Does anybody have any experience with Glock 33? Im thinking about trading my Glock 23 for one but would like some opinions. I love my G23 but I wouldnt mind something smaller without losing stopping power. I know there is a the option of buying a .357 barrel for my G23, but the selling point to me on the G33 is the smaller size. On a similiar note, is there any real price difference for .357 sig ammo compared to .40? Thanks Tom
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Glock 33 Question
- Thread starter TWBARRETT
- Start date
There's a pretty big price difference between .40 and .357 sig, it's probably $10 a box more for .357. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but I never see .357 Sig for under $20 a box anymore. $23-25 a box is typical.
What's the infatuation with "stopping power"? Get a G26 instead and stoke it with hot 9mm ammo, almost the same damned thing, for a lot less money out of your wallet when practicing. Yeah, .357 Sig is still more powerful, but in practice, all it really gets you is a bit more energy and better intermediate barrier penetration. (eg, keeping trajectory through things like auto glass. )
Not to mention, if you ever go to sell it, the G26 will retain its value a hell of a lot better. (Or on a bad day, it will at least sell 10 times faster than a G27 or G33 will. )
If you already have a bunch of .40 around, you might be better off with a G27.
-Mike
What's the infatuation with "stopping power"? Get a G26 instead and stoke it with hot 9mm ammo, almost the same damned thing, for a lot less money out of your wallet when practicing. Yeah, .357 Sig is still more powerful, but in practice, all it really gets you is a bit more energy and better intermediate barrier penetration. (eg, keeping trajectory through things like auto glass. )
Not to mention, if you ever go to sell it, the G26 will retain its value a hell of a lot better. (Or on a bad day, it will at least sell 10 times faster than a G27 or G33 will. )
If you already have a bunch of .40 around, you might be better off with a G27.
-Mike
Remsport Mfg
NES Member
We have conversion barrels fo all these. One gun and multi calibers. All you do is swap out the barrel and mag. Get the 33 and purchase a 9mm, and 40S&W barrel get some mags for the 9mm and you have a one for three Glock.
You can run a 9mm in a .40/.357 frame glock by only changing the barrel and mag?
yep. . . but "they" say not to do it in the other direction (meaning buying a 26 and putting a .40/.357 barrel in it and switching mags)
And you'd only need mags for the 9mm, because .357/.40 use the same mag
Is the reverse true where the breech face of the 40 is too big for the 9mm?
So i can buy a G22 and a 9mm barrel and rock and roll?
Perhaps I should have clarified my comments. if you do enough reading on handgun wound ballistics, you'll discover that there isn't really a night and day difference between the "stopping power" of a 9mm handgun loaded with quality ammunition vs a .40 or .357 Sig handgun loaded with the same.
A graphic example... Winchester's own specs...
RA9TA is like rated at 441 FPE @ Muzzle.
RA357SIGT is rated at 506 FPE @ Muzzle.
I think both of these tests were done with 4" barrels, but can't confirm it. The specs are probably worse for a subcompact, but not by leaps and bounds.
Don't get me wrong, .357 Sig is a nice caliber, but just be aware it's going to burn a hole in your wallet. And if you start doing the "conversion barrel fetish thing" like a lot of people do with .40s and .357s, and get a 9mm conversion barrel, you will just start asking yourself why you just didn't get a G26 to begin with.
Course, if you are a LEO, and you think that you're going to be in some weird situation where you might have to shoot through auto glass, then get the .357.
![[laugh]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/012.gif "Laugh [laugh]")
(Although, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the new bonded core 9mm do pretty well through auto glass. ) -Mike
No, the conversion barrel tries to take care of that, and the extractor claw is still long enough to pull out the 9mm empties.
All you would have to do is use a 9mm conversion barrel for a G22, and probably get G17 mags, and maybe respring the gun to a weaker spring for 9mm.
IMO it's still not worth it. You're better off just getting a G17 to begin with, for the reasons I've outlined otherwise.
-Mike
No I have not shot one and I was wondering about the energy myself, hence the thread. I like the size of the pistol so I think I will look into a compact and a conversion barrel
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I have a 9mm conversion barrel for my G22. I don't have many rounds through it, but without changing anything other than the barrel and mag, the gun was pretty finicky, and ALOT more sensitive to limp-wristing than it was runniing .40 through it. Quite a few rounds fired and extracted, but the slide didn't come back far enough to eject or feed the next round. I ended up with empty casings being rechambered.
The extractor still worked fine, as the .40 breechface is only 1mm wider than the 9mm breechface, so it was only a difference of .5mm on either side.
