Got my first Glock: g20 10mm gen3 big frame

[Savago]

Gentlemen

They say that no gun collection is complete without a Glock. Since I don't have any 10mm pistol, decided to get a Glock G20 gen 3.

The options for 10mm are severely limited in California thanks to the gun roster, quote: "... In other words, the DOJ largely controls what handguns are legally obtainable. " (https://www.firearmspolicy.org/california-handgun-roster).

If I lived in a free State, I would love to buy a Sig Sauer p220 in 10mm. Or even a Glock gen5 with adjustable straps. But over here, they are off roster and to buy one, I would have to pay 3x the price.
 

That leaves the Glock g20 as a decent option (but again, thanks to the gun roster, we are limited to the gen 3).

I have XXL hands and the current Glock g20 gen 3 available is the SF (Short Frame) model. It seems that Glock has stopped manufacturing the older model a few years back that had a slightly bigger handle.

But this time I was lucky: in one of the gun stores that I'm a regular, they had a never fired big frame G20 in consignment. The previous owner was a gentleman who passed away and his family brought his collection to the gun store to sell.

It was made in 2003 and still had the factory grease in the slide. Even the envelope with the manual was never opened, I guess the previous owner treasured his guns.
 

I have been dry-firing it in the last few days to get used to the trigger, I guess it put some marks in the external barrel finish already, I'm a bit surprised since in my Sigs and HKs took a little while before having any marks in the barrel finish.

Planning to test it this weekend in the range, assuming it will be still open (we are under lock down in the SF Bay Area).

[Savago]

A look on the slide featuring the factory grease:

[Savago]

Cleaned and lubbed, waiting for duty:

[Savago]

The fit was pretty good for my hands (notice that my index finger reaches the end of the picatinny rail):

[Bighead]

 
Man I wish you lived somewhere else. Tou could buy 7 a week without a blink of an eye and no BS restrictions. 

[Savago]

Man I wish you lived somewhere else. Tou could buy 7 a week without a blink of an eye and no BS restrictions. 

Yeah man... it totally sucks. Not only the list of guns available is severely limited, but we can only buy 1 new gun per month.
 

[Savago]

I heard this story that the G20 can fire .40 S&W with no modifications.

Anyone here have done that?
 

[Bret SD]

We just picked up a CZ 2075 RAMI 9..  nice little package, and perfect for CC.. not that I can.

[f6gal]

They say that no gun collection is complete without a Glock.

Meh.  I don't agree with that.  Unlike your XXL hands, mine are XS.  I have shot most of the Glocks; I don't like the feel of any of them in my hand. 

[Bighead]

They say that no gun collection is complete without a Glock.

Meh.  I don't agree with that.  Unlike your XXL hands, mine are XS.  I have shot most of the Glocks; I don't like the feel of any of them in my hand. 

Well I have XXL hands that is not the problem. 1st they feel like holding a brick and look just as good.

[old2soon]

       Look at the S & W SVE in .40 cal. Or the S & W SVE in 9 MM. With a 14 round mag on the .40 and 18 rounds on the 9 MM. Big meaty grips feel good and a solid feel when firing. When I took my CCW range test in Missouri a Husband/Wife team were there that same day I was. The Wife preferred my SVE over her Glock and sorry-do Not recall what model or caliber Glock. My S & W M & P compact in .40 cal-10 round mag-came with three different grip sizes-I use the largest one that came with it and Really Like the way it feels in my hand.
        Ross-da prez-and I realized the frame sizes-he has the SVE in 9-are identical. Slides and barrels interchanged and either grip would accept the other magazine. No-we did NOT fire with the interchanged parts. We kept each barrel with the correct slide. Anywho hope this bit of info is helpful. RIDE SAFE.

[Jess from VA]

Savago,  No Glocks, and no .40's or 10mm's for me.  It took me 20+ years before I'd ever buy any striker fired gun at all, and now the ones I have are not Glocks.

But here is a very good write up on shooting .40 in the G20 (and only the G20 or G29, not ALL 10mm auto pistols).

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/40-in-a-10mm-glock/

Also:  https://www.glocktalk.com/threads/40-s-w-through-g20.1764442/

And:  https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/40-in-a-10mm-glock.835262/

The guy goes a long way toward saying I do it, but you shouldn't do it (for liability reasons no doubt), but then goes on to explain why shooting .40 in a G20 may actually be safer than 10mm in a G20.  It sounds pretty good to me, especially when he says competition shooters shoot thousands and thousands of .40 through their G20s.

