12Nov04 G18/C A friend at Glock gave me the opportunity to test fire the new G18/C yesterday. The full-auto G18 (9mm) has been around for some time, but this new version is compensated in order to enable the shooter to hold it down during burst fire. Unlike other /C model Glocks, the G18/C has the entire top of the slide cut away forward of the ejection port. The barrel, in turn, has four venting slots cut in the top, progressively larger toward the muzzle. An additional rectangle of slide is removed to the rear of the ejection port in order to delete weight from the slide. I shot white-box, generic 9mm hardball through it. More powerful ammunition would have rendered a faster cycle rate. As it was, I was unable to shoot a burst consisting of fewer than four rounds. Most were five. Actually, burst controllability was good, for a pistol. I can see this weapon, in conjunction with a laser, being used by officers shooting from behind shields, where a conventional sight picture is impossible. It must be shot while holding it at eye level. There is such a blast coming from the top of the pistol during burst fire, holding it close to the body or lower than eye level would produce a great deal of distraction! The old G18 was completely uncontrollable for many shooters and only marginally controllable for the rest. This new version does indeed adequately address the controllability issue. Few people, indeed few police officers, need a full-auto pistol. However, for those who do, the G18/C does work, in spades! /John