Glock 30: A Worthy .45 ACP Gun to Defense Your Home?

Okay, all you Glock haters out there, avert your eyes right now and click away to another 19FortyFive article, as Yours Truly is writing a piece on your most hated brand for the umpteenth-and-a-half time. As for my fellow Glock fans out there, hey, nice to see y’all again! This time we’ll be talking about Glock’s entry into the compact .45 ACP pistol market, the Glock 30.

Glock 30: History and Specifications

As was the case with their 9mm Parabellum and .40 S&W offerings, Glock’s first foray into the .45 ACP market was a full-sized pistol, the gargantuan Glock 21, released in 1990, which in 2007 got slightly slimmed down into the oh-so-delightful Glock 21SF (Short Frame).

However, as market-savvy as the Glock folks are, it didn’t take them long to come up with a more CCW-friendly handgun in the caliber, thusly the G30 was born in 1997.

It didn’t take long for the G30 to catch on in popularity. Among the Stateside law enforcement agencies that either adopted the pistol or authorized it as optional carry were NPYD and LAPD’s elite Special Investigations Section (SIS).

As stated by the official Glock website, “The GLOCK 30 Gen4 in the 45 Auto offers excellent out-of-the-box precision paired with the ballistic quality of this caliber. The Gen4 design of this small easy-to-shoot package combines a shorter trigger reach with a great magazine capacity.”

That magazine capacity is ten rounds factory standard. The overall length is 6.97 inches, with a barrel length of 3.78 inches. Width is 1.38 inches and height (incl. magazine) is 4,80 inches. Empty weight is 23.81 ounces, and weight with a fully-charged magazine is 33.69 ounces.

Glock 30: Personal Shooting Impressions

As much as I love both Glocks and the .45 ACP cartridge, it’s been forever and a day since I fired the G30 model specifically.

My impressions of it were undoubtedly entirely positive, as it demonstrated the accuracy, reliability, and simplicity I’ve come to expect from all Glock pistols. Still, it didn’t quite give me the “Whoa, Nelly! I gotta go out and buy one of these for myself!” feeling that the G21SF and the ultra-compact G36 “baby Glock” 45s did.

What Experts Say About the Glock 30

So then, as to not leave our beloved readers shortchanged, I turned to one of my fellow shooting experts who’s had far more recent experience with the Glock 30.

Some of you might recognize the name of Itshak “Ike” Sarfati, whom I interviewed for my Uzi submachine gun article last month; Ike had served as an infantryman in the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War and also with Hativat Ha Bikaa (“Valley Brigade”) for antiterrorist ops in the Jordan Valley.

Anyway, here’s what my old friend had to say about the G30:

“Do you remember the ‘Ike model?’ A mix of the 30 with the upper of the 36? Yes I did own both the 30 and the 36. As a concealed carry gun I would take either or the new 30S over any other .45 anybody else makes including the Glock 21. The fact that you can use Glock 21 mags in it is also a great plus. The ‘Ike model’ as it was called on Warrior Talk later became the 30S. The gun is compact, accurate, and easy to carry.  Also it is as reliable as any other Glock. If I was limited to carrying something with only 10 rounds this would be the gun I carry.”

Toda raba (that’s “Thank you very much” in Hebrew) for that, Ike!

Glock 30 Bottom Line: Yea or Nay?

 Based upon my own admittedly limited experience with it, along with Ike’s feedback and the generally positive reviews the gun has received from fellow shooting enthusiasts around the nation and the globe, I can recommend the Glock 30 for home defense, concealed carry, and competitive shooting alike. According to the True Gun Value website, “A GLOCK 30 pistol is currently worth an average price of $576.11 new and $439.68 used. The 12-month average price is $567.90 new and $432.79 used.”

About the Author

Christian D. Orr has 33 years of shooting experience, starting at the tender age of 14. His marksmanship accomplishments include: the Air Force Small Arms Ribbon w/one device (for M16A2 rifle and M9 pistol); Pistol Expert Ratings from U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP); multiple medals and trophies via the Glock Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) and the Nevada Police & Fires Games (NPAF). Chris has been an NRA Certified Basic Pistol Instructor since 2011.  In his spare time, he enjoys (besides shooting, obviously) dining out, cigars, Irish and British pubs, travel, USC Trojans college football, and Washington DC professional sports.