By R.K. Campbell | Contributing Editor
To say the Glock pistol stood the handgun world on its ear is an understatement. The Glock changed perceptions concerning weight, manufacture, reliability, magazine capacity, resistance to the elements, and value for the dollar.
Glock’s key virtue is reliability. The pistol runs when dry, it runs when dirty and seems to run forever. Glock set new standards for simplicity and durability.
Admittedly, the pistol takes some acclimation to fire well. The trigger break helps act as a cushion against anticipation and flinch and serves well for those who grew up shooting the double action revolver. (If there are any of us left.) In short, Glock changed the handgun world and in the overall scheme of things for the better. The Glock also ushered in the absolute supremacy of the 9mm Luger in police and military acquisition.
German police trails in the 1970s stressed a new tactical doctrine of simplicity. The pistol must be reliable and accurate enough for hostage rescue shots but could not have a manual safety- only safety features. This became known as a draw and shoot pistol.
The SIG P220 emerged from those trails, since Glock pistols were not yet available but you may bet Mr. Glock was familiar with these West German tests and their process. No pistol without a positive firing pin block would be considered for institutional use after those trails and the double action first shot pistol was on its way out within a few years.
Simplicity in training was a watch word. Glock’s success caused a stir in the handgun world and the inevitable response. Metal frame pistols were not competitive in pricing. Some very bad ideas came out of a desire to compete with the Glock and you may only wonder what they were thinking.
For many years police chiefs and administrators had specified double action only revolvers due to well documented negligent discharges with cocked revolvers in the single action mode. I trained a number of squads with double action first shot automatics and it wasn’t rare for an officer to holster his Beretta 92 or SIG P226 with the hammer cocked. The double action first shot trigger and decocker was an unnecessary complication. A number of agency leaders agreed to issue the automatic pistol only when a double action only type was available. This plea fell on deaf ears and our domestic makers did not cooperate. Then came the Glock.
The answer was a hasty engineering conversion of S&W, SIG, and Beretta pistols to DAO. None were really satisfactory or easy to shoot well, but they served in some places until the Glock won agencies over. The best of these is probably the SIG DAK. The S&W 5946 is still in use with the RCMP. The Glock won over those holding the purse strings.
Some American makers offered difficult to shoot modifications. (CZ also made a DAO CZ 75 with a terribly long trigger pull. The S&W and SIG DAO guns feature a ready position midway between the DA and SA trigger position of DA/SA guns.) Some makers tried to meet the Glock baseline price by adding plastic parts and cheapening their handguns. A plastic disconnect in a metal frame pistol didn’t turn out well. Others tried in various ways to limit machining costs. The result was a further erosion of the presence of American handguns in the police market.
Then came the poorly conceived S&W SIGMA. Years later Smith & Wesson introduced the excellent Military & Police pistol, a handgun with good ergonomics and handling. The horse was out of the barn by then.
Meanwhile forward looking companies, often relatively small concerns, looked at the Glock with a mind to improving the system. This resulted in a crop of aftermarket parts which helped upgrade the Glock in some instances, notably in the field of aftermarket sights. Other accessories were questionable to say the least. This includes triggers not suited for service use. Glock was even winning serious sporting competitions by this time. Others took a look at the Glock and decided to make an American Glock with upgrades resulting in an even better pistol. These are among the finest defensive and service guns ever made.
Shadow Systems
Shadow Systems has been around since 2016- a short time for the mark they have made in the handgun world. I agree with their philosophy of ‘a four pound bang beats a three pound light strike’ when it comes to trigger actions.
The American-made action is good and controllable but not too light. A number of SWAT teams have adopted the Shadow Systems handgun and the Colorado State Patrol also uses the Shadow Systems handgun. The pistol features superior ergonomics, a nicely designed slide, and excellent fitting. In general the Shadow Systems 9mm may be counted on for superior accuracy compared to the Glock.
Certain models offer a real choice for those looking for different features. As an example the very popular Glock 19X is a good pistol but some do not like the angled grip frame extension intended to act as a magazine well. The 19X also features a lanyard ring. This prevents the 19X from using Generation 5 Glock 17 magazines with their larger base pad.
Shadow Systems has changed the grip frame. While the XR920 also features a Glock 19-length slide and Glock 17-size grip frame, the Shadow Systems pistol mirrors the standard Glock 17 grip frame. This allows compatibility with all Glock 17 magazines.
The Colorado State Patrol recently adopted Shadow Systems 9mm handguns after extensive testing. Shadow Systems handguns usually cost more than the Glock and all agencies don’t choose the low big. This is a great all around defensive pistol with much to recommend. I especially like the Shadow Systems direct mount system for red dot sights. Shadow Systems offers several frame sizes, compensated models, and ultra compact handguns.
The Affordable PSA Dagger
Palmetto State Armory follows a great tradition in that they are both a manufacturer and a retailer. The PSA Dagger and Micro Dagger resemble the Glock Generation 3 but there are significant differences. The Micro Dagger illustrated is a special version with a recoil limiting ported slide.
This pistol features direct mount optics for the RMSc footprint. The grip treatment differs from Glock with a nice balance of abrasion and adhesion. At the base of the frame is an indentation in each side of the lower grip to help remove the magazine if it becomes stuck.
This pistol features a bifurcated (two piece/hinged) trigger rather than the Glock’s blade type safety. The trigger is smooth and even making it easy enough to use well.
An outstanding feature is the 15-round magazine. While this is a Glock 43X size pistol that accepts Glock ten round magazines PSA went further with a re-designed magazine. The magazine is two piece with a polymer component to lock into the Micro Dagger’s polymer magazine catch. The rest of the magazine is metal. I like the added capacity very much.
Whoever thought they had too many cartridges during a gunfight?
I have fired the Micro Dagger extensively. This is a reliable handgun with much to recommend. The sights are decent, standard white outline sights, typical of sights on handguns in this price range. With the Riton carry optic mounted things really picked up on combat shooting scores. At less than four hundred dollars the Micro Dagger seems a good choice for concealed carry.
These pistol show that American ingenuity may take a good thing that needs further development and make a great performing handgun out of it. The Americanized Glock is a great shooter leaving the public with no reason to choose a Glock over these handguns. The American Glock has arrived.
Ammunition
I have been interested in heavy bullet 9mm Luger ammunition lately. I carry the 9mm more often than a revolver these days and I was looking to a load with good penetration when the bad guys and everyone else are heavily bundled. But then the 9mm isn’t much without expanding bullets; no small bore is.
I figured the short barrel Micro Dagger would not perform well with 147-grain bullets. I was wrong. The following table tabulates my shooting results. This makes for a good loading for use against feral dogs and anywhere where the adversary may be found behind cover or in a vehicle. Best of all the load I tested is offered in affordable 50 round boxes.
Winchester Defense 147 grain 9mm
Micro Dagger results 3.4 inch barrel
Velocity Penetration Expansion
980 fps 18.5 in. .485 in.
Shadow Systems results 4.02 inch barrel
1060 fps 18.0 in. .535 in.
Holsters are no problem at all. The Micro Dagger ported fits Glock 48 holsters, the Shadow Systems pistol is accommodated by Glock 19/19X holsters. At present the Shadow System is carried in the service grade Safariland Species inside the waistband holster.
Shadowsystemscorp.com
Palmetto State Armory.com
Safariland.com
