Do Glocks of yesteryear offer more longevity?

I am not a Glock guy but I have been told by those who are to look for a Gen 2 or very early Gen 3. From there skip later model Gen 3s and Gen 4s for Gen 5s but what does LAV know. #larryvickers

I am not sure that they surpassed all other steel pistols in terms of longevity. They still suffer from the the same wear issues as any other pistol. Barrels get shot out, small parts and springs fail if they are not swapped out in the appropriate interval. I think you are over stating their superiority.

Gen2 is my favorite. But also buy gen3



There isn't any doubt in my mind that glocks over all quality of fit and finish has dropped off.

joseywales76 said:

Gen2 is my favorite. But also buy gen3



There isn't any doubt in my mind that glocks over all quality of fit and finish has dropped off.

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Serious question what constitutes quality fit and finish on a polymer frame? I mean its a piece of molded plastic.

My first experience with a Glock pistol was a Gen 3. Because of that, I generally favor that era. I cannot comment on new vs old but I am unimpressed with the new “features” like RTF and whatever that new frame texture is. Fish gill slide serrations. Blah. The slide coating is different on newer ones too. Actually seems more durable but I don’t like the feel.

Only thing I didn’t like about the first gen was the metal coatings. We’re not very durable.

I recently bought a police surplus Gen 4 G22 40s&w, after having owned Gen3’s (G17,G26).
The RTF frame texture is a definite advance, as is the interchangeable back strap system. After a range trip, I’m happy with the changes. My new G22 is a fantastic shooting pistol, and even though I have always been a 9mm guy, I am liking the 40s&w 180gn HST load for home defense.

Thanks guys, this thread already made me feel better about my first generation 17. Got it cheap because it was technically used, but the finish was easily 90-95 percent the day I bought it. Only issue I have now is the tritium in the sights is about done, but I got a set of Tru-Glos I've been procrastinating installing.
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I just traded gen4 g19 grey no nightsight +150 cash...... For gen2 g22 nitesite and gen3 g22 plus 6 glock fact mags



G19 was a turd. Crap trigger crap fit on frame crap finish work on metal. You could run your fingernail down the barrel and feel the mill work. On both g22s the barrels are polished and slides are better.


Bottom line is get one that was built in Austria not USA. Imo

I love the idea that folks can refer to a 'Glock of yesteryear'. Back when they were forged by mighty Austrian mountain dwarves from Valerian steel. But now, well they are just cranked out by soulless Cerakote-covered robots.

But ahh, back in the day . . . those were pistols from a mightier age!

At least in the gen 4, there have been issues with slides cracking. There was a gun range in Vegas that ran high round counts that puts updates on a different forum. Multiple pistols running 10s of thousands of rounds a week. They documented an exponential jump in issues after the gen 4. (Google "high round count pistols 100,000+")

3rd generation is my favorite.

amd6547 said:

The RTF frame texture is a definite advance,

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The RTF frame was available by gen 3 at least. I have a gen 3 17 rtf with the fish gill serrations that was on clearence back around 05ish (complete guess btw). Still has the clearance 269 dollar price on it and I imply shot it a handful of times. No one wanted them as they were claimed to be too rough. (And iwb it WILL leave a mark if it gets against your side. Lol). I like the texture but grip tape does just as good to me. At the time a regular 17 was 500.

Ridg1963 said:

Perhaps Glocks are still as durable as yesteryear? Perhaps they're good enough for the average individual and organizations with a support system in place with respect to a competitive market sector?

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I think it was back in ought 9, not too sure as that was ages ago, but when I stumbled haplessly into a gun shop and purchased a newfangled (gen 3) 17. Not knowing then what I know now I proceeded to shoot the daylights out of this contraption. I'll wager you the handsome sum of a fiver 10 and two bits that I put more than thrice the box of mil surp through it with nary a fuss. Back in them days we had neither a support system nor the means to access same.

Some might not believe me but I always thought that even back then that the big issue with the hardware was the competitive market sector (CMS). Silly me. CMS, thought I, dictated everything, from geometry (in what we now refer to as ergo) to rifling techniques to even UV protection. But alas, It was a simple time those many years gone by. I sometimes go so far as to blame the demise of the slide rule as the dynamic that brought us to our present state of (sad) affairs.

