EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: gen 5 shoots smoother, but it's not a huge difference.
Description: we shot my new gen 5 against a gen 4, both box-stock. Ammo was 180 grain max published handloads. We lacked equipment to do a quantitative study, such as high speed camera. As such, this exposition is necessarily subjective.
The guns: for those who don't know, the gen 5 G22 treatment went beyond the superficial. The slide is wider and is 3 ounces or so heavier. The M&P and the USP were designed as .40 first, and then were done in 9mm. Glock went the other way, merely modding the G17 and G19 to shoot .40 out of a 9mm platform. Gen 5 appears to be Glock's effort to bridge the gap, whether such gap is real or perceived.
Impressions: all of us felt that the gen 5 had a softer initial impulse. We did find the gen 4 to be noticeably "snappier" on initial impulse, but there appeared to be a slighter difference in muzzle flip between the two. In other words, we could feel some difference, but that didn't seem to translate into a major difference in rapid fire accuracy. Still, if I had to choose one for defensive use, I'd go gen 5.
We shot both against my G17 gen 5, with NATO Winchester and my +P 115 grain handloads. Internet buzz sometimes claims that the G22 gen 5 "shoots like G17 with +P." Not exactly, but they're not far wrong.
Should you sell your G22.4 to get the new one? Consider that the market for used .40s is not strong right now; if you do, you'll probably have to add $150 or so, plus a new holster. I think it's just a judgment call at that point.
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Originally Posted by Sam
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