I am very pleasantly surprised...

[Wanderling]

I often thought of renting a G26 but somehow never did, until today.

From 15 yards, I literally shot the black circle on the target out with the first magazine. As in, a nice round hole. I am an OK shot, but this was above average shooting for me. I was shooting better with it than I do with my G17.

The experience was just excellent except for the bad case of slide bite (I always forget to set my right hand thumb out far enough, which is why I outfitted G17 with a Grip Force beavertail).

The stubby handle wasn't as much of a hindrance as I was afraid, so with a pinky extension it should be practically unnoticeable. The whole thing just felt right.

I think I found my perfect carry gun.

 

[JohnBiltz]

There are a lot of us who feel that way.

 

[X-Rap]

They did something right there for sure.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Contrary to what Glock says, there is no such thing as a perfect gun. But when it comes to concealed carry, the Glock 26 get darn close.

 

[Wanderling]

Yep, I expected that it would be accurate - but not that accurate. And overall a fun gun to use. Do they ever go on sale ? As it is going to be my carry gun, I don't want any chances & will buy a gun I knew got out of the factory. Everywhere I check now the Gen 4 sells for $540. Based on my experience with G17, I will outfit it with Gripforce adapter, Siderlock (please no flame wars... I have my reasons) and steel sights.

 

[rskent]

Hmm, never heard of a Siderlock, interesting idea.

One question: Could your accuracy with the G26 be helped by the short grip? Just thinking that the short grip may be helping you because your pinky can't torque the grip while firing.

Just a thought.

 

[Wanderling]

It's possible. Also it may be just the fact the gun is easier to steady with two hands because it's so small and light. As I said, I am just an OK shot, I can hit the center black circle from 15 yards if I try hard, but not as repeatably as I did.

Interestingly, I felt much more comfortable holding the short gripped G26 than when I was trying out G19. I don't know if that's because it's overall shorter and lighter, or because the last groove on G19 forced my pinky finger into an uncomfortable position on the grip. I was initially looking to buy G19 but after comparing it to G17 in store, I felt much more natural / comfortable with G17 and the size difference didn't seem that much. I wish I tried G26 back then; I only had one exposure to shooting a small sized pistol back then and it was so bad (I just couldn't hit the darn target) I decided they were not for me. Could've saved myself half a grand

Siderlock works out fine for me. I realized I need a gun with positive safety that needs to be disengaged to shoot - I have kids in the house, first and foremost, and while I am very anal about locking it in the safe after each range trip, I don't want to take any chances. Also, I think in a high stress situation, when one drops to the lowest level of training as they say, the possibility of me squeezing the trigger prematurely and shooting myself in the leg is about as high as the possibility I won't have time to disengage the lock (which only takes one fast sideways tap on the side of the trigger). I'd rather be facing the potential attacker unarmed but upright and not bleeding.

 

[Plan2Live]

I read an article recently that was authored by Massad Ayoob. His experience was identical to the OP's observation minus the slide bite. Massad theorized it was the way palm swell and short grip fit his hand. On those rare occasions I have fired other people's 26s I shoot them better than 19s. I don't own either.

 

[Wanderling]

Unlike me, Mr Ayoub certainly remembers to grip it correctly and offset the right hand thumb far enough to clear the slide... I don't shoot often enough and inevitably get a "D'uh !" moment after first mag. But I like the GripForce.

 

[Nakanokalronin]

No flame, but I wouldn't buy a gun if I needed to add a gizmo to make it feel safe to carry fully loaded, especially since it involves an extra step that you won't use on any other handgun that also makes it slower to get into action.

The G26 is a great gun, but I always have to modify a Glock to suit my needs.

 

[txblackout]

Yep, I expected that it would be accurate - but not that accurate. And overall a fun gun to use. Do they ever go on sale ? As it is going to be my carry gun, I don't want any chances & will buy a gun I knew got out of the factory. Everywhere I check now the Gen 4 sells for $540. Based on my experience with G17, I will outfit it with Gripforce adapter, Siderlock (please no flame wars... I have my reasons) and steel sights.

GSSF lets you buy at greatly reduced prices. sign up for 2 years and it is $60 I think. You can get a G26 at participating dealers for 398. You can buy one gun for year.