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Hey everyone!

I have Glock 21 for home and a Ruger LCR for carry. I have been thinking that it might be nice to have a .45 for carry purposes (plus extra shots) and I was wondering if anyone has experience with either the Glock 30 or 36 for carry?

In Houston, it is often shorts weather, so I am wondering how practical it would be to have a Glock 30/36 for conceal carry. The Ruger LCR is great and fits in a pocket holster and is concealed quite nicely in shorts.

Thanks ahead of time.

Big guns conceal much better than you would expect. I can carry a full sized 1911 and conceal it fairly easily. To me, the size of the weapon has less to do with it than the all-up weight of the gun AND all the ammo it contains AND the extra magazines and their ammo. That's what's going to pull your pants down around your ankles... Not the size.

According to the Glock website, the G30 weighs 24 oz unloaded with a standard capacity of 10+1 rounds. The G36 weighs 22.11 oz unloaded with a capacity of 6+1 rounds. My Kimber Stainless Ultra Carry weighs 25 oz unloaded with an empty magazine (Glock doesn't specify if the unloaded weight includes the magazine weight or not) with a capacity of 7+1 rounds. My Kimber disappears from my consciousness once it is strapped on, and I don't notice the weight at all. I have it on right now with two backup magazines, and the weight is fine.

The point is that, since both Glock models weigh within a couple of ounces of the Kimber, and within a couple of rounds of capacity of it either way, either pistol should be no problem to carry and conceal for you, as long as you have a comfortable holster and a good gun belt.

It is a lot easier to conceal a big gun than most people think. The key is a good quality holster. Personally, I think that carrying a heavy gun can be somewhat fatiguing over the course of the day. That is where a lighter gun may be a better choice for many people when it comes to CC. More of a matter of comfort than concealablity. I have been looking at some glocks myself, purely for all day comfort reasons. Of course my daily carry is a S&W 629 with a 6 1/2 barrel, so a glock should be barely noticeable! Yes, 629 conceals very well in a shoulder rig with a light jacket or my 511 tac vest in the summer, but I never forget it is there.
Both guns your are looking at are good choices. I would put my vote in for the 36. Good luck!

My everyday carry for three years is a Glock 30, regardless of the weather in a Comp-Tac CTAC. I typically carry it with a 9 round mag that fits flush with the mag well and use 10 round mags as spares.

The advantage of the 30 vs the 36 is the additional rounds, as well as the ability to use your 13 round mags from your Glock 21. The disadvantage of the 30 is the width of the frame (the 30 will be the same as your 21), with the 36 being slimmer (1.13" vs 1.27"). My opinion is that the biggest factor in concealing a firearm is the width of the frame, followed by the height, and length is negligible.

All in all, you'll have to decide what is best for your purposes. I wouldn't be surprised to find a 36 in my collection at some point.

Thanks guys, those comments are interesting to read. I've tried to google this and I've seen a lot of odd comments and I thought I could get some better information here.

Planning my first concealed carry tomorrow (just got my CHL)!

Congrats!

i have both a 30 and 36 -- myself i prefer the 30 fits my hands better and the extra weight isn't noticeable, plus the extra couple shells it holds

I'm by no means an expert, but I handled a friend's 36 a couple of weeks ago and it's the first Glock I've actually considered buying since I sold my 19 years ago. It felt like a perfect CC piece.

I'm a skinny guy and I have no problem concealing my G30. I use the 10 round mag in the pistol and I carry the G21 mags as reloads. I like how light it is and how easy it is to conceal. I use an AKJ Concealco holster. This holster really sucks the pistol into you. Go to http://www.greatholsters.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; I find the G30 is lighter and easier to conceal than the Springfield XD 45 Compact. The XD tends to weigh on you after a while. It's 6 ounces heavier than the 30. It doesn't sound like much but after wearing it all day you tend to notice.
I'd say go with the 30, it's still easily concealable and carries more rounds and allows you to use you G21 mags.

Thank again guys, great advice.

I have carried the Glock 30 for about 6 years now. It is the only carry gun I use no matter the dress code, temprature, activity etc. I have other weapons to use if I wanted but have determined that the Glock 30 is MY carry gun. It is essentially 100% reliable, easy shooting, concealable, accurate and carries very good firepower.

I considered the 36 for a while because of the slimmer frame. I decided against it because the main difference is that the G30 is only 1/10" thicker. In return for that 1/10" increase you get a 57% increase in ammo capacity with the 10 round magazine. The difference in loaded weight is ALL AMMO. With the 13 round mag for a backup you have a 100% increase in ammo capacity. The ability to use the G21-13round mags is a definite plus.

I use my G30 a LOT. It is not only my carry weapon ALL the time, it is also my IDPA competition pistol. Now it might not be the ideal pistol for competition but the only shotcoming is the shorter sight radius but even then, that is primarily due to operator error. It is not a deficiency in the pistol itself which is VERY accurate.

