Glock owners: Negatives?

[shulacker]

Another problem that I have with the Glocks is the magazine release. It's pretty small and flush with the grip and I have a hard time extracting the mag in both right and left handed grips. The backstrap on the grip is a personal choice-- some love it, some hate it. Go and pick one up, play with it for awhile, compare it side-by-side with a XD, M&P and whatever else, then decide. If you can rent one from a range that would be best.

Also, when I was looking for a new handgun I was looking at the 23c, and in case you're looking at the compensated model (which I know you didn't say, but I'll write it anyway) I'll warn you that in a self defense setting, especially in low-light conditions, the upward blast of gases will blind you.

[boricua9mm]

Along with an awkward grip angle and plastic sights, there are three other issues that come to my mind.

The guide rod is also plastic. Some folks say that it isn't a load-bearing part and it doesn't matter, but I personally witnessed one breaking under recoil. The gun was a 19c that belonged to a friend of mine. It sent the front half of the guide rod downrange. We were all bewildered.

The gun is NOT lefty friendly, unless you are looking at the SF models. Right now there are only two of those, both .45s.

With no (real) external safety of any kind and a light trigger pull, these pistols are very unforgiving of those without proper training. This can easily be overcome with extreme trigger and muzzle discipline (which we should all have anyways) and a proper holster that completely covers the trigger guard. I would advise AGAINST holsters with thumb breaks. That's just one more piece of material that can get caught in the trigger guard when reholstering, sending you to the ER. With that being said, I've heard several people with lots of experience still say that they'd never carry a Glock with a round chambered.

With all that being said, my everyday carry is a stock G26. I don't particularly like the Glocks, but they have worked 100% for me, and no other maker offers an easily affordable, lightweight, pocketable 9mm with the same track record for reliability and low maintenance.

[headhunter]

I've got three. G22, G23, G36. Love 'em all.

[chkin11]

I have a G21 and xd .45 service. the only negative on the glock is the fat handle, grip angle is fine but the handle is a handfull, i trust my Glock way more than my XD due to FTFeed probs the xd is known for. the glock has always been 100%. a glock 19 or G26 will be my next gun to replace my XD for CCW.

[JiffyGriff]

What are your perceived negatives of Glock pistols?

I've shot a couple of G-19s and as they seemed very reliable they tended to land a lot of brass on top my head; I didn't like that too much. I noticed that again at the range today; my buddy and I were there shooting our XD-9's and there was a twosome next to us shooting a G-19; the brass was all over the place......over the divider and on our heads, on their heads, I even saw a few eject out and over to the left......very strange. When I noticed that I started paying attention to the brass out of the XD-9 while my buddy was shooting and it hit the divider in the exact same spot every single time. I don't know if that's a common problem or not but I've noticed it a lot. However, the gun did fire every time and that's what really counts; they had some pretty good groups too.

[Sirius1963]

Originally Posted by shulacker

Another problem that I have with the Glocks is the magazine release. It's pretty small and flush with the grip and I have a hard time extracting the mag in both right and left handed grips. The backstrap on the grip is a personal choice-- some love it, some hate it. Go and pick one up, play with it for awhile, compare it side-by-side with a XD, M&P and whatever else, then decide. If you can rent one from a range that would be best.

Also, when I was looking for a new handgun I was looking at the 23c, and in case you're looking at the compensated model (which I know you didn't say, but I'll write it anyway) I'll warn you that in a self defense setting, especially in low-light conditions, the upward blast of gases will blind you.

That's what I did. I was all over the paper with the Glock, switched to the XD and had way tigher groups right off the bat. Just didn't like the way it felt.

[DanTheEldest]

I don't own any, but having shot my brother's duty weapon (G22), personal gun (G23), and BUG (uh...the tiny one in .40) I never had any problems with them from a functional standpoint. My only gripe was with the ergonomics, and not even the grip angle, as such. It must just be my hand structure and grip style, but I found that the underside of the trigger guard would rub against and make sore the top side of the larger knuckle on my middle finger (it's easier to show than explain). It got to the point where after a couple mags of .40 it bothered me enough that I didn't want to shoot it anymore. I haven't had this problem with any other pistol, but it ruled out Glock ownership for me unless they change the configuration a bit.

[NickG19FL]

I love my 19 best gun ever made would be on my side if SHTF
takes the 17 round g17 mags as well for spares and 33rounders can be had as well
many aftermarket parts and sights and part everywhere

[oldnavy]

Only 2 real weakness in the G's and that is:

1. unsupported or over sized chambers for reliability that only present a problem when shooting hot loads. There are several very expensive automatics are that way, Sig & HK to mention two.

2. plastic guide rods

And maybe a third

3. some also complain about plastic sights used on some models.


If you never use anything but standard velocity ammo then the only real negative will be in the sights or grip fit.

I hand load and use hot original loadings in 10mm, so all my 10's are modified with stronger springs and in the case of my G29 it has spring/guide rod mod and Storm Lake barrel before shooting.

[Bongo45]

To me, the grip angle is a non issue. Some people claim that the 1911 has the perfect angle. I think that you will get used to the handling of any handgun within a few rounds.