by Emily R
For women, the Glock 30 SF Handgun is incredibly reliable and easy to maintain.
USA -(AmmoLand.com)- The Glock 30SF was my first handgun. I had a few requirements when I first started shopping.
I wanted something extremely versatile that would cover all my bases, something I could enjoy taking out to the range, but that was also compact enough to be comfy in my small hands. But as my first handgun and, thus, primary self defense weapon, it also needed to have major stopping power.
This is the part where I should mention, I also only wanted a Glock.
I had shot several makes of semiautomatic handguns and I was convinced (and still am) a Glock was the best choice for me.
Glock 30 SF Handgun
I fell in love with the design of the Glock 30 SF Handgun. The compact size is visually appealing, and it is perfectly balanced front to back when in your hands, er, my hands (small women’s). The SF model slightly reduces the circumference of the grip from the Glock 30, which theoretically is better for small hands. (More on this later.) Overall, the size is perfect, about as small as I would want to go for a .45. You would have to sacrifice the doublestacked mags to get it any slimmer, which would take you down to a 6 round magazine (i.e the Glock 36, which is 1.13” wide where the 30SF is 1.25”).
But, honestly, I kind of like the chunky design, and I definitely like having ten rounds.
Ten rounds is what you will get with the standard (included) magazines, but there are optional 13 round magazines as well. Plus, in addition to Glock 30 mags you can use Glock 21 mags, they will just extend past the end of the grip (and it may or may not appear to others as if your magazine is falling out, just sayin’, you may get comments). And, if you want to get really crazy, Kriss Arms makes a 50 round magazine extender for Glock 21 mags (the Kriss Vector CRB takes them) and (if these are legal in your state of course!) you can throw a 50 round magazine in your Glock 30SF. Fuck, yes. (Please return with stories as I live in California. 🙁 Cool, thanks.)
Even with its small stature, the Glock 30SF is incredibly manageable and delivers minimal recoil. This is a handgun I can (literally) shoot all day, and I have run it through multiple 2 day handgun courses. While I would not call this handgun “light” (a loaded 10 round .45 magazine pretty much takes care of that) at a few ounces lighter and more than an inch shorter than the Glock 21, it’s that much more manageable to carry in a holster for the day.
For comparison when unloaded, it’s almost 7 ounces lighter than the FN .45 Tactical, exactly 4.7 ounces lighter than the Springfield XD, and about 6 ounces heavier than the M&P Shield 45.
The Glock 30 SF Handgun has One Problem.
There is a small space that exists between the bottom of the grip and the inserted magazine. And this space happens to be in the exact spot where my pinky finger resides when I am shooting. With each shot, the pad of my pinky gets pinched. This is SUPER annoying and yes, starts to hurt after a while. This issue can be resolved with one of two solutions: 1) a magwell … too bad NO ONE manufactures these seriously, I spent like an hour looking through the depths of the interwebs (if you know differently please help a girl out!); and 2) gloves.
But I hate wearing gloves when I am shooting. It’s the equivalent of wearing gloves during sex. Don’t you want to feel what’s going on?
There is also a partial solution and that’s to use the Glock 21 mags. There’s still SOME pinch, just not as much.
The Glock 30 SF proves you don’t have to sacrifice stopping power for a smooth, compact, concealable design. I’m a small gal, so this handgun is a bit too large for me to carry concealed unless I wear an oversized parka, but I still really like it for range time, and it would certainly be my go-to pistol in the middle of the night or if SHTF.
The mags for the Glock 30 SF are very easy to come by, the Glock itself is incredibly reliable and basically never has to be cleaned, and not to mention it is one sexy-looking handgun.
About the Author:
Emily R. is the enthusiastic primary contributor at Double Feed, a gun & gear review site. She is an avid shooter, firearm collector, and all around tactical chick on a mission to tell it like it is. No filter here.
Use an o-ring and slide it down to the base plate. ACE Hardware has many sizes to chose from. Just take an empty magazine with you and go to ACE or other hardware stores and try out the different thickness of o-ring.
Thanks! This has made mine a lot more comfortable. And only cost $1.24 to outfit all my mags.
Just obtained a G30 sf. Had a modest 21 and didn’t like it at all. My new G30sf not only fits my stubby fingers it shoots like an extension of my arm. It also carries in the middle of the back very comfy
I’m surprised that none of the comments have declared that the pinky space is an unacceptable design / engineering flaw that Glock should have fixed before those guns left the factory. You would never see a space between mag and grip like that in a Sig, HK, Springfield, etc. and it’s not hard to fix it in the factory process.
Good review. Could be a great choice for a man with small hands too.
Nice feed back on the Glock 30sf. Just traded my Glock 22 in for a Glock 30sf. Love it. Glocks in general are pretty much indestructible. Now that I think about it, Glocks are the Tonka trucks of the firearm industry. Can’t go wrong with Glock.
Thanks for reporting on a fantastic piece of engineering marvel. Having been a S&W owner for years (M&P9, Shield, 5904, A22, Mod 10) I took the plunge into Glock world last year and bought a used G21. So when I moved to a CCW state I planned to carry the Shield 9mm, but ket thinking the G21 would be great but heavy and not easy to conceal. After a long search, I bought the G30 SF from Classic Firearms. Don’t think I could’ve made a better choice other than a G20!
appendix is this guns forte. best gun glock makes out side of their 9mm unless you hunt and want a 29
To solve the mag pinch problem, you could go to a hardware store, or maybe auto parts store, and buy the right size o-ring and slide it down over the mag until mates to the upper part of the mag base plate. You may need to use two, but once you seat the mag these should act like a gasket and fill the gap and prevent the pinching.
That is an excellent idea! Necessity really IS the mother of invention!
“…you can throw a 50 round magazine in your Glock 30SF. Fuck, yes.”
Ha! I don’t know who this woman is but I like her already. You go girl!
Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2016/06/glock-30-sf-handgun-review/#ixzz4BqlA6SNN
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The G30 kinda felt like I had a brick in my pants when I carried it concealed. It wasn’t a pleasurable experience at all !
One solution I found for the pinch is go with a 9 round mag. It makes the gun physically smaller too but you give up one round. I converted mine to 10mm with a barrel and mag swap and it handles it fine. That is how I figured out the mag swap thing. One other option is to get a piece of bicycle inner tube and cut it to fit the mag extention. As it rolls over the top edge just a bit and it closes the gap between the grip and the mag. Don’t do that to your spare… Read more »
Try the Pearce grip extension, replaces the floor plate of the magazine.
I would think a g-21sf magwell will fit right on it.I personally use the g-21 mag with the spacer part on mine but I do that because I have big paws.but as on other comment glockstore has everything you will need or could want for any glock.also may I suggest the 3.5lb trigger bar.have one on all of my glocks.have a great day,KEVIN
I’m sure you’ve already tried it but if you haven’t the GLOCKSTORE out of San Diego has magwells. For Glocks, if they don’t have it, it probably isn’t made; great people too.
+1 for the Glock store!!
Put a band-aid or two on that pinkie before you start shooting.
Yep! This also works in a “pinch.” Ha 😉
Looks, feels, smells, and shoots like a Lego!
Try a Gllock 30 pistol with an X-grip on a Glock 21 magazine.
I carried a G30 for concealed carry 5 years. It was way to uncomfortable for concealed. Traded it in on a G21. Then I bought a G19 for concealed/open carry. I really like all Glocks but the G19 is my all around everyday gun. Wish I would had kept the G30 !