When you live in a rural community as I do, news spreads fast from neighbor to neighbor. For example, I was talking with one of my neighbors and egg customers and she related how she had heard a noise on her back deck and when she turned the outside lights on she discovered a black bear only a few feet away on the other side of the glass door. By the time she called her husband to come see, the bear was gone. But, two days later the neighbors down the road reported that there was a bear in a tree behind their house.
As for me, I’m living on a small ranch here in the mountains and I have captured images of both bears and mountain lions on my trail cam located at the back of the property. Only a few miles away from my front door is a national forest filled with wildlife such as these and they do not respect property lines.
As you can imagine, I am prudently armed from sunrise to sunset. Also, as I pen this review, I find myself in the forest taking care of the annual chore of cutting firewood for the winter. When I go into town I carry my EDC discreetly and it tends to be a compact 9mm tucked away in a waistband. However, when venturing out into the wild, concealment is not a concern and a full-sized pistol just makes more sense.
Too Big or Just Right?
Though a bit too thick and beefy for waistband EDC, particularly in summer dress, the GLOCK 21 SF (short frame) includes all the features that we know and love from the plastic fantastic as well as boasting 14 rounds (13+1) of .45 ACP fodder. Yes, the grip area of the G21 SF is thick. However, if you have standard or large man hands you should be able to manage. Admittedly, those with small or petite hands will likely not appreciate this pistol.
GLOCK states that the SF “reduces the circumference of the receiver, offering increased ease-of-use and control, especially to shooters with smaller hands.” That might be the case, but it is definitely not as comfortable in small hands as a G43X or G48 might be. Be that as it may, I don’t believe that it is “too big” for adult men.
Carrying the Beast
While I wanted to carry the G21 SF open, I also wanted to have the option of carrying it concealed when the weather is colder. Here in the mountains, it is sweatshirt or jacket weather for about six months out of the year. One of the many crossdraw style chest rigs would work for wilderness carry, but not so much for the in town time.
For a best of both worlds option, I decided to go with the Galco Gunleather VHS 4.0. No, you don’t need to rewind this VHS before you return it. This VHS stands for Vertical Holster System. Unlike the Sonny Crockett Miami Classic where the gun is held in a horizontal position with the muzzle pointing rearward, with the VHS, the muzzle is pointed downward just as your typical belt holster would.
The VHS 4.0 is all leather and beautifully finished. So nice is this rig that I was cringing while I carried out logs, hoping that I would not scratch it up before I took pictures for this article. In a world of plastic holsters, the Galco leather rigs are fully functional, but things of beauty. My oldest son, Jarrad, wears a VHS religiously during the cool and cold weather. In addition to the vertical holster, the system comes with a double-magazine pouch. The spare ammo, in addition to being tactically prudent, offsets the weight of the pistol. If you don’t want to use that option you can install a tie-down strap and anchor the rig to a belt.
Galco uses the word “system” deliberately as you can alter and modify the rig to your liking, left or right hand. Once you purchase the rig with shoulder straps, you can change out holsters if you like.
Not a Picky Eater
Recently I had the opportunity to consider the M1911A1, particularly in compact size for EDC. One of the realities of that style of pistol is that they have a tendency to be finicky eaters. While I would never recommend carrying a load in a self-defense gun without a proper reliability test, when it comes to eating habits, the G21 SF is not a picky eater.
For this review I used standard ball ammo and four different loads from DoubleTap Ammo and Black Hills Ammunition. Present from Doubletap were .45 ACP loads in 200 grain Bonded Defense (JHP), 160 grain DT Lead Free, 100% Copper hollow-point and 255 grain Hardcast Solid Lead +P. The Black Hills defensive round was their 135 grain “Honey Badger” load moving at 1250 FPS out of the barrel. I also had my can of training ammo with numerous loads to include the ubiquitous 230 grain ball.
*Word of Caution
GLOCK and HK pistols have “polygonal rifling” and both GLOCK and most ammunition manufacturers recommend against shooting solid lead bullets though these barrels due to lead build-up/fouling. This is where being an intelligent gun owner comes into play. Is a magazine of hardcast lead bullets going to create a hazard? Do you have a copper bore brush? Shooting a ziplock bag full of your Uncle Jim’s basement reloads with lead bullets would seem to be a bad idea.
The best way to avoid this issue altogether, if you want to shoot hardcast lead bullets, is to get an aftermarket barrel from a company such as KKM Precision. The stainless steel KKM barrels are rated for all types of projectiles, lead included. I have been using KKM products for about 20 years and highly recommend them.
Range Time
I’ve been testing and evaluating firearms from most every major manufacturer for over thirty years now. I will admit to you that I rarely will ever bench rest a handgun, particularly a fighting gun, unless that gun has an optic that needs to be zeroed.
My experience has been that the inherent accuracy built into modern firearms is much greater than 99 percent of the hands that grip the guns.
If I am able to put all of my rounds on a steel half-silhouette from 20 to 25 yards, I am perfectly happy with the performance. Most practical shooting drills will be inside of 15 yards. I would rather be sure that the gun will function flawlessly with two-handed, single right, and single left hand shooting.
You will not be surprised to hear that the G21 SF ran with zero stoppages in all the aforementioned circumstances. When it comes to defending your life, reliability stands head and shoulders above trying to squeeze a half inch tighter group on paper from the bench.
Parting Shots
Admittedly, the large GLOCK pistols are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. That’s fine. My concern when it comes to carrying such a tool is two and four-legged predators, not cardboard and paper.
Specifications: GLOCK G21 SF
Caliber: .45 ACP
Capacity: 13+1
Barrel Length: 4.6 inches
Overall Length: 8.1 inches
Width: 1.34 inches
Weight: 29.1 ounces
Price: About $550 retail
Paul G. Markel is the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades. He is the author of numerous books and is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran.
Mr. Markel, I currently have a G21 SF and have been wondering if it’s possible to have a grip reduction done to it, or if it’s even worth the hassle? I have what I always called medium sized hands, based on usually wearing medium sized gloves like Mechanix, ironclad, etc., and I still find myself regularly adjusting grip to handle it decently.
I’ve been pondering parting ways with it and stick with my 1911, but like thought of having a higher capacity .45acp. and potentially less maintenance with the G21. My go-to is a G17, but will admit there is a bit of nostalgia with my G21sf because I was mandated to get it during a short stint as a leo (late 2000s).
PS. I always enjoyed listening to your Legion of Michael podcast.
Robar used to do a fantastic slim down on the G21. Sadly they are out of business. There is a company called Great Lakes Custom that advertises such, but I have never used them. Thanks for the kinds words. Keep listening louder.
Paul, thanks for the tip. I’ll give Great Lakes Custom a look and go from there.
My G21 fits my XL-sized hands just fine. I rarely use it in .45ACP though.
When I visit areas with furry fangy unfriendly fauna, I use a 10mm conversion barrel and a stiffer recoil spring with some spicy Buffalo Bore hardcast ammo.
As a G21 their .45ACP+P load gives me 484 ft lbs, but as a G20 their 10mm Auto load gives me 703 ft lbs.
That’s almost half again as persuasive.
That is a lot of gun for 550. I have some experience with the SF and though I am not a huge fan of the .45 acp if I was to buy one it would be the Glock. They work.
Reliability is the top requirement for a self defense weapon.
I don’t think my arthritis would make a shoulder holster to comfortable these days.