Glock 30s "After a while" review...

[TheProf]

Need help in deciding on the Glock 30s.

I'm not looking for "unboxing a brand new Glock 30s" review. There's plenty of those in the net. I'm looking for reviews from those that have had this pistol for a while and put a decent amount of ammo down range through it. (At least 2000 rounds through it.)

For those of you that have purchased the Glock 30s...

1. Did you regret not getting the Glock 30 Gen 4 instead?

2. If you have a Glock 19, did you find the Glock 30s harder to conceal?

3. How is the recoil firing one-handed?

4. Is it reliable? Meaning, no failures of any kind in 1000 rounds.

 

[unlimited4x4]

I've had my G30 since 1998. The only time it failed to fire was when I was learning to shoot and bought reloads. After that day at the range with reloads, nothing but factory ammo since. I honestly cannot remember the last time I had any issues with it period.....in years over countless rounds. It is my ccw and have not had any problems concealing . At this point I can't even begin to estimate the round count . It gets my vote. Can't say much about firing one handed, never did that. Great pistol, I love it, you can't go wrong with a G30.

 

[M1key]

Swapped G30 and G36 slides once. Fired okay.

Both looked and felt goofy to me. Not my cup o' tea.

M

 

[Old Dog]

Believe the OP is talking about the Glock 30S, not the original Glock 30, guys ... And, uh, yeah, they're different pistols.

 

[M1key]

Believe the OP is talking about the Glock 30S, not the original Glock 30, guys ... And, uh, yeah, they're different pistols.

Glock invented NOTHING new.

http://gunsmagazine.com/the-new-glock-30s-45/

M

 

[JR24]

I've had my 30S and carried it off and on for the past 2 years (almost) so here's my opinion.

1. I do feel that I wish I had gotten a Gen 4 Glock 30. I don't find the slimmer slide more concealable and really prefer the feel of the Gen 4 frame and mag release. I minor issue, I'm not going to sell my 30S to get a Gen 4 30.

2. No, with the 10 round mag I find they conceal equally for me. With the 9 round mag the 30S conceals almost as easily as a 26.

3. Recoil is fine 1 handed, it does jump some. I use Pearce extensions on the mags and even with the 9 rounder I can get a firm one handed grip, follow ups are about equal to any of my other .45's one handed.

4. I have approx 2000 rounds in my 30S and have no failures that I can recall yet. Including the mag I accidentally dropped in wet sand and figure "what the heck, lets see if it runs"

I have 2 annoyances with the 30S (or 30). First, the gap between the frame and base plate will pinch the crap out of my pinky when running full-house defensive ammo. It is annoying, but I don't notice any pinching with weaker range ammo, so I'm not worried (as in a defensive situation, a slightly pinched pinky will likely be the last of my worries). The second one is the stiffness of the 9 round mag springs. I end up downloading them to 8 because inserting a full mag will dent the crap out of the rim of the top round. I've never had issues with reliability due to this, but it annoys my OCD quite a bit.

All that said, my 30S gets about equal carry time as my 19. I wish they had designed the 30 with a full 19-size grip, but mine is a good carry and great shooter.

 

[GetmeoutaCT]

In order -

No, No, Don't know, Yes.

I've put maybe 500 rounds through a 30SF that I purchased second-hand. The 30SF is, I understand, equal in size to the Gen 4 with the smallest backstrap insert. For my smaller hands it is perfect. It is slightly smaller than my G19 (slightly shorter but a tad wider slide, I count that as smaller) and fits most of my G19 holsters. Like all my Glocks, it is amazingly reliable and accurate.

I know Glocks are a love 'em or hate 'em proposition. They are certainly not pretty and have nothing of the elegance of a good 1911, but as a shooter's tool they are second to none, and at bottom, isn't that what's important?

 

[CNobbe]

I like the 30S for it's thin slide. I'm not much of a .45 shooter, but the 30S is very similar in size to my 19. The frame is slightly wider, actually fits my hand a tad better.

As for the mag base plate, I've found the Pearce pinky rest does a better job than the stock thick base pad.

