Glock 17 Gen 5 - Challenges

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Om3ga

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Hi everyone,

New member and new firearm owner here. I purchased a g17 g5 mos as my first firearm before I had researched. I know it works well for lots of people, but it's not been great for me. I now have about 500 rounds through it. I have found that I can consistently shoot other pistols more accurately in the first 10 shots, and way better leading up to 50 rounds. Some of these others are the HK SFP9, PPQ Q5, SIG P320. The ergonomics of these seem to work a lot better with my hand, and in some cases like the PPQ Q5 and excellent feel from the trigger/reset.
It seems like the grip angle of the Glock has me consistently shooting low, but ok groupings, just low. I compensate by aiming higher, but that seems to me to be counterintuitive to having sites in the first place. It's frustrating to say the least.

I was looking into doing some frame work by Blackbox Customs here in Calgary. They are able to do trigger guard undercuts, add some better stippling, thumb ledges (accelerator cuts) all of which should give a better purchase on the grip. However, I also found that Nomad Defense now makes a gen 5 frame that supposedly has a revised "different from stock" grip angle and would also incorporate all of the work I would be getting from Blackbox.

Curious if anyone has had a similar Glock experience and experience with these ND frames. I am also considering just selling it and getting something that works better for me out of the box.

thanks
 
Most people complain about the trigger? but I'm guessing maybe in your case the "grip angle" may be part of what you don't like? check out a Polymer 80?
 
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Om3ga said:
Hi everyone,

New member and new firearm owner here. I purchased a g17 g5 mos as my first firearm before I had researched. I know it works well for lots of people, but it's not been great for me. I now have about 500 rounds through it. I have found that I can consistently shoot other pistols more accurately in the first 10 shots, and way better leading up to 50 rounds. Some of these others are the HK SFP9, PPQ Q5, SIG P320. The ergonomics of these seem to work a lot better with my hand, and in some cases like the PPQ Q5 and excellent feel from the trigger/reset.
It seems like the grip angle of the Glock has me consistently shooting low, but ok groupings, just low. I compensate by aiming higher, but that seems to me to be counterintuitive to having sites in the first place. It's frustrating to say the least.

I was looking into doing some frame work by Blackbox Customs here in Calgary. They are able to do trigger guard undercuts, add some better stippling, thumb ledges (accelerator cuts) all of which should give a better purchase on the grip. However, I also found that Nomad Defense now makes a gen 5 frame that supposedly has a revised "different from stock" grip angle and would also incorporate all of the work I would be getting from Blackbox.

Curious if anyone has had a similar Glock experience and experience with these ND frames. I am also considering just selling it and getting something that works better for me out of the box.

thanks
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If your groups are tight, sounds like your fundamentals are ok. Im thinking a taller rear sight would get you on target.
 
Om3ga said:
.... I am also considering just selling it and getting something that works better for me out of the box....
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That's probably the best point at this stage. I think Glocks are great, but they're not for everybody. Why do you want to make it work for you?

Personally, I would not start down the (very deep) rabbit hole of Glock mods when you know there are options that work better for you in stock format. Unless you are committed to the design for some other reason.
 
I havent found the trigger to be any issue, but it was also the first thing I shot, so I didnt really know better? reset seems ok to me. Maybe I will dislike it more that I shoot other guns? Haha

Any recommendations on getting a taller rear sight?

I tried the medium beavertail backstrap and felt that the purchase changed a bit too much. I dont have big hands, so having to stay with the stock seems like the only option so far.
 
Om3ga said:
I havent found the trigger to be any issue, but it was also the first thing I shot, so I didnt really know better? reset seems ok to me. Maybe I will dislike it more that I shoot other guns? Haha....
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Holy moley, go spend some time with other triggers before you commit to this platform! PPQ, SFP9 come to mind. The Glock trigger is famously... ummm... "not the absolute worst".

And if you're not committed to plastic/striker, then you MUST try a 1911.
 
Om3ga said:
I havent found the trigger to be any issue, but it was also the first thing I shot, so I didnt really know better? reset seems ok to me. Maybe I will dislike it more that I shoot other guns? Haha

Any recommendations on getting a taller rear sight?

I tried the medium beavertail backstrap and felt that the purchase changed a bit too much. I dont have big hands, so having to stay with the stock seems like the only option so far.
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Do you have stock Glock plastic sights? I've never had a Glock shoot low for me, typically high. There's a zillion options. Heck Amazon sells them. I change the sights on every Glock I've owned... the factory ones are just there to keep dust out of the holes... You can usually buy them separately, get a taller rear first and see if that solves the issue... thought i'd be tempted to add some layers of tape to the rear sight to see if that helped first before spending $100 on sights for a gun you might sell.
 
I did have an optic on it, was not zero'd, could not shoot accurately enough to zero it, so i removed it and went back to the iron sites. that helped. I wanted to get more proficient with the iron sights and the pistol in general before putting the optic back on and learning how to zero it. Only reason I am looking at make it work options is because I am into it for a bit of cash now, which is frustrating. So if something like changing the grip or rear sights made it a better shooter for me Id be happy, however, knowing I shoot other platforms is a very big irritant. Looking at possibly a P320 X-VTAC. they are decently equipped and optic ready. Loads of options with that platform. also the P320 RXP that comes with the R1 optic for $250 more is a strong strong option.
 
