Glock "PDW"?

[Fishinfool]

I went to the Bloomsburg Gun Show last week, and picked up something interesting. It is a CAA "Micro conversion kit" that turns your Glock into a so called "PDW" (Personal Defense Weapon).

I happened to have a Glock 26 laying around, and some spare 33 round mags, so I bought a kit for it, about $250.00. They also make them for various S&W and SA handguns.

The kit is well made and finished, mostly polymer. The handgun is easy and quick to snap into place. Seems to mount solid, and everything functions as it should. It holds a spare mag by the front grip, has a dedicated flashlight mount under the barrel, and side and top Pickatinny rails.

20210303_142639 by Larry, on Flickr

Mounted a SIG Romeo-5 red dot on the top rail, and hit the range today. So, some thoughts.

With the folding brace folded, the gun is still light enough in weight to fire one or two handed. With the brace open, it shoulders well, and is quick on target. An AR-15 height sight mount is needed for proper cheek weld.

20210303_142701 by Larry, on Flickr

It is fast on multiple targets. First time I shot it today, and I was double tapping plates from 10 yards out to 50, fast. No malfunctions.

One gripe - Accuracy is only so so. From the bench at 25 yards using WW 115 grain hardball, 5 shot groups were about 3 inches. About the same as the gun will do from the bench by itself. Didn't test the accuracy at 50 as the wind was blowing pretty hard, but it had no problem keeping them on a 12 inch steel plate.

OK, so what's it good for? Kinda bulky to carry, though you could with a baggy coat and a single point sling. Not any more accurate or quick to deploy in a classic one on one self defense situation than a normal handgun. Where I could see it being useful is with multiple targets, especially at longer ranges where both speed and accuracy drop off with normal sub compact handguns. The folding brace really does make for a solid and steady sight picture and fast recovery. But mostly, It's just plain fun to shoot at the range, and I like it.

Larry

20210303_142712 by Larry, on Flickr

 

[Echo40]

The Micro Roni is the one and only PDW that I've ever had any interest whatsoever in. It just makes a lot of sense as a simple, easy, and relatively inexpensive means to get a high quality PDW.

I can actually see getting one of these for an M&P, but I'm not sure that they'll fit an M&P40c 1.0, and I have some concerns over things with braces on them considering what was going on just awhile ago.

 

[lihpster]

I literally just ordered one last night. Have a G17 gathering dust. Maybe I'll use it more. Ordered some happy sticks to go with. Now I just have to find more ammo. Maybe if I put an empty case under my pillow, the ammo fairy will leave me a couple boxes. Worth a shot.

 

[LVSteve]

Is that the "Gen 2" brace they mention on their website? This might be an option for the LEO trade-in M&P I bought cheap some years ago.

 

[Echo40]

I literally just ordered one last night. Have a G17 gathering dust. Maybe I'll use it more. Ordered some happy sticks to go with. Now I just have to find more ammo. Maybe if I put an empty case under my pillow, the ammo fairy will leave me a couple boxes. Worth a shot.

Make sure it's a case of good premium ammo, if you put a TULA Ammo case under the pillow and nothing happens, then it doesn't necessarily prove anything.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

The Glock was born as a PDW. Unless you define a PDW as anything that looks weird, makes your handgun more complicated to use, or turns it into something the ATF might frown on. Jus' sayin', and I don't even like Glocks, but they are easy to shoot, easy to maintain, and from the sales to police departments and military around the world I'd say they rank right up there as PDWs from the get go..........

 

[lrrifleman]

Fishinfool, from my perspective, it looks like something out of Buck Rogers or Star Wars. In my mind, it looks too much like a toy and I fear that an unsuspecting LEO could mistake it for what it is and get themselves killed. Sorry, my initial impression.

 

[LVSteve]

The Glock was born as a PDW. Unless you define a PDW as anything that looks weird, makes your handgun more complicated to use, or turns it into something the ATF might frown on. Jus' sayin', and I don't even like Glocks, but they are easy to shoot, easy to maintain, and from the sales to police departments and military around the world I'd say they rank right up there as PDWs from the get go..........

I think you will find that the military consider a PDW to be something between a pistol and an assault rifle. The FN P90 is the modern example, with the M1 carbine being the PDW of yesteryear.

 

[Eric300]

I never could understand why one would want to make a shoulder mounted weapon out of a handgun. Or, a handgun out of a rifle carriage for that matter.

 

[BAM-BAM]

Thanks.... but I'll stick with a Beretta CX-4 using 9mm 92mags....... 20 and 30 rd Mec-gar and Factory mags are readily available..

