The Glock 19
Is It The Perfect Gun—Some Pew Pew Experts Seem To Think So...?The Glock 19
Is It The Perfect Gun—Some Pew Pew Experts Seem To Think So…?
The Glock 19 Gen 5 is Glocks newest iteration of the venerable brand. Glock introduced the Gen 5’s in the following models: G17, G19, G34 and the G26. Many people think this is the perfect gun! The gun snobs at Gundata second that opinion.
This storied brand has been around since 1981, but the founder Gaston Glock had been tinkering with the polymer gun idea since 1963 in Vienna, Austria. When the first Glock semi-auto pistol finally hit the market, in the 1980’s, it forever changed the modern pistol.
I think it is important to understand the history, of these guns to give some insights on why they are so darn reliable. Mr. Gaston Glock was contracted to design guns for the Austrian military and police. These guns had to be virtually indestructible and at the same time, extremely reliable.
This explains a little of why reliability seems to be at the core of the Glocks DNA. Even non-Glock enthusiast seem to give them the nod in the reliability department. At the counter when I was renting the Gen5 model 19, I asked the range attendant his thoughts on the gun. He prefaced his comments, with “I hate Glocks, but they are well built and reliable as heck.”
He then offered up this quote.
” Reliability creates credibility.”
I later found that this was a quote by Gerald Brooks. This was the perfect quote to associate with the respected Glock brand. The design, aesthetic, hand fit and function may not be pleasing to everyone, in fact a lot of people just down right dislike a lot about Glock, from the polymer frame, to the Glock hump, but those distractors never bash the reliability or quality,
Glock is an innovator, they developed the polymer frame, and the SAFE ACTION, system.
The SAFE ACTION was revolutionary, it was designed with three internal safeties: The Trigger, Firing Pin, and the Drop Safety. These three mechanisms were designed to ensure the pistol would perform as anticipated, at the highest consistency and that it would not accidentally discharge.
There is a common misconception that Glocks do not have safeties. They have safeties, they are just passive safeties. I was actually one of those people that was under this assumption. And for a long time it kept me from trying a Glock handgun; actually it was the safety issue and the articles about police accidentally shooting or discharging them.
There have been numerous accidental shootings that blame the Glock, and at one point there was a movement to ban law enforcement from using them. I’m not here to debate that… Only to point out that there was this perception that they were unsafe guns.
My experiences with the Glock brand have been nothing but positive. In fact on one range encounter, I was shooting an Italian brand and it was extremely finicky, jamming and double feeding—and my instructor passed me his trusty Glock. I used that same ammo that caused my Italian number to regurgitate, and it handled them with ease, performing flawlessly. In fact, this experience caused me to give the brand a fresh look.
It shot, straight and true, and ate the ammo I gave it. It was rainy and cold outside at the range, but the Glock chewed up that white box of ammo like the cookie monster.
The Glock 19 Gen 5 is now on my short list for upcoming purchases. And will probably become my EDC.
I looked at the Gen 5 Glock 19 and I agree with the reviewers, it is more versatile, because of its smaller stature. It is ideal for left or right hand shooters, because of the removable magazine catch and ambidextrous slide stop. Glock reports that the riffling and crown of the barrel were improved to increase precision.
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The stats:
Length (overall) 7.28”
Slide Length 6.85”
Width (overall) 1.34”
Slide Width 1.34”
Height (including magazine) 5.04”
Trigger Distance 2.76”
Caliber 9mm
Magazine Capacity 15/17/24/31/33
Barrel Length 4.02”
Weight (W/O) Magazine 21.52 Oz.
Weight (W/empty MAG) 23.99 Oz.
Weight (W/loaded Magazine) 31.04
Trigger Pull 26N
The Glock 19 is basically the same gun that was produced back in 1988, except for the shorter barrel and grip. This effectively reduced the magazine capacity from 17 to 15 but also made it easier to conceal. The article from the National Interest Calls it the best Glock Model for all- around use.
This version has been adopted by the U.S. Navy Seals, U.S. Army Rangers—basically the most tactical men and women on earth, use this gun.
