Brian Jensen

I recently visited the Islands of Hawaii, putting some of my hard earned vacation dollars to work. While there, I noticed something unusual in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in downtown Waikiki. It was a billboard ad for a shooting range, of all things, where tourists could rent guns and shoot!
Now I’m from California, and a shooting range is the next thing to an adult book store there, so I was pretty surprised to see the ad, much less in an urban shopping center. Since my interest was piqued, I had to wander up to the top floor to see what’s what.
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The Glock Gen 4 changed four things from the Gen 3: a less aggressive grip texture, interchangeable backstraps, a dual recoil spring assembly, and a larger, reversible magazine release. The dual spring is the change that matters most at the range, and it will not fit a Gen 3. Here is the change list, then [...]

Old vs. New in the classic battle for which pocket pistol is right for you. Join Brian Jensen in this head to head comparison of the classic Walther PPK and the new Ruger LCP. Read it now…

Introduced in 2000, the Glock 36 is a thinner version of the Glock 30 subcompact 45 ACP pistol. Instead of the thick grip and slide that were made to accommodate not just the .45 ACP, but the much more powerful 10mm – both with double stack magazine so common in Glocks, the Austrians did something different. A single stack magazine holds six rounds – comparable to an Officer’s Size Colt, which is similar to the size of the 36 and a much slimmer slide and frame. This lets them make a slim pistol – in fact the G36 is thinner than any other Glock.

This is a CCW dream come true. The reliability of a Glock, in a package the size of a small 1911, using the potent .45 ACP cartridge. With its nearly indestructible Tennifer finish it’s easily carried anywhere, whether an ankle, an IWB holster, or wherever and in the harshest of environments. I thought this gun was immediately destined for greatness.

What is odd, the G36 isn’t the madly popular gun I expected. They are a “love it or hate it” gun. Either you love the characteristics and the handling of it, or you don’t. There really isn’t too much opinion in between. I recently spoke with a local gun shop clerk who noted the same thing; he was just amazed that the gun wasn’t far more popular. For those with small hands, who I hear often complain about the thick grips of the Glocks in 45, why weren’t they snapping these up?

For me, the gun made a lot sense, so I recently purchased one to evaluate as a CCW. I was immediately thankful for the slim grip, and easily concealable package. I also bought a third magazine and two Pierce +1 extensions as well as a +0 floorplate for one magazine to aid in concealment. I also added a single Glock night sight for the front sight of the gun, since this is a close-in gun, not something I plan for target shooting, but more on that later.

Carrying the Glock 36 was very easy, especially with the +0 floorplate. It was comfortable to carry, either in an Inside the Waistband holster, a standard belt scabbard, or paddle holster. I used a Fobus and Blackhawk Serpa holster most often, and the gun melted into my side. I cannot usually carry a semi auto that I conceal with only a T-Shirt over my jeans. The 36 was flat enough to do the trick. All day carry was never a problem, with no sharp edges to scratch you or tear up you clothes. It was far lighter than my Colt Commander, and felt much smaller. All the way around this pistol is a solid CCW choice for those who like the Glock.

OK…I’m not afraid to admit it; I grew up watching shows like Starsky and Hutch as a kid. The single coolest point of that show was watching “Hutch” pull out that 6-inch Colt Python – probably one of the highest “cool factor” pistols out at the time. As I recall, every cop and detective show from Andy Griffith to Cannon had the hero carrying a trusty wheelgun into harms way back then.

Yet now, when I train new officers, I show them my J-Frame snubbie and they give me a look something like that old Steve Martin – Bill Murray skit from Saturday Night Live, “What the Hell is that Thing…”

It’s true, if you ask most new gun buyers who are looking for their first handgun, my experience has been that they want some semi auto, and they look at the revolver as some antiquated piece of history. Oh how wrong they are. The revolver is still a viable, potent, and downright best choice for many applications, and for the majority of shooters.

I get a lot of questions as to how different guns work. One of the most common questions goes something like this…”So how does that fancy plastic Tupperware Glock work?” It’s no wonder, since this gun was the first popular weapon to use something other than the traditional hammer and firing pin system for a pistol. No other gun has created such love-hate viewpoints as the Glock. I think it is because of its sheer popularity. No pistol is more popular in law enforcement and there is not a gun shop in America that does not keep a healthy supply based purely on steady consumer demand.

There was a deluge of negative press about “plastic pistols” when the Glock first hit the American market. Some of it was about the plastic itself, because Glocks were cheaper than most steel and aluminum alloy guns of the era. Prior to polymers (plastic), the “cheap” material to make guns out of was something called “pot metal.” It melted at a lower temperature than the metal that made up the frames and slides of “quality” guns and a few states adopted laws banning guns based on melting temperature, labeling them “saturday night specials.”

So along comes the Glock made out of plastic and it is the safest and most reliable out of the box gun anyone has ever seen, blowing the whole “melting point equals quality” argument out of the water. Stories came out that you could carry one through an airport metal detector (you can’t because there is lots of metal in a Glock in addition to the plastic) and the anti-gun media fed a feeding frenzy about the dangerous Glock that actually fired every time you pulled the trigger, and that was safe and reliable.

Years ago I purchased a used gun in a box of old gun bits and pieces from an estate sale. It was one of those, “right place, right time” moments when the seller and the gun store didn’t want to bother with sorting out what was there – some assorted 1911 bits and pieces – and none of which seemed to work. The gun-store owner saw me coming in and since he knew I liked 1911’s, he told the seller I might be interested. I offered a few bucks for what looked like a bunch of parts and a frame, and did my paperwork.

After combing through the assorted stuff in the box I found that I was able to put together all the parts to a 1911, and under it all was a slide marked “Colt MK IV” on one side, and “Officer’s ACP” on the other side beneath the ejection port. Soon I realized in amongst the junk were all the parts to the Colt.

The first time I saw an Officer’s ACP, it was in the movie Heat with Al Pacino. While this is still one of the all-time great movies for shoot-outs, I just thought that gun in particular that Pacino’s character carried was the essence of “cool”. Now while the 1911 Government has made all kinds of movie appearances, the Officer’s models gets far less attention, and I am not surprised when some don’t recognize it, or know it for what it is.

I am of the school that today’s modern Glock is the absolute “perfect” pistol. Let’s face it, the Glock is today’s police service weapon of choice, with more agencies carrying it than any other weapon. Above that, it is a top choice for civilian shooters. It is simple, reliable, and pretty much idiot proof as it comes right out of the box. As for me, the Glock passes my personal test for a combat weapon: draw, pull trigger, gun goes “bang”, bullet comes out (the correct end of course) and with proper aiming, the bullet hits bad guy. The Glock does this with stone cold reliability, every time.