Shot my first Glock model 26 today, here are my thoughts and impressions......

[chief38]

I am not and have never been a Glock owner but have shot a few on occasion when friends bring their to the range. In general I think they are excellent for law enforcement and uniformed carry but for most civilians to EDC / CCW they are just too large, bulky and heavy. I think they are extremely reliable and accurate but just not small or light enough to comfortably conceal.

Today a friend brought his Glock 26 down to the range and he let me shoot 30 rounds. Below is the first target that I shot and it was at 30 feet using 124 grain FMJ I found it to be very accurate. The Glock 26 empty weighs in at 21.5 ounces and compared to my 17.8 ounce Sig P365 the Glock had noticeably more felt recoil than the substantially smaller and lighter Sig - I was surprised to say the least. One thing that I never cared for was Glock's very wide, thick and bulky frame. I feel that the Glock 26 would make a descent OWB holster SD gun but would be useless for pocket carry. The Sig P365 is my EDC and is pocket carried in a DeSantis Nemesis about 30%-40% of the time when not in my Kramer OWB Horsehide holster.

I feel Glock dropped the ball when Sig, Springfield Armory, FN, etc. all came out with their own Micro 9's and even 6 years later has no models that directly compete with Micro 9's. I guess for some reason Glock feels like they just do not need to. I truly don't believe they can't come up with one!

Anyway I was glad to have actually shot the Glock 26 but would never consider owning one after owning my P365 for 6 years. I think the P365 is the one model that revolutionized the CCW / EDC 9mm SD carry market. Because the Glock 26 is sort of a betwixt and between sized gun, I see it as going after a shrinking market and wonder how many they actually sell year. After hearing so much about Glock and all their models, I found out first hand today that the 26 is sort of an obsolete oddball sized pistol. That's just my take and of course some will disagree. Even for off duty LEO's it still seems to big and bulky for off duty use unless they work in Alaska where you wear outer garments most of the year.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Obviously it's not an apples to apples comparison. Try a Glock 43.

The P365 has the edge is capacity. But that's it.

 

[Puller]

I like Glocks, my every day carry is a Glock 19. I don't particularly like the G26 or 27.

 

[charlessummers]

Obviously it's not an apples to apples comparison. Try a Glock 43.

The P365 has the edge is capacity. But that's it.

The 43x with the Shield mags is hard to beat for carry IWB or OWB.

 

[adwjc]

Chief, I don't know why you think Glock dropped the ball on new model compacts - they have the 43X and the 48, both 10 shot slim single stack pistols. High capacity aftermarket mags bring you up to 15 rounds; their philosophy seems to be reliability and handling, before size reduction.

The 26 is from another age, it is simply a chopped 19, its advantage is that the mags from a full size (even though Glock calls the 19 a compact) will fit and give, for example an officer the who carries both of these (26 as a backup) the ability to use the mags from the 19. 30 years ago it was big deal.

I always laugh at guys who buy a 26 and use extended magazines to add a round or two, stay with the 19, the half inch they cut off is back again with an extended mag

 

[hardluk1]

My wife carries a P365xl but she was not a fan of the stock grip after a 150 rounds while getting to know a new handgun range time . I had read about the wilson grip module and ordered one . She likes wwith wilson grip saying it feels far more like the thin grip kimber ultra . Anyhow . I have a hellcat pro comp . I'm not a 9mm CC guy yet buy figure one day I will be so !!!

OH yea . I can't stand glocks grip design . I shot a 26 , a 19 and 41 . No interest in owning a glock . have several m&ps in 40sw and a 2.0 4" compact with dot optic to practice with some too .

 

[chief38]

Chief, I don't know why you think Glock dropped the ball on new model compacts - they have the 43X and the 48, both 10 shot slim single stack pistols. High capacity aftermarket mags bring you up to 15 rounds; their philosophy seems to be reliability and handling, before size reduction.

The 26 is from another age, it is simply a chopped 19, its advantage is that the mags from a full size (even though Glock calls the 19 a compact) will fit and give, for example an officer the who carries both of these (26 as a backup) the ability to use the mags from the 19. 30 years ago it was big deal.

I always laugh at guys who buy a 26 and use extended magazines to add a round or two, stay with the 19, the half inch they cut off is back again with an extended mag

I will answer your question to the best of my ability. The reason behind my saying Glock dropped the ball is because the Glock 43 is not comparable to a Sig P365. IMHO, you just can't compare a 6+1 to a 10+1 round (flush mag) capacity. Secondly, the Glock 43X is not a pocket carry option IMO - too large. I also like the manual safety option on the the Sig P365 (which mine is equipped with) and the metallic night sights on the Sig are far superior to the plastic ones on a Glock.

The Glock's trigger "dingus" is also something I do not care for at all and feel it is all but useless. When I shoot Glocks my finger sometimes get pinched. And..... last but not least, if one's finger is on the trigger while re-holstering, the gun will go bang because the dingus is pushed in along with the trigger. Yes - as someone who instructs new shooter's I am fully aware a finger should NEVER be on the trigger when not actively shooting the gun, but the hard truth is that is how most have shot themselves with Glocks. A manual safety could have prevented that if engaged. BTW, the manual Sig P365 safety is slim, effective and is easy to flick on-off a split second before pulling the trigger. There are some gun safety's that are hard to operate and could really slow you down - I do not find that to be the case here.

