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What is the story on the G25 and G28?

6K views 12 replies 12 participants last post by  t4terrific 
#1 ·
Looking thru' some Glock literature, and these two high-capacity .380s were mentioned as 'law enforcement only'. No particular desire for one myself, but recoil-sensitive folks might find it a useful combination.
What is the reasoning behind this practice? Thoughts and WAGs welcome.
Moon
 
#7 ·
The G25 and the G28 are minimally modified from the G19 and the G26 to fire .380ACP in an unlocked breech blowback design.

In a pistol as large as these are, a normal .380ACP design would have the barrel fixed to the frame and use pure cartridge blowback to cycle the unlocked slide independent of the barrel. Inertia of the slide mass and recoil spring strength would be used to sufficiently delay slide retraction. The advantages to this normal design are (1) mechanical simplicity and (2) permanent fixture of the barrel to the frame. Obviously, implementing this simple system would have required very major redesign of the Glock "system"...so that did not happen.

The G25 and G28, instead of having the sharp vertical locking surface forward the chamber that mates with an equally sharp vertical surface on the top of the slide's ejection port (like all other Glocks do), has the front top pf the barrel's chamber section sloped backward, with a sloping under-surface to the top of the slide forward of the ejection port. At no time is there is any mechanical locking between slide and barrel to prevent the slide from immediately moving rearward independent of barrel movement after firing. The unfixed barrel recoils along with the unlocked slide until the barrel rear cams downward and the slide completes its rearward travel.

There is only one reason to have used this overly complex unlocked-breech system for the G25 and G28...it allows a blowback design that requires only minimal mechanical changes to the Browning-style locked-breech design of Glock's other models in much heavier calibers. As a consequence of that, it incorporates all of the worst aspects of locked-breech and blowback designs, yet incorporates neither of those two advantages above that a typical blowback design normally possesses.

So...in terms of proper pistol design, the G25 and G28 are magnificent kludges. They work, but the design would never ever be used for a pistol designed from its beginning as a .380ACP weapon. One needs only compare them to (1) the proper locked-breech design of the G42. or (2) the proper unlocked-breech design of a Walther PPK, to see just how awkward and plain awful the G25/G28 design is, except as unusual variants in a Glock collection.

As an unrelated aside...the G25 and the G28 also differ from the G19 and G28 in their factory-supplied fixed rear sight elevations. The G25 and G28 use 6.9mm elevation, while the G19 and G26 use 6.5mm elevation.
 
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#8 ·
Now THAT is interesting; my original notion was as a bigger-than-a-42 .380 might help the recoil conscious women that often populate our handgun classes. Now I find that it likely has a blowback recoil impulse more like a PPK than a 42. Mike, what is the recoil actually like with these pistols? Similar to our much-loved PP series?
Another thought.....would this gun have worked with a much lightened (to approximately 42 weight) slide while retaining the locked breech operation, and smoother recoil, of that gun?
Thnx much to all,
Moon
 
#9 ·
The pistols are the same size as their 9mm brothers. They carry the same capacity. The recoil is asbad as the 9mm.

Apart from collectors, no one would buy them and the number of collectors would not be anywhere near enoigh to make it worth it to tool up their factory in the US to make a run.

There are a handful in the US, brought in to sell to LE agencies. A few ofthese have been then given or sold to retired officers. A couple have been seen (the G28) on auction sites selling for a couple grand.

To spend that much money on something like that in my opinion is crazy. Its only rare in the US, glock makes other models the same size in 9mm, and also makes the 42, which if you must have a 380, is a far better pistol...
 
#10 ·
Neither one of the pistols you mention are "high capacity", they simply come with standard capacity magazines like all pistols should. Glock does not even offer a high capacity magazine for a .380.
The term high capacity being used for standard capacity magazines is nonsense. If the magazine fits flush with the bottom of the pistol, it is not a high capacity magazine.
magazine would be the 33rd. 9mm magazine and the 22rd. .40S&W magazine.
The only OEM high capacity magazines that are high capacity that Glock offers. Several can be found in the aftermarket from Magpul and ETS but the Glock offerings are limited.

Those pistols are made for countries that are not allowed to carry the same caliber as the military, usually 9mm. Not enough import points to be brought into the United States and they are law enforcement special order. The .380 in many other countries is like the 9mm here, very popular.
 
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