 

[Richard Simmons]

I never could understand why one would want to make a shoulder mounted weapon out of a handgun. Or, a handgun out of a rifle carriage for that matter.

They have their uses though limited they may be. We've been putting stocks on handguns since the days of percussion revolvers then of course the C-96, Luger, Hi-Power, etc. I prefer the later examples since you can add or remove the stock fairly easily. More stable and possibly more accurate than a regular handgun, less cumbersome than a carbine.

 

[Telecaster]

I confess I just don't get this "PDW" thing, but I don't begrudge anyone who wants one; go for it. I thought a J-frame was a personal defense weapon. This seems more like a weapon for defending an area much larger than one's person. But as I said, to each his own.

 

[rockquarry]

I've never heard of a "PDW". My initial reaction when I saw the photo was that this was a joke and not a firearm. I realize now that the ultimate gadgeteer would never see it that way.

 

[BAM-BAM]

IIRC; "PDW" was coined a couple of decades ago as the military sought a weapon for support troops in war zones that no longer have front lines and rear areas.... a weapon better than a handgun and easier to carry while still being able to perform their support duties than the standard M-16.

Many of which fire a pistol caliber round........................

The M-1 carbine was developed to fill that role in WWII.

UZI in the 1950s

H&K MP9 from the 70s

Today you have things like the FN P-90

Or the military version of the Beretta CX-4 , with a 12" barrel and can be full auto

 

[Echo40]

Fishinfool, from my perspective, it looks like something out of Buck Rogers or Star Wars. In my mind, it looks too much like a toy and I fear that an unsuspecting LEO could mistake it for what it is and get themselves killed. Sorry, my initial impression.

Actual toy guns have long since been made to look less and less like real guns over the decades since the 90s. As of 2010, practically all toy guns look like Nerf or Super Soakers, obvious toys made of brightly colored plastic which could never be confused for real guns.

Besides, guns like the Styr AUG and FN P90 have been around so long and been featured in so many films/videogames at this point, that even the average person recognizes them as real firearms, thus it's doubtful that a Micro Roni would be questioned.

Last but not least, thugs respond more to the sight of a policeman's uniform than they do to what they're carrying. Heck, most thugs supposedly assume that anyone who wears 5.11 Cargo Pants is either an undercover cop or carrying a gun, so I very much doubt that a thug would question that what a uniformed policeman is pointing at them is anything but a gun or a TASER, regardless of its outward appearance.
If anything, the more futuristic a firearm appears to be, the more likely a thug is to be intimidated by it because all they can see from their perspective is a cop pointing an unknown weapon at them which may fire any number of things; electrified hooks, pepper balls, tear gas, bullets, or for all they know, laser beams.

 

[Fishinfool]

Is that the "Gen 2" brace they mention on their website? This might be an option for the LEO trade-in M&P I bought cheap some years ago.

Yes, it is the gen 2 model. Be aware that they also make several options that when assembled, make it an NFA weapon. You probably want the version I posted, with the ATF approved "Brace". The NFA versions use folding "stocks". The only real difference is the wrist brace thingy on the end of the folding "Brace".


Thanks all for the comments. Yea, its about as far removed from a traditional blued steel & wood S&W revolver as you can get. But I like firearms of all types.

Without the folding brace, it really serves no purpose other than make a compact belt gun more bulky. The brace, when used, allows for a much steadier hold than a handgun held free hand. It will not make your gun more accurate - it will allow you to hold steadier, and be more accurate.

What uses you may find for such a rig depends on your situation and taste. Me?, I have a bunch of 9mm ammo, and find this thing fun to shoot, and its something different to try.

Wanted to add that R/E shouldering a braced handgun, the BATFE has issued a letter that allows the "occasional" shouldering of a braced handgun.

Larry

 

[Echo40]

I'm seriously tempted to get one of these. Not because I necessarily have a practical use for one in a defensive role, but simply because it looks cool (reminds me a bit of the M41A Pulse Rifles from ALIENS) and would be fun to shoot at the range.

Fortunately, that's the only reason a free man needs to own something like this.

 

[NCBeagle]

I've gone back and forth on buying one of these things. I'll probably get one because...well, why not. Might be fun. They are plentiful in Charlotte.

 

[NCBeagle]

Fishinfool, from my perspective, it looks like something out of Buck Rogers or Star Wars. In my mind, it looks too much like a toy and I fear that an unsuspecting LEO could mistake it for what it is and get themselves killed. Sorry, my initial impression.

I thought of your post upon seeing this in the local news. Drug dealer disguised his setup as a toy.

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