If you’re looking for reviews on Glock handguns chambered in the .40 S&W caliber, then this is not it. The Glock 40 is chambered in the much more powerful 10mm round. If .40 S&W is your thing, check out our Glock 23 review.
- Powerhouse -The Glock 40 got a 6†barrel that allows this powerful 10mm round to achieve a hefty velocity of 1300+ feet per second. For target and competition shooting, this is a hard gun to fault.
- Recoil -The Glock 40’s feels solid, and the recoil of the 10mm round is surprisingly manageable. Nobody will ever mistake this for shooting a .22, but this isn’t punishing like some of the other smaller polymer pistols chambered in 10mm. Check out my video below to see it in action.
- Compatibility -A long sight radius, sight compatibility with virtually every other Glock, and the slide’s MOS configuration opens the Glock 40 up to a vast universe of sights and optics.
- Concealment -This gun is difficult to hide for concealed carry.
- Long Barrel -The Glock 40 will take a bit of practice for those accustomed to drawing shorter barrelled pistols, but this could still serve as a duty gun.
Introduction to the Glock 40
The story of the 10mm handgun cartridge is well-known. For some time it appeared that the 10mm cartridge was relegated to a niche market of competitive shooters and enthusiasts. The 10mm has been making a comeback, however. In fact, we’ve already compiled a review of the best 10mm pistols in light of this renewed demand.
My introduction to 10mm came by way of a Colt Delta Elite that I bought a few years ago. It has shot a few thousand rounds at my local range with unfailing reliability. Most people note that the 10mm is a jumpy round, and the Delta Elite’s heft helps absorb the recoil.
The biggest Glock?
The Glock 40 fills a curious niche in the shooting world, and it’s one that many Glock affectionada haven’t crossed paths with yet. Like every other Glock, it’s built on the company’s familiar architecture of a polymer frame and a blocky slide. Like the elusive Glock 17L, the Glock 40 features a 6†long barrel and corresponding long slide that appeals to competitive shooters. It’s a touch lighter than the Delta Elite at about 32 ounces. However, the Glock 40 should still have enough heft to make the mighty 10mm round manageable.
With its long sight radius (8.3 inches) and full-size grip, the Glock 40’s appeal to competitive shooters goes without saying. But is it the right gun for other shooters looking for something more recreational, or for self-defense? Can the Glock 40 be more than a race gun?
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The Glock 40 in hand
Everything about the Glock 40 makes it feel like the granddaddy of Glocks. In fact, it is almost dimensionally identical to the mythological Glock 17L, which means that the Glock 40 is in the running for “largest Glock.†Compared to the 17L, the Glock 40 is a smidge shorter in length. However, it has some extra width and weight—more beef to endure the greater ballistic pressures from the 10mm cartridge. In the “law of gross tonnage†department, the Glock 17 has few polymer-framed rivals.
All of the Glock 40’s controls feel like every other Glock: deliberate, purposeful, and no-frills. “We added this feature to make the gun more attractive,†said no Glock engineer … but the Glock 40 still looks every bit the teutonic athlete that it is.
Capacity – 15 Rounds of 10mm
The Glock 40 shares a full-capacity 15 round magazine with its shorter-barrelled Glock 20 sibling. 10 round factory magazines are also available for those in states with magazine capacity restrictions.
Glock’s factory sights are debated with religious fervor, with all sides making legitimate points about their strengths and inadequacies. The Glock 40 I tested was equipped with the basic white outline post-and-notch sights that many Glocks come with. For my eyes they worked just fine. It’s worth noting that the Glock 40 is now available in MOS configuration to allow the fitment of a reflex sight, which will delight many.
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Shooting the Glock 40
After pulling the trigger and watching the long 10mm Auto cartridge spiral through the air, there’s absolutely no mistaking the Glock 40 for anything else. The 10mm cartridge creates plenty of noise and smoke. Woe be to the berm that has to absorb the bullet’s substantial energy.
Through the 6†barrel, the potent Sellier & Bellot 180 grain FMJ rounds I was running achieved an impressive velocity of 1328 feet per second.
A Bucking Bronco This Isn’t!
But what’s more interesting is what I didn’t feel: a seismic sized recoil kick. A combination of the Glock’s heft and the polymer frame’s recoil absorption meant that the Glock 40 was surprisingly—and delightfully—manageable.
