Among the wide range of Glock pistols, there are a few models that are so rare, even to a Glock owner, that you might not have heard of them. That’s the case for the Glock 29, a 10mm handgun that was designed for concealed carry or self-defense use.
In this piece, we want to take a look at this compact pistol and give it a full evaluation. First, we’ll start with its development and history within both the Glock company, as well as in the broader handgun world. Once we’ve done that, we’ll talk about the features of this gun as they apply to the average gun owner, as well as to people who might want to consider the Glock 29 for concealed carry or self-defense.
If you’ve decided, after our quick look at it, that you’d like to try to buy a Glock 29, we’ll also have some useful advice for finding one at a reasonable price, and then keeping it fed with 10mm ammo without needing to take out a second mortgage on your home.
Aside from concealed carry, we also want to spend some time going over some other potential use cases for the Glock 29, as well as discussing its various generational changes to improve on ergonomics and reduce a few problems that occurred in the earlier generations. All in all, we think that the Glock 29 is one of the more interesting handguns in the Glock lineup, and we’re excited to be taking a look at it here today.
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Glock 29 History
For a little context here, let’s talk about the Glock company first. Some companies make lots of things and do all of them pretty well. Here, keep Browning in mind. Whether it’s a machine gun, a pistol, or a bolt action rifle, Browning has made, makes, and will continue to make something for you. Other companies do it differently, and they make one thing exceptionally well. Enter Gaston Glock.
In response to an Austrian military competition to replace the Walther P38, Gaston Glock submitted his Glock 17: a 9mm handgun with a polymer frame, fired by a striker and with the safety built into the trigger. Over forty years later, you can still buy a Glock 17 that looks and functions nearly the same as the original design, though they’ve also spent the past 40 years making the product better generationally.
Development
The Glock 29 came about in 1997, responding to an interesting time in firearms development. While it seems like there’s always something new in the firearms market in terms of firearms, ammunition, especially for handguns, changes exceptionally slowly. The industry standard 9x19mm, for example, has remained dimensionally the same, more or less, since its introduction in 1901. That is to say, people rode into battle on horseback with 9mm pistols two years before the introduction of fixed-wing aircraft to the world.
In 2022, we have satellite-based phones that we can use to talk to someone face to face on the other side of the planet, in our pockets. Some folks, then, thought that it might be about time to update ammunition technology. Thus, the 10mm, which promised the greatest stopping power over other contemporary handgun cartridges, as well as greater muzzle velocity than 9mm when shot out of a barrel of the same length, was beginning to catch on for a brief period in the late 90s and early 2000s.
While 10mm has never become the world standard for handgun cartridges, the Glock 29 is chambered in this powerful round in an attempt to give the user a relatively powerful handgun in a smaller package. The Glock 29, then, sits at an interesting point in the market: it’s a compact handgun, but instead of being chambered in other, relatively common cartridges for guns of its size such as .380 ACP, the Glock 19 comes in a more than usually powerful round.
For most military and law enforcement applications, a Glock 29 in a caliber different than the more common models is an unlikely concealed carry option for most folks. For civilians, on the other hand, who are free to choose their caliber free of institutional procurement considerations, a little more powerful cartridge can be a compelling option. Thus, over two decades since its initial production, the Glock 29 is still being made, sold, and carried today. We think that, if you’re looking for a modern firearm that has a big-bore cartridge, but you don’t want a 1911, a Glock 29 in 10mm is an excellent option.
Glock 29 Features & Specs
| Caliber | 10mm Auto |
| Capacity | 10 or 15 Rounds |
| Weight (Empty Mag) | 26.81 oz |
| Weight (Full Mag) | 32.63 oz |
| Barrel Length | 3.78 in |
Compact
The Glock 29, like all Glock pistols, is a polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol. From there, things get somewhat interesting for the Glock 29. This model is, of course, chambered in 10mm, and fires those rounds out of a 3.78″ barrel, making it a compact handgun. The line of sight, between the two models, depends on the type of sights you use. The line of sight with polymer sighs is 150mm, 149mm with steel, and 148mm with Glock’s night sights.
Trigger Weight
The trigger pull is characteristically long and somewhat heavy when compared to other designs, but this is a standard feature of most Glock models.
Capacity
In terms of capacity, the standard, more compact magazine that fits flush to the base of the grip of the weapon can hold ten rounds. The larger magazines that somewhat extend the grip of the weapon hold 15 rounds of 10mm.
Weight
With a loaded, ten-round magazine, the Glock 29 comes in at 32.63 ounces. Considering that this weight counts 10 rounds of 10mm, we think that the overall weight is fairly low for a handgun that brings some pretty serious firepower to a concealed carry firearm.
Reduced Recoil
One clever feature that the Glock 29 shares with all Glocks is the dual recoil spring assembly: this uses one recoil spring nested within another to make the overall felt recoil impulse a lot easier to handle for the shooter. In the Glock 29, this somewhat tames the otherwise stout recoil of the 10mm cartridge.
