I'm looking into buying the Glock 36 and was wondering what the pros and cons are. Is the recoil ok with the +P rounds? Thanks for any help.

mine kicks like a mule with +p ammo. plus i had a couple hiccups with it( jamming with the cartridge stuck at an angle up in the barrel hood)this happened once. the other screw up i had was the empty shell mouth being crushed upon ejection. just two malfunctions in 1600 rounds since i bought it two months ago. my favorite is the glock 30 i bought 1 month ago. no malfunctions in 800 rounds, kicks about as much as my full size G21, not much kick, very manageable, plus you get 10 rounds instead of six. the G36 in a lot narrower in the grip and might fit your hand better than the G30. i carry my G36 three days of the week and the G30 four days. the G30 and G36 both conceal very well with an IWB holster. i love 'em both. my G21 i use for target shooting at the range. what ever glock you choose, you won't be sorry.

As a alternative you may consider shooting hyroshocks. While it is not as hot as +p, it is a decent defensive round and shot placement is very similar to your range ammo. That way you can train mostly with range ammo, and know that your defense ammo will hit where you expect it without adjusting the sights or otherwise compensating for shot placement.

I've got a model 23 and rented the 30 and 36 this past year once I got my carry permit.

As much as I wanted a pocket full of .45 Glock, neither was right for me. The 30 was too fat for me to get a grip around, a bit the hell out of my thumb knuckle. I didn't shoot it terribly well either. Then I rented the 36. I shot it pretty well and could hold onto it just fine. Recoil was another matter... It was pretty stout, hard enough that after the first box I couldn't hold the gun tight enough to keep it from stovepiping. There isn't enough grip area on the slide to help overcome the mainspring, and when you do get it back, the slide release lever is really hard to manipulate.

Bear in mind that I have NO problems using my  G23, or any other semi-auto pistol, nor am I a weakling either.

<sigh> I guess I'll be looking at the XD-Compacts...

Dave