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The funny thing is, I bought a revolver (Smith and Wesson Model 642, .38 Special +P, brand new and pictured in my avatar) to have something even more reliable than my Glocks and it doesn't work. It only fires 2 out of 5 rounds and it is going to have to go back to S&W. So far the only handguns I really trust with my life are my 9mm Glocks. My Kel-Tec PLR-16 never gave me a problem either, but at the same time it seemed like it might not hold up as well if I were shooting it over and over for a longer time period. I've had that thing smoking after about 50 rounds. The Glocks function beautifully, I honestly couldn't ask for more out of them.
I am particularly impressed with my Glock 26. It's amazingly accurate and controllable. I was worried about that, due to lacking the "pinky grip," but after shooting it I realized that I never really grip guns much with my pinky anyway. It feels just like shooting a G17 and to my amazement, it's just as accurate! Not only that, but it still tears things up, BIG TIME. WWB FMJ's fired out of the G26 were causing water filled 2 liter soda bottles to rip in half while cracking the tops and blowing them off. It makes me feel very comfortable concerning it's power. Even with FMJ's massive internal pressure occurs. Imagine if that soda bottle was a lung! All of my hollow point rounds expand fully out of it as well, so it definitely puts the rounds out at decent velocities. Federal's 115gr 9BPLE's (1300fps) still fragment and experience core-jacket separations, so I know they're getting up to a pretty good velocity as well. Jacket separations and fragmentation can be nasty in terms of internal damage to the target, but of course it lowers penetration and they're not so good through barriers. I like the round though and there are a large number of people who are dead as a result of taking a single 9BPLE. For $15/50 rounds it's well worth it and as a result I try to stockpile that ammo for a SHTF situation since it's very well proven and it's super inexpensive considering it's +P+ rated with nickel coated, high quality cases, low flash powder, decent primers and a good bullet.
Some of the best rounds to use in the Glock 26 or other similar sized +P rated Sub Compacts (IMO) are listed below. First note that I always like to use the highest velocity round that is practical for a given bullet weight, so I use +P and +P+ exclusively for defense. I would use 147gr bullets in the winter months due to the fact that people wear thicker, layered clothing. During the summer months I'd use 124gr bullets since they don't have to get through as much. In the Glock 17 I'll use 124gr in the winter and 115gr in the summer. I like to use the lightest bullet that is reasonable because the increased velocity combined with faster acceleration upon impact with the target results in higher force (F=MA) and it will "hit harder." Lots of evidence supports this theory and Jeff at Gunblast as well as numerous other people have stated that their research of thousands of real world shootings indicates this is true. Lighter, faster bullets tend to stop the attack quicker (They aren't necessarily more deadly though). Here are my recommendations:
-Speer Gold Dots in 124gr +P or 147gr (See explanation). The reason I don't recommend 115gr +P Gold Dots is due to their incredible expansion, which results in reduced penetration when fired from a short barrel compared to heavier rounds. This is also why I like the Double Tap's (And Buffalo Bore's) +P Gold Dot loads better, the increased velocity helps them get a bit further and hit harder out of the Glock 26. Below is what Speer's 124gr +P Gold Dot loads do when fired from a Glock 26. The damage is serious, but penetration is just slightly lower than I'd like, hence the recommendation of Double Tap's (Or Buffalo Bore's) +P 147gr or +P 124gr Gold Dot loads (Speer doesn't offer a +P 147gr to my knowledge):
http://www.brassfetcher.com/124gr%20+P%20Speer%20Gold%20Dot.html
-Double Tap +P 124gr or +P 147gr Gold Dots. Their 115gr +P Gold Dot is great, 1415fps and 511ft.lb. out of a G17, but be aware that it wont penetrate as much when fired from a G26. Double Tap's heavier loads are the best option
by far for the G26 due to a number of things. First is the price, they're $27/50rds. Second is the fact that they have some of the highest velocities of any 9mm round I know of. Third is the fact that they use extremely high quality components; starline nickel coated cases, Speer Gold Dot bonded core bullets (Always perfectly matched to the application, they'll use Low Velocity Gold Dots when specs require it) and low flash powders. Only Buffalo Bore's 147gr +P+ Gold Dot is faster than DT's 147gr +P Gold Dot, but it also costs twice as much, they're around $22/20rds. Buffalo Bore's 115gr and 124gr Gold Dot loads in +P and +P+ are slower than Double Tap's loads and still cost $22/20rds.
-Federal 124gr +P+ Hydrashok. I like these because of their limited .55"-.6" expansion, which results in better penetration out of a short barreled handgun. The velocity is low and leaves something to be desired, but they are an excellent all around bullet that could be used in most situations and any time of the year. These will perform solidly, but it's worth mentioning that they have bright white muzzle flash at night.
