Posted: 1/29/2007 5:07:23 PM EDT
Are there any problems with the Glock 31 these days? I'm limited to 147 grain  *subsonic 9mm, or 357Sig, so I'm considering the Glock 31....... *I know a lot of folks tout the virtue of the 147 grn subsonic 9mm, bit I've seen it deployed in the real world, and I'm underwhelmed with it's performance..... |
I've had a 31 for about 2 years now----all it did was fuel another "desire"---since then i've picked up a Sig 229 with 357 and 40 barrels and a factory 357 barrel for my Glock 23  ETA a more direct reply: 'IF' I ever wear out the 31, I bet I won't feel bad about having to buy another. It is truly one of the most accurate auto's I ever owned---and the 23 & Sig shoot better with the 357 barrels, also. |
Why are you limited to 147 grain 9mm? Anyway, if you are underwhelmed by its performance, a .357 ANYTHING isn't honestly a big step up. If you honestly think 9mm isn't enough, a .45 should be the minimum you want. |
I'm an LEO, thats what my dept stipulates. I'm not gonna use this thread to argue the ammo, but I will say that the 147 grn is way overhyped, and it doesn't do the trick. My duty gun's a Sig 229 in 357Sig, but for off duty and general purposes I'd rather have a full size Glock |
How can you say 147gn is overhyped? What bullet type are you talking about? There are many different 147gn 9mm bullets, they arent all the same. Speer, winchester, hornady, nosler, remington, there are literally dozens of 147gn bullet types out there. You are painting with broad strokes my man. What are your specific experiences? |
OK, "my man" you wanna hijack my thread and turn it into an ammo debate, here goes: 147 grain Winchester SXT, RA9T. This stuff will not penetrate thru a side glass car window and have any ummph to it, a rookie I trained shot a guy in the chest that was burglarizing a building, the officer thought he missed because the guy ran off into the shadows-the guy called for an ambulance on his own cell phone! Another shooting that I'm familiar with, a crackhead female coming at an officer with a machete, took two rounds to go down. I'm familiar with many more shootings with this round, and it's performance has been dismal, the 147 grain has been experimented on, tweaked and adjusted, and this is supposed to be the top of the line. Whe my department first transitioned to 9mm in '89 we could carry what we wanted in 9mm, and the 115 grains, not even +p, were doing the trick; when my dept standardized on the 147 grain, in all it's evolutions, the confidence in the round eroded so much that my dept allows 357 Sig as a private purchase alternate round/weapon. For some reason, and I could be wrong, I feel like you're gonna awnser this post with some sort of argument based on what you read on the internet, or what the round does to a wet phone book-I'm tellin' you from real world experience the round is very marginal, and IMHO no better that FMJ 9mm. The above being said, I'm not averse at all to the 9mm, provided it's a 115 or better yet 124 grain +p HP. The round, in the right load, will do it's job. Given a choice between the two, the 124 grain Speer 357Sig is a no brainer decision. |
What? |
357Sig Gold Dot is a VERY good load-EXCELLANT against a vehicle! |
Thanks for the very good info, I wasnt trying to be offensive, but you were making some bold claims with no real supporting information. It surprises me that you find 115gn to be a better glass penetrator than the 147gn, the physics of that statement dont make much sense, but I have done no testing of my own to dispute your claims. Also, I actually consider the fact that it only took 2 rounds to stop the crack head to be pretty good performance for a handgun round. I really dont expect one shot stops out of any firearm though. Do you see a lot of one shot stops in your dept? |
My observation of this thread on a public forum  :The author was asking about a particular "model" of handgun----NOT caliber It sounded to me like he has already formulated his opinion of the calibers, and sought opinion ONLY of the Glock 31---therefore, why would he have to give "supporting info." to support his OPINION about caliber? Then he even went on to say he didn't want to turn this thread into a caliber debate, but......oh well |
Thanks AZ Dave...anyhow, I started this thread because I thought awhile back there was some sort of problem with the rails on the frame of the Glock 31, and some sort of problem with the mags.....? Apparantly whatever the problem was, is either fixed or wasn't a big deal, as I see no bashing of the G 31 in this thread. As stated earlier, I have a 229 in 357Sig for a duty gun, I just don't like full size Sigs for o/d carry, I find them bulky and heavy. |
The crack head in this particular case was an 80 lb female (suicide by cop) that didn't react to the first round at arm's distance range. The crackhead is just one example anyhow, suffice it to say I just don't care for the round. |
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All Glocks are great; the most reliable handgun in my opinion which unlike many others, is based off of experience and observations. The 31 will serve you well; however, because you mentioned carrying off duty, have you considered the 32? The slight size reduction actually dramatically increases its concealability. Regardless of chosen platform, stoke it with DoubleTap Ammo. Ballistics : 1250fps / 510 ft. lbs. 4"bbl (Glock 32) Check out the site: Here ***On a side note to someone who posted above: A 115gr projectile can potentially out penetrate a 147gr against car doors (essentially sheet steel) given the same caliber, bullet design and barrel length/gun. The reason is due to the increased velocity. Because 1/2mv^2=KE, the higher velocity of the 115 gr translates into higher KE. This higher KE is transferred (energy can not be created nor destroyed) into heat energy caused by the friction of metal rubbing on metal; i.e. the bullet penetrating the sheet steel door. The more KE available, the more KE can be transferred into heat energy, thereby causing the lighter weight projectile to essentially “melt” its way through. This concept is exactly why M193 penetrates more steel than M855 up to 100 yards or so, even though the M855 has the “penetrator” dual-core design and higher SD (sectional density). Now wood is a different story!  |
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I just fondled/compared both my 229 and 31---In my opinion there really wouldn't be much difference in concealibility, if that's what your looking for. If the 31 just "works" better for OD carry for you, and your not basing it on size, then the 31 will serve you well. I've been using my 23 w/ 357 barrel for CC quite a bit, and my 31 rides on my 'open' carry rig for my hiking/hunting days in the hills. Another great consideration would be the Sig 239---I recently picked one up in 40, just haven't gotten around to picking up a 357 barrel for it yet (sucks you need new mags for that conversion )I wouldn't worry about any issues with the 31 though---never heard of any issues with frames/mags (maybe I did hear something way back about using 10 rd 40cal mags with the 31, something about the followers) |
I had a Sig 239 in 357Sig, and on double action I couldn't have hit myself in the ass with it for some reason. I have a 239 in 9mm that I can shoot reasonably well, but for some reason I just couldn't shoot the 239 357. I think the 32 may be the best choice all around, for some reason I had it in my head that the full size Glocks were the most dependable; as for carrying the 229 vs the 31, I have a Glock 17 that I've found to be much easier to carry concealed than the 229, hence the reason I was thinking of the 31. |
