Shooting a Glock 36

[daustin]

There doesn't seem to be a terrible lot of discussion over this model as far as I could tell with some searching, so I figured I would start a thread to find out information from those of you who may have more experience with these.

I recently purchased a Glock 36, as it was the best fit for my hands and comfort in a sub-compact frame carry weapon. This is the first Glock I have ever owned, as well as the first .45 I have ever owned. I have had a few brief chances to fire other Glocks, like the 19, but never one of the sub-compact models.

I took it out for the first time to the range yesterday and seemed to have some difficulty with accuracy at about 10 yards. I will be the first to admit, I am not the best shot. I still need a lot of work on my accuracy and I could really use some good instruction. That having been said, I seem to keep going low and left with my Glock. I had also brought my GSG 1911 as well as my Sig P6 and was keeping pretty well centered up with both of them. I don't believe the sights are off, but I didn't have any bags or anything like that to really test it.

So, for those of you who carry/own/shoot the 36, what are your thoughts?

[Python73]

When you say you had difficulty with your accuracy, can you be more specific? Were you using 6" targets and missing? Were you using a man sized target and missing? Were your groups reasonable or were you all over the place?

I don't shoot that gun, but I have a Kahr CW45 that I suspect shoots similarly. You are shooting a round designed for a moderately heavy 5" package (the 1911) out of a lighter and shorter gun. It isn't going to play nice. Likely you just need some more rounds down range with it to get more comfortable but you might also consider that the tool you have isn't exactly a target gun. That is meant for pulling from deep cover and shooting someone who is in your face. I'm not saying it can't or won't work at 30 feet, but the number of scenarios that have you shooting that gun that distance are a damn sight fewer than the ones half that distance. If you move up to 7 yards, or 5... are you hitting where you point? That's what I practice with my Kahr.

Summary: get a nice man_sized target and get closer. See what the gun does from there consistently, and then adjust if you want to shoot farther.

[daustin]

When you say you had difficulty with your accuracy, can you be more specific? Were you using 6" targets and missing? Were you using a man sized target and missing? Were your groups reasonable or were you all over the place?

I don't shoot that gun, but I have a Kahr CW45 that I suspect shoots similarly. You are shooting a round designed for a moderately heavy 5" package (the 1911) out of a lighter and shorter gun. It isn't going to play nice. Likely you just need some more rounds down range with it to get more comfortable but you might also consider that the tool you have isn't exactly a target gun. That is meant for pulling from deep cover and shooting someone who is in your face. I'm not saying it can't or won't work at 30 feet, but the number of scenarios that have you shooting that gun that distance are a damn sight fewer than the ones half that distance. If you move up to 7 yards, or 5... are you hitting where you point? That's what I practice with my Kahr.

Summary: get a nice man_sized target and get closer. See what the gun does from there consistently, and then adjust if you want to shoot farther.

I guess I should have been more specific... Goes to show what not having your normal Monday morning coffee intake does to you.

I was using 24" paper targets. The center region is approximately 12" and at 10 yards, it makes for a pretty reasonable center mass target. When shooting, I would usually get maybe one or two rounds from each magazine within that center region but the rest would usually be just outside of that to the left and low. I suppose that is not too bad for my first sub-compact .45, but it didn't exactly make me happy, either.

I do know a thing or two about hand positioning and stance that can correct/cause directional pull issues with accuracy. The way I have been taught to fire to practice self defense accuracy looks similar to this:



I generally stand left foot slightly forward, right arm/hand/eye dominant, pad of the finger on the trigger, focus on the front sight. I'm pretty sure I've got the technique at least close to right, but I could be wrong there.

[mikenac]

Low and left normally indicates that you are tightening your fingers in anticipation of recoil, or just plain anticipating recoil.

Having said that, it's not uncommon for people to have issues shooting their first Glock well, even when they are shooting other firearms just fine. I certainly had this problem when switching from my P226 to my G19. I would suggest that you dry fire the gun a bunch of times, watching the sights to see where they go. The Glock trigger is not awesome (certainly worse than a P6 or any 1911), so it takes some practice to keep the long DA stroke smooth.