One of the things I have observed in IDPA is that the 6+1 guns require A LOT of reloading to complete a scenerio. I say this not to comment on its use as a competition gun but more on its use as a WEAPON. My guess is that most self defense uses of a firearm are finished in the range of 4-6 rounds fired. Realistically, most of us do not carry spare magazines. But even if we did carry a spare, I would not want to HAVE to reload at the critical point of an exchange. To me 6+1+6 doesn't sound or feel nearly as good as 10+1+13 or even 13+1+13 all for the sake of 1/10" in thickness.

There are many other perfectly fine carry weapons out there and my comments are not meant at all as criticism of them. I happen to like the 45ACP round. I like to shoot 1911's but my personal choice is Glock for this purpose. Since the OP was asking about the choice between the 30 and 36, this is the point I was addressing.

You actually could have included the G21 in your consideration. As was mentioned above, a full size pistol can be concealed about as well as many compacts. That is a personal preference.

Just another point, carrying a handgun full time will never be an exercise in comfort. It is a real pain having to deal with it all the time. We all have to make accomadations in dress, activity, conduct and comfort when we carry full time. We all have to make our own choices that fit our individual situations.

One additional thing to remember is that what ever choice you make need not be final. With the choice of any quality firearm, you will find that if you change your mind that you can always get nearly what you paid for the handgun if you decide a change is necessary. Few of us started out with what we have now. Same way with holsters. Your tastes and requirements will probably change.

What ever you choose, make a point to practice with your weapon/holster of choice. Try something like IDPA with your carry rig to practice certain skills like drawing from concelament, reloading quickly, accuracy while moving to cover, and SAFETY. You don't have to practice exclusively with the carry weapon like I do but DO practice regularly.

I hope you find this useful and wish you the best in your selection. Your most important choice, to carry (and potentially use) or not to carry, has already been made. Everything else is detail.

Another note is that ease of carry, reliability, and accuracy are all important. (listed in no order) But, magazine capacity is also important. If involved in a situation you are going to have reduced gross and fine motor skills. The less you have to manipulate your sidearm the better. It also means you can stay in the fight longer. Unfortunately in this day and age it is more likely that there are going to be at least 2 people involved beside you. Combine that with adrenaline dump and the fact that they and you are going to be moving means the probability of less hits. In addition handgun rounds are not the best stoppers in the world. Even if all rounds connect you are still going to use at least 2-3 rounds per person. It's not the movies where one round and they're down.
I know up here because of the economy robberies and burglaries are on the rise. I read the news and the police reports and in each case there are 2 to 4 subjects involved. Now we all pray and hope we never encounter these situations but if we do there is no reason to handicap ourselves when there are options out there to give us an edge to get to safety.
With the holster I mentioned in my earlier post I find I can wear my G30 for 10-12 hours with no discomfort. In fact it's so comfortable I forget I'm wearing it.

I've been using my G30 as a daily carry in a Kramer holster and it concelas just fine.
The G30 is actually a little smaller than the G19 in all dimensions except width. If you are already like the G21, the G30 would probably be a good choice.

You know, the more I research this, the more confusing it gets. Pocket carry, IWB, OWB, glock 26, glock 30..... ahhhhh.

I have done a lot of debating between the Glock 30 and Glock 26 (9mm), how I think I would prefer to carry, the weather in Houston, and I think I have finally settled on:

Glock 30. I know with proper placement (which I hope I never need to do), a 9mm and .45 would both do the job, but since I already have a Glock 21 and a good supply of ammo, why introduce 9mm when I already have good .45 ammo?

The Glock 26 is not REALLY a good pocket carry, so since that is not a consideration, I would probably go with the Glock 30 when not wearing shorts, and my Ruger LCR when wearing shorts (that IS a good pocket gun).

Been having a really stressful time at work, so I think I will treat myself tomorrow and pick up a Glock 30 on the way home from work. Kind of "girly" to treat myself by shopping, but since it is a gun......

I really do appreciate everyone's diverse input.

BTW, had my first concealed carry on Saturday at the HEB doing some grocery shopping with my Ruger LCR. I had baggy shorts on and a long t-shirt, so nothing showed. But man, you are REALLY aware of yourself and how you move. It almost felt like I was walking on ice the whole time. I hope it gets more natural over time.

Best wishes on enjoying your choice.

My primary carry is a G30 in a Bulman QRH holster on a Beltman belt. It works well. The G30 is amazing; light recoiling, very accurate, and yet still compact with a big bore punch. I like it (can you tell). Everyone who has tried it shot much better than they should have given first attempt on a small, large-caliber pistol (even one guy I work with who swears how much he hates Glocks, yet he shot a nice cloverleaf hole with my G30). Wife unit shoots it quite well and enjoys it.

YMMV, a friend of mine in VA carried a G36 and thought it was the cats meow. RIP Mike.