Glock 19 opinions?

Most modern semi-autos from quality manufacturers are perfectly reliable., if they are lubed well enough. What were the guns which jammed? Just as likely caused by bad ammo, bad magazines or not being lubed. You can have failures in a Glock as well. The way certain people hold it sometimes causes problems. I have over 2000 rounds through my Glock 19. I have not had a single failure. My dad shot it and had 4 or 5 in a row. He was bending both of his arms way too much and not gripping it tight enough. As soon as I told him to straighten at least one of his arms, the failures stopped. I tried to simulate his failures by limp wristing the gun myself and I had no failures at all. There was just some perfect storm about the way my dad was holding the gun which caused the failures.

I have over 2500 rounds through my FNP40 with only a couple of failures, and that was due to canted bullets....it has a tighter chamber, other than that, it was been even more reliable than my Glock for myself and my dad.


Advantage of the Glock 19 (some of these vary person to person)

1) Great intermediate size.
2) Same trigger pull from shot 1 to shot 15, 17 or 33
4) Simple to field strip, simple to detail strip the slide without any special tools.
5) Easy to find parts, especially magazines, and parts are generally cheaper.

I love the one I have and yes I agree that the gen 3 is better

I carried a Kimber 1911 for many years. Recently I thought I would give the Kimber a break. Went on a new CC gun hunt. Having had a G27 many years ago and hating it, I didn't think of one for at least 20 years. Well, as soon as I held a Glock 19 Gen 4, I knew I would have to try one out.

Brought one home, ran it through its paces and it is now CC (or my new G26). Fantastic guns and I am glad I gave Glock another chance.

The newest Glocks (gen 3 & 4) are so much more ergonomic than previous generations (in my opinion), are very reliable and I see no reason you won't be happy too.

I love mine, and my 23. I prefer the Gen 4 version. The medium, beaver tail backstrap is awesome. I use my 19 for EDC and nightstand duty. Fantastic, do-it-all pistol.

I tell my concealed carry students, if you MUST choose a gun, and you absolutely cannot shoot it before buying it, find a used Glock 19. It is very simple and reliable, and you may decide to keep it forever. It is standardized enough that any accessory or add-on on the planet will be available for it.

I've had mine since 1998 and shot several bushels of ammo through it. This is in the "top tier" of defensive sidearms.

The Glock 19 is a great gun. I'm a 1911 .45 guy now, but have owned lots of 9mm pistols over the years. The only one I still have is my Glock 19. I carried it as my duty weapon when I was a police officer and trusted it with my life every day. Still would.

ericp1 said:

Currently I have Mossberg 500 12 ga 6-round and Ruger SP-101 5-round .357.
The reason for these are that they are easy to operate in case of home break-in or nasty outside encounter. Both are hard to jam or make malfunction.

In my 'Handgun 101' class we were exposed to 2 revolvers and 4 semis.
The revolvers were trouble free (although the light frame one was unpleasant).
3 of 4 semis jammed for me or someone else in class. The zero-jam one was a Glock 19.

I am considering getting a semi for entertainment and for a backup to the others (in case in the shop etc).

Opinions on the Glock 19? My experience with it on the range was pleasant.
Have since tried side to side Gen 3 and Gen 4. I prefer the Gen 3 (fits my hand well and does not have the fussy grip add on thingies).

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It is actually quite easy to have a pump shotgun malfunction. Short stroking is not-uncommon, especially under stress.

The Glock 19 is an outstanding pistol.

I shoot a G17 and G26 in 9mm; also own G21, G20 and G29. I carry the G26 daily. I depend on the G17 for a nightstand firearm. I'd much prefer the G17 to any shotgun made, for up-close self-defense purposes.

If I did use one of my shotguns for home defense, it wouldn't be a pump; it'd be a semi-auto. Lots of disadvantages to pumps in close quarters.

If I ever see a deal (around $400) for a ln 3rd gen G19, I'll buy it.

It is actually quite easy to have a pump shotgun malfunction. Short stroking is not-uncommon, especially under stress.

The Glock 19 is an outstanding pistol.

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you can also make a glock malfunction quite easily..

My first Glock was a 19. I was dubious about Glocks, so I got one to see what all the hub bub was about. I ended up really liking it. Next I picked up a 26, and basically stopped carrying the 19. Even getting a Milt Sparks Versa-Max2 holster for it didn't change that.
Then I got a 17 and pretty much stopped taking the 19 to the range too. After it just sat for a year I sold it.

The 19 is a great choice if you're only going to have one Glock. But it's a compromise. Doesn't carry as easily as a 26 and not as comfortable in the hand as a 17. The spacing of the finger grooves on the 19 made my hand feel crowded in comparison to the 17. I hear that's been addressed with the Gen4.

If you aren't planning on carrying it, I recommend considering a 17. It's the Glock that started it all.