Om3ga said:
.... Only reason I am looking at make it work options is because I am into it for a bit of cash now, ....
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Just don't throw good money after bad - The cost of ammunition will quickly eclipse the cost of the pistol, whatever option you go with.

If you actually like the trigger and grip on the G17, that's one thing. But there are so many other really excellent options out there right now, I don't know why anyone would tough it out with something that they weren't completely happy with. I've seen several very, very affordable lightly used SFP9 on the EE lately, for example. If you buy smart, you only stand to gain from trying something else even if you decide against it in the end.
 
It sounds to me like you regret buying the Glock, if that is the case you will probably never REALLY enjoy it, I would probably suggest you sell it or make a straight trade for something you have shot and liked. That’s the great thing about handguns, they are easy to sell or trade in most cases. I have traded for a certain handgun, shot it for two or three weeks and traded it on again if I didn’t like it.
My wife just can’t enjoy shooting a Glock, grip angle just doesn’t work for her at all, I’ve bought a couple for her to try and moved them on. For myself, Glocks just work but if they don’t work for you then move on, there are many many excellent handguns to try :)
 
It could also be that you're subconsciously dipping the muzzle every time you're pulling the trigger (to offset the anticipated muzzle raise). It could be very subtle such that it only become an issue when shooting a glock with a steeper grip angle vs. the rest of the guns you've tried.

When the shooter's grip is done right, the glock grip angle actually somewhat helps mitigating recoil.

Best way to confirm if it's shooting low is to have a more experienced shooter friend shoot your glock.

A quick hack to the grip is to cut short one of the backstrap that came from factory and install it to the grip, this will change the angle of the back of the grip but not the actual grip angle, more of a fix to the glock hump, but nonetheless will change how the grip feels to the shooter so worth a shot.

However, the human anatomy and subconsciousness work in mysterious ways. If you shoot it long enough, your hand and your way of grip would subconsciously conforms to the characteristics of the gun. By that point, you might feel every other gun has a weird grip angle. :)
 
alpining said:
Just don't throw good money after bad - The cost of ammunition will quickly eclipse the cost of the pistol, whatever option you go with.

If you actually like the trigger and grip on the G17, that's one thing. But there are so many other really excellent options out there right now, I don't know why anyone would tough it out with something that they weren't completely happy with. I've seen several very, very affordable lightly used SFP9 on the EE lately, for example. If you buy smart, you only stand to gain from trying something else even if you decide against it in the end.
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lots of valuable info there. thanks
 
hatman1793 said:
Sell your gen5 Glock 17 (mistake) & buy the Walther or a CZ Shadow.
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I do like both of those. With the CZ, the first 5 shots were with in 2" group. thats when i realized that maybe me and el glocko werent a good match. I really like the PPQ Q5 Match, they are pretty tough to find. The polymer frame version is disco'd, so I have been keeping my eyes out for a lightly used one.
 
aka_ryan said:
It could also be that you're subconsciously dipping the muzzle every time you're pulling the trigger (to offset the anticipated muzzle raise). It could be very subtle such that it only become an issue when shooting a glock with a steeper grip angle vs. the rest of the guns you've tried.
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100% was doing this. put a couple of dummy rounds in the magazine and was shooting yesterday and figured this out. I was able to come up about a 1" or so after figuring that out. I think this will take more work to get out of my system. more drilling and dry firing. I just find it weird that its not as apparent on other platforms.

aka_ryan said:
A quick hack to the grip is to cut short one of the backstrap that came from factory and install it to the grip, this will change the angle of the back of the grip but not the actual grip angle, more of a fix to the glock hump, but nonetheless will change how the grip feels to the shooter so worth a shot.
Click to expand...
I may give this a try if I decide to keep it, thanks!
 
I started shooting with my first ever pistol being a Gen4 Glock 17 so for me I knew and got used to the Glock grip angle first. I shoot all my Glocks with no backstraps added.
I have since aquired a few Glock pistols, 2 of which I have had frame moddifcations done to them. Back strap reduction to get rid of some of the hump at the back/bottom of the grip, double undercut trigger guards to allow a higher grip, and silicone carbide grip moulded into the frames for traction. To be honest Im so used to the Glocks, its just what I know. So as some have said you should be able to get used to them just by shooting thousands and thousands of rounds through them like I have. To be honest I dont notice a big difference in shooting my moddifed griped Glocks compared to my stock Griped Glocks. I just adapt quicky to which ever Glock I am shooting that day, for example I also have a 21 which is a much larger grip then any of my 9mm's

That being said I think maybe you should by a different pistol, rather then trying to modify yours. Even if you stuck with the GLock platform but whent with something that has more of a 1911 grip angle. Like the Nomad frame you mentioned, since the frame is the gun as far as registery goes, you might as well buy a comeplete gun with that type of frame already as a compete pistol, such as the ZEV OZ9 or Shadow Systems. I have a few Glocks some high value moddifed, and I will be always admit no matter how much money you put into one they will still always be a Glock. So maybe for you something totally different like one of the pistols you mentioned shooting
 
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