Across the years I've owned a number of Glock pistols. I have a couple in my gun safe as I type this. I've also been a fan of the .45ACP since I was introduced to it in the Army (back in the day). The big debate that rages between smaller caliber high capacity weapons versus bigger caliber lower capacity weapons seems to rear its ugly head at various times and in unexpected places. The Glock 30, for me, was a happy compromise offering a large caliber decent capacity weapon in a comfortably sized package.
Realizing that Glock released the models in numerical order, the Glock 30 wasn't produced until after all three sizes of 9mm and all three sizes of .40. Even the compact 10mm was put out before the Glock 30; admittedly only JUST before.
Both the Glock 20 (10mm) and the Glock 21 (.45ACP) are Glock's large frame guns. The grip circumference is noticeably larger than that of the 9mm/.40 caliber weapon frames. Still, they are manageable and they do provide for a high-capacity weapon: 15 rounds of 10mm or 13 rounds of .45ACP.
The Glock 30 is the down-sized version of the Glock 21. With a magazine capacity of 10 rounds, the Glock 30 gives you a total of 11 rounds of .45ACP in your weapon (10+1 in the chamber). The package those 11 rounds come in is quite handy. The stats are:
- .45ACP
- 6.77 inches long
- 4.76 inches tall
- 1.27 inches wide
- 5.95 inch sight radius (distance between sights)
- just over two pounds loaded weight
- 5.5 pound trigger pull
- Rifling 1-in-15.75" right hand twist
In general you can compare the G30's size to that of the Glock Model 19 (15 round 9mm) or the Glock Model 23 (13 round .40). It is slightly wider, but that's a small price to pay for having a .45 caliber weapon.
The G30 - even considering its compact size - is more than acceptably accurate. Through numerous qualification runs it was easy enough to keep all rounds within the eight-ring of a B27 target. While that doesn't sound particularly impressive, I wasn't attempting to measure the accuracy capability of the weapon. My only interest was whether or not the weapon shot accurately enough and was easy enough to control to keep the shots on a bad guy. If all the rounds can be kept inside the 8-ring then they can be kept in the chest of a bad guy.
The one thing I discovered that I really don't care for - but is my fault, not the gun's - is that I tend to pinch the ring finger of my weapon hand when I do reloads. Because of the way I hold the weapon, and the size of my hand compared to the weapon's grip frame, I managed to pinch my ring finger between the grip and the magazine's floor plate on nearly every reload. And when you slam those magazines home to make sure they're seated properly and securely, it HURTS to pinch a chunk of skin in there. Live and learn.
I have shot the Glock 36 single-stack .45ACP as well, and it feels more comfortable in my hand. I put +1 magazine floor plates on the G36 mags and ended up with 7+1 capacity for my G36. The comfort I gain - due to my hand size and the slimmer profile of the G36 - makes it worth it to me to sacrifice three rounds and carry the G36 instead of the G30. But if you're a full size man (as some of my Rhode Island SWAT friends are) then the G30 will be easy and comfortable for you to shoot. For reloads you can use G21 magazines so that you're carrying the more concealable G30 with 11 rounds, but carrying 13 round magazines for reload. With just one such magazine in addition to the weapon, you can be carrying 24 rounds of .45ACP. Given that I can remember carrying a J-frame .38Spl with five rounds and only five rounds for reload - total of ten rounds - having more than double that of .45ACP is an attractive option.
