Glock Model 35, Gen 4

by Pat Cascio, Survival Blog:

An outstanding “end of the world” handgun is under review today, the Glock 35. This one deserves a close look.

Glock Handguns

Truth be told, I’m not the biggest fan of Glock handguns for a number of reasons. First off, I haven’t run across anyone who says that the Glock line of handguns actually fit their hand perfectly. Secondly, I don’t know why Glock still insists on installing plastic sights, front and rear, on their handguns. What I do love about the Glocks is that they always go “bang” if you give them just the smallest amount of care. That’s important to me, and they are more than accurate, too. However, Glock is rapidly losing their grip on first place as the handgun of choice for law enforcement in the United States, giving way to more updated handgun designs that fit the hand better and do the job just as well as the Glock can do it. Many others cost less than a Glock, too.

Favorite Gun Question

The number one question I (still) get from readers and others is, “What is your favorite gun?”. Of course, this is impossible to answer. It depends on what you expect the “gun” to do. Are we talking self defense, concealed carry, law enforcement, big game hunting, plinking, or any the other chores that are called upon by a “gun”? If we are talking self defense, I’ll ask the person what they carry and then tell them that is probably the “best” gun; otherwise, they’d be carrying something else, right? Then it comes down to which is the best caliber. Again, for what purpose are you using it? Get my drift? There is more to answering these types of questions than one single answer.

The same Answer

I’m still asked what my favorite handgun is and what would I carry if it were the end of the world. My answer still remains the same. It is some form of quality 1911, and more than likely it’s one with a “Commander-esque” size barrel– 4 to 4.25 inches in length– and chambered in .45 ACP. Also, given my druthers, I’ll take one with a lightweight aluminum frame. I guess it’s hard to teach this old dog new tricks, but this would be my first choice in an end of the world handgun.

Then we have the usual follow-up question, which is: What would be my second, third, fourth, and so on choice in an end of the world handgun. That brings us to the Glock 35 that is chambered in .40 S&W caliber. Now that the FBI has gone back to carrying 9mm handguns, due to better ammo designs, everyone is jumping on the 9mm band wagon again. Truth is, the 9mm wasn’t that bad of a choice, so long as you remember you have to hit your target. Misses don’t count. So, these days, we are seeing a lot of .40 S&W chambered handguns on dealer shelves that are trade-ins and priced right, too.

Glock 35 Gen 4 Model

The Glock 35 under review is their Gen 4 model with the extended and overly large mag release, which is also reversible to the other side of the gun for southpaw carry. The Model 35 was originally designed as a target gun to be used in various shooting competitions. However, savvy police officers and especially SWAT teams have discovered the 35, for all manner of law enforcement work. At first glance, the 35 looks like it has a very long barrel. Well, it’s longer than normal full-sized Glocks, but honestly at 5.31 inches for that barrel, it is only slightly longer than the barrel on a full-sized 1911 with a 5-inch barrel. Then we have the top front of the slide that is milled out, and it is done in order to shoot the 35 a little bit faster, making the slide a little bit lighter in weight.

The overall length of the Glock 35 is only 8.74 inches, and it stands 5.43 inches tall with its 15-rd magazine. Unloaded, the gun weighs 27.53 oz, which is still plenty light for all-day carry. The trigger pull, while still spongy, comes in at 5.5 lbs; however, it is a simple task to lighten the trigger pull with an after-market trigger or just by changing some springs. We also have an accessory rail on the dust cover of the frame for attaching lights and/or lasers, and there is a new and improved dual recoil spring, for a longer life.

Changeable Grips

Gen 4 Glocks come with several different back straps; however, even with my large hands, I find the back strap just fine. Attaching one of the other back straps makes the trigger reach all that much longer, which is not a good thing. There is also a slightly rougher texture on the polymer frame, for a better grip. And, then we have the plastic sights, front and rear. However, the rear sight is adjustable for windage and elevation, and it comes with a tiny screw driver for making those adjustments, too.

Damped Recoil Makes Shot-to-Shot Recovery Faster

The slightly longer slide and barrel help dampen the recoil of the hot .40 S&W round, making shot-to-shot recovery much faster than with the standard Glock 22 model. This is a good thing. Some people find the .40 S&W recoil objectionable and prefer a 9mm Glock. That’s no problem in my book. If you don’t shoot a particular gun/caliber all that well, then find something that fits your hand better, in a caliber you can control.

Glock 35 Might Be Ideal End of the World Handgun

Now this brings into to why I believe the Glock 35 might be an ideal choice for an end of the world handgun. Long-time friend and owner of Cold Steel Knives, Lynn Thompson, isn’t very well known as a pistolero, but he is. I watched a video of him with a standard Glock 17 9mm standing off-hand repeatedly hit a steel silhouette target at 200 yards down range. It was amazing, to say the least. So, how about the Glock 35 with the longer barrel and a harder-hitting caliber like the .40 S&W.

The same shooting feat could easily be done with the 35. Now, I’m not advocating that we leave our long guns behind and only arm ourselves with a handgun, especially in a situation that is dire, like whatever brought about the end of the world scenario. However, it’s good to know, with a little practice, you can take a Glock 35 and deploy it at distances you wouldn’t normally think of doing.

Holsters and Set-up

The longer barrel on the Model 35 allows it to fit in many holsters that are designed for the Glock 17 or 22, and that’s a good thing. And, carrying the 35 on duty isn’t much of a hindrance compared to the 17 or 22. I like Blackhawk Products Tactical Thigh Holsters, and my 35 fits nicely in it. Plus, I can carry two more spare 15-rd mags on the holster set-up, using the Blackhawk mag carriers.

To spice things up a little bit, how about getting three of the genuine Glock 29-rd .40 S&W magazines and carrying them on your off-side in a Blackhawk sub-gun thigh mag carrier, which holds those three extended mags! Now we’re talking some serious fire power, if you ask me. I believe, with just a little bit of practice, anyone can easily hit man-sized targets with this Glock 35 out to 100 yards or beyond, and that will sure keep the bad guys heads down, at the very least.

Ammo For Testing

I fired slightly more than 400 rounds of .40 S&W ammo through the Glock 35 and had zero malfunctions. From Black Hills Ammunition www.black-hills.com, I had their 155-gr JHP load, 180-gr JHP, and 140-gr Barnes TAC-XP load. From Buffalo Bore Ammunition www.buffalobore.com, I had their 200-gr Hard Cast FN Outdoorsmans load, which is standard pressure, 125 & 140 Barnes all-copper hollow point TAC XP load, which is standard pressure, and their 155-gr JHP load that is rated at +P.

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