The writers at Gundata even liken Gaston Glock to the story of Moses on the mount…. Passing down the 10 Commandments. Not sure I want to go that far…that’s a lot of pressure to put on a product and a mortal man.
But I digress…
They rave it set new standards for reliability, capacity, performance, weight and conceal-abilty. They exalt it as the pinnacle of hand held firepower. Again, their words– not mine.
They even go so far as to quote a sales rep saying “it is one of most widely sold handguns ever.” They call out another huge bonus of this gun is its pair-ability with Pistol Caliber Carbine/rifles (PCC).
Gundata calls the Glock the AK of the pistol world. They state they aren’t the prettiest but are reliable and will fire in any conditions. They stand up to rain, dirt, (I can attest to this) sand, water, mud and snow and just keep on firing. These things are virtually indestructible! The lowers are made from a polymer-Nylon 6 that does not rust. Its scratch resistant and does not constrict or contract— unlike metal.
Get this— you can even clean it with water. If you don’t have cleaner— that is. Did I say it doesn’t rust?!?
The weight makes it one of the lightest 9mm handguns on the market which makes it a great concealable gun. Its also only 6” from sigh to sight.
Reliable Nine examines the popularity of the Glock 19 in an interesting way. They first looked at law enforcement, notably one of the largest forces in the most populous locales in the country- New York City. They stated of the 35,000 armed personnel in the NYPD, and 1/3 of them elected to carry the Glock 19 back in 1993. They had some pretty established brands in the running— Smith & Wesson, model 5946, the Sig Sauer P226 and the Glock 19. It’s worth noting, these other options have steel frames.
We all know NYC is the epicenter, so we’ll use them as kind of the barometer of the nation.
New York City Law enforcement agencies that carry the Glock 19:
- NYPD
- NYC Port Authority
- Federal Agents
- NYC Housing Authority
- United Nations Security
The elite Military Special Forces Also Choice The Glock 19:
- U.S. Navy Seals
- U.S. Army Rangers
Everyday Joes:
- It’s the favorite gun of choice among gun trainers
- The single most popular gun amongst Concealed Carriers in Florida (the state with the most concealed carriers in the country- more concealed carriers than there are police officers in the entire United States).
Again not everybody loves them, here are a few counterpoints. These reviewers are just so-so on the Glock 19.
The common call-outs are:
- Plastic sites- cheap for a gun in this price point
- The Glock Hump Back Strap- uncomfortable in the hand/fit
- The Slide Stop- the ambidextrous stop is a nuisance to those who don’t need it.
- Front Slide Serrations- they are conspicuously missing
- Front Mag Cut-out- uncomfortable and awkwardly located
In the February 2019 Edition of Shooting Illustrated, The Readers Forum, several readers weighed in on the Glock 19 and Tamara Keel’s review from the November Issue had some very interesting comments. Tamara had basically the same critiques as most others, but what struck me were the readers comments. They all basically went from I hate it, wait, it’s not so bad, to wait this is an amazing firearm, to I can’t eschew the virtues of this gun enough and back again to I love it. They all had that initial disdain/infatuation thing going on.
I think I kind of had the same visceral reaction to the Glock 19 Gen 5. It has a way of eliciting a response. I don’t think it’s possible to be neutral to this gun.
In Conclusion
I’ll count myself in that everyday Joe number above, shortcomings listed above—aside. I fired over 200 hundred rounds through a rented Glock 19 Gen 5 to see if the hype was real and I walked away even more impressed. I used the Walmart white box special ammo and it just chewed up whatever I put through it. It never jammed and was extremely accurate.
I have traditionally been a Smith & Wesson and Springfield Armory man (my EDC guns) but this thing blows them both out of the water. I will be buying my first Glock—The Glock 19 Gen 5 X on March 8th, 2019! The X model has the Gen 5 slide but the Grip from the Glock 17 Gen 5, its longer and fits better in my hand. My recent trip to the range put this gem on my radar.
For tips on buying guns, check out this blog post with best buying hacks, and you also might want to take a look at the post for best concealed carry guns. And no post on guns would be complete without mentioning, legal protections for gun owners.
I am hesitant to throw around the word perfect to describe things but if it’s not the perfect gun—it comes darn close! I am a fan!
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