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Old January 17, 2020, 02:47 AM   #1
chrisintexas
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10 mm - Glock 40 vs Glock 20

Out of these 2, which one would you choose as woods gun and why?
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Old January 17, 2020, 07:51 AM   #2
agtman
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Out of these 2, which one would you choose as woods gun and why?
I have all 3 10mm Glocks. The G40 replaced my G20 as and for a dedicated 'woods'/trail/boonies/camping gun.

Why?

The 6.2" barrel yields somewhat higher velocities than the G20's 4.6" tube. Longer slide = longer sight radius with the irons, and the MOS capability gives you the option to handgun hunt. But for right now mine is being run sans an optic. I swapped out the adjustable plastic factory sights for fixed steel Trijicons (green frt/orange rear).

Of my three 10mm Glocks, the trigger on the G40 is easily the best. To me it seems smoother and a bit lighter when dry-firing the guns side-by-side. Maybe it's a Gen4 thing (?). Dunno for sure, but my G40 is also the most accurate of the three. So the better trigger must contribute somewhat to producing tighter groups.

It's carried afield in a Diamond-D center-chest rig, loaded up 15+1 with handloads: 220gn poly-coated hard cast FP slugs that replicate Underwood's and DT's velocities with their 10mm 220gn HC ammo (about 1200fps +/-). The poly-coating makes the FP boolits slick to feed up the ramp, while also preventing lead build-up in the factory tube.

Out in the bramble bush where the Big Snappers and the Meth-heads roam, there's no such thing as 'overpenetration' ... nor 'overkill.'

Word to the wise.

Last edited by agtman; January 17, 2020 at 12:50 PM.
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Old January 17, 2020, 12:04 PM   #3
thegatman
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Glock 40 is the best.
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Old January 17, 2020, 01:13 PM   #4
jmr40
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I've had a G20 for years, but added a G29 for a more easily carried pistol when in the woods. I give up about 50 fps, but there is still plenty to spare. I don't shoot the G20 any better and can still use 15 round G20 magazines in the G29.


The G40 is a fine gun and I can see it for competition, or even hunting where the law requires a longer barrel. But it is just too much of a good thing for carrying. The G20 is as big as I'd want for that.
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Old January 18, 2020, 02:39 AM   #5
bamaranger
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G20

The G40 seems a fine pistol and gets near all one can from a 10mm handgun, what with it's 6" tube. But it is a lot of gun to carry around. Even when I was thirty years younger, I got a bit tired of lugging 6" magnum revolvers about on foot in the boonies. The G20 forced most all of my magnum revolvers into semi-retirement because it was lighter and carried so much easier.

The longer G40 has a place, most likely as a hunting pistol. But much of hunting is sitting and waiting, not wandering all across the country side. For general woods wandering, afoot, I'll stick with the shorter lighter G20.
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Old January 18, 2020, 03:27 AM   #6
TruthTellers
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These people saying the 40 is "too big" clearly haven't held or carried one. I have the Glock 35 and compared to a 17/22, there is no discernible difference in how they feel being carried, it's simply a 1 inch longer slide. Same applies to the 40 vs the 20.

Speaking of the Glock 34/35 and the 40, Glock uses 3.5 lb trigger connectors in their long slide pistols. I'm not sure if they did this for Gen 3 34/35's, but they do it in the Gen 4's, so can't say it's a Gen 4 only thing. The result is a nicer trigger and when I went shooting with my Uncle years ago he had tried a Glock back in the 90s and noted that he didn't think the triggers were all that good, then he tried my 35 and said that it shot and felt a lot better than he remembered a Glock feeling.

Back to the 20 vs 40, if this is a woods gun that to me means and open carry gun and if it's an open carry gun then concealment isn't the desire, it's effect. The 40 is simply more effective because it is easier to shoot and has more velocity.

That said, is the 40 worth the $700 it typically sells for vs a used 20 for $500? I'm having trouble answering that myself.
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Old January 19, 2020, 01:47 AM   #7
bamaranger
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not quite the whole truth

I have not "carried" a G40. True. To allege I have never handled one is false.

The statement that there is "simply a 1 inch longer slide" difference between the G40/G20 is also false. The truth is the G40 slide is 1.42 inches longer than that same part on the G20 (9.02 V. 7.6 inches). Along with that longer slide comes a longer barrel, recoil spring, and guide rod, making the G40 heavier than a G20 by 5.2 ounces. To restate that weight, 5.2 oz is well over a 1/4 of a lb. So the G20 is over 1/4 of a pound lighter than its bigger 10mm bother.

For a handgun that is going to be carried afoot , afield, those numbers matter to me, perhaps not to others. I think it is interesting that one fella that commented suggested the smaller G29 for "ease of carry" and another fellow uses a full blown chest rig to carry the bigger G40. There is something to this portability aspect of a woods pistol. I believe the G20 finds the sweet spot in power v. portability.

I hate to draw the G34/35 into this discussion, but it's been done already so I will expand on it a bit. About a decade ago, the AL Conservation Officers were issued G35's,and to the best of my knowledge, still carry them. A G35 is 8.82" in overall length. The "practical/tactical" Glocks were almost universally despised, one reason being the G35's were longer than the previous issue pistol (which I think was a Beretta compact). They were deemed awkward in a duty belt rig, gouging when in and out of a vehicle, astride an ATV, in handling other gear and equipment, and afoot in the woods. These outdoor pros disliked the 8.82" overall length of the G35. The G40 is a full .67"(well over half inch) longer and far heavier than the G35. The G20 is .80" shorter than a G35, over 3/4", they might have liked that.
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