I am having a hard time making a decision. I am in a plainclothes position at work and have been since early last year. We issue Glock 45s. I can carry anything I want but have been carrying my G45 with Holosun 508T and tlr7. I figure since I am at work and everyone else carries the issued gun I should too for magazine compatibility.

I also have a G19 gen 5 MOS with Holosun 507c with tlr7. My g48 I figured I’d set up just like my G19 and G45. So, it has a Holosun 507k and a tlr7 sub. I have a plain Jane g43x but I figure a g26 would be good for, again, mag compatibility.

So, a fellow sergeant was in my office and overheard me saying I’d like to have a g26. He says he has a gen 3 g26 that he’d trade for my g48. He said he realizes that he would need to put cash more trade on his end.

My issue is I’m not so sure I want a gen 3. I would like a gen 4 or 5. I could just not trade and carry my 43x. I thought about asking him to trade or sell his 26 and get a blue label g26 gen 5.

I’m kinda unsure on what do and thought I’d ask my friends here for any suggestions or thoughts you may have.

Thank you in advance!

The 26 is versatile in terms of mag compatibility. You can use mags in capacities of 10, 12, 15, 17, 19 etc

26 is a real shootable pistol. But, unless your plain clothes assignment is in a UC role, stick with a 19, or 45.

Do you want to respond to an active shooter in the building you work with a 26?

Another vote for a G26.. as stated mag compatibility.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
But, unless your plain clothes assignment is in a UC role, stick with a 19, or 45.

Do you want to respond to an active shooter in the building you work with a 26?

This. You're not really giving up much in comfort/concealability by just going with your G19 instead of trading for the G26, and gaining capacity and shootability. (Not to mention having the benefit of the optic and light.)

I tried but never warmed up to the G26. The G19 was the sweet spot for me between compactness and shootability.

No, unless you really like the grip on the G26 and it fits your hand.

I found the G26/G19 pre Gen 5 felt weird to me. Pre Gen 5 G17 is fine.

Plus, no finger grooves.

See, you guys make great points! I was stuck on the smaller gun with the mag compatibility but the slightly larger 19 or 45 with the optic and light are what I would want if I had to use it. That’s all I needed to make my decision. Thanks, guys!

I agree with the others. Unless you have to conceal it, stick with the bigger gun. The G26 is a very capable BUG, though, and it might not be a bad idea to pick one up just to have around for those times when you want something smaller, yet still able to leverage the mags you have for your duty weapon.

I wouldn't trade your G48, either, especially now that you have it all set up how you want it. At blue label pricing, just go buy a Gen5 G26. It's like one shift of DUI or OPO.

Some good options, but based on what you said I’d agree with the 19 set up the way you want.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Unless you have to conceal it, stick with the bigger gun.

Even if you have to conceal it, the G26 isn't really significantly smaller than the G19 in practice. I find them both just about as easy to conceal. (Well, until you start hanging lights and optics on the G19. )

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
Unless you have to conceal it, stick with the bigger gun.

Even if you have to conceal it, the G26 isn't really significantly smaller than the G19 in practice. I find them both just about as easy to conceal. (Well, until you start hanging lights and optics on the G19. )

I carried a G26 on my ankle for about 6 years in an environment that could have resulted in some significant financial consequences had I been "made". While it's a bit bigger than the typically recommended ankle-gun, it worked well and I never had an issue (left that job on my own terms!). I'm not sure I could have done the same with a G19...the grip and length are just that much longer that it would have created some concealment issues (I always used the flush-fit 10-rounders with no pinkie extension). Plus the weight of the G26 on my ankle was more than enough without adding a bigger slide and 5 more rounds.

I like the G26 because I could shoot it just as well as a "big" gun, and could easily pocket a 17 round mag as a reload if I wanted to. The environment that I was working in at the time was one where an active shooter was a realistic concern, and if I'd ever had to address that I didn't want to be stuck doing it with an LCP or a 5-shot J-Frame. For that particular situation, it was perfect. It was as big as I could realistically go without being too big. That was also back before the creation of the P365 and all the new Micro 9s. The G43 didn't even exist when I bought the 26, but I'd still take the 26 today over the 43 just for the mag compatibility.

These days, getting "made" doesn't come with the same consequences, so I'd be fine just carrying the larger gun on the belt most days. Every now and then, though, I have a use for the smaller gun. The Glock is now gone and I'm carrying P320s...I still like having a subcompact around just for that purpose.

True. The G26 is right at the upper limit of being able to be carried on the ankle, so the marginally larger G19 would be too large in that circumstance.

On the belt, the difference is negligible.

But if one had to carry on the ankle, they could do a lot better than a G26 these days. For someone in your circumstances today, something like the P365 or Hellcat would be noticeably smaller and lighter, and you could have a spare XMacro/Hellcat Pro 17 rounder in the pocket to have the exact same capacity as you had with your larger G26 and G17 mag.

So even under that specific circumstance, I don't see much reason to have both a G26 and a G19. If you need/want something smaller than the G19, go with something noticeably smaller. The G26 just isn't different enough to justify itself.

I feel the same way about the P320SC... I did that same P320C/P320SC combo as you for a little bit, but again there wasn't enough difference to justify the SC. I ended up pairing the P320C and the P365 instead, which were different enough in size and weight to matter.

quote:

feel the same way about the P320SC... I did that same P320C/P320SC combo as you for a little bit, but again there wasn't enough difference to justify the SC. I ended up pairing the P320C and the P365 instead, which were different enough in size and weight to matter.

I don't disagree with that. Honestly, the beauty of the 320 is that if you really need to you can stick a subcompact grip module and mag under a compact/carry upper and you're really only 1/3" bigger in a single dimension. If I didn't already have the 320SC, I wouldn't run out and buy one...I'd just get a grip module and mag.

Glock doesn't offer that modularity, though, so if you really need the short grip AND mag compatibility, you're stuck buying a whole different gun. And if you're not absolutely determined to have that mag and platform compatibility, there are certainly better options out there these days, at least on paper.

There's also that element that is just impossible to quantify or compare. I know the P365 checks a bunch of boxes that the G26 doesn't, but it doesn't fit my hand well, it's uncomfortable for me to shoot, and I'd happily deal with the extra bulk of the G26 or P320SC to not be stuck with a P365. But that's just me personally, and obviously YMMV.

You also have to factor YOU into the equation.

I shoot lots of little guns, rather well in fact, but I couldn't shoot the 26 for beans (even after putting a very light match trigger in it and an aftermarket "match" barrel, just to see if it would help. Nope.)

Yep. I shoot full sized and compact Glocks just fine, but the G26 just didn't work as well for me. I suspect it had to do with the noticeably higher "hump" at the rear of the grip.

Funny, I am one of the few that shoot a G26 or 17 much better than a 19. Go figure. I just put a 15 round mag with a grip extender on my 26 and go. To me it is more scalable. From ankle to belt, 10 - 33 round mags... and that was your 1st point, mag compatibility, right?

Well, I was gonna stay with my 48 but he wants to trade his gen 3 G26 AND a NIB Sig P320C. So, I think I'm gonna have to do the trade.

I would consider that a favorable trade on your end, although if you want RDS, you're going to have to get those guns milled or trade them from something else OR.

I’m ok with not having optics on the two new ones. I have optics on my duty G45 and personal G19. When I’m off-duty I tend to carry pistols with no optic and usually no flashlight.

Sounds like a good trade. He must have really wanted that 48.