Hi Jim,
I recently bought a Glock 21 (.45 ACP). Although the pistol works great, it did not fit my hand well and it tended to point to the right as I brought it up to fire. I have large hands so it was not a “large gun, small hand” problem. I love my Glock 19 and Glock 27 so there is no anti-Glock bias here.
For comparison, I bit the bullet and bought a [Springfield Armory] XD Tactical in 45 ACP. Renting a gun is not an option where I live, so if you do not know someone with an particular model, you are out of luck in the testing department. Anyhow, I can not be more happy with my choice of the XD. The pistol is about as [Model] 1911 feeling as you can get in a plastic frame firearm. I believe it is the steel magazine used in the XD that allows for the much thinner and more ergonomic grip design. I was also pleasantly surprised by the ambidextrous safety that works like a 1911. No more weak finger magazine changes for me.
I would wholeheartedly recommend the XD to anyone looking for a reliable pistol and would point to my $600 Glock 21 mistake as evidence.
Kind regards, – Bill A.
JWR Replies: I’ve heard from many SurvivalBlog readers that they love the ergonomics of the XD grip angle. They are fantastic pistols. And now that spare parts for the XD pistols are becoming available, they are my top pick for self defense pistols. (And this comes from someone that was heretofore a dyed-in-the-wool M1911 dinosaur!)
A reminder to all SurvivalBlog readers in North America: Front Sight’s Gun + Gear + Training special offer (that includes a free XD pistol in your choice of calibers) will be ending soon. My advice is: go for it, or you will kick yourself later! It is a great bargain and it would be a shame to miss out. The Front Sight gray course certificates are transferable (they can be used by anyone that hasn’t trained at Front Sight before), so the deal is worthwhile even if you end up giving your course certificate to a relative or a friend that has the time to train. They also have no expiration date, so there are no worries if there is a delay in scheduling your classes. (OBTW, with the hot climate in southern Nevada, I recommend scheduling classes between mid-October and early April.)
Regarding your Glock 21, don’t consider it a “mistake” and a loss, just because it doesn’t fit your hand. As I’ve mentioned in SurvivalBlog before, there is an option for you: Both Robar and Arizona Response Systems do very nice machined grip reduction gunsmithing on Glocks. In his excellent book “Boston’s Gun Bible“, author Boston T. Party mentions that a large frame (G20/G21) Glock with a grip reduction feels a lot like holding a Browning Hi-Power. Boston highly recommends frame reductions. Although I haven’t personally had any Glock work done by them, I have done business with both Robar and Arizona Response Systems for more than a decade on other gunsmithing projects. Both firms are very competent and reputable. The last I heard, Robar had higher gunsmithing rates and a deeper backlog of orders. So you should probably go with T. Mark Graham at Arizona Response Systems. OBTW, if your budget allows it, have tritium sights installed at the same time as the grip reduction job.