I love the urban legend that Gaston Glock was selling some of his polymer training devices at an Austrian military office when he heard a conversation between two officers. Legend has it he overheard the officers discussing the Austrian military’s desire to replace their pistol, and he jumped at the chance and developed the Glock 17, his first handgun, at 52 years of age. That’s not entirely true, however.
Through official channels, Gaston Glock heard about the Austrian Armed Forces’ request for a new handgun. The Ministry of Defence released a list of 17 criteria. Glock assembled a group of European handgun experts from various disciplines.
These were high-level competitors and a mix of military and police shooters. Glock took three months to develop a prototype, and in 1982, the company submitted several samples for testing. The pistol was named the Glock 17, not because it held 17 rounds in the magazine but because it was Glock’s 17th patent.
Glock won the contract, and the Glock 17 became the weapon of choice for the Austrian military. After that, Glock quickly rose to prominence and dominance. Over the next few years, they slowly captured the American police and European military markets and slithered their way into the hands of Special Operators around the world. Two even made their way to my hands many years ago.
The Glock 17: Glock’s Duty Gun
The Glock 17 remains one of Glock’s most popular handguns and is currently in its fifth generation. My Glock 17 is a Gen 4 MOS model and was my first Glock and first optics-ready gun. I only purchased it for the optics-ready capability because I wanted to try red dots. The Glock 17 chambers the 9mm cartridge and occupies the duty or full-sized genre of handguns.
Barrel Length – 4.49 inches
Overall Length – 7.95 inches
Width – 1.26 inches
Weight – 24.87 ounces
Caliber – 9mm
Capacity – 17
Generation 4 Glocks come with a Glock rail system, which resembles a Picatinny rail. It’s a single-slot rail and might require a specialized key to mount accessories and lights. Glock’s popularity ensures you will always find lights, lasers, and cup holders that easily fit the Glock rail. Further, the Gen 4 models introduced a reversible magazine catch that can be swapped to the other side for left-handed operation. It’s also much larger than previous generations.
The Gen 4 system has a modular backstrap system I lost years ago. I think the Glock is thick enough, and I don’t want to add extra girth to the gun. Inside, we get a dual recoil spring assembly that supposedly reduces recoil and expands the lifespan of the recoil system. For what it’s worth, I don’t notice a big difference in recoil between the Gen 3 and Gen 4 Glocks, however.
The MOS System
MOS stands for “Modular Optics System.” Glock released optics-ready guns that utilize a plate system to mount various optics. Each plate has a different footprint, and you can swap it to accommodate whatever optic you might have or want. It’s not a bad idea, but it has flaws.
First, the plates are super thin. There isn’t a ton of thread holding the optic to the gun. Plates also make the optic sit higher than direct milling.
We also stack tolerances by mounting plate to gun and optic to plate, leaving more room for problems.
Plus, the optics plates Glock sends from the factory kind of suck. They rust, are prone to breakage, and are sometimes warped and bent, creating all sorts of issues. It’s not all bad, and I’m not trying to make it sound horrid, but there are flaws in the design. My Glock 17 hasn’t had issues with the MOS, but I don’t use my Glock 17 for anything but testing Glock stuff, optics, etc.
The Glock on The Range
The Glock 17 is boring but an absolutely amazing firearm. It’s easy to say that Glocks became famous because they were cheap, but in reality, they completely changed the handgun world.
These days, every other gun from every other company is attempting to imitate Glock because it works. We’ll start the review by talking about reliability. I don’t have an earthly idea of how many rounds this gun has fired. It’s a lot, but I’ve never had anything other than ammo-related malfunctions.
The gun hasn’t jammed, failed, or found any way not to go bang when I pull the trigger. That’s one of the biggest selling points of the Glock series. They are remarkably reliable. They worked in the worst conditions and just kept going, and this Glock 17 is no different.
Blasting Fast
The Glock 17 Gen 4 series has very moderate recoil that’s comfortable and controllable. It’s a full-sized gun chucking 9mm rounds, so it recoils how you’d expect. The weapon is very easy to control and easy to keep on target. Tracking the red dot between shots is easy, and you can keep the slide running while the dot stays a blur.
I’m sadly out of practice, but I achieved some fairly quick times on various drills—quick for my current handgun skill level. I accomplished a sub-3-second Bill Drill for a Safariland holster with an ALS device. I worked my time down steadily, and I maintain that practice.
I can drive it to less than 2.5 seconds and maybe get that sub-2-second Bill Drill I’ve always wanted. Drills like the El Presidente are easy fodder for the Glock 17, and the gun doesn’t mind if you go fast.
It’s a straight shooter capable of excellent accuracy overall. Stock Glock triggers are fine, and it’s more about grip than trigger pull to get acceptable accuracy, anyway. At 25-yard, A-zones are terribly difficult with a red dot. Within 15 yards, you should be able to draw and hit an A-zone in less than 1.5 seconds. If I trot back to 50 yards, I can consistently hit a 10-inch gong.
Getting a Grip
The Glock series has always been a step behind when it comes to ergonomics. That’s likely why so many companies exist to improve Glock’s ergonomics. The big Gen 4 button is a nice change. The mags don’t always drop free, and factory OEM models are the only ones that mostly drop free. It takes a bit of a thrust sometimes to convince the
I despised the Glock slide release because my thumbs would pin it down. A class and some personal instruction from Rick Hogg of War Hogg Tactical helped me change my grip slightly, and that’s no longer a problem.
The Glock Gen 4 series has some slide bite I don’t care for. They’ve rectified this with the Gen 5 series of guns. It doesn’t always occur, and I’m sure I can train myself not to grip quite so high. If I didn’t mind the extra grip width, I could throw on the rear beavertail.
I can nitpick things like the finger grooves, which I admittedly dislike, but they don’t inhibit the gun’s reliability. Glock could make some improvements, but they are ultimately very minor improvements.
Coming Around
My contrarian nature makes it hard to admit, but there is a reason why Glock is so well-represented among people who use guns for a living. It’s not just because it’s cheap; it’s because it’s a solid, well-made, and reliable service pistol. The Glock 17 was the firstborn and still one of the most popular pistols in the world. If you want a gun that works, then Glock is for you. Now, if they’d only release the MOS3 guns to the average Joe…
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