buck so paying attention to when the sight picture looks good is critical for fast shooting. Trying to shoot at 7 yards fast firing (2-3 shots in a second) for me leads to a very wide group. The balance is great when holding it too.
Summary:
The 30s is a one of my favorite guns. The gun is not a subcompact size but it is small enough for year round carry using the right clothes and holster. This is a small as you can get with 10 rounds of 45 along with acceptable recoil management. It is a glock and it fits my medium hands really well but it isn't build for everyone. Trijicon HD sights are great, the ZEV duty trigger is reliable and accurate, and the lasermax guide rod is a nice addition. I have about 3000 rounds through it and I have enjoyed each one of them. If you want a compact 45 carry gun then this is a great option (the best option in my opinion).
Please pardon any errors in my review because I know there will be some. If you guys have any questions please feel free to ask me and I'll try to get back to you in a timely manner.
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