Excited First Time Glock Owner!

[CyberJCM]

First I didnt know this whole subsection of B&B was here! Fantastic!

This weekend the wife and I took the NRA Basic Pistol course, and later that evening I bought my first handgun (grew up shooting with my Grandpa, mostly .22's and such. I own a couple long guns but this is my first, my own, handgun). Picked up a Glock 23 in .40cal, and I love it even if I don't even possess it yet. I've been going nutty on youtube learning all kinds of stuff, researching upgrades and safes... AD setting in hard and I know this won't be my last handgun! Probably not my last Glock either.

I had started out after tons of research leaning highly towards the Springfield XD9 over the Glock. I like to buck whats popular, and the XD was just as praised by some. That changed when I went to the store and compared. Despite the fact that CA has none of the newer top models of these and many other brands rostered, so they weren't even an option, I and my wife just liked the Glock better. I may get an XD down the road. I was pretty set on a 9mm, but chose the .40 for its better defense, supposed shooting similarity to 9mm, and the fact that G19's aren't even available right now due to the gun climate. I'm still in the waiting period, but I cant wait to shoot it!

Any of you Glock guys? I'd love to network with and learn from you! Please share with me anything and everything I should or might like to know about my G23 and Glocks in general. How do you prefer to clean it? Whats your favorite ammo for different uses? Or compare the XD for my later referrence. I'm a Glock sponge right now, and if you can't tell, really excited!

Glad I found you guys, and thanks for having me!

 

[FlatFork]

Congrats on your glock purchase! Glock is a tough firearm and the .40 cal is a very nice self defense round, the 40 is the standard round carried by the federal agency I work for. The ammo is a little on the pricy side to be doing a lot of shooting but that why I bought a 9mm to go out and shoot tons of ammo with. I like the Winchester Ranger lawman ammo or the Winchester PDX for self defense ammo. I would get the night sights if you don't already have them and have the trigger pull reduced a glock armorer can do this in just a few minutes. I've had mine in the mud before and tore it down and had to put it in a sink of water to get all the grit out. My advice is to shoot a lot cause it's fun,fun,fun! I'm sure other members will chime in on their recommendations, be safe and enjoy your new firearm.

 

[CyberJCM]

Thanks David! I appreciate the ammo and mod advice. I think I'm going to give it s good try out stock before I change anything, but those you mentioned are definitely possibilities. Do you or anyone else have any thoughts on a few other popular upgrades?

I'm mostly interested in:
A Stainless steel spring replacement
Adding a magwell
Extended slide and mag releases (I won't be CCW)

Also, any thoughts on a Gunvault or similar?

And one more ? What should I do, if anything, before its first range outing? Clean it, not clean it?
Thanks!

 

[Wid]

I always do a good cleaning of a new gun before shooting it.

 

[OkieStubble]

Congratulations on your Glock 23 John. My duty weapon is also the G23. It will serve you well.

 

[CyberJCM]

Thanks Rob! Everything I'm reading seems a glowing endorsement for the G23! The .40S&W sounds like a good round as well.

Havent had a chance to look yet. Can I ask you guys about how much does quality but cheap practice .40 ammo run?

 

[Commander Quan]

Congrats on the purchase. My next purchase is going to be a Glock as well. There's so much aftermarket support for them, so if that's your thing they are a no brainier.

 

[Rudy Vey]

Have a 34 Gen 3 and it shoots just amazing!! Glocks are great guns.

 

[Obiwan]

I have a gen 3 19 and love it. Congrats.

 

[PFP_Dad]

I've carried a 23 on duty for the last 5 years and can't save enough good things about it. For me the XD is slightly more natural too shoot and I get better groupings, but I choose the Glock for it's reliability. I've fired thousands of rounds through it and have never had any type of malfunction. My ammo recommendation is the same as above with the Winchester Ranger T or PDX rounds. Congrats on a fine purchase.

 

[Goober]

I have a 23 that is in my CCW rotation, depending on the clothes I am wearing. Love shooting that gun. I just recently bought a 357 Sig barrel for it. Now I have one gun that shoots two different bullets. 357 Sig is a fun round as well. Enjoy that masterpiece. Oh yeah, clean it first.