Being a Gen 4 Glock, the grips have a tactile texture that’s easy to grip, and the finger grooves fit my big mitts well. A gentle flare at the bottom of the grip helped facilitate tactical reloads.
That Loooooong Sight Radius!
It quickly became apparent that the Glock 40’s carbine-length sight radius, and the 10mm round’s nominal bullet drop made this gun ideal for doing work at longer distances. At 50 yards, the biggest thing keeping me from punching holes in the 10 ring was flinching in anticipation of the recoil.
Even after 50 rounds, I still expected the gun to kick harder than it did. However, with some steady breathing and focus on the front sight, the Glock 40’s long barrel delivered the goods exactly where I wanted them. A string of three bullseyes at 25 yards convinced me that the Glock 40 is an excellent gun for learning to manage anticipatory flinching with more powerful cartridges.
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Maintenance and Parts
Glock handguns enjoy one of the most vibrant aftermarkets for parts and accessories. However, the Glock 40 is a bit of an outlier here. Some parts like the connector spring and the trigger assembly are shared with the .45 ACP caliber Glocks. The Glock 40’s longer slide and unique chambering mean that some parts are unique to the 40. Moreover, being a bit of an oddball Glock, it’s going to be a bit tough to source some of the aftermarket goodies like threaded barrels (although I note that KKM—a superb manufacturer of aftermarket competition Glock barrels—makes a threaded barrel for the 40).
The Competition
The 10mm Magnum space is a growing one, but it’s still not as densely populated as some of the other calibers. 10mm pistols can be broadly categorized into three categories: revolvers, 1911-based pistols, and polymer-framed pistols.
The Wheelguns
Both Smith & Wesson and Ruger are in the 10mm revolver business. The S&W N frame platform has long been the standard-bearer for larger caliber revolvers coming out of Springfield. Ruger’s 10mm offerings span the superb Redhawk and GP100 product lines – Mike wrote a hands on Ruger GP100 review, if wheelguns are your interest.
A 10mm 1911? Maybe.
The 1911 platform offerings are somewhat more expansive, with 10mm pistols running the gamut from Rock Island Armory to the four (or five) price ranges from companies like Ed Brown, Wilson Combat, Nighthawk, etc. The debates between the Glock and 1911 are long and religious and don’t need to be rehashed here. However, if you’re looking for a superb 10mm 1911, then look no further than the Colt Delta Elite that we reviewed.
The Sig Sauer P220 is also another option. While it departs from the 1911 blueprints somewhat, it’s another superb contender at a mid-level price point.
Plastic 10mm Pistols
The 10mm polymer framed pistols category is, surprisingly, the most sparsely populated. While EAA and a few other European companies have begun to import polymer framed 100 pistols, the competitor in this space that most closely approximates the Glock 40 is the Springfield XD-M 5.25†Competition Series. Here’s how their specs stack up:
| Glock 40 Gen 4 | Springfield Armory XD-M 5.25" Competition Series 10mm | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Length | 9.49" | 8.3" |
| Barrel Length | 6.02" | 5.25" |
| Overall Height | 5.47" | 5.75" |
| Weight (without magazine) | 32.3 oz | 32.8 oz |
| Standard Magazine Capacity | 15 rounds | 15 rounds |
The Glock 40’s barrel has the edge on length, but their dimensions are otherwise very similar.
Glock 40 Verdict
With the 10mm space slowly making its comeback, the Glock 40 is a solid contender. It is especially well suited to someone looking to get into a 10mm pistol in the three figure price range. Glock’s ubiquity in the marketplace and the availability of parts and accessories make the Glock 40 an easy recommendation.
Glock fandom aside, the 40 is a solid contender on its own merits. The polymer frame does a good job of absorbing the 10mm Magnum’s stout recoil. Plus, the 6†barrel and long sight radius gives this gun a sporting advantage in competition and at the range.
The MOS configuration of the Glock also means that you can attach your favorite optics to it, if glass and lasers are your thing.
About the only thing the Glock 40 won’t do for you is conceal easily—but then again, I’m not sure that anyone would want to spend time with a 10mm Magnum subcompact.
Glock’s 40 remains a lesser-known, but still very capable member of the Glock lineup. It’s one that anyone looking for a 10mm Magnum pistol should give consideration to.
