Why is it that male guncrafters never ask us ladies when designing a new gun? The Glock 26/27 is being touted as the ideal ladies' carry gun. Having shot about 800 rounds through it, and having qualified with that gun in LFI, I thought you might be interested in my thoughts.
The positives: Its extremely light weight, small bbl length, and decent accuracy (though I still believe it's the indian, not the arrows!). I wore it in a fanny pack, and could easily forget it was there. The bbl length is great for comfort in holstering, especially for short-waisted women.
The negatives:
The short butt, with its double stack, is a big hindrance. (The plus, of course, is that one may use hi-cap mags from the Glock 19, which is great for your back-up mag). At least the Glock 19, while having a bulky grip, allows you to counter with a full hands-on grip. Not only is the pinky left hanging on the 26, because of its bulk, it is not easy to grab well.
Much worse for me was the magazine release, which my strong-hand thumb could in no way reach, forcing me to either turn the hand excessively and then readjusting (not practical for tense situations involving reloading), or pressing it with my weak hand as I came up with the spare mag replacement.
Misfeeds/stovepipes:
Well, it is no secret that the Glock must be gripped firmly to avoid stovepipes. But this is no easy feat when done one-handed, especially with the weak hand. I did fine when practicing, but when done in a role-playing situation where my adrenalin was going and under pressure of time, I had several failure to feeds. If you had trouble gripping without the pinky, try it one-handed and in the weak hand.
My Glock 26 seemed extremely sensitive to dirt. At LFI there was no gentle laying of mags on the ground. We free-dropped them into sand, mud and dirt and were then required to immediately reload without cleaning the gun or the mags. The Glock did not handle this well, and the failure to fire due to grime was higher than I would have liked.
I also found placement of both my thumbs and weak hand index finger awkward. I never really did find a comfortable grip position, and felt I was compromising my grip placement. Also, the pinky of my strong hand ached after a full day of shooting, as it was rammed up under and against the trigger guard, the hard polymer feeling sharp and irritating.
With all of this, I managed to score high shooter in the class. I think the gun serves a need. It is small, light, and accurate. But it is not the gun of my dreams by any means. I will use it in spite of the physical discomfort, which is relatively minor; it's just that I'm a tad disappointed after all the rave (male) reviews I received. I'm still waiting for that "perfect" lady-scaled gun. Gunmasters out there, please ask us ladies what it is we're looking for BEFORE you go out and design the gun YOU think WE would like!
Galia the Dangerous Housewife
Glock gives a whole new meaning to Tupperware parties!