Guest Blog By Joel Nader: A Deep Dive on My Love of Glock 10mms

This is a post from  Joel T. Nadler, GCA Lifetime Member #720

A Deep Dive on My Love of Glock 10mms

By Joel T. Nadler, GCA Lifetime Member #720

My story of how I started adopting and collecting GLOCKs is one of twists and turns. However, almost from the start my love of GLOCKs was intertwined with my love of the 10mm handgun round. 

The very first GLOCK I purchased was a G17 Gen4 in 9mm bought from Cabela’s. I honestly bought this gun more just to have a GLOCK in my collection than anything else. I figured if the world ever came to an end there would be a lot of GLOCKs lying around, so I might as well become proficient with one.

This initial purchase did not see much use outside of an occasional trip to the range. My second GLOCK, however, would have a profound impact on my future use and appreciation of the platform.

For Christmas 2016, my wife bought me a GLOCK 40, Gen4, Ted Nugent exclusive in 10mm with a Leupold Red Dot optic. Not only did I receive this gift from my wife it was also during two weeks of downtime surrounded by extended family. Thus, I spent a lot of time online learning more about this specific G40, GLOCKs in general, and the wider internet community of GLOCK enthusiasts. I don’t own any safe queens, so as soon as I could I was out putting my new G40 to work on the range, and shortly thereafter in competitions, shooting it in unlimited class against 9mm models. My experiences with GLOCK reliability as well as my becoming better at shooting GLOCKs resulted in these first two GLOCKs becoming many more over the years.

My sixth GLOCK purchased later in 2017 was a Gen4 GLOCK 29 in 10mm. After testing this gun for speed and accuracy verses other firearms, primarily my current carry, which was an IWI Jericho in .45 ACP,  I adopted the G29 as my primary concealed carry. Additionally, I added the GLOCK 29 to my competition shooting. A few models later I added a Gen4 GLOCK 20 to my collection as my eleventh GLOCK in my collection. With this purchase I had all three GLOCKs in 10mm; the long slide G40, the subcompact G29, and the standard G20.  

What followed was seven years of competing, carrying, and practicing with GLOCKs in 10mm. I honestly appreciated the round for its increased ballistics, relatively larger capacity, 15 rounds of 10mm in the G20, compared to 13 rounds of .45 ACP in the similar sized G21, and little if any impact on my speed and accuracy. What changed? 

Well, I did. As I grew older, I started to see a slow down in follow up shots. I still enjoyed shooting 10mm, but I started to be measurably slower compared to similar firearms in 9mm. Additionally, my wife regularly carried 9mm and it just made sense for us to carry compatible firearms in case we needed to borrow magazines from each other. 

The 10mm round stopped being my preferred carry the same way it became it, through testing and measurement. I was previously a professor who taught scientific methodology and statistics at a graduate level and this orientation in addressing data results in looking at the world in a very measurement and test-focused way. If there was not a significant difference in my defensive accuracy and speed, I would be glad to lose a few rounds. Only two less compared to similar sized handguns chambered in 9mm. In exchange for the more powerful  ballistics of the 10mm. But when I started to experience a significant and measurable slowing of follow-up shots and/or a loss of accuracy, I decided to change guns and calibers. Today I still regularly carry a GLOCK,but it is a Gen5 GLOCK 45 MOS in 9mm. I'm also trying out the new Gen6 GLOCKS.  

I still enjoy shooting the 10mm and specifically 10mm GLOCKS, but today they are no longer defensive tools and have become range toys and competition guns. I stuck with my three core 10mm GLOCKs for almost seven years and though I purchased a few Gen5 10mm GLOCKs they never replaced those first Gen4s.

As we enter the Gen6 era, I will likely continue to add GLOCKs to my collection including those chambered in 10mm, but for me my heart will always belong to my original three 10mm GLOCKs.