Magpul PMAG 15 GL9 Magazine Vs. Factory Glock 19 Magazine

Wanted to work on my new pistol grip today.  Have the rest of the week off(it's Tuesday), so headed up into the woods first thing this morning.  Nobody came up where I was, it was great.  93 mile drive at 23 miles to a gallon.  I overpay at $3 per gallon, so little over $12 round trip.  I did little bit more math, and closest shooting range I'd bother to visit would cost me about $18 for the visit + over $7 in gas.  I've heard all the crossover SUV jokes, but my Edge rules!

Anyhow, I decided to do this today, because it's supposed to be mostly raining all this week, except this morning.  I didn't get rained on, just light mist for a minute, so very happy with the weather as well.

I bought couple of these Magpul Glock magazines for my Glock 19(left).  I was buying a HK USP magazine from Botach(cheapest price anywhere), and when I saw these things for under $11 a piece, I wanted to try it.  

When I first got them, they had that cheap dollar store plastic feel to them?  Me & my coworker were not impressed.  I thought it didn't have those tiny indicator holes in the back either, to show you how many rounds you've loaded.  My other coworker noticed that they put little windows on the sides, so you can tell when you have full 15 rounds in them.  Okay.  I do like the orange followers.

As you can see, floor plate protrude little bit more compared to the stock magazines.  Glock PMAGs worked flawlessly for very little I shot.  What I disliked though was how much more friction were noticeable when loading.  Factory Glock mags loads smooth, and Magpul is the opposite.  I HATE LOADING AMMO, and I don't need that added to the chore.

If you are on budget, or are looking for cheap mags for training, plinking, etc., these are probably good.  I'm happy with the two I bought, but I still prefer factory mags, even at double the price.  Still love their everything for ARs though.

So finally on handgun training.  When I first got this gun, I couldn't hit anything with it.  I was shocked.  I'm just a casual plinker, so I got my other handguns out(Kimber + USP) & started testing them out.  This really got me interested in target shooting.  I adopted much tips, advice from all sorts of messageboards & youtube videos, and it started to improve.  After much experimenting, I think I finally found what works for me.  I believe this is actually the basic grip?  

I'm gripping the gun firmly with the both hands, right hand palm(green) pressing forward, left hand palm pressing back in the opposite direction(blue).  Highest purchase possible with the left hand, with thumb extended up.  Lock both wrists, straighten right arm & work the trigger independently to minimize movement of the pistol.  

I'm still training at 15 yards, because I don't think I'm ready to shoot 25 until I can leave something resembling grouping on the paper at 15.  Paper's roughly 8" square, circle roughly 7" & believe it or not, this is the best I've shot my Glock so far.  :(  I keep telling myself about the trigger control, but I still find myself jerking it.  Gah.

Remember to pick up all the trash & shells after plinking!