Review of the Glock 17 Pistol

Glocks have been around for a good 20 years and they have proven themselves in countless circumstances. I have been testing a Glock 17 out at the range and will share my impressions with you.

First off here are the technical specifications of the gun according to the Glock corporation:

Caliber: 9x19
System: Safe Action
Length: 186 mm / 7.32 in.
Height: 138 mm / 5.43 in.
Width: 30 mm / 1.18 in.
Barrel Height: 32 mm / 1.26 in.
Line of Sight: 165 mm / 6.49 in.
Barrel Length: 114 mm / 4.49 in.
Weight: 625 g / 22.04 oz.
Loaded (~): 905 g / 31.91 oz.
Mag. Capacity: California Legal: 10 Standard: 17 Optional: 19 / 33
Trigger Pull: 2.5 kg / 5.5 lbs.
Trigger Travel: 12.5 mm / 0.5 in.
Barrel Rifling: right hand, hexagonal
Length of Twist: 250 mm / 9.84 in.

General impressions:

The Glock 17 is a full sized pistol. It is not as compact as the model 19. The 17 is properly suited for being a main service weapon or used for home defense. If you want a smaller model in 9mm than the 17 and 19 you could go with the G26 subcompact. Personally I like the grip on the 17. It is a little "boxy" but that is what I like. I think people will either love or hate the grip. Keep in mind that the Glock may not be as comfortable in the fondling stage as some other pistols, but when actually firing the Glock it feels more right. That is my humble opinion anyways.

The accuracy of the gun in my hands is decent. I have been more accurate with a Sig or an XD9. I would describe the Glock 17 as being perfectly adequate for combat accuracy. The recoil on the gun is already tame with the 9mm round and the polymer frame helps absorb the recoil. It seems that the hand sits a little higher to the bore allowing for better controllability. The Glocks are pretty simple and they were designed to be that way. They are made with a limited number of parts as compared to some other makes of pistols. I think this is a big part of their reliability and popularity. In fact Glocks are so popular that I found a Glock store on Amazon.com

One thing I had to get used to was the trigger. It is not smooth like the trigger on a 92fs, it has the safe action system trigger which can rub on the finger a little. In my opinion I like the trigger on the XD9 better. However, the finish is better on the Glock.

I am used to using pistols with decockers or manual safeties so the Glock would need some extra precaution. Just think of the Glock like a revolver, don't pull the trigger when you don't need to. I think Glocks are relatively safe, but I can see why the NYPD would put heavier triggers on their Glock 19's. Safety requires absolute knowledge of the weapon and it's function. I believe Glock does make a model with a manual safety for those requesting it.

Cleaning and takedown of the weapon is pretty straightforward. Once again I am amazed at the simplicity of the pistol. It takes me a little more time to clean my 1911 for comparison. Reassembly is pretty easy as well. There have been people who have fired thousands of rounds out of a Glock without cleaning it and with no jams or failures. However, I clean my pistols at least every couple hundred of rounds. The Glock 17 is highly reliable. It goes bang every time I pull the trigger. Some have said that they would not hesitate to take a new Glock out of the box and use it as a carry weapon. I don't know If I would go that far, but in my opinion it is as close to perfect out of the box as any other pistol.