by R.K. Campbell

The innovative Glock pistol burst forth on an unsuspecting world in the early 1980s. The rest of the history could fill volumes. Suffice to say, Glock pistols have taken the lion's share of the police market with little change expected! Glock pistols are available in full-size, oversize long slide, compact, and "mini" sizes. Calibers include: 9mm Luger; .357 SIG; .40 Smith & Wesson; 10mm, and .45 ACP.

Among the least popular chamberings is the .45 ACP. Yet, the .45 is one of the more popular cartridges of all time and a solid performer. Perhaps the problem is the size of the .45-caliber Glock. The M21 is a large gun, as it must be to contain a 13-round magazine. Trigger reach is the longest of any Glock pistol, and it is a difficult gun to conceal.

Many big bore shooters simply tap into the efficiency of the Glock 22 in .40-caliber. While I am a .45 fan, the Glock 21 is the largest gun I would consider for duty use and it is not truly suited to my average size hands. Glock saw this problem, and introduced the compact M30 and later the even more compact Model 36, a single column magazine variant. The M30 is the pistol I am most familiar with.

It is not as light and compact as the M23 .40-caliber pistol, but it is considerably more compact than the full-size .45. Compactness isn't everything. The Glock 30 has a long trigger reach and fat grip, it is simply sawed off in certain dimensions. I have used both the M21 and the M30 for some time and thought a full report was in order.

Most writers have taken a turn at the Glock .45s and you have seen the reviews. But after carrying the Glock professionally for some time, I have reached definite conclusions-not simply formed an opinion. The M21 is a straightforward gun. It is simply an adaption of the basic Glock design to .45-caliber. It is large but also the lightest kicking .45-caliber pistol I have fired, despite its lighter than average weight.

The Glock's polymer frame gives a little in recoil. The frame is well designed for recoil absorption, and the pistol has a low bore axis which limits muzzle flip. Overall, we have a confluence of factors which add up to a docile, soft-shooting .45. Like all Glocks, the Model 21 locks up by butting the barrel hood into the ejection port. The Glock trigger action is simple. The gun is never cocked. The trigger both cocks and fires the gun.

The trigger has a bit of slack in take up, then a quick press of only 3/8-inch fires the Glock. Trigger reset is quick, even quicker than the Colt 1911. The trigger of my gun broke at a clean 5.5 pounds. A combination of good trigger action, low bore axis and a well-shaped grip with a good angle make for a good shooting gun. The girth of the grip is not an issue in firing off the benchrest, but can be an issue when rapid fire and retention against a gun grab come into play. Before carrying the Glock 21 for serious duty, a hard look at the shooter's skill level and hand size are indicated.

One of the first test programs I initiated with the Model 21 was a side-by-side shootout against the Glock M22 .40-caliber. I wondered how much speed would be affected by the increased girth of the M21.

The argument can be made that a 9mm pistol would have been even easier to shoot well, but I would not be pleased with a smallbore. The .40 is acceptable while I prefer the .45. I used identical paddle holsters from Hellweg Incorporated. These paddles have an excellent reputation for speed. I used Winchester USA ball ammunition in both calibers. I fired from the draw, striking a target at 10 yards. My Competition Electronics Pocket Pro timer recorded my times to a first shot hit, and later rapid fire strings.

There was no question of speed. The M22 was good for 1.0 to 1.3-second hits. My average with the M21 gave up .25 seconds time. At longer ranges the M21 was more controllable by a margin in rapid fire, but the M22 swung more rapidly between targets. OK, you have to like the .45 to rationalize this choice. If you are happy with the level of power offered by the .40-caliber Smith & Wesson, the Model 22 is the top Glock. Load Winchester's 155-grain Silvertip and don't worry. At over 1,150 feet-per-second (fps), this is a fine performer by any standard. As a bonus, I can handily conceal the .40-caliber pistol.

In the Model 21 we have a soft shooting big bore that displayed excellent control once free of the holster, and above average accuracy. As the table shows, the Glock .45 is clearly the more accurate handgun. In the M21 I have a gun I like very much, but which is not as practical as the lighter M22. The bulk and excessive trigger reach of the M21 limit its usefulness for general issue. Glock offers a compact version of the M21 which shares the basic mechanical system.