-Federal 147gr +P HST. Try to use the heaviest HST available because they expand to well over .7" and move at significantly lower velocities than any of the Gold Dot loads I've mentioned. With the further reduced velocity from a short barrel you may not get as much penetration with the 124gr +P HST, but the 124gr will still be acceptable.
-Extreme Shock Enhanced Penetration Round. Excellent round and the best performer of all of these, they will literally pop a limb off or turn a target's organs into shredded jello, but they're expensive (Around $1.30 - $1.50 a bullet) and the packaging is strange (They come in 6rd packs or 20rd packs).
-Federal 9BPLE 115gr +P+ (1300fps out of a 4" barrel). These are a great stockpiling and practice round at $15/50rds. They are solid performers and will hit hard. Of course with the light weight, fragmentation and jacket separations they wont penetrate as well. They will work though and I'd trust them in a serious situation.
Then when you consider that the Glock 26 can handle the nastiest, most powerful 9mm ammunition you can throw at it, all day long, it really becomes a no brainer. It's small enough to be easily concealed, yet it shoots just like a full size handgun and has a very high capacity. You can use G17 or G19 magazines in it too, which is a big plus for me as a G17 owner. I like guns like the Kel-Tec PF-9 and my S&W642 (When it actually works), but they are guns that you can't really shoot a lot. They're uncomfortable to fire and in the case of the Kel-Tec, have a limited life when using +P ammunition. Both of those guns have heavy trigger pulls and aren't particularly accurate (At least in my hands). They're made for up close and personal use, not for fun.
Shooting the Glock 26 is no different than shooting the Glock 17, so it's a real pleasure. Yet it offers high concealability for a small person like myself. It's not as concealable as a PF-9 or a S&W 642, which is the trade off. But if you use the right IWB holsters or put it in a jacket pocket, it can and does conceal well. I prefer to carry it because I know I can hit what I want to, for sure, and I have 11 rounds in the firearm to work with as well as another 10 round mag, 17 round mag or sometimes both. The S&W 642 is intended for situations where I cannot conceal anything else, such as jogging in shorts with no pockets or belt loops. Then I would use the clip draw and put it IWB. But only having 5 rounds and a heavy trigger pull is a handicap and I don't want to leave without at least two reloads for the S&W. Even then, that's only 15 rounds and it will take significantly longer to put those 15 rounds downrange compared with the Glock 26.
When the S&W gets back, I will carry it IWB 24/7. At that point, the Glock 26 (Or Glock 17) will come along with me whenever possible depending upon what I'm wearing. I have no regrets with the Glock 26, it was an excellent impulse buy, lol.
One other thing to note is that I haven't found another "sub-compact" that measures up to the Glock 26/27/33 in terms of size. The S&W M&P compact is somewhere between the size of the Glock 26 and the Glock 19. The Springfield XD9 Sub-Compact is massive and is significantly larger than both the M&P compact and the Glock 26. The slide is HUGE on that gun, making it too massive and bulky to be called a Sub-Compact IMO. The XD-SC comes with a longer magazine and grip extension, but you can easily get those items for a Glock 26 as well and it will be a lot smaller package even though the barrel length is the same. I also think the Glock 26 will get slightly higher velocities out of a given round due to the difference in rifling. The disadvantage of course is that you'll have to clean the barrel VERY often if you shoot non-jacketed bullets and the unsupported models are sensitive to screw ups with re-loads and with overcharged (Or any other fault that causes over-pressurization) factory ammunition. I love my 9mm Glocks though, fully supported, accurate, high velocity, high capacity and 100% reliable with every bullet I've ever fed them.
One other thing, reviews like this annoy me:
http://www.sightm1911.com/lib/review/XD-9_Tactical.htm
Of course the author states that he "hates Glocks." Then he proceeds to spout a number of things that are completely false. Remember that this is a review of an XD-9 Tactical, which would be comparable to 9mm Glocks such as the Glock 17 (Well, the Glock 34 really). Below are a few statements that I found interesting. These statements clearly demonstrate that he has such a negative bias toward Glocks that he's actually never even learned anything about them.
As I have stated publicly and often, I hate Glocks. I think they’re ugly and dangerous.
Did I mention that I hate Glocks? Good.
And again:
Did I mention that I hate Glocks? Good.
Then:
The sights and trigger on the Glock are plastic; they are steel on the XD.
False, the sights are offered in plastic, steel, adjustable steel and steel night sights. The trigger is polymer, although I fail to see the problem there.
The chamber in the XD is fully supported in contrast to the partially unsupported chamber design of the Glock.
False, all 9mm Glocks have a fully supported chamber. This, at least to me, shows that he has never field stripped (Or even examined) a 9mm Glock.
Did I mention that I hate this author? Good. :banghead:
Well....let's say I've carried for a loooong time and never had an issue carrying with one in the pipe.