Quote Originally Posted by spaceCADETzoom View Post
...scratched my head for a second too...but I think he meant he gets the benefit of the extra barrel length of the 34 (vs. the 17).
HOnestly, I think that reasoning is faulty, too, though. I don't know if 9mm benefits much from longer barrels and extra twist. Maybe in a 16 in carbine, but even there: without the numbers to back it up, I"m thinking 16 in would be wasteful for an inherently slow (pistol caliber) round. But we're not talking about anything near that. Again, with nothing to back this up, but the glock 34 is marketed for "accuracy" or shooting sports because of the longer sight radius. THe extra barrel length benefits, I guess,but I don't think to such a great degree of laying to the "+p" claim. Besides, in such a case, wouldn't that argument be moot? WHy bring something with such a long barrel for self defense if it isn't a rifle? the 34 isn't for home defense, but for target shooters. What would the push for +p rounds be other than SD?

Just my unqualified 2 cents, BTW. Unsolicited. I'm prone to like wacky things for my own justified reasons as well, so I"m no judge here.
Often, the difference between regular and +P ammo out of a 4" test barrel is only about 50-100 FPS, which is entirely consistent with the velocity gain from an additional 1.3 inches of barrel that you get on the 34. The marketing of the 34 as a target pistol came from the fact that one of the gun game orgs (can't remember which one), felt that using the 17L or 24 (6" barrel) was "cheating", so they made a box that your gun had to fit into, that was basically the size of a full size 1911. The 34/35 models are made to fit into that box. The 34/35 are actually about 3/4" shorter overall than a 1911 Govt, with a longer sight radius, and a longer barrel (only 1/3" but still longer). Chopping the grip makes it more concealable, since the extra barrel length is inside the pants. In an appendix IWB holster, this gun vanishes!

Since most 9mm rounds are of the light/fast variety, every bit of velocity helps. Also, the extra slide weight helps reduce the muzzle flip, speeding up your follow up shots.

Overall, unless you are using a SUPER hot 9mm, 10" of barrel seems to be about the point of diminishing returns, which is why most SMGs seem to hover around that length.

As far as why bring a long barrel for SD instead of a rifle, since I don't live in a place like AZ, it is illegal to carry around a concealed, loaded rifle. This is basically a rifle that I can tuck into the waistband. Lastly, I find that, for me, the combination of this barrel length and the shorter grip is the sweet spot for pointability.