G26 the most reliable small 9mm?

[Weevil]

My pistol is an HKP2000. So yes it does.

Yes there are indeed others, the Beretta 92 series springs to mind also.

This is the kind of hard use and extensive testing that earns a gun my respect.

Any problem that a gun may have will eventually be exposed and more importantly documented.

The Glock .40 KBs and the E-series frame rail problem or the slide and locking block problem on the Berettas are typical of the sort of problems exposed by widespread usage by police and the military.

These sort of things could have been swept under the rug or blamed on user error with only commercial usage, but when these problems are documented by govt agencies it forces the maker to address them. Like the greater chamber support on newer Glock .40s or the changes made to the 92F that resulted in the 92FS.

 

[SlowFuse]

I cant complain on my G26. It has fed everything i've thrown at it, even stuff that usually jams my Sigs (Cheap Russina steel Monarch and WPA,Wolf, whatever its going by now) I personally don't have a semi auto that has outperformed my G26, but i'm not to say there isn't one. Ive heard of perfect reliability out of M&Ps and XDs (from friends) with less than 1500 rds through them... But only time will tell.

 

[JohnBiltz]

You can't have it both ways. If law enforcement only buys cheapest bid why did Glock replace all those S&W and Colts the police used to carry? Did they buy them because they were the cheapest bid also? What government contracts do is release specs and then take bids on what meets their standards.

Here is a question, name another gun with the same size or smaller that is as reliable and has the same or better firepower that costs about the same? M&Ps and SR9c are going to be bigger. Slim lines are going to have less capacity. HKs are both bigger and cost a lot more. Glock 26 has been around since 1995 when it was a serious innovation. Since then others have gotten close to it but no one has truly bettered it.

 

[easyg]

Are you referring to the pictured Taurus?! OVER A GLOCK!!!??? They're the only company i know of who can regularly put out a non-functional revolver.

Have you ever owned a Taurus 905 9mm revolver?

Mine has been 100% with absolutely zero failures and zero issues.
Every time I pull the trigger it goes bang.

 

[Apocalypse-Now]

The Glock .40 KBs and the E-series frame rail problem or the slide and locking block problem on the Berettas are typical of the sort of problems exposed by widespread usage by police and the military.

glock 40 kabooms are caused by bad reloads.

my emp40 has FAR less case support than my glock 40cal, yet you hear nothing about them kabooming. why? because people don't fire 3-4 time reloads through $1,000+ 1911's, and there aren't nearly as many in circulation.

the e-series frame rale breaks were due to poor metallurgy.

 

[JohnBT]

"because people don't fire 3-4 time reloads through $1,000+ 1911's, and there aren't nearly as many in circulation."

They don't? There aren't? Based on whose figures?

 

[JustinJ]

"Have you ever owned a Taurus 905 9mm revolver?

Mine has been 100% with absolutely zero failures and zero issues.
Every time I pull the trigger it goes bang."

As i like to say, everyone i know with a taurus tells me about how great their customer service is which is exactly why i'll never buy one.

If 10% of a certain model don't work right there are still 90% satisfied customers but to me that gun is junk. Please don't take my comment to mean that 90% of taurus customers are satisfied or that 90% of their products work.

 

[easyg]

As i like to say, everyone i know with a taurus tells me about how great their customer service is which is exactly why i'll never buy one.

This is so typical on internet forums...

Someone bashing a product they have no personal experience with.

 

[JustinJ]

Define personal experience. A number of friends directly relaying their experiences with a gun to me is personal experience in my opinion.

This is so typical on internet forums...

People getting angry when others point out issues with a gun they bought.

 

[451 Detonics]

Are there any that surpasses a Glock 26 in the small 9mm category? I dont mean "equal to" or "very reliable too" but... "surpasses Glocks". That's the phrase I'm looking for.

If the Glock has been 100% from round one and my smaller Kel-Tec PF-9 has been 100% from round one it obviously can't surpass the Glock in reliability. It does surpass it in several other areas however.

 

[Fishbed77]

I'm just as happy with my P99c as I am with my Glock.

To the OP, this is the answer to your original question.

Walther P99c

On top of being stupidly reliable and time-proven, it will eat pretty much every concievable 9mm ammo. Something that can not be said for the G26.

 

[amd6547]

What kind of ammo won't the G26 feed?
When I was testing mine, I had a large baggy of mixed 9mm I had accumulated...FMJ of several different brands and weights, JHP of several different brands and weights...and ranger +P+ 127gn JHP. my prefered SD load.
The little G26 fed and fired them all, whether loaded in 10rd G26 mags or 17rd G17 mags.
It was very accurate with every load I tried...even out to 40yds.
Another plus for the G26...It has been around so long, and there are so many out there, that they can be found at reasonable prices on the used market...I bought mine for a very cheap price, used, like new.

 

[easyg]

Define personal experience. A number of friends directly relaying their experiences with a gun to me is personal experience in my opinion.

You can't be serious.

Any number of friends can relay their experience of Marine Boot Camp or Army Basic to a civilian, but that civilian would still have absolutely zero personal experience of Boot or Basic.

When it comes to personal experience, there is no gray area...it's black or white.

 

[JustinJ]

"When it comes to personal experience, there is no gray area...it's black or white."

So the only way of knowing if a product is good is to buy one myself? Hmmm, then i guess i cant believe that you've never had an issue with your either. Well heck, then i guess i cant believe anyone on this board. I guess all the other, and there are many, negative reports about Taurus products must be ignored by all? Seriously though, you can't just set new standards for discussing topics to try and ensure information agrees with your view.

