I’ve been experimenting with a Bladetech 5.11 retention holster for our T&E (Testing and Evaluation) Gen4 Glock 19. When I told Eddie at AFS that I was carrying the Mass-compliant 10-round 9mm G19 in the new holster, he freaked me right the f’ out. “Robert do me a favor,” he said. “Will all your guns to me. You’re gonna use the 19 and you’re gonna get yourself killed.” First, I was startled to hear that it’s only a matter of time before I use my gun to defend my life. Second, I thought it was all about shot placement. Nine millimeter vs. 45; is it really that big a deal? I called the rabbi. He went all empirical on me. “Here’s what you do . . .”
“Shoot both guns as fast as you can. To the point where you’re not running the gun; the gun’s running you. Then compare the groups.”
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I ran a MA-compliant mag through both Glocks at five yards as fast as I possibly could, sight picture be damned. In my defense (so to speak), I haven’t been to the range in well over a week. And the light was bad. And . . . I missed the paper with BOTH guns two times out of ten.
Shooting the 9mm G19, I hollowed-out a 6.5″ group. Shooting the .45-caliber G30SF, I perforated the paper with a 6.5″ group. As the Brits would say, it was six of one, half a dozen of the other. In terms of accuracy, there was nothing in it.
Which means I might as well carry the .45-caliber G30SF to gain the advantages of larger bullet size (bigger holes) and lack of penetration (slower bullet). Remembering that the Bay State restricts me to 10-round magazines (anything more instantly makes me a dangerous criminal), so I can’t use/carry/think about the G19’s 15-round mag.
Obviously, your mileage may vary. But it’s well worth considering moving up to a .45 if there’s no trade-off in combat (i.e. Minute of Bad Guy) accuracy. Meanwhile, it’s back to the range. Two rounds off-target at five yards is two too many for me, even when firing as if I’d forgotten everything I learned about slowing down and aiming.