10mm headspaces on the case mouth, and .40 in a G20 headspaces on the extractor (because it's brass is too short to headspace on the case mouth).  There is some discussion about excess shooting of .40 possibly eroding the barrel at the chamber as a result, and thus buying a .40 conversion barrel to stop this.  But that seems like an unnecessary step, so long as you clean the gun well after shooting, and inspect the chamber for erosion each time (and I bet there isn't any).  Remember, ALL revolvers have the bullet jump across from the cylinder into the rifled barrel.

Remember to follow the rules about Glock compliant ammo (no soft lead reloads, just jacketed bullets)

This is funny because my first comment to this thread was going to be ... can you even find ammo for it?  Of course .40 may be easier to find than 10mm.

Also, just because Comifornia only lets you buy one gun a month, that doesn't mean you have to buy one every month.  

Enjoy.  (of course, now you need a 10mm revolver)  

[Psychotic Bovine]

They say that no gun collection is complete without a Glock.

Meh.  I don't agree with that.  Unlike your XXL hands, mine are XS.  I have shot most of the Glocks; I don't like the feel of any of them in my hand. 

I've owned and carried Glocks.  I'm not particularly fond of them, either.  I like 1911's.  The feel, the trigger, the pointability, all those things.  Glocks just don't feel right me.  Ymmv.

[DirtyDan]

FWIW I do not trust them.....

Maybe it was me, had a stove pipe jam that I could not clear

I stick to revolvers personally

Ymmv......

Dan

[Savago]

We just picked up a CZ 2075 RAMI 9..  nice little package, and perfect for CC.. not that I can.

I never shot any CZ, but heard good things about them.
 

Is it easy to find parts for a CZ in Commiefornia?

[Savago]

Enjoy.  (of course, now you need a 10mm revolver)  

Really good info, thanks for sharing the links!
 

[Savago]

Well I have XXL hands that is not the problem. 1st they feel like holding a brick and look just as good.

I guess there is a reason why people call them 'Block's....

[Jess from VA]

Forget the 10mm revolver.  Here's your next 10mm (uses Glock mags too) (just add a red dot)

https://kriss-usa.com/item/vector-crb-california/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7z5FmEDr-w

[Savago]

       Look at the S & W SVE in .40 cal. Or the S & W SVE in 9 MM. With a 14 round mag on the .40 and 18 rounds on the 9 MM.

In Commiefornia we are restricted to castrated 10 rounds magazines.
 

[Savago]

@Jess: I've seen a Kriss Vector in the gun store, it was black & white looked like a Star Wars Stormtrooper rifle.

I considered buying one of those, but instead decided to get a Marlin 1894 CSBL and a SBL (http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,114413.0.html).

But who knows? Maybe next year? But let's keep this secret from my wife (she and my daughter hates guns).

[Jess from VA]

@Jess: I've seen a Kriss Vector in the gun store, it was black & white looked like a Star Wars Stormtrooper rifle.

I considered buying one of those, but instead decided to get a Marlin 1894 CSBL and a SBL (http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,114413.0.html).

But who knows? Maybe next year? But let's keep this secret from my wife (she and my daughter hates guns).

Yes, you told us that before.

My remedy to that is to get enough guns to need a big safe, then just add to it slowly.  They'll never know the difference.  (And pay your own credit card bills)

Hey, did you get more guns?

No honey you're mistaken, I already had these guns.  

My wife didn't hate guns (has her own), she just thought 60 or 70 of them was enough.

Then, when I went over to her big mahogany jewelry chest and started counting, she'd get angry.   

[Serk]

To each their own and all that, but I have no Glocks, in MY HANDS (And that's the factor, different folks are different!) I've never shot a more unreliable, inaccurate firearm than a Glock.... But! If it works for you, then awesome, glad you have it, hope it continues to scratch your itch...

Somewhat ironically, the first and thus far only Glock I've ever shot that I managed to empty an entire magazine without at least one failure was a 10mm once.... I guess the extra oomph of the 10mm cartridge helped...

[Jess from VA]

Glocks, a million cops can't be wrong, can they? 

I have never liked them either, especially triggers with the little hard-on on them.  Sproing.   

[Serk]

I have never liked them either, especially triggers with the little hard-on on them.  Sproing.   

No problem with that aspect of their design, my preferred EDC, and the one I've been carrying all day every day for 15 years now (If I have on pants, I have a .40 XD Sub-Compact on my person) has it as well, just the overall package of the Glock doesn't work for me...

(Once again, not pooping on those it DOES work for, just not a fan for me... MUCH prefer the further refined, IMHO, XD design)

[Savago]

My remedy to that is to get enough guns to need a big safe, then just add to it slowly.  They'll never know the difference.  (And pay your own credit card bills)  

@Jess: Damn... that is worth trying!
 

@Serk: I've shot the XD in 9mm last year and really like it. If I really get into shooting .40 S&W, it may be a good idea to get one, they are a nice cost/benefit.

