I got to do the first trip to the range with the new, non-standard slide size Gen5 GLOCK, the GLOCK 23. At 2mm wider in the slide than Gen5 pistols in 9mm, holster fit can be an issue. Enter the Safariland Grip Locking System paddle holster, the 578 GLS Pro-Fit. The system fits over 175 firearms – now more as the new fifth generation 40 pistol has arrived.
It took minor adjustment to make a snug fit and off we went.
I had a selection of old 40 S&W ammo, indifferently stored. My interest was to determine how the increased mass of the slide affected the shootability of the new gun. The warm-up was fired at five yards on a business envelope, mounted on the backer in portrait mode (vertical). With each start from the holster, the exercise was to draw to a single, then a pair, then to three hits, then to four and finally to five hits.
I pulled one off the envelope on the pair, still on the underlying B-8 center. Three hits at 3.8 seconds was followed with four hits at 3.81 … essentially the same. Five hits went out in just 5.04 seconds, all on the envelope.
That was the first fifteen rounds I’d ever fired from this gun. It wasn’t bad for a ‘compact-service’ size 40-cal. pistol. It seems to shoot milder than a ‘regular’ forty. I then moved into “Stage 2 of the Florida Law Enforcement Qualification” (alleged). Fired at 3 yards from ready, it requires a pair in one second, repeated twice more for a total of six rounds.
I didn’t make it, but I wasn’t shooting on a whole silhouette either. I was still using the envelope. The times follow:
This was a service-compact 40 S&W pistol with service-style ammo. That’s a little bit of pistol with a weighty (180gr) bullet at right around 1,000 fps.
I posted a fresh B-8 repair center and tried the ‘standard speed’ qualification from the Massad Ayoob Group. A police-qual/PPC style course, it covers one-handed shooting (with each hand), drawing, reloading, shooting from ready, shooting from positions (low cover crouch, high kneeling, low kneeling) and from classic stances (Weaver, Chapman, Isoceles). For sixty rounds, that’s a bit of practice, normally shot on an IDPA or USPSA silhouette and has been shot on NRA B-27 and other targets.
The B-8 bullseye (8” 8-ring, 5+” 9-and inside shaded area) is a tighter target. For this course, I score 9-ring and in as 5 points, the 8-ring as 4 points and the 7- to the edge of the repair center as 1 one.
The 4 yard stage had me at 4.98 seconds for nondominant hand only for six rounds from low ready and 4.58 seconds for six rounds from the holster, starting with hand on the gun. At seven yards, the ’12 rounds in 25 seconds’ was rendered in 18.23 seconds.
The 10- and 15- yard stages were fired in about ¾ of the time allotted for silhouette targets.
Using Black Hills 180 grain JHP ammo, I scored 298/300 with all the rounds fired in time.
I followed up with a ‘downrange drill,’ a pair of “face” targets, one with a 4” scoring ring. The idea is to put a single hit into the ‘threat’ target without touching the no-shoot. I set this up for 4 yard singles from the holster on the timer. My average was 1.96 seconds – not fast, but sure with no hits on the ‘no-shoot’ image, all hits inside the ring on the violent offender.
The IDPA ‘short classifier’ was a no-joy thing with me hovering into ‘novice’ territory due largely to penalties. Shooting it twice, I saw that I was picking up pace as the Gen5 G23 shot so softly. Time to dwell back to ‘sure hits’ while cleaning up extraneous movement to cut time.
The recoil impulse wasn’t at all as abrasive as I remember the agency’s Gen3 GLOCK 22 being when I did demos during agency transition and during the Gunsite 250 in 2006.
I shot a ‘walk back’ drill on the 2/3 size steel IPSC target for ten rounds. I stayed in the 4x4 head box back to 20 yards, got the last three hits back at fifty yards, shooting it ‘clean.’ Is that the ‘Marksman’ barrel? I recall our agency GLOCK pistols in 40 S&W were better shooters than my constant carry G19. I’m not sure that the improved barrel is all that important in this pistol.
That was just at 150 rounds in a morning and it wasn’t at all abusive to shoot. That’s really something. I finished up with some close work using Winchester “555” 22s – the LCRx revolver and the still-well-functioning GLOCK 44. With the revolver, I pulled one out of the ‘face’ circle on the close range target – still no hits near the ‘no-shoot.’ I did the walk-back on steel to 25 yards.
With the GLOCK rimfire, I did a walk-back using the ‘down-range drill’ faces target. I made it back to seven yards, pasting the killer in the circle. I finished the workout with a walk back on steel to 35 yards.
I want to get the Gen5 G23 on the Comparative Standards and shoot some groups with newer ammo – should that become available while I have the gun. So far, I’m thinking this is a great option for agencies – and users – who are enamored of the 40 S&W cartridge.
Stay tuned.
-- Rich Grassi