Friday, February 02, 2007

File Under: Who Are They Kidding

"A subcompact Glock 27 in .40 or Glock 33 in .357 will approximate the power level of a .357 Magnum revolver if you choose the right ammo, and will be the same size “package” to carry as a small frame Magnum, but with lighter weight and ten shot cartridge capacity instead of five or six. A friend of mine in the South had his Glock 27 on when an alligator approached his small rowboat; he put a .40 slug in the critter’s head, and it thrashed into a death roll and sank beneath the surface before it could reach the boat."

Massad Ayoob

Now, it is often that I carry a G-27, but it in no way, shape, or form, approximates any of my .357 loads. It's quite dreadful that one must constantly inform the uninformed uniformed, but here goes nothing.

G-27: Federal HST 180 grains @ 1050 fps
Federal HST 165 grains @ 1100 fps
Double-Tap 165 grain Gold Dot @ 1140 fps

Ruger GP-100: Double-Tap 180 grains @ 1300 fps
Double-Tap 158 grains @ 1400 fps
Double-Tap 125 grains @ 1600 fps

With the right load, a 357 magnum can sling a 180 grain bullet as fast if not faster than can be done with a .40 S&W 135 grain bullet. In the handgun world, this is a lightyear of difference. The G-27 provides me with 4 more bullets of lesser power to do the deed, hence it's popularity. Along with the fact that no matter how quickly one learns to speedload a revolver, the same amount of effort in practicing with a semi-automatic results in quicker times. We go by "feel" almost as much as anything else most days when deciding what to wear out.

Were one to be far too jaded, one could imagine that Massad was selling G-27's at the time of this article.

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