Re: Baby Glock
Theology was never a strong suit for me personally, so I couldn't tell you when the "Glock Gods" arrived on these shores
. I can tell you I bought my first Glock 17 in 1986 and carried it both on and off duty for almost a year...until an A-hole Captain had the, then controversal, Glock removed from the approved (slipped it in while he was at the FBI NA
) list. Moved up to the SP immediately thereafter where our brand new unit was allowed latitude for a few months while we selected a unit pistol. I used the same Glock 17 (as well as a BHP and a 1911) until settling on Sigs in early 1987.
Accumulated, traded and re-accumulated various personal Glocks over the years even though they were verboten for agency carry
. Fought that battle the whole time there though
.
Finally, upon "retiring" in 2000, I could once again carry my Glocks, or whatever floats my boat at the time, whenever I please. That worked out especially well, since shortly thereafter that is what the USG ended up issuing the foreign troops we were training. Used my personal G23 for everyday personal CCW CONUS at first, but soon settled on my G19 with 127+P+...after all, 9mm "Instructor Maintenance" ammo was unlimited
. In no time though, I decided to carry my G32 instead and just wear out USG Glocks instead of mine
. After all, shoot 'em enough and it becomes obvious, a Glock is a Glock. Familiarity with one goes a long way in developing familiarity with 'em all...
To the OPs question...During my Glock mania of the past 10 years, I also shot the snot out of my baby Glocks, the 26, 27 and 33, especially the G26, remember...unlimited ammo and multiple state of the art ranges right behind the classrooms
. I've come to the conclusion, for me anyway, that the best concealed carry Glocks are the mid sized 19/23/32 (full grip, longer sight radius, yada yada yada) and the only advantage to the baby Glocks is the ability to use the larger magazines of the mid and full sized models when the baby Glock is carried as a BUG. Not that the baby Glocks don't shoot, they do, I just believe the mid sized guns do the job better...faster.
I carried my LEO BUGs every day for 27 years in ankle rigs, so I'm no stranger to that carry mode and the baby Glocks are just a bit "thick" for me for that, and pocket carry. They print at the ankle of 5.11s and even boot cut jeans. The plastic Kahrs are more svelt and serve the baby gun niche much better...and still allow commonality of operation with the various belt sized Glocks. You just can't force a double stack mag in a single stack well
, NBD to me anyway. Back in the olden days, my K frame speedloaders didn't work with my J frame BUG and my 1911 mags were a bit tight in my PPK BUG. I don't do BUGs much anymore though, if the area is that bad, I just don't go there
...Current LEOs might suffer the thickness for the mag compatability though, they get sent "there"...
Just another .02, OMMV