Pricing for the Glock 29
The MSRP for a Glock 29 that comes with a single ten-round magazine is, at the time of this writing, $649.00. With the firearms market how it is these days, most handguns are selling over MSRP, which makes buying a gun in the 2020s somewhat challenging.
Luckily, this seems to not be the case for the Glock 29, likely due to the 10mm being a somewhat less common caliber than 9mm. It’s possible, in our research, to find a Gen4 Glock 29 for about $100 off of MSRP, or, today, $549.
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If you’re willing to look used, which we recommend for Glocks since they’re so durable, there are some excellent deals to be found. For example, we were able to find a Gunbroker listing for a Glock 29 gen 4, with half a dozen magazines and the original case, all for the same as standard MSRP with a lot less stuff. There are several new and used listings on Guns.com for a decent price as well.
Overall, the Glock 29 is a relatively affordable handgun considering it shoots an uncommon caliber, though Glocks are never the cheapest of firearms to be found on the market. The Glock 29 presents a compelling option if you’re looking for a 10mm handgun.
10mm Ammo Performance & Pricing
Performance-wise, 10mm is an impressive cartridge. 10mm flies slightly slower than 9mm but hits harder than even .45ACP. This is no surprise, as the 10mm was an attempt to replace both the relative accuracy of the 9mm and the sheer kinetic energy of the .45ACP. While neither of those has happened in law enforcement or military service, the 10mm as a cartridge is one with good accuracy and excellent stopping power. We’d happily carry it for self-defense, hunting, or any other purpose for which you might need a handgun.
Pricing for the 10mm is one of the only downsides of the Glock 29. For comparison, it’s possible, even in 2022, to find 9mm ammunition for about 30 cents per round. Newly-manufactured 10mm costs three times that sometimes well over $1 per round. If you have the budget to shoot that often, then this isn’t a major concern for you. But, if budget is somewhat of an issue, we might recommend getting into reloading so that, at the very least, you can save over time if you plan on doing a lot of shooting.
Best Uses for the Glock 29
In terms of using the Glock 29, we think there are three applications in which it would really shine.
Concealed Carry
First and foremost, the Glock 29 was designed as a defensive firearm, and we think that it would still make an excellent self-defense gun. With some night sights and a 15 round magazine, you’d be well defended. With that said, the Glock 29 is one of the less common Glock models, so you might not have as many holster options as you might for, say, a Glock 17, but there are still holsters out there.
Hunting Sidearm
Second, since the Glock 29 is chambered in 10mm, it would make a decent hunting handgun. While we wouldn’t normally hunt with a handgun at all, if this was your sidearm when, for example, you were hunting bears, we think that this would do well to either dispatch game animals you had wounded with a rifle or, in dire cases, defend you against predatory animals. There are also some 10mm lever-action rifles on the market, so being able to supply two firearms with a single source of ammunition could be handy for those who go backpacking.
Home Defense
Finally, the Glock 29 would make a fantastic home defense weapon even if you did not plan to carry it concealed on a daily basis. A 10mm defensive round is an excellent choice for stopping a fight in a hurry, and based on that we think that it would make a great weapon to keep in a box or a drawer to access if you need to in a hurry.
All things considered, the Glock 29, like most Glocks is an excellent, dependable firearm that will do the job for a wide variety of tasks. Taking advantage of the 10mm round makes the Glock 29 an excellent overall handgun choice.
A Note on Glock Generations
The Glock 29 that you’ll find on the market today is a generation 4. Glock innovates more or less continuously, but from time to time they announce a new generational change along with some updates in the overall design of their handguns.
Grip Pattern
On Gen 4 Glocks like the Glock 29, you’ll find an aggressive grip pattern on the pistol grip, which makes it easy to shoot Glock 29s both with gloves and to keep a good grip on them in case things get slippery from sweat or something else.
Trigger Pull
On Gen 4 Glocks, the trigger pull has also been improved substantially. Glock triggers, which are still a little bit on the heavy side, are a lot less gritty than they used to be. A contemporary Glock trigger is lighter and safer than they ever have been, and we think that they’re likely to get better over time.
Misc. Improvements
Glock has also made small improvements in the grip angle, magazine geometry, and other features over the previous generations. All in all, the fourth and fifth generations of Glocks are excellent handguns.
Conclusion
In this piece, we’ve examined the Glock 29. As a defensive firearm in 10mm, it’s one of the finest options in this space of the market. It’s also one of the more affordable options in terms of handguns sold in the caliber.
Overall, we think it’s both reflective of an interesting point in firearms history from a few decades ago, and you can still find one new today in your local gun store, though you’re likely to have to special order it.
If you happen to see a Glock 29 for sale at a reasonable price, we’d highly recommend that you pick one up if you’re looking for a handgun that balances a compact frame and a powerful caliber.
George has been an avid shooter for twenty years. He began shooting when he was gifted a Browning SA-22 for target practice. Now, as an academic, he combines his love of firearms and knowledge of history to write for firearms blogs and is still a frequent sight at the local range.
