Great Gun For (most) Beginners & Pros Alike: G19 Review

[plouffedaddy]

Being someone who teaches groups of new shooters from all different backgrounds frequently, I often get the question, "Which gun should I get?" My answer about 80% of the time is the Glock 19. There's a reason it's the most popular handgun in America––-it's a great gun that can fill just about any role.

Pros:
-Reliable (I address the recent issues in the video below)
-Accurate (more accurate than 99% of the shooters that own one)
-Durable (many reports of these guns going over 100,000 rounds with only a spring change)
-Easy to maintain
-TONS of aftermarket support
-Accepts 15, 17, and 33 round factory magazines
-Small enough to carry, but with a 15 round magazine
-Glock's customer service is second to none
-Durable finish
-Cheap replacement parts, should you ever need them
-Low Bore Axis resulting in a relatively soft shooting gun
-Easily modified to fit the shooters' preferences
-Requires very little cleaning/lubrication to run reliably (that said, clean your guns!)

Cons:
-Recent erratic ejection issues (I had one of these guns but Glock replaced it free of charge)
-9mm Glocks are susceptible to 'limp wristing' (most semi-auto 9mm guns are however)
-Comes with a serrated trigger (I'm not a fan)

Here's a brief review video with some shooting at SD distances (12m), longer range shooting (40m), table top with disassembly and size comparison with all the 9mm Glocks/Caracal C/M&P9 Pro, and some chronographing with popular carry/defensive loads:

Gen3 FDE Glock 19 Review

Chronograph Results:

Hornady 147gr TAP: 966 fps, 305 ft/lbs energy
Federal 124gr HST JHPs: 1113 fps, 341 ft/lbs energy
Federal 124gr +p JHPs: 1164 fps, 373 ft/lbs energy
Winchester 115gr Ranger JHPs: 1097 fps, 307 ft/lbs energy
Remington 115gr UMC JHPs: 1142 fps, 333 ft/lbs energy

[skyugo]

that's the new FDE? that looks almost identical to the old OD frames...

[Spurholder]

OP, you realize that a G17 trigger bar will pop right into your G19, giving you the smooth trigger you like for less than $20.

I bought one from Brownells - took five minutes to replace, and other than the VT/TD slide stop, the best cheap mod I've made to my 19.

ETA: Never mind. Saw you added it to your pistol. FDE looks great!

[skyugo]

OP, you realize that a G17 trigger bar will pop right into your G19, giving you the smooth trigger you like for less than $20.

I bought one from Brownells - took five minutes to replace, and other than the VT/TD slide stop, the best cheap mod I've made to my 19.

I've been meaning to give this mod a try for 3 years now.

[plouffedaddy]

that's the new FDE? that looks almost identical to the old OD frames...

Here's a video I shot (before I had a decent camera) comparing the FDE to an OD Glock and lots of other FDE/Coyote/OD/ect... products I had laying around...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM8-6lm5t-o&feature=plcp

[packinaglock]

Watched a few of your other video's as well, boy your old G19 that your wife was shooting really seemed to be zero'ed in on your wife's forhead. Did it aim for your forhead as bad being that your grip and body weight differ from your wifes?

[plouffedaddy]

Watched a few of your other video's as well, boy your old G19 that your wife was shooting really seemed to be zero'ed in on your wife's forhead. Did it aim for your forhead as bad being that your grip and body weight differ from your wifes?

It would hit my wife in the head with about 80-90% of the casings regardless of brand/weight of the rounds. It would hit me about 40-50% of the time.

I truly believe it was just a lemon from the start. I've never taken brass from any of my other 9mm Glocks, never. But in the end Glock made it right and it didn't cost me anything besides some ammo that I would have shot anyway

I've been meaning to give this mod a try for 3 years now.

For the $10 it costs, it's a good mod. It really seems to help for the people who shoot low/left...

[packinaglock]

I asked because a few weeks back on a thread there was some discussion on the size/weight of a shooter with problem Glocks.

[plouffedaddy]

I asked because a few weeks back on a thread there was some discussion on the size/weight of a shooter with problem Glocks.

I got a lot of feedback when I posted that video that it was all her but it absolutely wasn't. In retrospect I should have documented me shooting it as well but didn't think of it until after we had sent it off... But, she shoots all our other 9mm Glocks without issue; definitely not the shooter/ammo.