Let me begin by saying that from the day the very first Glock pistol hit the market, I swore I would never own one. Even if someone gave it to me.
So what has changed my mind? A few months I stumbled across a G20 cutaway for a give-away price. I bought it because A. It was a great deal, and B. It was so different and relatively rare. I know, what does that have to do with a G40? Well the G20 is a 10mm, a cartridge I have no experience with, which is pretty rare for me. Even though the gun is a non-firing model, it peaked my interest in the 10mm round. After reading some pretty interesting facts on the ballistics of the round, I started eyeing pistols chambered for it. In reality, there aren't many, for example S&W, as I'm sure most know, no longer makes the round available in any of it's guns. That's pretty telling on the surface. If the major handgun company in the US and possibly the world doesn't think the round is worth offering a gun for, why was I even thinking about getting one? Good question no, great question!
Then I stumbled across the G40. For those unaware of this model, it is one of Glock's long slide pistols. The barrel length is 6 inches. In my book, that's plus number one. This gun also comes pre-milled for red dot sights and includes four different mounting plates to make it compatible with as many sight makers as possible. Plus number two. The gun's magazines hold 15 rounds of 10mm and comes with 3 of these magazines. Plus number three. Seeing the gun with these three pluses caused me to rethink my vow. I guess never say never is true.
Off to the auction site I went, and in short order told my LGS to be on the look out for a shipment. Two days later, the staff at the LGS were 'oohing and awwing' over my latest purchase. Home I went to install my also new Leupold red dot, using one of my bore sighting tools to get the sight into reasonable position. My first impressions of the gun were much like the guys at the gun store. This thing is NOT something you are going to easily carry concealed, but that's not why I bought it. It's big. Not Desert Eagle 44 mag big, but big nevertheless. And with 15 rounds of 10mm, it's also pretty heavy.
So, if I didn't get this for carry, what was my intent? Two fold. The primary reason was killing paper. I know that's not for everyone, but I've been doing it for over half a century and enjoy it. Second, and it's a very remote second, hunting. The ballistics of the round assure me that this gun should be suitable many types of game, up to and including deer. But again, that's a remote second. Even more remote is the possibility of it becoming my primary home defense and/or truck gun. I have to say though, after my trip to the range, number three moved up to number two, and is crowding number one.
So, off to the range I went. Weather being winter, I wussed out and went to an indoor range. Putting a target up and running it out to 50 feet, I found the red dot needed minor tuning. Tis now I first become familiar with the Glock trigger. OK, it's not bad. It's not what I'm used to, but again, this is the first striker fired gun I've shot in 20 years (I briefly owed one of the guns S&W was successfully sued by Glock for patent infringement). The trigger is different. It takes a consistent 6 pounds, which is a bit more than I like, but not terrible. The important thing to me is that it's consistent. So after sighting in and getting kind of used to the trigger, I load up ten rounds and run the target back out to the 50 foot mark. Rather than spending an arm and leg on ammo, I bought a couple boxes of Armscor 180 grain FMJ flat nose bullets. During my first string, I had a double tap. That is to say the gun fired twice when I was only intending to fire once. Not a full auto situation, the gun's recoil and my placement on the returning trigger caused a second shot. Hmmm. I went on to shoot something else and came back later to the Glock. I ran another target out 50 foot with a sickly yellow dot attached for an aiming point and tried another magazine of 10 rounds. Again, at around the 5th or 6th shot, I had another double tap. As the target below will show, it didn't throw the round off target. As of right now, I'm not sure what to make of this. I had thought of putting an aftermarket trigger group into this gun to get a lighter pull, but now I'm concerned about making the problem worse.
Other than the double tap situation, the gun shoots well, and the recoil is very moderate, thanks to the added mass of the longer barrel. I realize I wasn't using atomic charged tank killing rounds, but even so, I would liken this to shooting 9mm in your average 9mm pistol. While the grouping is nothing to write home about, it was shot off hand without any kind of rest. On a good day, I know I can do better, and I'm sure the grouping was me and not the gun.
So over all? I'm glad I spent the money. Pricey in some respects and cheap in others: at $880, it's cheaper than a used 1006 but more expensive than a G20. That aside, the gun has potential to not only be a tack driver but is enjoyable to shoot and could make a great hunting and self defense weapon -
IF - I can get the double tap thing straightened out.
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Glock Model 40 or G40 Review
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