is there a 'best' Glock?

The best Glock???? That's an interesting question. I only own the G22 Gen3, but like them all. It is perfection to me in a service pistol, I'm a big .40" fan. I don't compete or shoot custom guns so I like pistols that are Unitarian, great reliability and practicality out of the box. If I could CC, the Gen3 G19 would be my pistol because James said it the best, "it's small enough to conceal , but big enough to fight with." I think he may be right there.

If I used a pistol in LE work or any place that I open carried and there was a good probability of really having to use it, if I could chose my poison it would be a G20 SF. I really can't recover and shoot as fast as good IPSC shooters, If I trained this way, I go 9mm or 40,... so I may as well make my two or three slower to aim shots worth everything they should be with the 10mm.

If I were to own only one in the future, it's on my radar now,.. it would probably be the same gun as mine in 9mm(cheapest, I'm cheap) however, so the Gen3 G17 with fixed sights. I find the original Glock frames fit me perfectly so no need for the gen4 which has appealed more to some.
 
I think the mid-gen3 17s and 19s and the gen3 and after 20s are the most reliable Glocks. I don't think the gen4 19s are sorted yet but the 17s seem to be fine now.

I have not seen enough information on the gen4 40s to know if they compete with the 17s yet.

I believe that the gen4s are running closer to the thin end of the reliability wedge than mid-gen3s, which is why a) they didn't initially work, and b) their ejection patterns are so erratic.

Although I also think it's pretty much academic for 99.9% of gun owners.
 
I'm pretty happy with my 34 g4, once I replac ed the sights. Only issue is G34 is not IPSC approved for production division ��
 
I have a 21 gen 3 with full rail, a 17 gen 3, and a 23 rtf with a sig .357 conversion. I leave that in my trailer in Florida, so I alway have a gun when I travel. It has the standard length barrel. Its just about perfect for everyday use and vehicle carry.
 
If you were to get only one Glock for one calibre, I'd say the G17 Gen4. The G17 is their flagship model, it's the model the gun was designed to be, everything else is just a variant. The Gen4 recoil spring bugs are sorted out by now, they have a longer service life and do reduce felt recoil somewhat. I also much prefer the grip texture of the Gen4 Frames.

But if you want something more diverse, a G22 is better. I picked up a G31 Gen4 a while back because I figured if I was going to have a pedestrian Glock, I should at least get it in an interesting calibre. Now I'm looking at selling my other 9mms and just getting calibre conversion parts for my Glock. The G31 has the same slide as a G22, so all I need to do is buy a Glock Factory G22 barrel, drop it in, and now I have a Glock that shoots .40, and it even uses the same magazines. (You can do vice-versa, drop a G31 barrel into the G22 Slide). If I want a 9mm, I get myself a Lonewolf conversion barrel and some very affordable Magpul magazines. Now I have one gun with one set of night sights that shoots three major calibres, just by swapping out some inexpensive, readily available parts.
 
Mr. Friendly said:
the question for this, then, would be why?
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Sometimes...improvements for the sake of improvements are not improvements at all. More of a lateral move. Gen 4s had their issues early but are fine now. Basically, it comes down to whether you want 3 funky backstraps?
I have no issues with Gen 2-4. Glocks. They all feel fine and shoot fine. In fact, I can't think of any modern semi auto that I don't feel comfortable holding. Revolvers, that's a different story!
 
Still alive said:
Sometimes...improvements for the sake of improvements are not improvements at all. More of a lateral move. Gen 4s had their issues early but are fine now. Basically, it comes down to whether you want 3 funky backstraps?
I have no issues with Gen 2-4. Glocks. They all feel fine and shoot fine. In fact, I can't think of any modern semi auto that I don't feel comfortable holding. Revolvers, that's a different story!
Click to expand...

X2. Good post.

The M&P cutting into the newbie market with the showroom grip feel change up for inexperienced hands being a selling feature and taking some of Glocks market share was the Gen 4 reason in my mind. The recoil spring was perhaps the "technical reason" or improvement for the change to possibly slow down wear on some high volume fired gun's especially the G22 like mine.

