I shot one as a rental circa 2000 and it actually performed quite well, but not enough to say "I gotta have one of these!" My beef is the low capacity vs. its size. In height and length (but a little flatter/slimmer grip) it is virtually the same size as a G19, an 11- (the AWB and California magazine limits were in place at that time) or 16-shot 9mm. The short grip and extended magazine make no sense. At least the G30 can take a flush-fitting (9-round) magazine for a shorter grip, but there is no such feature on the G36. Why not make a longer grip and flush-fit magazine if the capacity remains the same? For that matter, less than half an inch added to the grip length could give you a full 7-round magazine. I have argued for such a gun for years.

I hate how the magazine floor plate makes up 1/3rd of the handle. It pinched me. I didn’t have any function problems but the pinching and the poor grip design made me move on from it.

I have owned the following Glock pistols:

G17 (X2), G19 (X3), G22, G23, G26, G27, G31, G32, G33 (X2), G36, G42, G43.

I can tell you with a straight face that if the G36 had been the first Glock I owned, I would never have bought any of the others because the G36 is the only one that ever gave me trouble and it gave me a LOT of trouble.

Brand new, my G36 couldn’t get through more than a couple rounds of FMJ ammo without a fail to chamber or a fail to eject. I tried it with several types of ammo, and even bought more magazines thinking it was a problem with the original mags. No dice. The gun simply was a dud. I fiddled with it hoping it would break in for around 600 rounds before I grew tired of messing with it and sent it on down the road.

There was no limp wristing involved. I am over 6’00” and weigh around 300 lbs. I have been shooting pistols for almost 30 years, and spent 20 years carrying them for a living. I have had no issues with other subcompact .45’s to include Colt Defender’s, and M&P Shield’s among others.

It is possible that mine was simply a bad apple, but considering that the G36 has been badmouthed by many since it was introduced, I kind of doubt it. If you are looking for something to carry that you can bet your life on, I would pass on a Glock 36.

The G36 was the first Glock I bought, right after they came out way back when. Could not get through a mag without a jam. Got rid of it at a big loss. I don't recall Glock ever admitting they had a problem.
About 10 years ago I rented one at a range. It worked perfectly. The friend I was shooting with put all 6 rounds through one hole at 7 yards.
It is what it is. A .45 sixgun isn't a bad choice, but I never found a reason to buy another G36.

quote:

The G36 is as reliable as any other Glock.

Then hopefully it's not being compared to the G42, one Glock that for an irate number of buyers REQUIRED a break-in period to finally get it to run properly. I frankly don't know if the issues with that one have been completely rectified by now, but there was an annoying period of time when it seemed like third or fourth customer was having problems with that little .380 (probably due to how loud and irate their voices were).

Specific to the G36, I remember somewhat early on there were complaints about the amount of frame flex experienced with some from the first few batches of the model. There was also a bunch of noise made regarding purported inaccuracy issues with the gun. And as GWbiker noted, there were folks experiencing a totally unacceptable frequency of stoppages with their specific units. All of these have been addressed over time but as with too many incidents related to the internet, the bad stuff can sometimes linger on even when it really is no longer relevant (unless of course you're contemplating buying one made during one of those past questionable times).

The G36 has not sold particularly well for us during my years with the shop. The mass majority interested in a compact .45 Glock bought the G30 variants in comparative droves. Whereas the Springfield XDS in .45 during its heyday time in the sun--its first couple of years--easily outsold the Glock by 10:1. But more recently, up until the crapola of 2020 went live no one looked at the XDS either, Grip Zone fanboys notwithstanding. Recalls and slam fire reports will do that. That being noted, it's the big burly types (and including those who THINK that they are a big, burly type) who seem to congregate around these wide mouthed poly single stackers, including the M&P Shield .45s. The meeker ones in our audience (myself included) tended to regret their purchase, or steered clear altogether.

