Who carries the Glock 23 and what load for every day Self Defense?

Just saw a TV news cast where some po-dunk department was all offended that they found cracks in the slides and frames of their Glock 23's. Deep down in the story, they kinda let it slip that they've been carrying those pistols for 15 years. First thing I thought of was, that chief ought to have his arse handed to him for not replacing a .40 cal handgun in 15 years. Ain't nothing wrong with a .40, great round. But you have to know what you're getting yourself into when you buy one. It will have a lifespan about 1/3 as long as a comparable 9mm.

I've only carried a Glock 23 once, and when I did my carry load was a 165 grain Golden Saber.

I carry the Winchester Ranger LE T-Series 165 gr not bonded in my Glock 23

Bea175: I use the Speer 165 grain Gold Dot "Self Protection" bullets in both my Glock Model 23 and Glock Model 22's.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

180gr Federal HST

Be nice, Kevin. Bardstown KY is where bourbon comes from. Just because they are a smaller city, doesn't mean they're podunk. They contribute mightily to a good civilization, with Jim Beam and all the other distilleries.

They also shoot the chit outa their pistols, they shoot a LOT. For a small, quiet little city, they train hard. Yeah, they should have replaced their pistols sooner, but they got beaten up because they actually shoot their pistols, which is to be lauded. not chastised.

Well you have to give them credit on the Bourbon, so props there.

But they're shooters, even more reason they should have known better!!

I can respect anyone who shoots enough to kill a gun; that's a badge of honor. And everyone ought to do that at least once in their lives, if not a constant goal.

And I'm glad they actually encourage that much shooting. A G22/23 with full house ammo doesn't have a long lifespan. Even taking 15 years to kill them tells me they did shoot far more frequently than most cop shops do; so more props there.

But whomever is in charge of their firearms program (often the "rangemaster", and I'll just refer to that person as such...larger departments have an "armorer") needs a good kick in the butt. Certainly not fired (because he's keeping them shooting), but a good kick in the butt.

After X amount of rounds, you move those guns to reserve and get your guys new guns. One new gun every other month isn't going to break anyone's budget. If a gun is broken enough that you're having to worry about the slide coming off the frame (and they mentioned that), that gun has no business being in service.

So their officers need to be educated to be more dilligent in the maintenance and inspection of their weapons. The "rangemaster" ought to be inspecting those guns on a regular basis. Those cracks (and they didn't give much more info than that) should have been recognized long before they found a half dozen with cracks.

Very few officers are going to understand how abusive the .40 is and how that round destroys guns. But the department "rangemaster" should know better and should run his shop better.

Again, I don't see this as a "Glock problem", unless perhaps they really don't shoot much at all and they determine that perhaps it was some metallurgical issue; but it just doesn't sound like that's the case here.

I guess I just expect more of country folk. I wouldn't have been surprised in the least if that was Boston PD. But Bourbon Land boys ought to know better.

I was happy to hear that they were buying more Glocks, so it sound like they at least recognize that the issue isn't the fault of the manufacturer.

Still, God bless them for shooting that much...but someone needs a good kick in the arse.

Kevin, how many rounds do you think the service life is of a
Glock 23 or Glock 22?

My 1st Glock was a 23. I carry it w/ 180gr. Speer Gold Dots. This gun has approx 8500 rounds through it, mostly 165gr. White box and Armscor Precision 180 gr. Fmj. Recoil spring, guide rod and and trigger spring are replaced every 3k rounds. No problems or premature wear.

I now use 19 or 17 for EDC but still take the 23 when in the back country.


mike r

Thanks Mike, I figured with all law enforcement popularity the .40 Glocks were tough enough.
Seems I woke up and all of a sudden 40 S&W went from being "short and weak" to a wrist jolting magnum.

That is an excellent choice. So is the HST, and Gold Dot. I like any of these in 165 gr. I have some 155 HST on hand. The felt recoil is different from the 165 and more noticable than the 180.

The 180 gr. bonded hp's show good penetration. I find the 40 to recoil a bit. My old wrist gets tired at about 200 rounds. I can shoot my 9mm Glocks all day w/out problem. I see little advantage w/ modern ammo in anything over 9mm.

mike r

The cracks in the 23 slides didn't come from shooting them to much , but from drinking all that bourbon and dropping them on concrete to often. One of the most accurate rounds in my Glock 23 is the Fed 180 gr Hydra Shok , but not sure how good this bullet would be in a self defense shooting. They have a reputation for not opening

This may interest you reguarding you ammo choice.

I researched this ammo before i purchased it and it has great reviews. I believe if i ever have to use it, it will get the job done

I agree.

The guns in question were purchased in 2000. I believe that would make them either Gen2 or Early Gen 3 models. Which if I remember right had the same springs jn them as 9mms, I also believe problems with these models are well documented. 15 years is a long time of service for a police handgun.


The above issues wouldn't cause me second thought about buying another Glock 40

Love the G23 for CCW! About perfect for the purpose in my mind. I use 155, 165, and 180 Gold Dots. I'm currently using the 155.

I have two 50 round boxes of the Gold Dot 155 gr as my second choice for carry in my Glock 23 and Shield 40

I sometimes carry a G23. It's loaded with 124 XTPs.

And before somebody points out that the 124 XTP is a 9mm load, I know that. My G23 has a Wolf 9mm barrel in it most of the time.

The only other barrel i use in my Glock 23 is the Wolf 357 Sig barrel