You can stand at any gun counter, and see any new pistolero being shown a multi backstrap gun and hear the same,..."yea that feels right in my hand for sure" on the smallest strap. It's like someone selling a Harley Davidson FLHT cruiser(poser:p) to someone who's never rode a motorcycle, but will learn quickly nonetheless... and will want to stretch out the bike in the performance department, because it feels good to the azz and the handle bars fit right at zero miles per hour in the showroom, and that cramped up Ninja(combat shooter) over there,... doesn't make any sense and feels all wrong to his/her unknowning hands and azz, till he/she knows what sport riding(pistol shooting) is all about. Then he/she understands the Ninja concept!:p:p
You won't know what you need in your hand till you realize what you need to control a pistol.
 
Mr. Friendly said:
the question for this, then, would be why?
Click to expand...

Though they may be the same weight, the gen 4 FEELS heavier to me with more weight up front. Normally some weight up front is is a good thing on a steel framed pistol to reduce recoil. I find on the gen 4 when I slow the frame rate down on vids I take of myself shooting new guns, when the slide locks up after a round is fired, i notice more muzzle dip then on the gen 3. It shows on the shotclock too up to half a second difference on a "El presidente" (sp?) drill without a reload when compared to my gen 3.

I find sight tracking easier on the gen 3 as well as a smoother felt recoil. I'm using handloads (4.1gn VV N320 under 124gn TMJ) and i barely lose my sights on the gen 3.

My personal preference is the gen 3. YMMV
 
I thought they also changed the angle of the pistol grip, so it was friendlier and less awkward? I was thinking GfA's reply may have had to do with preference or familiarity to the old grip vs the new grip.

I may very well have to see if I can hold one of each side by side and decide what I like the most.
 
Just purchased my G17 weeks ago. I was not familiar with either grip before I had the opportunity to shoot my friends gen 3 and 4 before I made my decision. Unfortunately pistols are like shoes when comparing who likes what best, for what type of hand/foot. As I'm sure you are aware it will be different with every user.

To my knowledge, the grip angle has not changed, only the opportunity to give the grip a different contour with the backstraps. To change grip angle would mean they would have to redesign the firearm and the parts to go with it. If any changes were made, they are negligible at best.
 
Glock 19 for me. Gen 3 or 4. Perfect size, reliable, and I shoot well with it. I've owned a bunch of Gen 2 and Gen 3 Glocks, but haven't moved on to Gen 4 as, having tried them, I really don't see any advantage.
 
RememberTheSomme said:
The M&P cutting into the newbie market with the showroom grip feel change up for inexperienced hands being a selling feature and taking some of Glocks market share was the Gen 4 reason in my mind. The recoil spring was perhaps the "technical reason" or improvement for the change to possibly slow down wear on some high volume fired gun's especially the G22 like mine.

You can stand at any gun counter, and see any new pistolero being shown a multi backstrap gun and hear the same,..."yea that feels right in my hand for sure" on the smallest strap. It's like someone selling a Harley Davidson FLHT cruiser(poser:p) to someone who's never rode a motorcycle, but will learn quickly nonetheless... and will want to stretch out the bike in the performance department, because it feels good to the azz and the handle bars fit right at zero miles per hour in the showroom, and that cramped up Ninja(combat shooter) over there,... doesn't make any sense and feels all wrong to his/her unknowning hands and azz, till he/she knows what sport riding(pistol shooting) is all about. Then he/she understands the Ninja concept!:p:p
You won't know what you need in your hand till you realize what you need to control a pistol.
Click to expand...

That's quite funny - crap of course, but funny.

As to the original question, if it has to be a Glock (generally I'd prefer it were not a Glock) I prefer my Gen3 19, my G17 doesn't get much use (frankly none of my other Glocks ever have either). Glocks are a long way from perfection as a service pistol out of the box, if they were perfect there wouldn't be multiple online stores selling thousands of products to improve them.
 
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I like my 2nd gen G22 .40 S&W. :)

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