kjdoski
10-12-10, 21:38
Well, the various discussions on several forums were too much to resist, so I ran out to my favorite LE dealer today and picked up a Gen4 G23.
The features of the new Generation of Glocks have been pretty exhaustively covered, so I'll just add these thoughts:
1. The more I handle it, the more I like the grip reduction. The Gen4 pistols simply point more naturally to me, without any of the grip "inserts" (outserts?) installed
1.a. HOWEVER, the removal of the 2mm off the back of the grip changes the grip geometry significantly. While the pistol points more naturally for me, I now get significant "Glock Knuckle" on the middle finger of my strong hand - a situation that has never occurred to me during several decades of shooting earlier generation Glocks.
2. The trigger on this particular Glock was the worst I've EVER experienced on any Glock. I wish I'd taken the time to put my trigger scale to it, it had to be close to 8 pounds
3. Glock's factory sights suck. Today was the first time I've shot Glock factories in well over a decade, simply because I don't have any spare NS to install. The polymer sight picture is awful, the rear sight is haphazardly cut, and the whole set up is "fuzzy" looking at best
Because I'm having shoulder surgery tomorrow, followed up by two weeks of training at a "management" course (I'd rather stick a pen through my eye, but I know when a "suggestion" is really an order...), I just had to run some rounds through it. Breaking with all recommendations, the only prep I did on this pistol was running a .40 bore snake down the barrel to be sure it was clear of obstructions, then I went shooting.
Pro:
-No cleaning, no lube, no prep, the pistol gobbled up 300 rounds of Federal 155 gr JHP without a single hiccup
Con:
-Accuracy was lackluster, this particular pistol shot significantly worse than any of my 3rd Gen Glocks. In the pistol's defense, it certainly isn't "shot in" yet, and I was struggling mightily with the gosh-awful trigger
-With only 300 rounds through it, my frame has already lost polymer over "molding voids" near the left front rail. By comparison, it took about 1500 rounds to uncover those voids on my Gen4 G19, and I still have no loss of polymer in this area in either my issued 5 year old, 30,000+ round 3rd Gen; or my 2 month old, 2,000 round 3rd Gen
Neutral:
-Shooting at close ranges (5 yards) at generous targets (8" IPSC "A Zones") I could run the gun nearly as fast as my 3rd Gen G19. For example - shooting the "Now" drill (full magazine, reload, one additional shot), my G19 time was 8.44 seconds (no misses), the G23 time was 8.76 seconds (no misses) - even with the terrible trigger and horrible sights. My G19 also has a very nicely polished trigger action, which makes its trigger even better...
-Recoil was definitely "softer" than my old (and now gone) 3rd Gen G23. My daily limit with the 3rd Gen was about 200-250 rounds before the recoil would start to bother my hands and wrists; I fired 300 rounds in under an hour through this pistol, and my hands/wrists feel fine. I will say, though, I've heard several people state that the recoil on one of these is equivalent to a 3rd Gen G19, but that's a SERIOUS overstatement, IMHO
-Oddly enough, I have the same recoil spring in my Gen4 G23 as was installed in my Gen4 G19 - 0-3. I thought the point of the Gen4 series was there would be "tuned" recoil springs to each caliber - so either the Glock engineers feel that the G19 and G23 need the same spring, or they haven't gotten around to creating a "0-4" specific to the Gen4 G23...
Sorry for the short and incomplete analysis of Glock's latest, but, unfortunately, I'm probably out of the shooting business for at least a month.
Regards,
Kevin
The features of the new Generation of Glocks have been pretty exhaustively covered, so I'll just add these thoughts:
1. The more I handle it, the more I like the grip reduction. The Gen4 pistols simply point more naturally to me, without any of the grip "inserts" (outserts?) installed
1.a. HOWEVER, the removal of the 2mm off the back of the grip changes the grip geometry significantly. While the pistol points more naturally for me, I now get significant "Glock Knuckle" on the middle finger of my strong hand - a situation that has never occurred to me during several decades of shooting earlier generation Glocks.
2. The trigger on this particular Glock was the worst I've EVER experienced on any Glock. I wish I'd taken the time to put my trigger scale to it, it had to be close to 8 pounds
3. Glock's factory sights suck. Today was the first time I've shot Glock factories in well over a decade, simply because I don't have any spare NS to install. The polymer sight picture is awful, the rear sight is haphazardly cut, and the whole set up is "fuzzy" looking at best
Because I'm having shoulder surgery tomorrow, followed up by two weeks of training at a "management" course (I'd rather stick a pen through my eye, but I know when a "suggestion" is really an order...), I just had to run some rounds through it. Breaking with all recommendations, the only prep I did on this pistol was running a .40 bore snake down the barrel to be sure it was clear of obstructions, then I went shooting.
Pro:
-No cleaning, no lube, no prep, the pistol gobbled up 300 rounds of Federal 155 gr JHP without a single hiccup
Con:
-Accuracy was lackluster, this particular pistol shot significantly worse than any of my 3rd Gen Glocks. In the pistol's defense, it certainly isn't "shot in" yet, and I was struggling mightily with the gosh-awful trigger
-With only 300 rounds through it, my frame has already lost polymer over "molding voids" near the left front rail. By comparison, it took about 1500 rounds to uncover those voids on my Gen4 G19, and I still have no loss of polymer in this area in either my issued 5 year old, 30,000+ round 3rd Gen; or my 2 month old, 2,000 round 3rd Gen
Neutral:
-Shooting at close ranges (5 yards) at generous targets (8" IPSC "A Zones") I could run the gun nearly as fast as my 3rd Gen G19. For example - shooting the "Now" drill (full magazine, reload, one additional shot), my G19 time was 8.44 seconds (no misses), the G23 time was 8.76 seconds (no misses) - even with the terrible trigger and horrible sights. My G19 also has a very nicely polished trigger action, which makes its trigger even better...
-Recoil was definitely "softer" than my old (and now gone) 3rd Gen G23. My daily limit with the 3rd Gen was about 200-250 rounds before the recoil would start to bother my hands and wrists; I fired 300 rounds in under an hour through this pistol, and my hands/wrists feel fine. I will say, though, I've heard several people state that the recoil on one of these is equivalent to a 3rd Gen G19, but that's a SERIOUS overstatement, IMHO
-Oddly enough, I have the same recoil spring in my Gen4 G23 as was installed in my Gen4 G19 - 0-3. I thought the point of the Gen4 series was there would be "tuned" recoil springs to each caliber - so either the Glock engineers feel that the G19 and G23 need the same spring, or they haven't gotten around to creating a "0-4" specific to the Gen4 G23...
Sorry for the short and incomplete analysis of Glock's latest, but, unfortunately, I'm probably out of the shooting business for at least a month.
Regards,
Kevin