But then I won a G26/27 Pearce grips at a pistol match, so I decided to give it a try.   Well, all I can say is that I had been wrong.  The short extension for the little finger does not noticeably affect concealability.  A Pearce-equipped G27 magazine is not the same as a full G23 magazine.   To be blunt, if you cannot conceal a G27 with the Pearce, you cannot conceal a G27 period.

Of course, the Pearce grip extender isn't just for looks.  With the small "two-finger" Glocks like the G26, G27, G29, and G33, many people find it difficult to control the gun under recoil with their pinky hanging underneath the gun rather than around the grip where it should be.  These little Glocks are just too short.  Great for concealability, but not so great for shooting accurately and quickly.  Add the tiny little Pearce floorplate, though, and suddenly you've got a "three-finger" gun again.  While the muzzle flip from my G27 never bothered me too much, there is no question that the gun is much quicker on follow-up shots when I use my Pearce-equipped magazines compared to when I use my standard magazines.

So I went to my favorite on-line Glock goodies shop, Glockmeister, to buy a few Pearce grip extenders.  Well, Glockmeister didn't sell Pearce at the time.  He only sold Scherer.    He says they're better, and cheaper.  He's right: they're cheaper.   But they are also, in my opinion, cheaply made and cheaply designed.  Of course, I bought five of them before I knew that.

The Scherer floorplate replacements are made of a very cheap plastic, unlike the Pearce units which appear to be made of a material very similar to the factory Glock parts.  The Scherer unit is also huge.  I finally realized my fear of the floorplate gone wild; it made the gun more noticeable even under an untucked button down long-sleeved shirt. 

But my biggest gripe is that the damn things were fitted so poorly, they actually caused more pain when shooting than the factory floorplates.  I tried five different Scherer floorplates on five different magazines, trying to mix and match to get the best fit.  No luck.  They all left a huge gap between the magazine and gun butt ... it was really noticeable just looking at the gun. 

I had a few other folks who were at the NRA Range with me try the G30 with both standard and Scherer-ized magazines, and universally folks agreed that the standard floorplate was better.  I was bummed.

Now, I won't lie to you.  The extenders for the standard 10-round magazines aren't that much different.  They have a better cliff for the pinky to rest on, and they're checkered like the Glock frontstrap (a feature most folks are surprised Glock left off the factory floorplate).  The fit to the frame in my samples was a little better than the standard floorplates, and this is really noticeable when I have a 300-500 round range session.  But if you don't shoot that much, you might not need them.  I think you should give them a try (you can get one for less than $10 and you can always return it if you don't like it) but it's not going to be night-and-day like with the G26/27/29/33 floorplates.

No, where the Pearce product really shines is with the optional 9-round magazines available for the G30.  These little magazines make a "two-finger" gun out of the hefty G30, and I personally didn't find the gun nearly as controllable with the flat, flush-fitting factory floorplates (say that three times fast!).  But add the Pearce floorplate for the G29 (which fits the 9-round G30 magazines perfectly) and ta-da, instant success.  The gun has a smaller profile for concealment and is just as controllable.

One of my "G29" floorplates had a sharp forward edge which needed to be sanded just a bit, but otherwise they've been excellent.  In fact, I might get rid of my 10-round magazines altogether and just use the nines and G21 13-round magazines for spares!

Pearce 2, Scherer 0.  You can check the Pearce web site at www.pearcegrip.com which provides names of distributors.  You can also see some of the neat new products they have, including floorplates in different colors for keeping training/practice gear separate from carry gear, etc.  If you have a G26, 27, 29, or 33, you should really give them a look.   And if you want to try something extraordinary with your G30, get a 9-round magazine and a Pearce G29 floorplate.  It really is Perfection ...

Stay safe!