If you change out the recoil spring it might work better, but who knows. If you want to borrow some springs and an uncaptured rod for testing, PM me... I think I have an assortment of G17 springs and an uncaptured tungsten guide rod to go with it.
This is another reason why I don't like conversions.
-Mike
If you change out the recoil spring it might work better, but who knows. If you want to borrow some springs and an uncaptured rod for testing, PM me... I think I have an assortment of G17 springs and an uncaptured tungsten guide rod to go with it.
This is another reason why I don't like conversions.
-Mike
I figured I'd try it, but then I went out and got a real 9mm gun instead.
Not to mention, me + uncaptured guide rods = bad things
![[rofl]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/013.gif "ROFL [rofl]")
So did you ping yourself off the head with one of those rods? Sounds like that incident where I almost shot myself in the eye with a 1911 recoil spring plug.
-Mike
No, the worst I've done is leave a nice mark on my computer monitor, but I've had plenty of near-misses. (Kahr K40C)
W
wolf223
as for the .357 sig, i really didn't notice a difference in "feel" from .40, just the distinct sound.
The Glock 33 is a very nice firearm and easier to shoot than the Glock 27. Imo you will have everything the 9mm is and better and everything the 40SW should have been. Shooting the 357 SIG is pretty much like shooting 9mm +P or +P+ ammo. About the price situation its all relative and where you buy imo. Buy a 20 round box of +P+ or +P Speer or Ranger and your around or more than a 50 round box of 357 SIG. Get a 9mm barrel with 9mm magazines and a 40SW barrel then you will be able to fire these rounds also. Few people who did the 9mm conversions had a problem with the extractor extracting the 9mm round from time to time. Seems more and more LEO and Government agencies are or have been switching to this round. This round is all of a sudden comming to everyone's attention, about time lol, don't know why it took so long. I think in time the price will eventually drop a bit as it gets more popular.
As I said on another thread, I've done the conversion to a Glock 35. Did nothing but put a Lone Wolf barrel into it, and shot 9mm through it with both .40 and 9mm mags. Worked 100% for me through about 1000 rounds so far. Maybe I just got lucky...
I used to own a Glock 33 but have since traded it for a m&p 9mm compact. IMO this caliber is crap and you can get about the same balistics with a hot 9mm round. One also has to remember that the 33 is a subcompact and the short barrel cuts down on the rounds potential velocity because of this. My advice to you: get a Glock 26 or a m&p compact in 9mm.
Independence Arms
Instructor
I have a G33, and love it! I usually use the .357 barrel for carry, and I have a glock factory G27(.40) barrel, and a lone wolf 9mm barrel for range use. If you wanna try it out, let me know!
Independence Arms
Instructor
or get a 33 and a .40 barrel, same diff!
At least you didn't send a guide rod sailing across the firing line at a NES shoot with a bunch of people you still talk to looking on. That's embarrassing. Ask me how I know.
So the Glock 26 has the same barrel length, shoot "hot" 9mm rounds out of it and you might as well get the Glock 33. Maybe a small barrel but you are getting a lot for it out of this round. About the same is not exactly the same and with the "kick" it is the same to the 9mm +P and +P+. You will spend close or the same price for a "hot" 9mm round compared to a box of 357 SIG rounds. For instance I paid 29 dollars for a box of 50 Ranger 147gn 9mm rounds (on sale...was 33 dollars normally) and paid 26 dollars (not on sale) for a box of 50 Winchester 125gn 357 SIG. This was at Cabelas in CT just a few months ago. I paid 25 dollars for Speer 124gn +P 9mm GD and 20 dollars for Speer 125gn 357 SIG GDHP at a gun show this past month. I see prices are coming down very slowly, but they are coming down as more people and agencies gather them up or adopt them. Either way you look at it the 357 SIG is superior to the 9mm when it comes down to it. The 357 SIG is a proven round and is catching on fast. The 9mm seems to have come to its end of ballistics development and the 357 SIG seems to be taking over.
I have a G33 and carried it EDC for years. Lately, I am happier with my G19. I have large paws and even with +2 extensions on the mag, it still feels small. The recoil is peppy (about like a .40) but the flame is ridiculous with carry ammo. On my G19, I have 19 (15+3 in mag) rounds, with the G33 (9+2 in mag), I am looking at 12.
Others said it better: I am not sure that the added ballistics of the .357S over the 9mm is worth the additional recoil and cost.
Others said it better: I am not sure that the added ballistics of the .357S over the 9mm is worth the additional recoil and cost.
Yes, the muzzle blast on .357 Sig is huge. I've come to the same conclusion about .40 -- not worth the added recoil and cost over 9mm. I've sold two .40s in the past, have one more up for sale now, and will be putting the last one up for sale shortly.
