What some clueful instructors carry as their defensive firearm

There are a lot of fine weapons. I don't really care though. I only need one. Not I like one or one looks nice or one....bla bla bla.... I only NEED one. I don't care what it is as long as its reliable, durable and affordable. Glocks check off every box for me. When I first got mine I couldn't shoot it either. No big deal, I p r a c t i c e d !!!!!! Now it the most natural firearm I've ever held. I can draw and point with my eyes closed. Accuracy? I'm not looking for a bulls eye competition gun. I want to hit my target from 25 yards under stress and I can. My Glock is my Corolla. It's borring, plain and dead reliable. My car and my carry gun are there for my every day use and protection. Not to show off to friends or as a conversation piece or a feel good piece. Not for nostalgia or bbq. It there to get me to work in the morning and home at night. Boring and reliable is what's good boring and reliable is what works!

It doesn't have to be a Glock. If I started over I'd be fine with MP, Sig, HK.... really don't care. But not check off as many boxes as Glocks.


As for instructors. I listen to Vikers, Haley, Garand Thumb (don't remember his real name), Hackathon...etc.. people with either decades of experience and/or been there done that

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Ziggy2525 said:
The SMU's did pick Glocks and probably actually use them way more than any line unit would. Seemed to be good enough for the FBI too.

Didn't the Army think the best pistol ended up being one that ND'd when it was dropped just right from waist height?
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LOL! Yeah, they sure did!
 
Whitwabit said:
many times Glock is the pistol of choice because of its price and no other reason .. any way to save a buck is how contracts are given in this day when down sizing and tax reduction is the ruse of many cities ..
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That's what makes the selection of Glocks by SMU's telling. SMU's get pretty much whatever they want.

The Army selection criteria's been published online. Functionally the P320 and Glock were rated equally. The deciding factors were price and third party parts licensing rights. Sig was willing to give licensing rights for parts and Glock wasn't.

Glock's aren't perfect. It's a reliable, mid-priced pistol.
 
blues7 said:
Price enters into the equation but please, as cynical as I am, don't tell me that the firearm doesn't have to pass muster. That's just not the case.
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You are right. If price was the only factor, cops would all be carrying Hi Points.

Glock took the market by producing a good product at a good price, then aggressively going after it.
 
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In the latter half of the 19th century we had the Colt SAA

the 20th century the Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver

The 21st century the Glock as the most common police / self defense firearms.

If I'm an "Instructor" trying to peddle my services; I'll most likely carry the gun my students are likely to show up to class with........


IIRC in 1985/86 the Beretta 92 was, in the end, chosen over the Sig 226 cus the Beretta was $20-25 a unit cheaper!!!!!
 
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blues7 said:
More police and law enforcement in the U.S. (and perhaps internationally) carry Glocks on and off duty than any other handgun .
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How many of them picked that gun by choice and how many had it forced on them because their department said so? Then, most that carry it off duty as well, carry it because that's what they use on duty and want to be consistent.

ContinentalOp said:
One question I do have, though, is how many of those instructors are carrying Glocks because that's what their students use?
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I have a Glock because a lot of my students have them. I have it because I want to be able to speak intelligently about their chosen gun. I carried one a long time ago, but not anymore.

I've said it a lot, but it bears repeating; I see more Glocks fail than any other type or brand. Then again, I see failures a lot and from a lot of different guns. I'll put money that there are two reasons a modern gun fails, lack of maintenance or the gun is too small. By far, the .380AUTO is the worst of all.


robertrwalsh said:
Is clueful even a real word?
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It's not and that's the first thing I noticed even before I pressed play on the video. I'm surprised Protected One used it in the title, but hey, it is in the video title so...

Sorry, but whenever I see someone trying to be clever with some made up word, I'm skeptical about the content. I was not disappointed with my skepticism. He polled 51 instructors and came to the conclusion that the Glock or M&P in 9mm is the right carry gun. Yeah, he can caveat that all he wants, but that's what he was getting at with the entire video. OK, the video was well made, but it gave me no reason to believe what he said.

I don't know what the "Range Instructors" qual is (does anyone?), but the FBI qual isn't hard so, no, I'm not impressed by what he considers good shooting. Moreover, being a good shot doesn't make you a good instructor and being a good instructor doesn't make you a good shot. While not mutually exclusive, they're not indelibly linked. As an example, Béla Károlyi couldn't even function on the uneven parallel bars, but he did coach Nadia Comăneci to the first perfect 10. Of course most of the instructors I know are decent shots.

Everyone of those 51 instructors picked their gun for personal reasons. Not one of them picked their particular gun because some other instructor used it. That's the part he missed in his poll; he didn't ask them why they chose that gun.

How to select the right carry gun:
  1. You must be able to shoot it well. Your life is on the line, why would you place ANY other criteria before this?
  2. Other personal reasons.
 
