Mustafa Bilal

It’s no secret that I’m a 1911 devotee, but I hold the Glock pistol in high regard. In fact, I recommend the solid, reliable Austrian pistols all the time to folks in the market for a good defensive pistol. I also keep a well-worn Glock 19 in the console of my truck and, on really hot days, I carry a Glock 26 concealed under a T-shirt in a Milt Sparks IWB holster.

So you might wonder if I’m such a Glock fan, why don’t I carry one every day? The two-part answer to that question is that I feel safer trusting my life to the .45 ACP cartridge and, until now, Glocks so-chambered were too big for my Lilliputian mitts.

Things got better with the introduction last year of the slimmer-handled Glock 21 SF (short frame), but the full-size pistol was still bigger than I feel comfortable concealing. But the introduction this year of the Glock 30 SF caused me to seriously reconsider my choice of carry guns.

The Glock 30 SF is, simply put, a .45 ACP mini-Glock with a recontoured grip frame. That handy modification reduces the trigger reach by 3mm, making the pistol a bit easier to hang onto for smaller-handed shooters. Its short butt accepts 10-round, double- stack magazines. The mini-Glock’s frame also has molded-in checkering and finger grooves for a surer grip. The face of the trigger guard is similarly checkered.

As with all Glocks, the 30 SF is built on a rugged polymer frame with a forward accessory rail and a steel locking block and slide rail inserts. When Glock pioneered polymer frames more than 20 years ago, many shooters doubted their strength, but they proved their mettle.

Again, like all Glocks, the 30 SF uses the patented Safe Action trigger system. The Safe Action system employs a tensioned firing pin lock. When you pull the trigger, the trigger bar moves the firing pin lock back so the gun can fire. Pulling the trigger automatically deactivates the drop safety and the firing pin safety in sequence, deflecting the trigger bar downward by the connector and releasing the firing pin

When the trigger is released, all three safety features (trigger, drop and firing pin safeties) automatically re-engage, making the weapon safe again.

I am no fan of long, heavy triggers or excessive safety devices, so the Glock’s Safe Action and 5.5-pound standard trigger pull suit me just fine. They are fast, reliable and easy to learn. They are also very safe, provided you keep your finger off the trigger.

The 30 SF’s slide is machined from solid bar stock. The front of the slide is rounded for a smoother profile and easier re-holstering. The slide top is flat with rounded edges.

The fixed front sight has a white dot, and the dovetailed rear has a plain white outline, though the test pistol came with three-dot tritium sights. The rear notch is nice and wide in keeping with the high speed, up-close-and-personal role for which the 30 SF was designed.

The 30 SF’s external extractor, which also serves as a loaded chamber indicator, is located behind the ejection port on the right side of the slide. A fixed, frame-mounted ejector kicks empties well clear.

The slide also houses the 30 SF’s 3.78-inch, hammer-forged, octagon-rifled barrel. The octagonal rifling is devoid of the sharp edges inherent with conventional rifling, which reduces fouling and, according to Glock, boosts velocities.

GLOCK Model 30
Type:	delayed blowback center-fire semiauto
Caliber:	.45 ACP
Capacity:	10+1, double-stack magazine (also accepts 13-round, Glock 21 SF magazines)
Overall Length:	6.77 in.
Height:	4.76 in.
Width:	1.27 in.
Barrel:	3.78 in., octagonal rifling with 1:15 3.4 RH twist
Weight:	23.99 oz.
Construction:	polymer frame with finger-groove front strap and molded-in checkering; steel slide with Tenifer matte finish
Trigger:	SafeAction; 5 lb., 9 oz. pull
Sights:	low-profile, drift adjustable, with optional three-dot, tritium inserts with white outlines
Accessories:	case, speed loader, cleaning set, cable lock, owners manual
Price:	$540
Manufacturer:	Glock, Inc., glock.com , 770-432-1202