My Glock 19 is my main carry gun, and since replacing the guide rod and recoil spring it has been problem free, and that was about 6,000 rounds ago. However, I am fortunate enough to have a Gen 2

My Glock 19 is my EDC. People in really bad parts of the world, in harms way daily, carry and trust them. With modern ronds the 9mm is effective-very effective. Glocks aren't as fancy and don't get you many cool points as with other weapons...but they are accurate and utterly reliable.
With a bit more training and practice the 23 can be a better choice, however, without significantly more regular practice, I find that skills diminish more quickly due to the additional recoil. The choice between the two is as simple as an honest assessment of time you can and will dedictate to practicing and training.
For me, if S&T require a full size or heavier caliber, I still choose the Glock, and truthfully as a stateside civillian, rarely feel undergunned with the 19.
Two pieces of advice; Spend the extra $$ and get nightsites, and remember you get what you pay for with holsters. Just my opinion.

Respects,

Medic

ETA Im a Gen 3 fan

Well said Hex. Spot on.

ericp1 said:

Opinions on the Glock 19? My experience with it on the range was pleasant.
Have since tried side to side Gen 3 and Gen 4. I prefer the Gen 3 (fits my hand well and does not have the fussy grip add on thingies).

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Shoot many; buy one. In our area, ranges rent guns and our gun club has new shooter classes which provide several hand guns to try. You might want to check out such possibilities at your location.

My Glock 19s (Gen3 and Gen4) are two of my most favorite guns. As far as the back straps on the Gen4 you can leave it off and the gun essentially becomes a Gen3 SF type configuration.

All guns can fail regardless of their type. That's one reason I feel being trained in malfunction clearing is such a good idea. If you read enough forums on the internet, you'll find plenty of postings on Glock failures of all sorts.

While if shopping for defensive gun today my top choice would be G30S the G19 is probably about as good all around defensive handgun one can get.

I'm a major cz fan, but after shooting a few glocks I picked up a g19. Very nice and a great shooter. Still prefer my cz guns, but I will keep this g19. As Ive always said, "Millions of cops cant be wrong".

tarosean

Quote:
It is actually quite easy to have a pump shotgun malfunction. Short stroking is not-uncommon, especially under stress.
The Glock 19 is an outstanding pistol.

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you can also make a glock malfunction quite easily..

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No duh.
You can make ANY firearm malfunction "quite easily"............what point are you trying to make?

I also have a gen 3 glock19.Well worth the money and will last you a lifetime.They are a tool that is easy to take care and reliable.Get one and you won't be sorry.

I own three Glocks 2 G17's and a G26.
I have thousands and thousands of rounds through them, one of them is my IDPA pistol; so it works especially hard.
I can assure you they have been trouble free, accurate and totally reliable. I would not reccomend anything but a Glock to you based upon my experiance.

I have owned and carried Colt 1911's, Ruger Security Six's, H&K's and none of them have been as easy to shoot and trouble free as the Glocks. They are a very solid pistol and a bargan at the price.
Good Luck with your G17.

tarosean said:

you can also make a glock malfunction quite easily..

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You can.

However, I will wager that I could take new/novice shooters (male or female) and give each about an hour of instruction on a pump gun and the Glock...and with defensive ammo in each, in a timed/stress induced course of fire, the pump would be more likely to malfunction and/or suffer more malfunctions per X number of rounds fired. I think it would take a long time training, more than the vast majority of people will ever do, to even reach the break-even point.

Talk to anybody who has shot shotguns enough, or been around enough people doing so for time/score, and ask them how often they see short stroking. I would put that rate up against a semi auto pistol, such as a Glock 19, that is using good mags and good quality defensive ammo, any day.

But that is just me and my experience.

I had a pump shotgun as my HD gun for a long time, and until last year it was still my main HD gun, slotted ahead of my Glocks. You can't argue with the terminal performance/effectiveness of a 12 gauge vs 9mm pistol.

Possibly my timeline is off, but last night at 11:40 PM you posted this in another thread...

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=725667

For semi, Glock is the Bargain Bentley. Fewer parts to go wrong than most semi, harder to jam, easier to maintain.

I have Mossy 500 12 ga, Ruger SP101 .357 (favorite gun ever), and Glock 19.

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Twenty minutes later you posted this...

ericp1 wrote,
I am considering getting a semi for entertainment and for a backup to the others (in case in the shop etc).

Opinions on the Glock 19? My experience with it on the range was pleasant.
Have since tried side to side Gen 3 and Gen 4. I prefer the Gen 3 (fits my hand well and does not have the fussy grip add on thingies).

Click to expand...

Do you already have a G19 as posted in the other thread?

I agree that G19 is a great gun. My only recommendation is to try the G17 Gen4 and the G26 Gen 4 when you try out the G19. I really have found the G17 Gen4 is a the exact right size of range shooting and the G26 as probably the largest that I can CC. Have no complaints about either the 17 or the 26. It was a hard decision on the G19 vs G17. There are just a lot of great choices, so have some fun trying out the ones that look interesting. One of my shooting buddies, just got a G19 gen 4 and could not be more happy.

I've been shooting Glocks since about 1987. The G19 is the best all around 9mm there is.

IMO a 4" 357, preferably a GP100 or L frame is the best all around handgun. You can do just about anything with it. If you master a DA revolver everything else is easy.