I went to the range yesterday for the first time since I came back from sea, and all was well, I suppose; I'm certainly not any BETTER than I was in October when I left, but I'm not MUCH worse, so that gives me hope for some progress on my skills this summer... Anyway, my friend bought one of the new G19s, and wanted to take it out for a run, so I invited him to come with me. (I wanted to check out the Gen4's anyway, and this was a cheap opportunity ) As a die-hard 1911 fan, I'm ashamed to say that I really liked shooting it. The grip angle felt weird, and I wasn't a huge fan of the fat grip, but with the smallest (stock-est?) backstrap on (or...not on, I suppose), it wasn't too awful. I'll say that I hit what I aimed at, and at 25 feet I was shooting about 2.5" groups offhand. Definitely accurate enough for social work, anyway. In any case, my budget isn't allowing for shooting as much .45ACP as I'd like, so the wife and I are considering switching to 9mm for the ability just to shoot more. Plus these little plasti-guns hold lots more ammo than a single stack. Makes me so sad that I'm thinking about NOT carrying my 1911s. I love them so much, but...I guess maybe I want to get my "hi-cap" "wonder-9" before the liberals make them illegal. I don't know. Can one of you longtime SSEC-ers talk some sense into me?
Go for it man, all the reasons you listed in your post are exactly the reasons to go with a G19...great pistol, some are experiencing problems with the new spring in the 9mm Gen 4s, but nowhere near as many that are experiencing flawless functionality, plus you're in GA and Glock is around the corner, excellent choice. Before long you'll have two, then a 17 , then a 26 , it goes on and on....you can always take your 1911s out of the safe and polish them or something, hehe.
I admit I love the 1911 and still build for customers even today BUT when I finally swallowed my pride and shot the Glock (17RTF) I was hitting AMAZINGLY accurate groups. The grip felt weird and the over lack of weight was a bit odd. I shot some more and now no longer even own a 1911. I do however have 3 Glock 17's. My RTF is built for work at the range and the occasional bodyguard job I get. The 17c is my competition/race gun and the one I use when I take classes. The 17 Gen 4 was going to be my daily carry option UNTIL the wife shot it WELL and claimed it as her own. I love the high capacity with very little weight. I love the fact that if any gun accessory was ever made they made a version for Glock and I truly LOVE the fact that the holster selection for Glock is not only infinite but that most gun stores will already have them in stock in one way or another.
There is one thing I think a single stack will always hold over the Glocks, and that is thickness. I moved down from a 1911 to a Kahr and haven't even begun to think about looking back. That said, I think a Gen4 G19 is in my future. It will just take a LOT of range time to get accustomed to that trigger and grip angle again...
Make sure that if you are in the military, you look out for Glock's military discount. They extend the law enforcement pricing to active duty military. I just bought a G19 Gen4 for $435. I like my G19, but I'm considering getting rid of it. So far, I just haven't been able to shoot it well.
Carry what you shoot well with. I enjoy shooting both my 1911 and the wife's G19 and shoot well with both. There apparently some odd sense of nostalgia, memory impression from a previous like, or some other weird voodoo that just makes my mind look down at the 1911 in my hand and tell me that it belongs there, night & day.
Well I am probably getting sucked into the dark side as well. I bought a police trade in G19 and shot it for the first time this weekend. I will say that it's nowhere near as graceful looking and feeling as my CZ 75B (I LOVE that gun), but I have to say that I shot really well with G19. It doesn't look pretty or feel pretty, but in terms of self defense, It has so much going for it - the size, weight, capacity, dependability and customer service make it a pretty amazing 9MM combat pistol. It's ugly as hell, but there's just something about it...
everybody has an opinion, so here is mine. Glock makes an EXTREMELY reliable weapon, that is not difficult to carry full time because its so light, its almost like not carrying. Great weapons. That being said, I still carry a desert eagle .45. I like steel, the weight reduces recoil, and it feels better balanced than the top heavy Glock. I am a fan of the DA/SA trigger pull vs. the DAO Glock. I shoot tighter groups with a steel DA/SA, and thats all the convincing i needed to sell off my glock
I very well may purchase one in the near future. Oh, and believe me, I WILL get military/LEO pricing if I decide to get one. I just feel so guilty, since I love my 1911s so much. It's not even the weight that makes me want to carry a plastic gun, it's the ammo capacity. I carry a spare 1911 mag, I have 15 rounds. I carry a spare Glock mag, I have 31. That's a lot more... and I'm no math whiz.