Glock 20/29

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Is a glock 29 in 10 mm all that much better than a 45acp. I was looking at a g20 vs a g21 and I can convert the calibers back and forth so what is the advantage to a 10mm if I can get a 460 Rowland conversion for the g21
 
Depends on what you want to do with it. For personal protection from any human threat I don't see the 10mm or 460 as having any advantage over 9mm, 40, or 45 ACP.

What the Glock 10mm offers is realistic magnum revolver power from a smaller, more compact gun holding nearly 3X more ammo than a revolver. With the best Double Tap ammo it shoots 200 gr bullets @ 1300 fps from the 4.5" barrel. While 357, 41, and 44 magnum revolvers look a lot better on paper, that is from 8" barrels. My Glock with a 4.5" barrel is still shorter and lighter than one of the revolvers with a 3" barrel, and when fired from barrels that short the 10mm beats 357 handily, will match 41 magnum and come darn close to 44 magnum loads.

My G-20 is probably carried and shot less than any of my guns, but it ain't for sale. I camp and hike in quite a few areas where bear are plentiful. It makes just about the perfect gun for that small niche. With the best loads it is as good as any magnum revolver for large predator protection. It takes up less space and weight when cutting ounces in important. And even in the wilderness 2 legged threats are still the greater concern. I still get all of the advantages of a semi with greater capacity and faster reloads.

If I didn't camp and hike in the areas I do, I'd probably not own one.

Can't say for sure how it compares to the 460 Rowland. But ammo is easier to get and the 10mm is pretty well proven.

You could get the G21 and convert to both 460 and 10mm.
 
If you're a handloader then I think you should just bypass the 10mm and go straight to 460 Rowland.

I love 10mm and I own several them, but the 10mm equation haas changed a bunch since I started in the 90's. At the time the KY state police and the FBI were both using 10mm (S&W 1076) as their duty guns. That resulted in a pretty consistent supply of great once-fired brass that could be bought for cheap--at the time you could still buy it on eBay. Now if you want decent 10mm brass you buy it from Starline for >$100 for a box of 500.

The Rowland brass isn't all that much more expensive than new 10mm. So for the one-time cost of a conversion barrel and brass you have a 45ACP gun that can essentially become a 13 shot 44 magnum. The 10mm only gives you two more rounds, the grip size is the same, and there's no way a 10mm can deliver the KE that the Rowland can.

I bought a Clark 1911 Rowland barrel, but I'm saving my pennies to convert either an XD or G21 too.
 
I just bought a Gen4 G20 and i really like shooting it, i have other pistols that kick harder, i am hoping to deer hunt this year with it with a six inch barrel.
 
Glock 20 is a great hunting sidearm. 10 mm is on par with a 41 magnum. You can ramble off more shots from a glock 20 then you can in the same time with a wheel gun, and you have 15 plus 1 at the ready.
Glock 20, thumbs up.
For the human kind, I would stick with the 45.
 
I agree 15 rounds of magnum level power at a reasonable price is compelling. Plus there's a lot of aftermarket options for the Glock platform. I have a 20SF and although it's a beast, it's great shooter. Also have a Delta Elite which has had some work to improve the trigger and cycling. It a sweet rig as well. No plans to carry either of these guns unless I am in bear country.
 
The G29 you can easily toss an extended stainless barrel in and then you have the same barrel length as the G20 but with a smaller grip and footprint. Then if you want to up the capacity just toss in a G20 magazine with sleeve on it, you've added 5 rounds plus now have a true two handed grip.

It is also a perfectly flexible setup based on your situation, and in all ways I can figure ballistically superior to .45. I carry the standard 10rd mag with 200gr WFNGC when I'm hunting, and the 15rd mag with original silvertips when camping.

The caveat is unless you are rich, you have to be a hand loader to make proper use of 10mm. All of the factory loads are neutered down to hot .40 levels, and proper full power loads from guys like double tap (which were 100fps slower through the chrono than advertised) or buffalo bore are about a buck a round - my home loads pushing 180gr to 1,300fps are only costing me around $200/1k.
 
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The G21's slide is milled out, making it 2-3 oz lighter than the G20, IIRC.

The G21 can be converted to 10mm, but the slide will be a bit lighter. For factory loads, no problem. For a handloader, the G20 can be loaded a bit hotter, using the same springs, as long as chamber support is not an issue. (If it is, then aftermarket barrels are available.)

The G20 can shoot 40SW. And you can get aftermarket barrels in 40SW/357SIG, and even 9x23.

