By selecting your preferred caliber, frame size and magazine capacity, it is easy to choose a GLOCK to meet every self-defense and concealed-carry requirement.
Among the most popular of the concealed-carry GLOCK subcompacts is the 9×19 Glock 26 Gen4, which offers a 10-round magazine capacity along with the smallest frame and slide dimensions available for a 9×19 GLOCK. The Glock 26 was the first subcompact in the line, introduced in 1995, and remains, in its latest form, one of the easiest subcompacts to shoot, as the new Gen4 model uses GLOCK’s improved dual recoil spring assembly to further regulate felt recoil. The 9×19 is and has always been the first choice, initially for law enforcement and military, and certainly today for the civilian market.
Introduced in 1995 as a companion model to the Glock 26 but chambered in the more powerful .40, the Glock 27 is otherwise identical. The Glock 27 is favored today by law enforcement, even though in .40 the magazine only holds nine rounds versus the Glock 26’s 10-round capacity. Now the GLOCK 27 Gen4 continues to rank among the most carried of all .40 subcompact handguns with an overall length of 6.41 inches, a height of 4.17 inches, a width of 1.18 inches and a weight of just 21.89 ounces unloaded.
Introduced in 1996, this hard-hitting 10mm AUTO subcompact GLOCK rounded out a very popular trio of law enforcement calibers. Although the 10mm AUTO is not as commonly used today as it was in the late 1990s, the latest Gen4 version of the Glock 29 remains an all-around carry gun with the added advantage of an accessory rail, a comparatively short 6.88-inch overall length, a moderate height of 4.44 inches, a width of 1.27 inches and an unloaded weight of 26.83 ounces. The GLOCK 29 Gen4 also has a 10+1 capacity.
While the Glock 30 Gen4 is not as “pocketable” as other GLOCK subcompacts, it does pack 10 rounds of threat-stopping .45 AUTO in the magazine. Measuring 6.88 inches in length, 4.8 inches in height, 1.27 inches in width and 26.3 ounces in weight, the original Glock 30 was introduced back in 1996 as a variation of the standard-sized GLOCK 21. The Gen4 version (introduced in 2012) offers interchangeable backstrap panels, the same 10+1 capacity, the new dual recoil spring assembly and an accessory rail.
The GLOCK 30S is a hybrid .45 AUTO model introduced in 2013 that combines the slide from the six-round-capacity Glock 36 with the larger 10-round-capacity Glock 30 SF frame, thereby creating a smaller .45 AUTO without compromising capacity while at the same time adding an accessory rail. The pistol has a 3.77-inch barrel, an overall length of 6.96 inches, a width of 1.27 inches, a height of 4.8 inches, and an approximate unloaded weight of 22.95 ounces.
Back in 1997, just four years after the .357 semi-auto cartridge was developed for law enforcement use, GLOCK introduced the subcompact Glock 33, the compact Glock 32 and the standard Glock 31. This was an immediate trio of guns that allowed law enforcement officers to have two primary carry options, plus a matching backup gun, all in the same new caliber. The .357 remains mostly a law enforcement specialty even today, but the latest Glock 33 Gen4 (as well as Gen4 versions of the Glock 31 and Glock 32) offer users all the latest advances in grip design and recoil management in this specialized high-performance caliber. The 9+1 capacity Glock 33 Gen4 measures 6.41 inches in overall length with a 3.42-inch barrel, a short 4.17 inches in height, 1.18 inches in width and 21.89 ounces in weight, making it the size equivalent of the Glock 27.
In the late 1990s, GLOCK answered the call for a .45 AUTO pocket model truly suitable for pocket carry. The G36, introduced in 1999, gave up four rounds and its double-stack magazine for a single-stack, six-round capacity, but it also gained a grip frame and width that was narrowed to only 1.10 inches. In fact, this is still the narrowest large-caliber GLOCK ever. While maintaining the same 3.77-inch barrel as the GLOCK 30, the GLOCK 36 came in slightly longer at 6.96 inches but lighter for concealed carry at only 22.42 ounces (empty) and shorter in height at 4.8 inches. The GLOCK 36 remains among the smallest .45 AUTO semi-automatic pistols ever produced.
In 2003, Ernest Durham and Gaston Glock designed the company’s own proprietary caliber, the .45 G.A.P. Created as an alternative to the .45 AUTO, the cartridge is essentially a shortened .45 AUTO to allow for a more compact pistol design while providing a round with equal bullet size and velocity. This led to the G37 introduced that same year and the subsequent compact Glock 38 and subcompact Glock 39 versions in 2005. The Glock 39 is narrow at 1.18 inches, with a single-stack, six-round magazine, and it has a height of just 4.17 inches and a length of 6.49 inches. With a shorter 3.42-inch barrel and a weight of 24.18 ounces unloaded, the Glock 39 is one of the smallest large-caliber models in the GLOCK line.
Civilian handgunners have for a long time been voicing a desire for a GLOCK chambered in .380 AUTO. In fact, GLOCK has been manufacturing a .380 AUTO model for years, the Glock 28, but it has only been available to U.S. law enforcement. With the debut of the Glock 42 in 2014, we now have a new .380 AUTO subcompact with the smallest frame, slide and barrel length GLOCK has ever offered. The Glock 42 offers all the advanced features of the arms-maker’s subcompact line in a small, easily held frame size that offers every desirable feature for a .380 AUTO pocket pistol, including dovetailed, white-dot sights, an easily operated slide and magazine catch, and a slide that locks back after the last round is fired. The Glock 42 employs a dual recoil spring assembly unique to the model and a cold-hammer-forged, 3.25-inch barrel. The Glock 42 measures 5.94 inches in overall length, a very pocket-friendly 0.94 inches in width, 13.76 ounces in weight, and it has a capacity of 6+1.
GLOCK has made concealed carry almost an art form over the past 20 years since the first GLOCK subcompacts, the 9×19 GLOCK 26 and the .40 GLOCK 27, were originally introduced. Today there are 16 different subcompact models in the GLOCK line in calibers from the new Glock 42 in .380 AUTO to the Glock 30, Glock 30SF, Glock 30S and Glock 36 in .45 AUTO. All of these various frame sizes and calibers are ideally suited to concealed-carry use for civilians and as backup guns for law enforcement, particularly the 9×19 Glock 26 and .40 Glock 27, the two most commonly carried law enforcement calibers, and the .380 AUTO GLOCK 42, providing the smallest GLOCK frame ever for a more discreet backup. Scroll through the gallery above to learn about the top nine concealed carry Glock pistols.
