Why are long slide polymer pistols not as popular

[mjg710a]

Ok here goes my thought for the day. The 1911 is standard with a 5 inch barrel and it is accepted for carry as such. Then why are 5 inch polymer pistols like the m&p9L and the glock 34 generally thought of a competition pistols?

Mike

[Eric R Shelton]

What we're used to, I guess.  The 1911 was designed to be a 5" gun and works best in that barrel length.  Hilton Yam, Larry Vickers, etc. will all say that if you're serious about the 1911, that's the length you get it in.

Glocks and M&Ps were designed as somewhat shorter guns.  The shorter barrel length hasn't been specifically noted to reduce reliability, as it has for the 1911.  There may also be a somewhat unfair bias against total volume; while the 1911 is longer it is also thinner and a double-stack 5" gun may be perceived as being too large.

No real answer, per se.  I'm just spitballing some ideas here.

[SirBrass]

I guess it's because 4" is percieved to be a good length for a "duty" gun, while 5" seems to be a bit much, even though the 1911 was originally designed for that barrel length.

IIRC, fullsize GLOCKs are 4.5", not 4".

[Paul_SSA]

I carry a glock 35 with the grip cut off to fit a glock 23 magazine all day, everyday.  Love it.  Took off the extended slide stop lever.  With IWB barrel length doesn't matter as much.

[Devereaux]

My suspicions.

A "long slide" auto is looked at more as a target gun than a general usage weapon. Poly guns generally are not set up as target weapons, with tight frame-to-slide adjustments, so having the additional slide length isn't of any practical use. Sight radius, another target issue, is much less of one in a carry gun. So from a totally practical point of view, why take on the longer slide when you really don't get much benefit from it. Shorter weapon is easier to draw, swing, etc.

[Eric R Shelton]

IIRC, fullsize GLOCKs are 4.5", not 4".

I believe the same is true for the M&P 45, although I don't know about (and don't feel like looking up ) the M&P 9 or 40.

[Rob Kroupa]

I carry a glock 35 with the grip cut off to fit a glock 23 magazine all day, everyday.  Love it.  Took off the extended slide stop lever.  With IWB barrel length doesn't matter as much.

I really want to setup a Glock 17 this way. 

[Paul_SSA]

NS2 Not at all.  Hopefully by the end of today.

[S391]

I own 3 M&P's, a 9L, a full size 9 and a 9C..... I'm doing my part to increase their popularity



That said, I shoot the 9C the best of the lot...... go figure.....

[Paul_SSA]

S391 -
Why do you have to post a niclely lit, well composed photo right before I post my junky shot???

Well, NS2 her it is.



the mods were done by Jim Shanahan of advanced Performance Shooting  http://advancedperformanceshooting.com/page5.html
I had him:
Remove finger grooves
Fill backstrap
reduce backstrap
Shorten grip
add stuck mag cutouts on side of grip
round trigger guard
double undercut trigger guard
texture medium on front strap and back strap
Ligth texture everyplace else

When I got it back from Jim I was happy.  Somewhere along the line he had mentioned that cutting the grip off to a G23 length grip might be a good call.  I didn't want to go that drastic as I wanted all my fingers on the grip. 

After I had it a few days I realized that all my fingers would be on the grip, so it hit the disc sander  and within 30 minutes I had a g23 mag up in there.  I deepened the stuck mag cutouts a bit and I was good to go. 

If I were to do it again, I would go with a glock 22.  the extra muzzle lenght only helps when I play dumb fun gun games and since I have started carrying appendix, for the first time ever I have had the long slide interfere with comfort.  I currently carry it IWB as opposed to AIWB because of the discomfort. 

The next gun I will carry as of December will be a 21.  I will have Jim cut the grip to the length of a 30 magazine with a 21 baseplate.  this will relieve the pinching that is so common with the 30 mag extension during extended fire.  The barrel length will be the same as a 22 so I wont have the discomfort with AIWB that the 35 gives.

Let me know if you need to see more detailed photos or have any questions.

As far as Shanahan goes, he does good work, is quick and there is less BS to deal with when using him than some others. YMMV