As for how these little beastie .45s sell today: Officer-size 1911s rule the roost as far as petite .45 sales go. We had a fair number of these from different makers; they were the first to sell out and the dribble that have come in during the last 9 months don't stick around very long. The Shield in .45 still sells relatively well and S&W has so far been great on keeping us restocked in all models except revolvers and 1911s. The sales of the XDS .45 has been morbidly sluggish; it gets overlooked way too much even in these frenzy-driven times. But then so do Hellcats these days, when P365s for us are well nigh impossible to keep in stock even though SIG has been particularly good in keeping the influx coming even if they've had issues doing the same with just about every other model. Sorry...digressing again. As for the G36, it WOULD likely sell well these days if only because it says 'GLOCK' on the side of the slide. Again because in the minds of noobs, guns that wear that brand logo magically protect toilet paper stockpiles The Bestest, bar none. However the G36 like all of its Glock siblings are still damn hard if not near impossible to get, even though it seems like more are showing up in shop inventories (though mostly in places VERY well easterly from us).

That's all I know...or at least think I know.

I can see why it doesn't sell well. For me, it's about as ergonomically displeasing as a gun can get and did have the reliability of the 19/26 or 21.

There are much better/new designs that work and feel better if you got to have .45 and none of them are Glock. SW Shield or MP2.0 Subcompact come to mind, HK45c another.

quote:

Originally posted by dking271:

I had a gen 4 G19 that flung brass to the face 4 of 5 times. Glock replaced most of its guts including a redesigned extractor, and I finally made it acceptable using An Apex extractor. It flings brass at you now about 1 of 10 maybe less. It now belongs to my son.

A lot of G19's do that, and the Apex extractor is good fix. Pricey, though.

quote:

Originally posted by newmexican:
I hate how the magazine floor plate makes up 1/3rd of the handle. It pinched me. I didn’t have any function problems but the pinching and the poor grip design made me move on from it.

This is my exact bitch with the gun. It pinched my damn finger!

quote:

Originally posted by JDG:

quote:

Originally posted by newmexican:
I hate how the magazine floor plate makes up 1/3rd of the handle. It pinched me. I didn’t have any function problems but the pinching and the poor grip design made me move on from it.

This is my exact bitch with the gun. It pinched my damn finger!

third that for me. It was reliable, but I still shot other pistols better.

I've never had an issue with my G36 regarding reliability or accuracy. I have replaced the stock magazine baseplate with Pierce Grip baseplates, which eliminates the "finger pinch" and makes the baseplate uniform with the grip texture.

The G36 I shot was my brothers, and remembered it being the exact same size as my G19. I saw no attraction as I handed it back to him with my sore right hand... lol!

The 30s just really eliminates any need for the 36

We own a very early manufacture G36 that has been 100% reliable. We carry it often with complete confidence. Only complaint is stout recoil. Recently purchased a G30S which we also like, but the G36 hides better and is not going any where.

We trudge on.

I had a very early G36 that I kept several years, and it was totally reliable. I let a friend talk me out of it, but missed it, so bought another one some time later. I’ve had it for 6 or 7 years and it’s been totally reliable too. As I’ve gotten older, the “Glock knuckle” was killing me, so I went to work giving it a generous undercut at the rear of the trigger guard and rounding it a lot. COMPLETELY changed the feel of the pistol and eliminated the sore knuckle.
I’ve had a lot of Glocks since the late 1980’s, including a couple of G30’s. Since expanding my selection of polymer pistols, that I generally like better than the Glocks, I’m left with a 19 and the 36, both of which I’ll keep.

Skip

Ive had a 36 and a 30s. Didn't like either. Ergos were weird, recoil was unpleasant, I didn't shoot them particularly well, and they were in the same size factor as things I liked a lot better.

If I want to shoot a 45 in that size, I have a Colt Defender that weighs more, but is reliable, accurate, and pleasant to shoot.

The original G36 had a reputation as being the least reliable Glock available. If I wanted a new Glock in .45 it would be a G3O.