THE GLOCK 21 SF - Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment
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34 Story and Photo by Duane Thomas Glock’s new Model 21 SF is a minor modifica- tion of the well-established Glock 21 high-capaci- ty .45 ACP. There’s really no way to discuss the Glock 21 SF without also addressing the Glock 21. Since it would be confusing to constantly ref- erence two guns with such similar names, hence- forth I’ll call them the “SF” and “G21” for clarity’s sake. My sample SF is basically a G21 with four changes: a smaller grip, a Picatinny instead of Universal accessory rail, an ambidextrous maga- zine release button, and different magazines. Most folks’ complaint about the G21 has always been the size of its grip. SF stands for “Short Frame.” On the SF the lower/rear portion of the grip (the “swell” that on a 1911 would be the mainspring housing area) is considerably shorter front-to- rear, therefore overall grip size is smaller. The SF dust cover features a molded-in Picatinny rail instead of the G21’s Univer- sal rail. I see no need for the change. A lot of people don’t realize that Universal rail adapters will also fit perfectly onto Picatinny rails (there’s a reason it’s called a “Universal adapter”) so why have a Picatinny? My objection to the SF Picatinny rail is not that I’d need to change over the Universal adapters on my various weapon- mounted flashlights – they slip onto the sample SF just fine – but rather that it means the SF will not fit into a closely molded holster for a G21. According to Glock, they also market the SF with a Universal accessory rail instead of Picatinny, a superior choice in my opinion. The SF ambi mag release buttons rely on a bar, running horizontally across the front/interior of the mag well, that’s hinged at bottom. In its at- rest position, the top of the bar protrudes into the mag well and locks into the magazine’s front cutout (more about which later). When either mag release button is pushed, the bar rotates along its bottom axis, its top retracting back into the front wall of the mag well, allowing the mag- azine to drop free. The design of the ambi mag release is very different from the previous single- side design, and the two cannot interchange. SF magazines are double-stack units holding 13 rounds of .45 ACP, dimensionally identical to G21 mag; however if you examine the front of an SF mag you’ll see a rectangular cutout in the poly- mer; the underlying steel tube is actually visible through that “window.” This is where the maga- zine release bar locks in. SF magazines also have the (vestigial in an SF) G21 mag button cutout on the side. Thus SF magazines will work in either an SF or G21 (since both have the G21 side button cutout) but G21 mag will NOT work in an SF since they lack the central cutout. Even after mag springs wore-in, neither SF magazine would fall free from the gun when fully loaded with 13 rounds; however both would fall free when down- loaded to 12. I put the SF, in totally stock form, through the graduation exercises from the Intensive Handgun Skills (IHS) speed- shooting course from InSights Training Center. This is a good intermediate test of gun/shooter efficiency. Maxi- mum possible score on the IHS drills is 30-out-of-30 Passes. With the SF, I got 26. Not too shabby considering that, with the exception of a few rounds fired for familiar- ization, this was the first time I’d ever shot the gun. I liked the SF more than I thought I would. Its grip fit my hand nicely. The SF tracked extremely well in recoil, straight up and right back down to the same spot in rapid fire. With a G21 by con- trast, the fat grip causes the gun to track over and to the right for me. The SF was totally missing that nasty “twist” effect. The SF did point slightly low for me, though good for windage. When I missed on the IHS drills with this gun, it tended to be shots pulled low. This is of course just a result of gun/shooter interface, and may be total- ly different for anyone else. Given the SF’s extremely low bore axis, muz- zle flip was minimal. As you would expect from such a lightweight .45 auto, recoil was fairly heavy. This was no big deal during a moderate amount of shooting, but as the round count climbed, it did get old fast. THE GLOCK 21 SF New Blue Press Section 2 8/15/08 10:16 AM Page 34
Transcript of THE GLOCK 21 SF - Dillon Precision: Reloaders, Reloading Equipment
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Story and Photo by Duane ThomasGlock’s new Model 21 SF is a minor modifica-
tion of the well-established Glock 21 high-capaci-ty .45 ACP. There’s really no way to discuss theGlock 21 SF without also addressing the Glock21. Since it would be confusing to constantly ref-erence two guns with such similar names, hence-forth I’ll call them the “SF” and “G21” for clarity’ssake. My sample SF is basically a G21 with fourchanges: a smaller grip, a Picatinny instead ofUniversal accessory rail, an ambidextrous maga-zine release button, and different magazines.
