I once owned a Glock 26, I sold it and bought the Smith and Wesson M&P Shield. At the time I thought the Shield would do an even better job (concealment wise) than the Glock 26 did. So, why am I now writing this post telling you I want a Glock 26?
When I was a freshman in college I was involved in a no strings attached situation with a beautiful young lady, let’s call her Glock 26. Later down the line, I developed an affinity for another young lady, we’ll call her M&P Shield. The new lady expressed some interest in me, but her true feelings were a bit ambiguous.
The first young lady, for all intents and purposes, catered to all my superficial and not so superficial needs, yet I talked myself into believing the new girl added something more to my life (Even Greener Grass). While the new girl dangled her string infused carrot in front of me, I chased the carrot like a wide eye puppy, and like the prodigals son the other young lady always welcomed me back with open arms with the hope that I would soon tire of the chase and rest my head at her feet.
Unfortunately, and deservedly, I ended up losing both girls. I lost perfection (what it was for me at that time) chasing after what I thought was more perfect. This is the dilemma I face with the Glock 26 and Smith and Wesson Shield. What follows is me trying to correct the mistake I committed through the purchase of firearms.
1. My Inner Capacity Whore.
As this video makes very clear, I love my standard capacity magazines. With the flush magazine the M&P shield carries 7 rounds and 8 rounds with the back up extended magazine. With the Glock 26, I can carry a flush magazine and have 10 rounds with one in the chamber and not even bother with a spare mag and still have more rounds than the Shield. If I was feeling really sexy I could carry a 17 round Glock magazine as a back up. See where I am going with this.
2. Platform familiarity
I have a full size M&P9 that I don’t shoot much. I love the M&P9, but I just never shoot it, so I am not as familiar with it as the Glock 19 that I shoot often. On top of shooting the Glock 19 more than the M&P9, I do a lot of dry fire training with the NEW SIRT 110 Training Pistol 
which is modeled after the Glock 17. It’s pretty easy to see how I would be more familiar shooting the Glock 26 than I am the Shield.
3. Short, stubby, and a little fat
The Glock 26 is fatter than the shield, but the grip is short, so concealment is rather painless. The Shield is by far the smallest most capable gun I have ever carried ( I’ll do a separate post on what capable gun means to me) but the Glock 26 isn’t that far behind. Very, very, very, rarely am I able to carry the Shield and not the Glock.
4. I’m In Love With a Holster
Holsters are a double edge sword in the world of conceal carry. They keep the gun secure and safe, but they are a pain in the ass to keep up with if you have multiple carry guns. I carry the Glock 19 in a Raven Concealment Vanguard 2 and love it. The fact that I can use it on the Glock 17 and 26 is simply awesome! The Vanguard is by no means the greatest holster in the world, but for how I apply it, it does the job.
5. I just Wanted To Buy a Gun
Like I said at the beginning of this post, the M&P Shield is more than capable, but if you let me, I will talk myself into finding any reason to buy another gun, not that I need a reason in the first place. I bought the Glock 26 and I have been carrying it in place of the Shield. However, I will never get rid of the Shield because it’s an awesome gun, but an even better suit gun.
For those of you who have the Shield and the Glock 26, let me know which you prefer.
