Glock 30S Review

The new .45ACP Glock 30S was born from a “hack” where Glock shooters tinkered a bit and married a 30SF frame with a 36 slide. These hackers felt that the 30SF was too bulky for concealed carry and that the 36, with its 6+1 capacity, did not hold enough rounds.

"                                                                                                                                                            "

Glock officially solved the problem with the 30S, a slimmer slide to improve conceal carry comfort, and an increase to 10+1 capacity. I first fired the 30S at SHOT Show one month ago, and in the limited time I had with the gun I noted the (perceived) reduced recoil (Note: Perceived recoil in this case is a subjective measure of how much recoil is perceived by the author, relative to similar pistols.). I requested a test gun from Glock so I could have more trigger time to better evaluate it.

The 10-round double-stack magazine has a pinky extension which allows the 30S to fit well in the author’s average size hand.

Looking into the recoil piece, upon further research comparing the 30S to Glock’s other .45ACP subcompact models, I noticed that the Glock 30S “barrel height” (sometimes referred to as “bore axis” – Glock measures the barrel height the from the center of the bore to the forward most point of the pistol’s backstrap) is only 0.79″, compared to the 1.26″ height of the 30, 30SF, and 36.

Diagram from the Glock 30S website.