Rastoff said:
How many of them picked that gun by choice and how many had it forced on them because their department said so? Then, most that carry it off duty as well, carry it because that's what they use on duty and want to be consistent.
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My reply wasn't addressing whether the officers, agents or military personnel selected the firearm. It was simply to demonstrate by sheer numbers and volume of guns out there in the hands of folks working with them daily, year in and year out, that they work.

If one puts the effort in to learn the gun and become competent with it, it is a reliable choice. I value my life and I carry one daily.

I have no quibble with anyone who chooses any other firearm for the right reasons...reliability and ability to deploy it safely and accurately under stress from concealment.

My only issue is with those who aren't in command of the facts and who express opinions that are ill informed.
 
I've said it before, I'm not a Glock fan, it just doesn't fit my hand comfortably. My sons shoot Glocks and shoot them quite well. Neither one has has one bit of trouble with any of them they own and they go bang everytime, can't say that with all the Smiths I've owned, even the 1911s I love so much have had glitches. Price can't be the only criteria for buying one, there are lots of cheaper priced guns out there.
 
The whole thing is stupid. An "instructor"'s firearm choice is reflective only of themselves, not the gun. I know a guy that berates people for carrying .380 pocket autos--and yet carries a .380 Ruger LCP himself. With an empty chamber, I might add, because "people are more likely to shoot themselves than need to use their pistol defensively".

That doesn't make Rugers the "Guns of Idiots". It just means this guy is a few cards short of a deck.

As to the Glock in general, without getting into the pros and cons of different models--

They're affordable, do everything you really need a defensive pistol to do, and have a great reputation for reliability. And no matter what combination of cartridge and size you want, Glock probably makes one.
 
I agree with Keith.44spl. I started my LE career in 1971 with a model 66 and a model 60 for off duty. I later went to a 2 1/2" 66 for a while and then to a 1911 for about 25+ years. I have owned several 1911's and still love them. I call them the aficionado's gun because they require more maintenance than something like a glock and more training to manipulate the safety etc. I also have an M+P Shield that I often carry and a Modified Glock 19 as well. One of my most carried is an M+P 340 snub when not working. I can shoot them all well so pick what works for your style and carry needs depending on the day or form of dress and practice, practice, practice. Nothing is perfect .
 
Protected One said:
Just for the sake of argument, I'll bet that if you DECIDED you were going to shoot a Glock and spent enough time doing so, you would get just as good as with your PPS. ;)
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Thank you, I would like to think that I could even master a Glock if so inclined. The problem, at least for me, is that the grip angle is so off for me that the real question is - why would I try when there are so many other weapons that fit my hand, point naturally, and that I can shoot rather well without retooling my entire approach.

I was shooting in Atlanta when Glock set up shop here. I've handled them since nearly day 1. I've had offers for stupidly low cost Glocks over the years. Never been tempted, not even once. Any weapon that requires hundreds of dollars of after-market parts to meet my minimum carry standards, and still doesn't point naturally for me, isn't anywhere close to "perfection" in my book.

As for LEOs swearing by them. I've never told another person what they ought to like, nor what they ought to shoot. But over the years I've found the most vocal about doing just those things have been the Glock aficionados.
 
"Couldn't the same be said of almost everyone on the forum? Yet we don't speak of each others knowledge or experience as irrelevant, do we?"
No, not really as very few if any claim to be so called experts. Also the info given by posters are usually taken as someone's own opinion.
 
Rastoff said:
How many of them picked that gun by choice and how many had it forced on them because their department said so? .
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When looking at larger departments....how many of them need to be told what to carry? Yes people have their own preference but how many absolutely can't hold a Glock? Like no way, no how not one actually physically fits my hand? I mean like literally can't hold one? Most of these big departments are no different than the Military in nthe sense that you get what your issued and nothing else. My home town PD has 6400 officers and I know for a fact at least a few don't even want to carry a gun! To them a gun is just extra weight that they consider unnecessary. Not because there's no crime but simply because it's a paycheck and they want to do the least possible to make the most money. they'd be just as happy with a 22short Rohm revolver as they would with a Glock 17. So giving people an option isn't always a good thing. The department issues G17 but recently they've allowed other Glocks as long as the officers provide their own ammo for training! Guess what's the most popular gun now! G17! Apparently no one really wats to spend their own money and time on training

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Ziggy2525 said:
The SMU's did pick Glocks and probably actually use them way more than any line unit would. Seemed to be good enough for the FBI too.

Didn't the Army think the best pistol ended up being one that ND'd when it was dropped just right from waist height?
Click to expand...

What's a SMU?
 
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Nothing wrong with carrying a Glock, but these decisions have to be put in context. Most firearms instructors I meet walk around in cargo pants and untucked polo shirts, and if someone notices them printing it's no big deal.... because they're a firearms instructor and supposed to be carrying a gun.

If you work in a professional environment and can't print under any circumstances, all of a sudden maybe that Glock 19 isn't the easiest option.
 
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