The Safe Queen Range Report

[DaFadda]

I looked in my safe the other day and pulled out two queens that have been languishing unused in their bunks on the safe door. Oiled up nicely for storage was my Springfield Armory Micro Compact; the second 1911 I ever owned. It was my daily carry until I got the DW CCO about a year ago. I was cruel... and let him sit alone in a safe for many months.

the second one that caught my eye was my Glock 21SF. (also 45acp). I really don't know why I ever bought it to begin with, other than to have a 45 in the same manual of arms as my Glock 19. I've never carried it.

So, a bit about each gun:

Springer:



I forgot just how much I enjoyed shooting this one. Its a short, 3" barrel on an officer's frame. The frame is aluminum alloy. Fit and finish... I believe to be "excellent." Not a "catwhisker" space between the MSH and frame like you might find on a Les or Wilson, but in my world... "good enough." We all seem to think that the shorter the barrel, the harder to control. With this gun, I just don't see it. I ran a series of 185 JHP, 200 gr Flat points and some 230 gr JHPs though it, and with the exception of a couple of "flyers" (my bad, not the gun) I was pretty happy with the groupings at 7 yards. Not one ragged hole like some here can do, but again... "good enough" for a dark alley when I work at night. Trigger pull is crisp, I'd say right around 4 pounds. I enjoyed shooting this one enough to bring it upstairs, possibly for daily carry again.

What I DON'T like about the Springer. 2 things. First, in order to disassemble the gun, you need a "tool" to insert into the guide rod assembly. This "tool" is a 3/4 long, 1/4" thick piece of delrin that has been sliced in half the long way to lock the spring back. It snaps in place. There is no front bushing. The second thing that I dont like is that reinstalling the slide stop is a BEAR! I know now that I can file away a very small part of the stop and re installation will be much easier... but I just haven't done it yet.


The Glock 21SF (Slim Frame)
4.25 inch barrel, polymer of course. Double stack magazine holding 13 rounds, the 21SF differs from it's big brother in only a couple respects. First, there is a small difference in the grip size. You really can't SEE it, unless you look underneath at the hole behind the mag well. Then the difference is obvious. Second is that the SF model has a ambidextrous mag release installed at factory. No so with the full sized 21.



Shooting it? Hey, its a Glock. It shoots like all the others. Reasonably accurate, reliable. Trigger pull: Now that I'm used to a 1911? OMG. It's got to be like 12 pounds!!!!! Which is probably ok on a duty weapon with no other safety. One thing that's always impressed me about the Glock(s) is the ease of racking the slide. Even with a new spring, racking the slide is easy. All this said, This one is going back into the safe until after the election, when perhaps its value will skyrocket. A pleasant enough "shooter", but something that is just not practical to carry (for me) without a Sam Browne Belt system. I simply can't hide this one on my body. It redefines the term "Brick."

If you have a safe queen that you haven't touched for awhile... why not bring her out and fire her up? A year or two away from a gun allows us to look at it with a less biased mind. It's not "the new toy" anymore, the glamour of being new has worn off. You may just find that you like something about it again.

+Michael