Most folks’ complaint about the G21 hasalways been the size of its grip. SF stands for“Short Frame.” On the SF the lower/rear portion ofthe grip (the “swell” that on a 1911 would be themainspringhousing area) isconsiderablyshorter front-to-rear, thereforeoverall gripsize is smaller.
The SF dustcover features amolded-inPicatinny railinstead of theG21’s Univer-sal rail. I see noneed for thechange. A lot ofpeople don’trealize thatUniversal railadapters will also fit perfectly onto Picatinny rails(there’s a reason it’s called a “Universal adapter”)so why have a Picatinny? My objection to the SFPicatinny rail is not that I’d need to change overthe Universal adapters on my various weapon-mounted flashlights – they slip onto the sample SFjust fine – but rather that it means the SF will notfit into a closely molded holster for a G21.According to Glock, they also market the SF witha Universal accessory rail instead of Picatinny, asuperior choice in my opinion.
The SF ambi mag release buttons rely on abar, running horizontally across the front/interiorof the mag well, that’s hinged at bottom. In its at-rest position, the top of the bar protrudes into themag well and locks into the magazine’s frontcutout (more about which later). When eithermag release button is pushed, the bar rotatesalong its bottom axis, its top retracting back intothe front wall of the mag well, allowing the mag-azine to drop free. The design of the ambi magrelease is very different from the previous single-
side design, and the two cannot interchange.SF magazines are double-stack units holding
13 rounds of .45 ACP, dimensionally identical toG21 mag; however if you examine the front of anSF mag you’ll see a rectangular cutout in the poly-mer; the underlying steel tube is actually visiblethrough that “window.” This is where the maga-zine release bar locks in. SF magazines also havethe (vestigial in an SF) G21 mag button cutout onthe side. Thus SF magazines will work in either anSF or G21 (since both have the G21 side buttoncutout) but G21 mag will NOT work in an SFsince they lack the central cutout.
Even after mag springs wore-in, neither SFmagazine would fall free from the gun whenfully loaded with 13 rounds; however both
would fall freewhen down-loaded to 12.
I put the SF,in totally stockform, throughthe graduationexercises fromthe IntensiveHandgun Skills(IHS) speed-shooting coursefrom InSightsTraining Center.This is a goodintermediate testof gun/shooterefficiency. Maxi-mum possible
score on the IHS drills is 30-out-of-30 Passes. Withthe SF, I got 26. Not too shabby considering that,with the exception of a few rounds fired for familiar-ization, this was the first time I’d ever shot the gun.
I liked the SF more than I thought I would. Itsgrip fit my hand nicely. The SF tracked extremelywell in recoil, straight up and right back down tothe same spot in rapid fire. With a G21 by con-trast, the fat grip causes the gun to track over andto the right for me. The SF was totally missingthat nasty “twist” effect. The SF did point slightlylow for me, though good for windage. When Imissed on the IHS drills with this gun, it tendedto be shots pulled low. This is of course just aresult of gun/shooter interface, and may be total-ly different for anyone else.
Given the SF’s extremely low bore axis, muz-zle flip was minimal. As you would expect fromsuch a lightweight .45 auto, recoil was fairlyheavy. This was no big deal during a moderateamount of shooting, but as the round countclimbed, it did get old fast.
THE GLOCK 21 SFNew Blue Press Section 2 8/15/08 10:16 AM Page 34
