Firearm Review: Glock 17 9mm Semi-auto Pistol
I Test the Glock 17 to Its Limits and Beyond
The pistol used in the tests was a factory stock, Model 17 9mm. It came in the box with a manual, cleaning rod and brush, and two ten-round magazines. At the time of purchase I also acquired factory 17 round and 33 round magazines. I used a variety of ammuniton from off-the-shelf to my own personal handloads in lead and jacketed bullets. These tests took place over the course of a year as I had time and the conditions allowed.
Preparation: Break-in and sight-in. Break-in was 250 rounds of FMj ammo, fired slowly as per Glock factory reccomendation. Only one failure to feed (FTF) was noted and it was attributed to a faulty round of ammo. The factory sights needed a small amount of adjustment that was accomplished with a small punch and hammer suited to the purpose. the gun was cleaned and oiled befroe testing commenced.
Test 1: Standard slow fire 500 rounds. 12" bullseye targets. Standard target shooting at 15 yards for 500 rounds. Test lasted about 6 hours with a break for lunch. ammo consisted of a mixture of Winchester FMJ, Ultramax FMJ, Speer Gold Dot HP and Lead RN reloads. All rounds fed and functioned perfectly. Average group size was 4".
Test 2: Fast fire, double taps 500 rounds. This test string was conducted at IPSC silhouette targets at 10 to 25 yards. Ammo was same as above. Noted 1 FTE (failure to extract) about halfway through the test. Round was Ultramax Mnfg. 115 Gr FMJ. Case head seperated from body and vented some gas through ejection port. Firing stopped and weapon cleared. Bad case knocked out with cleaning rod. Use of Ultramax ammo discontinued in testing due to poor performance and possible safety concerns. Remaining testing was uneventful with perfect operation. Average group sizes: 10 yard-5" 15 yard-7.5" 25 yard-10.5"
Test 3: Cold weather testing. 500 rounds in fast fire, slow fire and double taps. Temp 38 deg. Targets varied from 8" bullseyes to IPSC targets. No malfunctions. Pistol proved excellent handling while wearing normal gloves. It was slightly difficult to manipulate the trigger while wearing heavy gloves.
Test 4: The pickup box test. gun was loaded and thrown in the back of a farm pickup truck for a week. Daily use included 20+ miles of gravel roads and pasture travel. At the end of the week the pistol was dirty and covered in a thin layer of grit. Fired one 17 round magazine without a problem. Magazine catch was stiff upon ejection of magazine. Next mag was gritty upon insertion. Fired entire ten round mag without problem.
Test 5: Mud and Water. Test was commenced during a heavy rainstorm. Gun, ammo and magazines were all coverd in water and large quantities of mud. Excess was shaken off and gun was loaded and fired. this was the only total failure of the gun during the entire test. Mud had packed into the feed lips of the magazine and when the slide closed it pushed the mud into the chamber and jammed the weapon. The gun was cleared and rinsed off under a garden hose. Once the mud was cleared from the magazine it functioned perfecly. I fired around 250 rounds that day without any other failure.
Synopsis: Other than filling the gun with mud, i was unable to jam or otherwise make the gun malfunction after it was broken in. The failure with ultramax ammo was later confirmed by Ultramax to be a bad lot of ammo. I now carry this gun for self defense almost all the time. At around 500-600$ thye arent cheap, but can you really put a price on the utmost in reliability?
Published by Mark LeFebre
ASE and Ford certified auto technician with 8 years expierence. Fifteen years in all forms of shooting sports, gunsmithing and reloading. View profile
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11 Comments
Post a CommentGood review. I have one of these and love it. I would trust my life to mine. I have heard you are more likely to be struck by lightning to have one of these jam on you.
Crazy test to do with your own gun. Not sure I'd put a loaded gun in the back of a pickup truck though, that's kinda shady and I don't think that test really yields much as far as data. There's not much that an average person is going to put a Glock through that it already hasn't been through in real duty/service around the world.
Great review. It nice to see someone taking the time to write a detailed review of a Glock. Personally I love my Glock 26 9mm (a.k.a the baby glock). I've even thought about reviewing my little Glock, maybe I'll give it a go sometime. Once again well done.
I actually just bought a used one of these for $399 and was told it was a pretty good price. It came with 2 17 shot mags
@Freeb: There is no Desert Eagle in .45. comes in .357, .41 AE, .44, and .50 AE.
@Swatman: Seriously? Glocks melting? I thought even the diehard anti-glock types gave up that propaganda in the 80's.
Glock 17 really is a great weapon, I can't think of more reliable 9mm for under 500 dollars. Simple, Easy, Accurate. Sure, there are other guns I'd like more, but not at that price. That's exactly why I bought one.
the glock 17 is a very formidable weapon, it is reliable and holds alot of ammunition. but i would much rather rely on a Colt series 70. it is more reliable, more powerful, more accurate and is not some ugly peice of austrian plastic. no, the 1911 dosent hold 17 rounds of 9mm, but it does hole 7 rounds of .45acp . 7 rounds is plenty and is much better than underpowered 9mm. the 1911 is time proven with 70 years of us military service under its belt. just dont leave your glocks out in the sun, as they might melt...
The GlOCK 17 is a WORLD CLASS weapon, no doubt about it. But as a former special ops soldier I will tell you that among the best of the best, it would rank this way..in terms of 9mm.
Sig P226
Beretta Model 9
HK USP (might be ranked 2nd except that it is awkward in the hand to many)
Glock
Glock has a bit of an overinflated reputation as a result of it ubiquity in LE do to it's price point.
Like I said, it is one of the best but I have never seen any soldier in combat with one. I know that there are soldiers who use them but the vast majority are carrying the issue Beretta, Desert Eagle in .45 or any number of Sig's which is considered the best of the best.
what a reliable handgun it is... Austrian Army, prior to selecting Glock (or any other handgun) requires it fires 15,000 rounds (20 failures are deemed acceptable). Glock fired 15,000 rounds in tests with ONE failure, attributed to defective ammunition. The standard test also requires handgun must fire 40,000 rounds before any major service is required. Glock has fired 300,000+. No, it is not *pretty*, but will fire when you want it to. What more can you ask ? It is a snap to clean and will fire prodigious amount of rounds before you MUST clean it (I clean it after every use)
I do have a Kimber CDP, not nearly as good as the Glock.
ambi magazine release and do something or hardened magazine lock
Have used my model 17 and 21/45acp extensively over the years and never a weapon related failure. The 17 shoots and performs as well as my S&W 5906 without the difficult cleanup and the 21 outshoots the Kimber. And the Kimber is the benchmark fot the 1911 style 45s. Now I've only fired about a half million rounds or more in my life ( former USAF Security Police K9 handler), but the Glock has certainly proven itself reliable. Ease of cleaning is unmatched. My only question is that lead (unjacketed) rounds cause excessive fouling and should not be used. I have never had this problem, but I am meticulous in cleaning. Any problems noted by anyone that you are aware of?????????????