Slightly more felt recoil than my old Glock 30 SF, but shooting one handed it's not too bad.

 

[Stonge1812]

I've had mine for 18 months, over 2500 rounds fired without malfunction, and it's my EDC. It conceals well in my N82, or shoulder holster when motorcycling, and I prefer it to my G26. Recoil is very subdued, and it has fired every type of SD round I have tried. Currently loaded with Ruger ARX. I had a trigger job done, and it's fitted with night sights. A good all round package IMO.

 

[packpike]

I've had my G30S for about 2 years now and it's been my EDC for all that time. It's been a great gun and I've had no issues or complaints. I carry it with a flush magazine and it conceals as well as the 27 that I previously carried.

 

[PRM]

My agency issues the Glock 30SF and when I retired, I was given my gun. It's a great shooter, but can be a handful after a couple of hundred rounds. I will probably never carry the gun as a CCW. It's a little on the heavy side for my taste in a small gun. If I am going to carry that weight, I will go ahead and carry a 1911 or a HP.

If there had been a choice, I would have picked the Glock 19 hands down.

 

[commygun]

Well, I've owned a 23, 27, 19, and a 30, and I really believe the 30 is the best of the breed. I know that doesn't exactly address the OP's question but I'd recommend a 30, S or otherwise, to anyone. It's just a very reliable and well-mannered .45 that's easy to shoot well.

 

[TomJ]

I've owned one for well over a year and have put thousands of trouble free rounds through it. I've never shot the Gen 4 30, so I can't make that comparison. I have a Gen 3 19, and both conceal equally well. It has a little more recoil than other 45's I own, but that's to be expected given that it's a 23 ounce gun. The recoil hasn't been an issue for me. Mine's a keeper, as I like having 10 + 1 rounds of 45 in a gun that shoots as well as it does, is light and therefore comfortable to carry all day and is very concealable.

 

[DaisyCutter]

I'm a sworn police detective, and a bit of a "Tackleberry" type at heart. I carry a Glock 30S daily non-uniform. It's marvelous. I've shot 400 round days, finishing with raw hands, without a stoppage. In fact, my only stoppages ever, were from personal competition handloads that were part of an experiment to see how low of a charge I could use, and still get the pistol to cycle. Low recoil means faster times in competition.

My uniform duty belt has a Glock 41 holstered in it. Generally I wear this for off duty jobs, like working bars or schools, or when I'm serving a warrant or going into a possible gunfight, and I know ahead of time I usually take the Glock 41 in favor of the 30S.

Both guns will fit into the same Serpa CCW holster, and take full size mags. I take the 30S almost exclusively CCW outside work. I literally live with the 30S on my hip.

The 30S will work with in most Glock 19 holsters.

I have no problems with my 30S, and I don't feel undergunned when I have it. Though, like I said, I prefer my 41 when I go out looking for a fight.

I'd take a 30S over a Glock 19 any day. My agency issues Speer Gold Dot 185 grain 45 ACP and Speer Gold Dot 124 grain 9mm. Look at the stats. The 45 trounces the 9mm with THOSE specific options. Yes, the 19 holds more cartridges, but I'm mostly concerned about the first few doing their job ASAP.

FWIW, I can't compare my 41/30S combo to Glock 9mms directly, but I used to carry Glock 22/27 for years, and the 45s shoot better.


The ONLY negative I can say about the Glock 45 ACPs (for me), are that the mags are big, and heavy when full. They take an extra bit of focus when doing reloads, especially TAC reloads, at speed, compared to the skinnier 9mm/40 mags.

For size comparison, Glock 41, Springfield Loaded, Glock 30S.



The 30S is a good sized gun, right in between a 26 & 19, size wise, and probably a tad closer to the 26. I shoot the 30S fine one-handed. In fact, last night I cleared the shoot house (as part of Agency training) with my 30S in one hand and flashlight in the other. I was too lazy to put on the duty belt with the 41 and weaponlight. I got all the "shoot" targets one-handed.

EDIT to add, I download my Glock 45 ACP mags one round, like mentioned above. The mags seat better and the gun cycles easier that way.