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Glock 26 questions
asop
Member Posts: 9,004 ✭✭✭✭
Seriously considering purchasing one for bedside home defense purposes. What's a New York trigger? Some have an internal?key set up, what is that? Any pro & or con on this firearm? Thanks
Comments
The "NY trigger" is a heavier trigger designed to simulate that of a standard double-action revolver or DA semiautomatic pistol. There are actually different types of NY triggers (eg NY-1, NY-2, etc), plus a "Miami" one, and they vary a bit in pressure characteristics, but the idea is the same. They all increase the trigger pull weight (nominally to 8 or 10 pounds).
The point of the heavier trigger is to reduce the likelihood of negligent discharge (including a "startle" discharge). Its called the "NY trigger" because the NY police dept, which is actually the largest metropolitan police dept in the world, (also one with one of the highest number of shootings), mandates that its officers carry this heavier weight trigger in their duty guns. There are other law enforcement agencies that have followed suit.
Obviously, if you simply follow the rules of gun safety, you're not going to have an "accidental"/negligent discharge regardless of the trigger weight.
But in the real world, people (even supposedly responsible gun handlers like cops) DO put their fingers on the trigger when they aren't supposed to, DO NOT always keep their muzzles pointed in safe directions, DO NOT pay attention to what's beyond their targets, etc. In the real world, occasionally people are careless, and in life and death situations when stress and adrenaline levels are high, don't always do the right thing.
The result is that Glocks, with their lack of external safety and relatively light trigger pull, have earned a reputation for being a gun that's easy to set off by accident. Glocks "perfection" ad campaign and "safe action" nomenclature were designed specifically to address this reputation.
Whether or not you "need" the heavier trigger is up to you. Personally, I don't like defensive-type guns with a light trigger pull and no external safety, so if I had to have a Glock, I'd put this in, even though the heavier trigger pull slightly degrades practical accuracy. But that's just my own personal preference. So long as you can religiously follow all the rules of safe gun handling, and keep the trigger guard of your Glock covered (ie in its holster) the standard trigger is fine.
I don't know about the internal key thing with the Glock specifically, but some states are mandating these sorts of locks on their guns, and many guns have them standard now.
Personally, I consider them to be absolutely worthless. If my gun isn't being used (that includes carry), I keep it in a separate locked container (usually unloaded) making a second internal lock redundant. If the gun is being used, the last thing I want is for it to be locked and have to fumble around for a key in a life-and-death situation. So if I have a gun that has one of these internal locks, I simply hide the key away in the gun case, and never use it.
Having one on the gun wouldn't dissuade me from buying a gun I otherwise like. Just because the gun HAS a lock, doesn't mean you HAVE to use it!
EDIT:
To actually answer the question, if the gun is really for "bedside defense" then why pick the super-compact Glock 26? The smaller guns like that micro-Glock are really intended for concealed carry. If you don't intend to carry it concealed, you might as well go for the full sized Glock 17. The bigger gun will be easier to aim, give you better muzzle velocity, higher capacity, and probably have marginally better reliablity too.
Pros and cons of a Glock?
The pros are simple to use, with no external safety, high reliablity and minimal maintenance for a semi-auto pistol. Parts and accessories are cheap and readily available. Gun is polymer framed, and therefore light.
The cons are no external safety, "ugly" (though that's highly subjective), and grip shape/angle that doesn't suit everyone (again, subjective). Gun has polymer frame, and is therefore light.
As you can see, whether or not a certain feature is good or bad depends a bit on your perspective and personal preference.
To the poster below, this is going to be in the man's bedside table and HOPEFULLY after signinficant practice to get used to it's nuances it will never be used. Cheap is good. And if you discharge while reholstering, you should get shot 1 time so you pay more attention to what you're doing with a hot weapon.
There is a reason that Glocks are the most widely carried weapons of LEO.Yep, it's because it's the cheapest reliable pistol. They're good, but no better than several others.
Speaking as a longtime LE firearms instructor, I don't recommend the Glock design for experienced handgunners. They're the least forgiving of mistakes than any other semiauto out there and it's more than just keeping your finger off the trigger. I'm familiar with incidents where clothing snagged their triggers while reholstering and discharged them.
It's not just their lack of an external safety, because there are others out there with none. It's that combination of a very short and light trigger pull.
Seriously considering purchasing one for bedside home defense purposes. What's a New York trigger? Some have an internal?key set up, what is that? Any pro & or con on this firearm? Thanks
Got a G26 but I'd rather use that for concealed carry than home defense. Get a bigger one for that, at least the G19. The 26 took me a lot of practice trying to get used to the small size compared to the full size guns. I also just bought a Glock 21 in .45. I really wanted a 1911 but went with the Glock for now. It holds twice as much too, with 13 round mags. I put some night sights on it and it has the rail for my light/laser combo, which is what I use for the house. Has a big grip though, but Glocks come in every caliber if you really want one. And if you are concerned about safety, get a siderlock. It's a trigger that you put in that has a bar going through it. In place the bar prevents the trigger from moving back, just push it through to shoot. That't next on my list. Not even thinking about the key safety or anything else they have.
If you do insist on the 26 though, get the siderlock, put some night sights on, cause there is no rail, and get some of the larger 9mm mags. The gun also uses the 15, 17, and 33 round 9mm mags. Makes it easier to shoot than the 10's.
There is a reason that Glocks are the most widely carried weapons of LEO.
There are two big ones that I know of.
One major one is that Glocks' plastic frames, and limited part counts make them dirt-cheap to manufacture (allegedly under $75 each), far cheaper than almost every other competing gun.
As a result, over the years Glock has been able to offer these guns at substantial discounts to perpetually cash-starved law enforcement agencies in comparison to other competing makes of gun.
Likewise, the extra profit margins from the extra-cheap guns have enabled Glock to spend unprecedented amounts of money marketing them, in constant ad campaigns ("Glock perfection"), etc. That never hurts either.
The other big reason why so many American domestic police agencies carry Glocks is historical. Most US police forces made the switch to semi-automatic pistols from revolvers in the early 1980s, because of the epidemic of "crack" cocaine, and the associated gang violence. That, of course, was right at the time the Glock was introduced. At that time, the lack of any external safety on the Glock, coupled with its consistent trigger pull and simple manual of arms made it the most "revolver-like" of any automatic on the market. For training and logistical purposes, this setup made it easier for police agencies accustomed to wheelguns to transition to autos.
quote: Accurate, dependable, low recoil because of polymer frame.
I'd argue to you that Glocks are no more intrinsically accurate than numerous other comparable service pistols (eg Sigs, etc), and their light weight, though an advantage for extended carry, means they have MORE recoil than many others. Of course, if you're shooting 9mms, recoil shouldn't be a big issue anyway.
As to dependable, I'd agree that Glocks are probably are about as reliable as you are going to get in a production semi-auto pistol. Though again, many of the more popular pistol designs (eg Sig, Beretta, CZ-75, etc) also function at just about 100% effectiveness, and also give you a second "double strike" chance to set off an unfired round in the chamber.
quote:And if you discharge while reholstering, you should get shot 1 time so you pay more attention to what you're doing with a hot weapon.
To me, this is like saying if you talk on your cell phone while driving, you deserve to get into a major accident.
Maybe that's true, but like a car accident, setting off a gun by accident can have repercussions to individuals OTHER than the one doing the negligent shooting.
Personally, I'd simply rather not get shot. [:D]