Of the five generations of Glock pistols, the 5th Gen is easily my standout favorite. I remember the almost mythical nature when they first came out. And my first one was a Gen 2 model 17, that at first struck me as very interesting, but I ended up up selling it, and found my way back to a 1911 pretty quickly, and then to an HK USP, SIGs, and the rest. I came back to Glocks later with the Gen 3’s and spent a lot of time with them… Especially the Model 23’s. And pretty much always removed the finger groove thing, because they are awful. The 4th gen guns were, in my mind, gigantic disappointments. They offered nothing anyone actually asked for, and are nother more than a kneejerk reaction to the success of the Walthers and M&P’s swappable back straps. They did change the recoil springs to make the recoil feel a bit softer, but at the same time kinda messed up the formula because all the sudden some guys were experiencing more malfs than normal. So to me the 4ths are like the Windows VISTA of Glocks. That brings us to the 5th Gens. Where Glock finally did what every single person that raised an eyebrow at Glocks suggested – ditch the damn finger grooves. They cleaned up the recoil springs and triggers, and they didn’t futz around with the magazine wells with lips or cut outs or something that has always ruined a good feeling grip. Glock finally got it right. Now, they could have had this right at Gen 2, by simply listening to their customers and just adding in the frame rails for lights. A Gen 2 + if you will. Done. Simple. But I do like the ambi slid stop and reversible mag releases. They’ve come a long way. And the 5’s are wearing a new DLC finish too… Which looks very nice. My Glock Model 45 is easily my favorite Glock ever. And other than the XS sights, it’s completely stock. Because it didn’t need anything else. No aftermarket triggers, no Dremel work to the frame, nothing. This is a first for me. If you’ve not had a Glock in some time or ever… Take a good look at the 5th Gens.
The Snubby article Firearms News Magazine‘s page seems to want to sell SIG 365’s. Which is fine. However, it misses some things. Like the reasons to use a Snubby. So please, allow me to illuminate those dark areas of Reason.They are very safe. I don’t know of any case where a Modern Snub Nose Revolver has fired without the Shooter wanting it to be fired. Firing when dropped went out the window when the gun makers ditched putting the firing pin on the hammer. Rossi I think still makes revolvers like that – and I’m not a fan. The new revolvers from S&W, Ruger, Kimber… They simply can’t fire accidentally. Note I didn’t say negligently – if you pull the trigger it will go bang. And that leads to the next reason. Reliability. The gun isn’t going to care if you have premium ammo, cheap ammo, or even no ammo… The action will cycle as designed since it functions mechanically by the trigger and not by recoil. You can fire very light target loads, bird shot loads, and anything up to the heaviest loads… All of them. A recoil-operated semi auto needs ammunition loaded within a specific spectrum of weights and energy in order to cycle properly. Semi Autos also need a bullet shape that will allow it to fit in the magazine and feed reliably from the magazine. Revolvers will work as long as you can fit the cartridge in the cylinder and close the cylinder. In a semi auto, if that round fails, the gun has a stoppage and has to be cleared. In a revolver just pull the trigger again to cycle to the next round.That being said, revolvers can still fail, but the occurrence is far less likely. Size & Weight. The size and shape of a snubby is generally very small and can be carried very easily. These new Subcompact Autos are great, and can even be slimmer. Now, in the Semi’s… You have options of .380, 9mm in these subcompacts, with an occasional .40 cal if you have a Glock 27. For the same size of that .38 Snubby – you could get a .357 Snubby. About the same size and weight (slight differences that don’t make a difference) and then you have the option for all the .357 Magnum loads AND all the .38 Special Loads. Your snubby doesn’t have to be an Airweight, an Ultra Light, a Featherweight… Whatever you want to call it. You can get it in Titanium, Scandium, Polymer, or good old Steel, Stainless or Not. Depending on what you want to load in it, depending on what you like – You can have it your way. Simplicity. A revolver is the casual and classic Jeans and T-Shirt style of carry… It’s never going to look bad, even if it isn’t the popular thing. Mechanically, the manual of arms is as simple as a handgun can get. There’s a latch to open and close the cylinder and there’s a trigger. There’s no slide to manipulate, no slide release lever. And if you get a Hammerless Snubby, you don’t even have a hammer spur to worry about. This makes drawing from deep concealment very easy. Yeah, the felt recoil is sharper the lighter you go in the gun and the hotter you go in the ammo, but you can find loads that balance in a way you like. Another thing I like, is that it’s not spitting brass across the room when you fire it. You can simply dump the empty brass right here where you want them and you don’t need to go around trying to find them all before the police sho… I mean, before you leave the Range. This article says the sights are superior. And that’s generally the case, but you can get good sights on small revolvers too. With standard sights though, I outshot my entire Police Academy Class and took Top Shot using a Snub Nose .38 that I had put bigger grips on. In a class full of Glocks, Berettas, SIG’s and other such pistols… My little S&W Model 10 Snubby did the job. There is no Right or Wrong in what you want to carry if you can carry it concealed and if you can make your hits with it. Sure, the SIG 365 is a cool pistol, as well as the others like it… Hellcats, and the like. They are great. But so are Revolvers. If you can make your hits with it – that’s all that matters, no matter what you pick to carry… It’s not the Plane, it’s the Pilot. My Snubby? A Ruger SP101 in .357 and I use Speed Strips to hold my reloads. It’s accurate as hell and I can make hits with it like folks that don’t know me wouldn’t believe. I load it with 158 grain Semi-Jacketed Hollow Points that cause trauma on a level by which all other calibers are judged by. Only 5 Rounds? I’m confident I can resolve any realistic self defense scenario with this kit. All I’m saying is don’t turn up your nose at a Snub Nose.