In other Glock models (17, 19 etc) I could never accept the feeling of holding a "brick" in my hand and having to conceal something that wide. I just feel the general Glock profile width is too damned thick for my liking. Like I stated in my OP, for uniformed officers, security guards, armored car workers etc. it does not matter for concealment purposes, but for civilians who CCW it matters quite a bit. I am also feeling Glock has never offered a manual safety option. While many frown upon a manual safety, they should offer it for those who don't. I see the line of Glocks as quality made, reliable and accurate pistols that have long since proven their worth. That said, had they not been so stubborn they could have owned a piece of the P365, Hellcat, FN Reflex, etc. etc. market too - my feeling for saying they dropped the ball. Hey, I don't really care because someone else ate their lunch and came out with a revolutionary new design of putting 11 /12 rounds of 9mm in a 17 1/2 ounce pocket sized, reliable and accurate pistol. IMHO, that is Glock's loss.

 

[Timber Wolf]

Chief, I don't know why you think Glock dropped the ball on new model compacts - they have the 43X and the 48, both 10 shot slim single stack pistols. High capacity aftermarket mags bring you up to 15 rounds; their philosophy seems to be reliability and handling, before size reduction.

The 26 is from another age, it is simply a chopped 19, its advantage is that the mags from a full size (even though Glock calls the 19 a compact) will fit and give, for example an officer the who carries both of these (26 as a backup) the ability to use the mags from the 19. 30 years ago it was big deal.

I always laugh at guys who buy a 26 and use extended magazines to add a round or two, stay with the 19, the half inch they cut off is back again with an extended mag

Yes, the advantage of using your duty size magazines in your backup is IMHO the raison d'être for the G26 (and G27). It is no surprise that there are better options for a single carry piece, but as a back up to a 17, 19, or even a 34 the 26 has no pier. Just like the 27 is the bee's knees for a companion to a 22, 23, or 35. I had a 27 for a while and never warmed to it. I shot it ok but the recoil was too snappy for my tastes and it got sold off.

Perhaps if I had learned to hold it like I eventually would the 26 I might have liked it better. I do like the 26 and shoot it at least once a year in the Glock Match when it rolls into town. The secret for me in shooting the 26 accurately is holding a death grip with my strong hand. Once I learned this trick my accuracy improved considerably. Somewhere along the way I came across an ankle holster for the 26 and it fits and rides tolerably if not almost comfortably.

 

[Smoke]

In general I think they are excellent for law enforcement and uniformed carry

Civilians who are cops or civilians who aren't cops

but for most civilians to EDC / CCW they are just too large, bulky and heavy.

To quote @Muss Muggins "Duly Noted".

I feel that the Glock 26 would make a descent OWB holster SD gun but would be useless for pocket carry.

I carried a Glock 26 in a pocket holster in the front pocket of my Wranglers at work every night for at least 4 years without any issues.

 

[Smoke]

I always laugh at guys who buy a 26 and use extended magazines to add a round or two, stay with the 19, the half inch they cut off is back again with an extended mag

I bought my Glock 26 to compliment my Glock 19, primarily due to magazine compatibility. And I put the two round Factory extension on my glock 26 magazines.

I used it as a pocket gun in my work uniform for several years with no issues.

It was the length of the barrel on the Glock 19 that caused more problems than the length of the grip on the Glock 26

 

[srb10864]

I bought a 26 when they first released, so I've had mine for a long time. I'm currently waiting on my Glockstore 26x frame to arrive next month in September, and then I'll see how it shoots in that 26x configuration.

A 26x is the same dimensions as a 43x, except it's thicker. I've also always felt I shot my 26 just as well as my 19, so I'm expecting the 26x to mesh very well together.

 

[Rob613]

G43 with Z9 mags will give you 9+1.

G26 is .26 inches wider than a P365.

But that's a great thing about guns, there's so many choices…there's something for everyone.

 

[Equus]

The G19 is about as small as I care to go with a 9mm handgun. The newish micro 9s never seem to handle all that well and make my hand feel all cramped. My hands are not large either.

 

[walkin' trails]

I don't consider a Glock 26 to be obsolete. They tend to run under extreme conditions that might turn other popular pistol options into badly balanced boomerangs. I carried a 27 for several years and currently have a 26 Gen 4 left over from the days when my employer would not authorize anything other than the 26 for backup or off duty. It's not my favorite, but I'm no longer running toward gunfire.

The 43 is not necessarily "ball drop" on Glock's part either. Got one of those and carried it for several years after my employer finally authorized them. I don't care for the shape of the trigger face, but have not problems with the trigger pull. While I don't carry that one anymore either, I'm not planning to part with it anytime soon. I KNOW it's 100 percent reliable with factory 6-round mags. When I carried it, I carried about four extra mags. They're small and I didn't find them inconvenient.

I have a 43X. I don't like it, but not because of its less than innovative magazine capacity, but because the way it shoots seems to cause me a fair amount of pain and discomfort when on my best up shooting hand. Other than that, it's also 100% reliable with stock mags. And on any given qualification course, I'm actually around 10 points better with the 365s. But it's more time and that gun than it is with me and 365, or the 43, for that matter.

I have a couple of p365s at present. I like them for what I'm doing now. But I'm not getting rid of my Glocks - well, I may trade the 43X one of these days if I see something I really have to have.

 

[BDABALL]

I'm not any kind of expert marksman, but here is my experience with a Glock 26. I've got a shooting range in my front yard (very rural). I usually shoot a magazine or two weekly. I rotate G19,G43,G42,G26, S&W bodyguard 2.0, various revolvers . The Glock 26 along with a s&w 36-1(3 inch) are the easiest, most accurate, and most comfortable to shoot for me. I do find it more difficult to conceal , though. I'm a big fan of the 26. People are going to like what they like, though.

 

[Doug M.]

I had a 26 for a few years and replaced it with a 33. My primary carry method by far was pocket carry in a Kramer holster. I have been using that method for decades and found it to work very well. I don't wear jeans any more, using some form of cargo pants instead. I am conspicuously "unarmed" and yet pretty well armed. I am sometimes surprised by the otherwise savvy people who actually think I am unarmed. Hah!