[old2soon]

       Look at the S & W SVE in .40 cal. Or the S & W SVE in 9 MM. With a 14 round mag on the .40 and 18 rounds on the 9 MM.

In Commiefornia we are restricted to castrated 10 rounds magazines.
 

                  DAT gonna make da zombie apocalypse a bit more challenging. That 10 round mag thingy.    Course my KelTech .380 only has 6 & 1. I git down to my .380 guessin here I'd be in deep doodoo. Well one way or dee udder we All gonna depart sooner or later!  RIDE SAFE. P S-ta think I gave working and living in commiefornia some Serious thought. blech!

[Serk]

Another technique for stealth firearm acquisition - when you're going to pick up a new toy, that's a range day... Pack up a few guns to go to the range, pick up the new one, then return. It's a lot easier to bring +1 into the safe snuggled up with a grip of its' new siblings...

[Jess from VA]

That sounds like the voice of experience.   

I long for the days (in CA, believe it or not) of driving down to the LA County Fairgrounds with 6 airplane hangers full of new and used, and fine collectors, and unlimited milsurps, and ammo, and WWII jeeps in boxes, and 2K guys walking around with personals for sale, and FFLs being mostly personal or not at all, with a few hundred dollars, and coming home with 2-3.  That was heaven on this earth for me.

I had two friends (retired OSI Lt Col, and LA Cty sheriff) who had small (no FFL tables) and I would run them when they went looking for bargains, and if I was looking for something in particular, they would hunt one up and buy it for me.   1980s

[Bighead]

Well I have XXL hands that is not the problem. 1st they feel like holding a brick and look just as good.

I guess there is a reason why people call them 'Block's....

I am not knocking you or your choice. I hope you love it and it serves you well. Myself I prefer a hammer  fired handgun. I owned (before the boating accident) 8 1911 framed arms. Dont want any other make now. Only draw back is magazine capacity. Most with 10 or less rounds.

[Savago]

Range report: yesterday I visited the range and shot using gloves since it was a bit chilly (42F).

Not sure if it was the gloves or the glock sights (I'm used to the three dots sight configuration featured in my Sigs and HKs), but I was shooting a bit high.

Aside this issue with the operator, the pistol behaved pretty well. I've shot a box of 10mm and a box of .40 S&W, and everything worked fine: no failures to feed or eject, no stove pipe, etc.

It was a funny coincidence that there was a gentleman in the lane at my right that was also shooting a glock, a G20 SF (Short Frame) with a custom barrel (i.e. it looked chromed instead of dark black like the OEM barrel).

He mentioned that he liked his SF (had trigger work) but really wanted to find the older model with the bigger frame or a gen 4 with adjustable straps.

He was shooting 2x as better than I was, so I guess the pistol has potential, it is a matter of myself getting used to it (i.e. operator fault). Probably the better trigger helps, but I was looking to keep this pistol stock.

I got last year a Mantis X training device (https://mantisx.com/) and always log my sessions to measure progress and check what could be improved (got write a new thread and review it!).

I also shot my HK USP9 stainless in the same session and it seems that I'm about 20% faster while being 10% more precise than shooting the Glock g20 (and I'm even faster and more precise with my Sig Navy). Of course, I'm much more used to the HK trigger and operation than the Glock.

One thing I was surprised was the 10mm recoil: aside being a bit snappy, it is pretty manageable. You read reviews in the web and people claim the recoil is stout and takes a real man to handle it. Non sense! I guess after shooting 44 magnum everything feels tame in comparison.
 

Closing the report: the pistol works fine with both 10mm and .40 S&W and always goes bang when you pull the trigger. It is not fancy, maybe even boring, but it works fine. It is a Glock after all.
 

[Jess from VA]

Alas, the downside of an expanding collection of firearms.

They're all a bit different and so are your shooting results.

For a long time, starting out, I had only 3 (6" bbl S&W Model 14 .38, Colt Gold Cup .45, and a Ruger Mark I Target .22.  I got very good with them.

Range time is always precious and I always want to take a collection of firearms with me to practice with.  But I think it's always more productive to take only one or two, and work hard getting better with them.  It's a great theory I almost never follow.

[Savago]

Mandatory video whenever a Glock is mentioned:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlsCObKlVcY

[old2soon]

        You mentioned the other shooter had trigger work. My S & W .40 SVE has had trigger mods. I like the some what lighter pull better than stock heavy feeling pull. My S & W .40 M & P compact on the other hand arrived from the factory with to me anywho already possessing a rather nice trigger pull. Put another box or so thru it and then decide if you desire a lighter trigger pull. You Are shooting Your Own Weapon. You have too be Happy with All aspects of That Weapons performance. Kinda like our individual M/Cs-it MUST please You. RIDE SAFE.