Do you recommend Glock 23?

Question

Hi guys,

I am imagining myself as an owner of a liquer store, and I need a good defense side arm.

What would be your choice of the handgun?

My choice would be a Glock 23, which fires .40 S&W rounds. But first of all, does this round fire as accurate as 9mm?

I want to hear your experiences, and opinions.

The reason for choosing the Glock 23 is the .40 caliber has good balance between the recoil and size. Also, Glocks have very good reputation of being excellently reliable and accurate.

Do you recommend anything else?

Or should I stick to the Glock 23?

Any of your opinions are welcomed.

Please feel free to tell me your experiences.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

The Glock 23 is an awesome gun. You have picked an excellent weapon. The .40, .45, and 9mm all have acceptable accuracy from the Glock design. And contrary to the above post accuracy is always important! You can't shoot someone in the toe with a .45 and incapacitate them. You must be able to shoot high center mass (highest hit probability) or to the center mass of the head (instant incapacitation). The .40 is a great round and holds a bit more ammo than the .45. You want to have lots of ammo, hopefully you won't need it, but you want to keep affecting the targets ability to shoot back by denying him the opportunity or by disrupting his central nervous system.

The simplicity, reliability, low bore axis and quick trigger reset make it a great gun.

There is a tendency for some shooters to shoot low and left if right handed. This is not the gun... Keep practicing, get help from other shooters (realizing that a lot of people think they know about guns and only a few do) and you will become proficient. Take some gun handling classes and practice what they teach you.

Practice shooting at 3yds, 7yds, 10yds, 15 yds, 25 yds, and further. Practice one handed, two handed, strong hand, weak hand, practice your draw, take gun safety classes train and learn. Practice accurate shooting, fast shooting, fast/accurate shooting, low light shooting, retention techniques. Get into USPSA or IDPA they will help your shooting technique. Always remember you were good yesterday, but today you have more to learn.

Again great choice. The 23 is a good mix between concealability, control, rounds, and caliber. You won't be disappointed. Congratulations.

Answer 2

Yes, I own a Glock 19, which is the the 9mm version of the compact Glock family.

It will fit your hand, it has clear sights so you can get a good flash sight picture and put the two rounds into the center mass efficiently.

The way I see it, I don't need a .40 because I took several defensive handgun courses, the best from Front Sight, and I know how to put 2 rounds into the heart and 1 round into the head.

I also recommend the Glock 19 if you want to use 9mm. However, I bought G19 in particular because I already owned a Glcok 17 and they can use the same magazines.

The .40 S&W may be the round for you, then just buy the Glock 23.

Answer 3

Im a Glock man myself,just this week I bought a Glock 21 45acp its accurate and accepts hi cap mags and most of all reliable.The modle 23 is a exalent choice as well not as much stopping power as the 45 but you will have a few more shots in your clip.If you are inexperianced at shooting pistols I would recomend you buying a 22 pistol along with your glock Walther makes a real nice one that I own the P22.You can buy one new for around 300 new.The reason why I say this is shooting 22s are cheap to shoot and serve as really good practice.I would def recomend for you to get the Glock 23 it is a good reliable and safe weapon.But like I said look into a 22 pistol.You wont belive the differance it will make in your shooting.And If you do get the Glock make sure you buy maybee two or three HI cap mags because I wouldnt be supprised that with in the next year or so they will ban them you can buy a high cap mag for around 20 for a model 23 I rember them selling for as much a 100 during the ban.Even if you have no use for a 15 shot mag.Belive me it will be well worth it.Also it is wise to at all times to have at the minimal 200 rounds of ammo put away for an emergency.I hope you get the glock you want.Good Luck to you.

Answer 4

The Glock 23 is an accurate weapon and a fine choice for personal defense. I own one and am very happy with it.

You may also want to look at the Glock 38 in 45 GAP. It is basically the same frame size as the 23, but in the more powerful 45 GAP cartridge.

As others have said here, what ever you get, practice, practice, practice. Knowing what to do and how to do it in a crisis can get you through it alive. I would also recommend taking a defensive handgun course.

Answer 5

Simply put, excellent choice.

I own a Kimber .45 and a Taurus PT101.

My wife actually owns the Glock in our house. It is a good gun, well suited for your intended purpose. At first I didn't think it was worth a damn until I shot it a few times. I would carry one if given a choice.

This coming from a guy who like steel framed, full sized guns. The Glock is definitley a fine choice of a weapon. As far as the caliber, well there's nothing wrong with the .40S&W but some of us prefer the .45ACP as you can tell.

Either way, practice, practice and practice- no matter what you choose to carry and shoot. It won't be worth a damn if you don't know what you are doing in the heat of the moment. Accuracy and proficiency usually determine who survives a gunfight. Shoot safely.

Answer 6

I agree with the folks that say shotgun first. Next to live gunfire there is no other sound on the planet more nerve-racking than the sound of a pump action shotgun driving the shell into the barrel.

Short of this I would agree with the folks that say go with a .45. As a responsible gun owner and someone who wants to protect himself and his livelihood, you should know how to shoot whatever it is you buy. If you can't hit a target of 2ft by 3ft at 25 ft with 8 rounds you should not be shooting in the first place.

The Glock is a fine weapon and it's safety functions allow it to be stored ready to fire; just make sure you are ready to deal with the effects (results) before you brandish the weapon.

Again, for the difference of a few rounds in the magazine I would always go for more punch rather than FPS (like a 9mm or .40). The large .45 bullets weigh 230 grains and travel at 800-900 fps or so and put out about 300-400+ pds energy. The round is traveling slow enough that overpenetration isn't a big problem. The .40 cal top out at about 180 grains, travels at about 900-990 FPS and puts out about 300-350 or so.

I would rather have a heavier (larger) bullet (more fragments to cause more wound channels) with little chance of going through the target into an innocent patron.


One fellah had said that you weren't going to incapacitate someone by shooting them in the big toe...I would like to see the average crook that you might deal with some day (smash and grab or possibly armed, who knows) not turn and run if you blow off half of his foot by hitting him in the big toe. :)

Answer 7

Go with the Glock, but get a .45! (unless you are very small). Accuracy is not as important as knockdown power in a liquor store where all the action will take place at under 10ft. Practice a lot! Figure out where you will keep it and set up something where you can practice grabbing it and firing it quickly. Practice at a distance of about 20 ft. and aim for the belly button.

Answer 8

Good chioice! I have tried the glock 23C, the ported version. Its got the recoil of a 9mm, and it is accurate. Very nice gun indeed, quite a big blast if you're at the side though (more if you're in front!).

Answer 9

For your most effective self defense thunderstick just get a pump 12 gauge with an 18" barrel. Much less expensive and you won't harm an innocent with a slug going through three walls or something. It is very intimidating to look down the muzzle thereof, too.

Answer 10

I own and carry,I love the 23 but the Springfield Armory XD 40 is a little more comfortable and I find myself carrying it more often.As far as shooting they are both about the same