My involvement with the Glock 30 started at a civilian shooting range in Duncan Oklahoma. I was very proud of my Smith and Wesson M&P 45 (I had to change the backstrap from the desert to black to look cool) and the lieutenant colonel I was shooting with had a Glock 30. I had always been put off by the hinge trigger inherent to the Smith and Wesson line of polymer semi-autos as I had to offset my grip to get a decent group. Before I fired the Glock 30, I scoffed at Glocks citing the fact that professionals had shot themselves with the "Safe Action Trigger." I fired the weapon, one magazine rapid fire, the second going for bull's eye. Both shot groups were considerably tighter than that of the M&P. Come Monday, the Smith and Wesson made a fine trade for Winona, my Glock 30. Before I left the gun shop, I had a larger slide stop put on for easier manipulation.

I took my new Glock 30 to the range and arrayed various targets from distances of 5m to 25 meters. All of my shots were fired from a standing position. Many handguns with the exception of the finest Hi-Points can hit targets around five meters. What really impressed me about the compact, I say again, COMPACT, 45 was that my target groups at 25 meters were comparable to those fired from my Kimber SIS! I paid roughly 500 bucks for this gun and it shoots as well as a 1200 dollar gun that was made by Kimber! As such, Winona has become my preferred carry weapon. I utilize the 10 round capacity with one in the chamber. I have never had a negligent discharge ever. I imagine that I'll never need 11 rounds of 45 ACP but if I do, I have a spare Glock 21 13 round magazine within arms reach. This gun is a fine weapon. I advise it for the more advanced shooter because professionals have had ND's with Glocks.

The Glock is a simple weapon and it conforms to a template across most of its configurations. Bottom line: it will fire if you pull the trigger. If you are serious about guns, no issue. If you saw Will Smith smoke an alien with one, chose something else. If you have children in the house or are generally irresponsible, go with something else.