I dropped into my friendly neighborhood components dealer last week to buy some exorbitantly priced #8 lead shot. As a commodity, lead seems to have been every bit as good an investment as gold. If only I’d known. Anyway, when I schlepped my 25 pound bag up to the counter to pay for it, I couldn’t help but look at the pistol display. I don’t know about you, but for the life of me, I can’t walk past a gun counter without pressing my nose against the glass. There, lying in all its Teutonic glory, was a Glock 19 Gen 4. I hadn’t had a chance to check out any of the Gen 4 guns yet, so I asked the sales guy if I could fondle it for a minute or two…
Unlike previous Glocks I’d held and/or fired, this one felt particularly good in my oh-so-dainty little hand. I caressed it as long as I could without annoying the counter dude and left the store. I was intrigued, though.
A few days later, I headed to my favorite local range to rent a 19 and get some trigger time with it. Could it be that it feels as good to shoot as it was to hold? Oh, yes. It could be. I brought along my Kahr CW9, too, because 1) I didn’t want it to feel left out, and 2) I wanted to see how the Glock-ish Kahr compared to the Gastonian wunder-gun. That’s when something weird happened.
I put more than 100 rounds through the Glock which, as you’d expect, performed flawlessly. It pointed naturally and was a joy to shoot. Nice trigger and less felt recoil than the smaller CW9. Only one problem: I wasn’t nearly as accurate playing der Glockenspeil as I was when cruising with my Kahr.
I shot both guns from 21 feet using the same Remington 9mm range ammo. I’ve always shot the CW9 well, keeping the little holes consistently in the 10 ring (or darned close to it) unless rapid firing. The CW9 fits my hand really well and just feels right to me. While the 19 is the next step up in size, it’s definitely the best-feeling Glock I’ve shot.
The Kahr has a long smooth trigger pull like a revolver. The 19’s lighter pull weight – theoretically, anyway – should make for better shooting results. But for some reason, the Glock consistently shot 2-4″ left of center.
Sure, the Glock’s results were still well within a minute of bad guy, but I don’t understand what was going on. Maybe the sights were off on the 19, but I doubt it. Standard Glock sights suck, but I don’t think they were misaligned. When I really slowed down and held my hands as rock-steady as possible, I was able to get the gun to hit dead center.
Not being the experienced shooter that many Armed Intelligentsia members are, I hereby throw the question open to the group…WTF? Why wasn’t I able to shoot as straight with a lighter-triggered, gently-recoiling Glock than with a jumpier, longer-pulling Kahr? I’m pretty sure it was me but…why?