[daustin]

Low and left normally indicates that you are tightening your fingers in anticipation of recoil, or just plain anticipating recoil.

Having said that, it's not uncommon for people to have issues shooting their first Glock well, even when they are shooting other firearms just fine. I certainly had this problem when switching from my P226 to my G19. I would suggest that you dry fire the gun a bunch of times, watching the sights to see where they go. The Glock trigger is not awesome (certainly worse than a P6 or any 1911), so it takes some practice to keep the long DA stroke smooth.

I do find that I like the Glock trigger, much more so than that of the Kahr K40 Covert, as well as the S&W Sigma I had. The trigger on the P6 is absolutely fantastic, but we are comparing apples and oranges there since that is a SA/DA trigger and the Glock is really a DAO.

You bring up a good point about recoil anticipation. This is most likely true. While it is not something you typically think about, it is a subconscious action that is really only diminished with proper training... That being something I obviously am lacking right now. It sounds like I really need to further invest and research getting into some courses and/or personal firearms training. I do believe it is my own doing and not the gun.

My main focus here with this thread was to find out if there was any kind of technique or quirks noticed by other users of the G36 that leads to any kind of firing behavior. I doubt this is the case, but you never know.

[Python73]

Easy test for recoil anticipation... find someone with a G26 and see how you shoot it. Same gun but a much more reasonable round for the size of the package. There are only about 9 billion G26s out there. Shouldn't be too hard to find one.

[marks]

Ah, the not so uncommon woes of a first-time Glock shooter (or often time Glock shooter, for that matter). I experienced the same thing, with a range of Glocks, for quite awhile. But, being the guns they are, I eventually beat it. IMO, it's all about the Glock trigger. I find that on my G30, contrary to what might be "common sense", or most often recommended advice, I need a little more finger in the trigger guard (closer to my first knuckle, as opposed to midway, on the pad of the finger). I also find I need to tighten up my grip on that, and any Glock. It will come to you. Give it time, and experiment with how much finger you've got on the trigger, tightness of grip, and also, where the web of your hand (between thumb and index finger) is relative to the center of the backstrap of the gun. Sometimes, what appears to be "center" isn't really, and you may need to torque or twist your grip a bit counter-clockwise. Marking a line on the web of your hand with a pen or marker, will allow you test a few different positions. That should help narrow it down to grip, or trigger pull.

[daustin]

Ah, the not so uncommon woes of a first-time Glock shooter (or often time Glock shooter, for that matter). I experienced the same thing, with a range of Glocks, for quite awhile. But, being the guns they are, I eventually beat it. IMO, it's all about the Glock trigger. I find that on my G30, contrary to what might be "common sense", or most often recommended advice, I need a little more finger in the trigger guard (closer to my first knuckle, as opposed to midway, on the pad of the finger). I also find I need to tighten up my grip on that, and any Glock. It will come to you. Give it time, and experiment with how much finger you've got on the trigger, tightness of grip, and also, where the web of your hand (between thumb and index finger) is relative to the center of the backstrap of the gun. Sometimes, what appears to be "center" isn't really, and you may need to torque or twist your grip a bit counter-clockwise. Marking a line on the web of your hand with a pen or marker, will allow you test a few different positions. That should help narrow it down to grip, or trigger pull.

Interesting.

I will have to give this some playing around with. I have driven shooting with the pad of my finger into my own head for so long and it makes me think that if I changed that up, I would shoot even further to the left. It's worth a try either way.

[marks]

Interesting.

I will have to give this some playing around with. I have driven shooting with the pad of my finger into my own head for so long and it makes me think that if I changed that up, I would shoot even further to the left. It's worth a try either way.

Yeah, tell me about it. In fact, I think overall, guns will differ with respect to frame size/distance to the trigger guard from the backstrap, etc. And, at least with me, that's a factor relative to how much finger I need on the trigger.

[Pete D.]

I picked up a 36 a few years ago. Like it a lot. Handy, easy to carry, reliable and accurate. I do virtually all of my pistol practice at 25 yards. The 36 will put all of its shots into a standard NRA 25 yard bullseye if you spend the time practicing with it.
The earlier analysis of "anticipating recoil" is spot on.

Pete