Your analogy is comparing apples and oranges. You are talking about conveying an experience, with all the feelings and senstations involved, with exchanging facts about about what happened to or with a product.

 

[Overkilll0084]

Ok... some have claimed that their small 9mm is just as reliable as Glock's G26 model. But is there a small 9mm that can surpass Glock's reliability? I don't such a gun exists (that is in the small 9mm category).

Translation: My Glock love will not allow me to admit that there are equal or superior pistols out there. Please validate these feelings.
Like a woman with a new boob job. Fishing for validation. Just don't tell her they're lopsided.

 

[JustinJ]

"Like a woman with a new boob job. Fishing for validation. Just don't tell her they're lopsided."

In that situation i would happily tell her that i need to personally handle them to have first hand knowledge.

 

[amd6547]

There are, now, pistols which may equal the standard of the glock...But there certainly were not when the G26 was introduced...the G26 literally set a new standard.

 

[Ruger Redhawk]

I had a G26 for a few years. I didn't fire it much but it was 100% reliable. I sold it after I got a G27. Another very reliable gun. I wish now I would have kept the G26 which is allot cheaper to shoot. I would trust my life with a Glock over just about any other gun. Yes I have all different makes and models. The Glock works and works well.

 

[Weevil]

glock 40 kabooms are caused by bad reloads.

my emp40 has FAR less case support than my glock 40cal, yet you hear nothing about them kabooming. why? because people don't fire 3-4 time reloads through $1,000+ 1911's, and there aren't nearly as many in circulation.

Well Glock did increase the chamber support on their .40s.

the e-series frame rale breaks were due to poor metallurgy.

What I heard was the machines that bent the rails were set wrong and the bend was too sharp making them more prone to breakage.

 

[wristtwister]

I always love to read these "Glocks are wonderful because... ". Geez, you'd think the waters parted and you could walk across the sea on dry land as long as you're carrying a Glock...

I'm working in a gun store and handling guns all day long, and have yet to find anything except a Glock 19 that actually fit my hand. As for reliability, I think the SR-9 series guns can match up with the Glockies, and are a hell of a lot more comfortable to shoot, and have more features on them.

Everybody got all warm and fuzzy over Glocks because they were the first real marketshare polymer guns out, and like some other brands I could mention, the zealots of their brand don't need facts to validate their claims... they're wonderful simply because they're the particular brand in question.

I've got lots of guns, and like the feel of the ones I keep. Others, like Glocks, never make the purchase line with me, and it isn't that I'm brand-discriminatory, just that they don't have the feel or features I like in a gun.

Like one of the posters said, you don't see guys on the internet throwing the guns at the target like they will with a Hi-Point when they're testing a $1000 Kimber, or driving a truck over it ... but they make fun of the low priced guns and worship at the altars of their brand... Be consistent... if you throw the Hi-Point, throw the kimber... if you run over the Hi-Point with a truck, run over the Kimber and then brag about it...

As a former mechanical engineer, I'm used to seeing destructive tests done... and the one thing I notice with gun fans is that they're willing to spend a little money to burn a cheap gun, but when it comes to doing the same test with a high priced one... that's a horse of a different color.

I have friends who swear by Glocks, and LOTS of customers that might have owned one at some time, but either traded it off or sold it after the new wore off. If it fits your hand, it's a keeper... if not, it's just another gun.

WT

 

[W.E.G.]

Geez, you'd think the waters parted and you could walk across the sea on dry land as long as you're carrying a Glock...

 

[Weevil]

That is classic W.E.G.!

 

[JustinJ]

"Like one of the posters said, you don't see guys on the internet throwing the guns at the target like they will with a Hi-Point when they're testing a $1000 Kimber"

They're not actually throwing the Hi-point. It's just the slide flying down range after they shot +P ammo.

Apparently "Turn the other cheek" means tilt your head to sight with the dominant eye.

 

[wilbur970]

I'm just as happy with my P99c as I am with my Glock.

Thank you so much for posting that side by side picture!. Everyone on this site just assumes you know what gun they are referring to - thanks! (like all of the abbbreviations that get thrown around) MG

 

[AZ Hawkeye]

The "comfort of the grip" argument is really a nonstarter.

Why?

I can guarantee that for at least 80% of all people, the HK P30 (HK45) is one of the most or the most comfortable, best "fitting" handgun ever made. I've yet to come across a single person who has handled the P30 and called it "uncomfortable."

Sure, they may have called it uncomfortable at first due to small or large hands, but with a little swapping of the side and back straps, it goes back to my original statement.

Now, do I carry the HK P30? No, I do not; I carry a Glock 23 (Gen 3). I carry the Glock 23 because it is the perfect size for CCW for me and is undoubtedly the most proven autoloading handgun ever made (exception to the 9mm Glock models and you can probably group the Beretta M9 in here). Am I a big fan of the ergonomics? No, not really, but I still shoot it very accurately, and I know it will go bang every single time.

Sure, comfort is nice to have when you are shooting at the square range with your heart rate beating at "rest" levels. Do you think you'll notice how comfortable your grip is when you're in a life or death situation...?

Now, should you carry a gun if it fits so oddly you can't shoot it well? Well, duh, no! However, I think we all put a bit too much stock in the "comfort" department, as it's near the bottom of my list of importance for a defensive handgun.

Now, I'm not saying that Glocks are the be all, end all of handguns, as they aren't. There are other makes and models of guns that are as good as Glocks. The Glock, however, is a very fine machine, and it will do what you need it to do: fight to your rifle!