Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Glock 20 vs 29

Only thing I don't like about my 29 is the availability of good factory ammunition. Most offerings are loaded pretty mildly, but you can find something hotter. Just be prepared to order it or have a local store order it for you.

The 29's size is convenient and recoil is manageable. No firsthand experience with the 20, but I'd imagine it's easier to shoot. My pinky hangs off the bottom of the 29 (nothing an extender couldn't fix).

29 is much more shootable with full house loads than I’d have thought especially with the pinky extension.

I’d base the answer to this question on how you dress and how concealed you’re going to need it.

He should buy both. Shoot them enough to make a choice and then gift the other to a friend.

I’m thinking in an emergency when my rifle may be strapped to the pack such as on a hike in or out or while carrying meat. I think I could get the pistol out of an OWB holster faster than I could get my rifle off my pack. A big revolver makes more sense probably, but I don’t own a semi auto yet

JJWise,

The G20 & 21 are the same frame just 10mm vs. 45, same goes for the G29 & 30... again 10mm & 45.

I've had the G21, 29 & 30. Only have the G30 now. I've set my G30 up for 45 Super, which recoils a bit more than the 10mm.

1.) Hold them at your local dealers; the G20/21 are still what I consider too bulky in my hand, shootable but they never felt 'right' (even the SF and Gen 4). While the G29/30 feels great.

2.) The G29 10mm, is one damned loud gun/cartridge... shooting any gun in a confined space (referrring to home defense) is going to problematic for your hearing, the G29 much more so. It's a loud bitch at my uncovered range.

3.) If you go for a G29/30, put pearce grip extensions on the magazines, makes a big difference in the grip (and recoil management)... as my pinkie hangs off of the grip with the factory mag's.

4.) Recoil and controlability of the G29 is nothing to get excited about (as long as You have the pearce grip extensions on the G29/30). Much less than than from a 44 mag.

5.) Like you I (sometimes) will take a pistol hunting, not necessary but I like handguns... usually my G30 because it is the lightest and I feel the ammunition is easier to manage in a magazine (vs. a revolver). Unless I am backpack hunting where unnecessary weight is a major concern.

6.) I use an OWB holster for field carry, IWB for my body type is not confortable with the G21/29/30, also it's not necessary in the woods.

YMMV,

Jerry

Can't see why choose the G29 over the G20 if I was going to add grip extensions that make the height about the same AND then complain about recoil and blast from a shorter barrel. Plus, loose magazine capacity. Especially since it's carried OWB anyway.

" the G20/21 are still what I consider too bulky in my hand, shootable but they never felt 'right' (even the SF and Gen 4). While the G29/30 feels great."

Jerry

The 29 is just as thick around as the 20.

Yes... And when you add a magazine extension to make it long enough to hang the pinky on, the 29 grip is as long as the 20. Doesn't make sense to me, but it doesn't have to I guess.

I understand where you’re coming from about the Glock 29/30 feeling better than the 20/21. I think some of it has to do with the shape of the back of the grip. The 29/30 has a palm filling bulge located “just right”, while the 20/21 does not - the bulge is located further down the grip, contacting the heel of the hand. The difference in feel is similar to the Glock 26 vs. the 17, and to some extent the 19 vs the 17. The 26 and 19 just feel better to me compared to the 17 due to the location of the bulge (that’s what she said), even though the circumference is the same.

Yeah, I prefer the grip on my 29 as the bottom of my palm can wrap underneath it a bit. In that way, it is effectively a smaller grip.

I own a G20 G3 SF with both 4.6” and 6” bbls; a G29; & a G40. All have KKM barrels. I also have a 6.3” bbl long-slide Dan Wesson Bruin 10mm.

I bought the G20 first as it preexisted the other three. The G20 now serves a decent roll in the main-floor safe in the kitchen as nice a self-defense tool.

Last week, I went out to my land in Colorado and camped there with a bunch of relatives, including children. There are tons of black bear poop everywhere on there. There also are big mountain lions. I recently found a dismembered deer near where we camp.

I brought the DW, which is the most refined and most accurate of the bunch, but because of fire restrictions, we couldn’t target shoots.

When I carried concealed (sometime I had to go to a town), I carried the G29 (which I can pump out 700 ft-lbs through UW ammo). When I carried open, I carried the G40. I never thought I wished I had the G20 for any reason. I didn’t have it. Didn’t’ want it. I have all three.

I wonder how many who prefer the G20, own the G29 or G40.

If I only owned the G20, I can see being seemed biased in favor of it. But I own all three. The G29 is far more concealable, and still crazy powerful. The G40 is far better than the G20 for open carry for sure.

I own both the M20 and the M29. Really like the 10MM BUT i carry a M21 45 Auto.and not my M30 45 Auto. Isnt it funny how people are. Cant really figure them out. They amaze me everyday.

I've had all three. Never really cared for the compact, in either 10mm or 45, they were fine for slow fire but gave up quite a bit to the bigger guns when trying to send more than one shot in a hurry. I still keep a 20 and aftermarket long slide 20 (what we had to buy before there was a 40) because they both have their uses.

The 29 with a pinky extention is still significantly shorter in the grip than the 20.

The 29 is great for CCW and both powerful and accurate.

After shooting 21's, 20's, 29's and 30's over a few years I found that the 10mm was consistently more accurate than the .45's in the guns I used, about 6 or 7 in all.
John