Model 30
The Model 30 is a cut down service gun in the tradition of the Colt Commander. However, unlike some pistols, it is cut in both the slide and frame, resulting in a much more compact gun overall. When handling this gun, it is obvious it is smaller and easier to conceal than the M21. The question would be is the compact gun as reliable as the full-size parent?

In many cases, compact guns have proven less reliable than service-size handguns. Compact guns have higher slide velocity which may outstrip the ability of the magazine spring to feed properly. Other factors play against reliability.

In this case, Glock has done their homework. The little gun has the same tough Tenifer finish as the big gun, the same polymer frame and the same action. Despite the small size of the pistol, it carries a full 10 rounds of ammunition. The magazines are advertised to hold 10 rounds, but it took considerable effort to load nine rounds. Magazine design is a major problem in compact pistols. From extreme compression with a full load to almost no compression with one round, the magazine must feed reliably.

The M30 is exceptional. There were no malfunctions of any type in test firing. National Institute of Justice standards call for a handgun to fire 300 rounds without malfunction. The gun can then be cleaned and lubricated and a test continued. We realize this is not a particularly stringent test, but we put the Glock to double that standard. I had on hand 500 rounds of Wolf ball ammunition. This steel-cased ammunition is manufactured in Russia and is quite inexpensive. I have heard complaints the steel case might not feed reliably.

Steel-Case Ammo
I wished to test both the compact Glock and this ammunition. With volunteers to help, I fired 500 rounds of Wolf ammunition as quickly as we could load the four magazines on hand. Frankly, loading the magazines was the difficult part of this test! Two of the magazines used were 13-round M21 magazines. We loaded 10 each for comfort during this test, and eight in the M30 magazine. There were no malfunctions of any type. I had lightly lubricated the handgun for this test with Birchwood Casey gun oil. I did not lubricate it again during the test.

The final 100 rounds included 25 rounds each of: Winchester ball; Winchester SXT; Winchester Silvertip, and Fiocchi hollowpoint. The Silvertip was especially important to the test as short slide .45s are most likely to short cycle with 185-grain ammunition. There were no malfunctions of any type. Benchrest testing showed the Glock 30 is more than accurate enough for defense.

The gun was completely reliable with both ball and hollowpoint ammunition. The Glock's polygonal rifled barrel is not compatible with lead bullets. I have occasionally fired hardcast bullets such as the Magnus in the Glock, but this practice is not recommended. While a drawback for the handloader, this polygonal construction gives good accuracy and can result in a gain in velocity of 30 fps over a conventionally rifled barrel of like length.

The M30 uses a telescoping spring recoil system that slows slide velocity and helps absorb the recoil of the .45 ACP cartridge. Excess slide velocity is a detriment not only to function but to the gun's life as well. The Glock's subjective kick is less than any other gun in its size and weight class. Muzzle flip is far from objectionable.

The Glock 30 has a 5.95-inch sight radius. This radius is very fast for rapid target engagement at conversational (gunfight) distance. Longer range fire was possible if not quite as good as with the M21.

The M30 is easier to carry than the M21 by a large measure. I found the M30 slightly slower into action as well. We see many authorities recommend the smaller Glocks for concealed carry. This is a good thing; they are far more effective than a snubnose .38 or most 9mm compact pistols. But the short frame size and short slide is inferior to full-size pistols when recoil control and accuracy are considered. The Mini Glocks must be kept in perspective. They are a good advance in carry guns, but the big Glocks are even better. The sole exception to this rule might be the M30. For most shooters, at combat ranges, the M30 might be a better choice than the M21.

I suffered a single failure to fire with the M30 that cannot be classed as a malfunction. During a fast draw and fire drill I missed fully depressing the safety lever that is set in the trigger. I pressed the trigger and it did not move! The trigger reach of the M30 is longer than the M22, and my muscle memory does not yet recognize this. This points out the need to train extensively with the firearm of choice.

Which pistol is best, the M30 or M21? They both serve well for different purposes. The M21 is better suited for competition or open carry, the M30 is a fine concealed carry gun. If you have a need for a maximum effort .45-caliber pistol, take a hard look at the Glock .45s.