AlwaysVigilant
Marksman
I tried both of these pistols out this week and formed some pretty solid opinions about them.
-The grip length is the perfect mix of short and average. Even with the flush magazine, you can get the pinky involved in the grip, not full on, but its there to help manage follow up shot speed. Much of this has to do with the relief under the trigger guard, which was excellent. It also causes the trigger to be moved ahead just a little which makes the length of pull feel just right given the small frame. Granted I have big hands and narrow fingers, so it may be different for you. I have never had such a perfect mix in a little gun.
-Its thin profile absolutely vanishes AIWB, even with the extended magazine. I was REALLY impressed with it's concealment ability.
-Grip texture was aggressive, providing good purchase, but not sharp. Shooting all day would be no problem, and it won't ruin your clothes.
-The weight was great. Very light for a firearm of its size, but enough to manage recoil really well. The 3 series was perfectly balanced, and the 4 a little front heavy. The 4 was an absolute pleasure to shoot, and there was a noticeable difference in follow-up shots. In the holster, it was the better choice too.
-Fit an finish was excellent, save two issues. The 4 series had some paint missing in the rear left sight, and the ambi mag release was very stiff. No problems on the 3. The rest of it was very impressive, even on the inside.
-The sights were easy to pick up, and though I have never used a fiber optic on anything but a trap gun, it was pretty nice. I'd still prefer night sights.
-The trigger was crisp with little over travel and a nice, audible, short reset. I'd say a few, hardly noticable ounces heavier than a stock Glock out of the box.
-No issues feeding any of the ammo. Several types of hollow points and FMJ were used.
-Now for the grip safety. From the holster, I never had any issues, and purposely ignored the fact that it had one to see if there was any learning curve to it. However, I noticed it picking it up of the table and after reloading during strings of fire. I didn't manage to miss it during range time, but I did once fooling around with dry fire manipulations. The obvious solution to the whole thing (outside of 86ing the damn thing) is to make the length of it along the backstrap about and 8th of an inch longer...a measly 8th of an inch! As it stands, its just a little too short to avoid the occasional issue IMHO. It currently relies too much on the web of the hand. With a small grip and large hands...well...its a short coming.
Verdict:
For a guy who likes small guns, Springfield nearly nailed it...so close in fact, that its criminal. It is near perfect a single stack belt gun as possible...except for the grip safety. I am heartbroken in a way, because its that good overall. The grip safety kills it for me though...WWWHHHYYYY?!?!?!?!
If it didn't have that, I would retire the Glock 26 in a heartbeat. Well at least as an EDC.
-The grip length is the perfect mix of short and average. Even with the flush magazine, you can get the pinky involved in the grip, not full on, but its there to help manage follow up shot speed. Much of this has to do with the relief under the trigger guard, which was excellent. It also causes the trigger to be moved ahead just a little which makes the length of pull feel just right given the small frame. Granted I have big hands and narrow fingers, so it may be different for you. I have never had such a perfect mix in a little gun.
-Its thin profile absolutely vanishes AIWB, even with the extended magazine. I was REALLY impressed with it's concealment ability.
-Grip texture was aggressive, providing good purchase, but not sharp. Shooting all day would be no problem, and it won't ruin your clothes.
-The weight was great. Very light for a firearm of its size, but enough to manage recoil really well. The 3 series was perfectly balanced, and the 4 a little front heavy. The 4 was an absolute pleasure to shoot, and there was a noticeable difference in follow-up shots. In the holster, it was the better choice too.
-Fit an finish was excellent, save two issues. The 4 series had some paint missing in the rear left sight, and the ambi mag release was very stiff. No problems on the 3. The rest of it was very impressive, even on the inside.
-The sights were easy to pick up, and though I have never used a fiber optic on anything but a trap gun, it was pretty nice. I'd still prefer night sights.
-The trigger was crisp with little over travel and a nice, audible, short reset. I'd say a few, hardly noticable ounces heavier than a stock Glock out of the box.
-No issues feeding any of the ammo. Several types of hollow points and FMJ were used.
-Now for the grip safety. From the holster, I never had any issues, and purposely ignored the fact that it had one to see if there was any learning curve to it. However, I noticed it picking it up of the table and after reloading during strings of fire. I didn't manage to miss it during range time, but I did once fooling around with dry fire manipulations. The obvious solution to the whole thing (outside of 86ing the damn thing) is to make the length of it along the backstrap about and 8th of an inch longer...a measly 8th of an inch! As it stands, its just a little too short to avoid the occasional issue IMHO. It currently relies too much on the web of the hand. With a small grip and large hands...well...its a short coming.
Verdict:
For a guy who likes small guns, Springfield nearly nailed it...so close in fact, that its criminal. It is near perfect a single stack belt gun as possible...except for the grip safety. I am heartbroken in a way, because its that good overall. The grip safety kills it for me though...WWWHHHYYYY?!?!?!?!
If it didn't have that, I would retire the Glock 26 in a heartbeat. Well at least as an EDC.