Why limit yourself to one or the other? Get 'em both. You can even have two different frames gen3/gen3SF/gen3ambi and mix and match.

If you're not a handloader, the G21 is probably the way to go. There's nothing wrong with 45ACP, and the Rowland conversion looks pretty impressive.
 
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I really don't see the short barrel of the G29 as realizing the potential of the 10mm cartridge. The 4.6" barrel of the G20 is already considered short, so people get 6" or longer extended barrels to up the velocity. If you subtract the 1" chamber of the 10mm round and consider the rifled part of the barrel, the G20 barrel is effectively 30% longer than the G29. Sure, you will get lots of recoil and muzzle flash from the shorter barrel, but I wonder what happens over a chronograph.
I see short-barreled magnum caliber pistols as occupying the same category as the currently fashionable 16" barreled 7.62 NATO caliber rifles: lots of noise for not much punch.
 
As the others essentially said, if you will just buy powder puff commercial 10mm, just stick with .45ACP. If you want to go more versatile then go 10mm. I made my 20SF into a long slide. I have a 6" barrels in 10mm (6.2" threaded), 9x25, .40S&W, .357Sig.

Not sure (didn't look) - can you longslide the 21 and get a 6" 460 Rowland barrel?
 
As it's been noted, the versatility with all Glocks in changing caliber is a value in itself.

The 10mm round as designed is a mild cannon. Too much to carry for Urban/Residential SD.
But, with a simple barrel swap, using 10mm mags(?), you can shoot .40!!! You probably know, .40 is stil the most popular SD round for most LEOs!

And if you handload (which you should anyway) the 10mm is not at all expensive to shoot.
Uses the exact same bullets as .40, just has longer brass!
 
Power wise the 460 Rowland (and .45 Super, .40 Super) are more powerful than the 10mm is, but especially with the 460/Super once you get into the upper end loads you have to use a compensator. I run a Gen4 G21 with comped KKM .45 ACP barrel and .45 Supers, like a 250gr at 1325 fps, do recoil.

The advantage of the 10mm is that even with full powered stuff you don't have to comp it. You can to lessen recoil sure but unlike the other above, a comp isn't required (although may not need one with .40 Super).

If you handload, the 460/Super is the best bet because you can utilize .45 cal revolver bullets in them whereas with the 10mm you're stuck using .40 S&W bullets that end up getting pushed a bit faster than they're designed to.

You can shoot .45 ACP out of a Rowland chambered barrel but it's not a good long term option, much like you can shoot .40 out of a 10mm. That's why I think the .45 Super makes more sense as it's the same external dimensions as the ACP but with stronger brass so firing .45 ACP out of it can be done safely and correctly.
 
Thanks guys sorry I waited to see some opinions. I think I'm going to go with the 45/460 Rowland since my 1911 is a 45 and I am set to reload that. Maybe later down the road the 10 mm with be viewed again.
 
I really don't see the short barrel of the G29 as realizing the potential of the 10mm cartridge. The 4.6" barrel of the G20 is already considered short, so people get 6" or longer extended barrels to up the velocity. * * *

People purchase either the 6" factory 10mm barrel or one of the 6" aftermarket tubes for handgun-hunting purposes, because the hunting regs in some states require a minimum barrel length of 5" or 6".

For purposes of home defense, CCW, or duty use, the factory 4.6" and 3.8" tubes in the G20 & G29 - assuming, of course, these guns start out loaded with proper, full-throttle 10mm ammo (not the watered-down .40-level crap) - won't give up enough velocity to matter against 2-legged predators.
 
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new 10mm pistols...

I, myself, do not really like or use 10mm pistols but they seemed to have a recent increase in popularity with target/3 gun, CCW and armed citizens.
I don't see any great benefit over the older .45acp caliber but if you think you can handle the 10mm recoil & power than have at, ;) .
I'm not familiar with the .460 caliber round so I can't say if it's worth using.
 
I really like my Glock 20. It doesn't get shot as much as the 9mm, but i think it will do whatever I need it to do.

As was mentioned, hand loading is important to enjoy the caliber I think. For a serious load I am using 800x with a 200g bullet to a little under 1300 FPS. Pressure signs start a bit over 1300. I load out as far as the glock mag will allow. Lower power loads are great for plinking or whatever else you can come up with. Recoil is stout on full power loads, but it is manageable. Accuracy is great, and POI is great at extended distances. Drop is noticeably less than 45 ACP.

I like the versatility I suppose. Hot and mild ya know? The Glock 20 frame lets me use other uppers too of course.
 
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