 

[hotreds]

My friend was an MP and we shot his Glock 40 quite a bit in my backyard. I was amazed at how little kickback it had! Great pistol!

 

[CyberJCM]

Thanks guys! Please feel free to keep it coming!

Goober, I saw the conversion barrels out there too. I was looking at the 9mm as a way to practice on a budget. But... at about $300 to get a barrel and a few G19 mags... I may as well just buy another gun! The Ruger P95's have always interested me and they're a smidge over $300...

Thats assuming I can even get one out here in CA. I asked alot of questions while at the store about the different makes and models I was interested in. Kept bumping into this quote, "It's not rostered for CA", or "It's no longer rostered for CA". No Glock Gen4's, no XDm's, Walther PPK is no longer available (always wanted one of those)... My state sucks as a gun owner!

 

[HoosierTrooper]

The Glock comes from the factory with a copper colored lube on the slide and frame, and Glock recommends leaving that on for the first firing session.

 

[PinoySteel]

Have fun, and pick up an Armorer's Tool for when you're familiar with your 23 so you can disassemble it and see what a marvel of design it really is on the inside! You don't need an armorer to change anything on there: they're about as user friendly as it gets and you can maintain and upgrade them all by yourself.

Also a holster tip: leather and the plastic/kydex types will wear the finish off your slide over time. Not sure if that's of concern to you, but the softer kind will keep your slide minty for longer.

 

[CyberJCM]

The Glock comes from the factory with a copper colored lube on the slide and frame, and Glock recommends leaving that on for the first firing session.

Thanks Tom. I'll do that. I swear, when you look this stuff up you get just as many opinions either way! Some say clean it out, some say no way. Some say lube your Glock, some say leave it pretty dry.... Frustrating! But I'll listen to those who truly seem to know what they are talking about.

Have fun, and pick up an Armorer's Tool for when you're familiar with your 23 so you can disassemble it and see what a marvel of design it really is on the inside! You don't need an armorer to change anything on there: they're about as user friendly as it gets and you can maintain and upgrade them all by yourself.

Also a holster tip: leather and the plastic/kydex types will wear the finish off your slide over time. Not sure if that's of concern to you, but the softer kind will keep your slide minty for longer.

Thank you! I will look into doing that. If I do nothing else, the extended slide and mag releases are a definite for me. Are these easy to do yourself? And the holster advice is very much appreciated too. I'm not concerned with much carry, but I definitely don't want one that wears down my finish!

 

[Goober]

Thanks guys! Please feel free to keep it coming!

Goober, I saw the conversion barrels out there too. I was looking at the 9mm as a way to practice on a budget. But... at about $300 to get a barrel and a few G19 mags... I may as well just buy another gun! The Ruger P95's have always interested me and they're a smidge over $300...

Thats assuming I can even get one out here in CA. I asked alot of questions while at the store about the different makes and models I was interested in. Kept bumping into this quote, "It's not rostered for CA", or "It's no longer rostered for CA". No Glock Gen4's, no XDm's, Walther PPK is no longer available (always wanted one of those)... My state sucks as a gun owner!

That's why I went with the 357 Sig. Barrel was a Lone Wolf for 100 bucks. El cheapo I know, but had good reviews and shoots very well. Uses the same mags as the .40 S&W.

 

[xjrob85]

I have a Gen 4 Glock 34, and I love it! It is a really nice shooter. My brother has a 9mm XD, and I never could shoot it very well. Also, compared to the Glock, the XDs are really tall guns. I like how low profile Glocks are.
As for cleaning, look up Hickok45 on Youtube. He has hundreds of excellent gun videos, many specifically about Glocks, and several really good Glock cleaning videos.

 

[Kabong30]

.40 is a good defensive round. Just be aware that it is "snappier" than 9mm and you may need to compensate for "muzzle flip". Honestly, I started on a .40 as well and since I initially had nothing to compare it too, the thought never entered my mind...on second thought, forget everything I just said.

 

[Commander Quan]

Congrats on the purchase. My next purchase is going to be a Glock as well. There's so much aftermarket support for them, so if that's your thing they are a no brainier.

Well me and my self fulfilling prophecy came home with a Glock 26 this morning. I'm worse than a kid at the pet store.