Today things are different. I have a (gen 4) 17 that I have put a minimal number of rounds through, nothing much, I would estimate between 60 to 65 thousand rounds. Stupid gun is not black I think they call it "earth tone" or something like that but there is if you can believe it a black stain on the brown frame under the muzzle which I find really annoying. At the rate it's going the entire frame is going to be black before I get to even 100,000 rounds.

I have a bunch of Glocks of various eras. Most are 17's and 26's, which are my favorite models.

I just sent a Gen 3 17 back to Glock last week with a broken rail. Its been my weekly practice gun, with a minimum of 300 rounds a week through it, for about the past 10 years or so now, and had just short of 148,000 rounds through it when the rail went. Prior to that, it had a trigger spring go at around 90,000 and one go at around 120,000. Other than that, just boringly reliable.

My one 26 is also a practice gun, and it had around 26,000 through it when I quit counting.

Most of what I have are Gen 3 guns, but I have a Gen 2, a number of Gen 4's, and just picked up a Gen 5 last week.

Of all the Glocks Ive owned, the very first one I bought, a Gen 1 17, was the only one that was a problem. It went back to Glock a number of times, and they never could figure it out. Other than that, and now this broken rail, they have been the only guns to have had a problem. And thats across about 30-35 guns in almost 40 years.

In general, they are like the Energizer Bunny and Timex all rolled into one, and just seem to run and run, and run, and with no drama. And no drama is very nice.

If I had to pick one Gen that had it about all right, it would be the Gen 3 RTF2 guns. Really dont care about the "gills", but the texture of the finish on the frames is about perfect, and the closest to stippling as youre going to get, without having to stipple them. I have two 17's with that finish, and they are the only Gen 3 Glocks I dont or havent stippled.

Gen 4 and 5 finishes arent bad, but could stand to be a bit more aggressive.

I really dont care about the finger grooves. My hand fits the guns with them, no problem, and I have no troubles holding onto the guns that dont. Its the finish I find to be more important.

The great thing about Glocks is, they are just so easy to get what you want, and often without having to get someone else to do it for you. All you really need to work on them, is a punch or armorers tool.

A soldering pen, if you want to stipple, and a sight tool, if youre changing out the factory sights. You dont really need the sight tool, but it does make things a lot easier.

The guns of yesteryear have been around long enough to prove what they can do. Current production have not. We need to revisit this in a few years.

I read a thread over on the ar15 forum. It's by a fella who works at a rent only range in Vegas. He posts data about longevity of the guns they have and what repairs are done at x amount of round counts. They go through an absurd amount of ammo. If you read through the threads it appears that the Gen 4 Glocks have been more prone to slide cracks than the old gens. They crack just ahead of the ejection port or by the slide stop notch IIRC around 40k rounds. The old ones would make it to a much higher count. So sounds like the older guns hold up better.

If anyone would like a link to that thread PM me because I think it's against the rules to post a link from another forum. It's a very interesting read. It's 16 pages and takes place over a few years.

Bones741 said:

I read a thread over on the ar15 forum.

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Yeah that's the same one I was referring to. He puts pictures of the broken parts too. They only use guns people come in and frequently request. So USP/Glock/226 etc. They apparently keep a ton of each. He says glock is easily the most durable in the early posts ( Thread started on 2015.) But then when they get up to replacing some with gen 4 the returns went way up. It's an interesting thread.

crestoncowboy said:

Yeah that's the same one I was referring to. He puts pictures of the broken parts too. They only use guns people come in and frequently request. So USP/Glock/226 etc. They apparently keep a ton of each. He says glock is easily the most durable in the early posts ( Thread started on 2015.) But then when they get up to replacing some with gen 4 the returns went way up. It's an interesting thread.

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Yea it is. Absurd round counts. The Berettas and Sig's seem to hold up extremely well. I'm curious to hear how the USP fairs.

The usp was breaking one spring on every gun. He didnt know the name HK gave it but he put a picture of it. Was a sear spring. I bought a couple just in case. Less than 10 bucks each

crestoncowboy said:

The usp was breaking one spring on every gun. He didnt know the name HK gave it but he put a picture of it. Was a sear spring. I bought a couple just in case. Less than 10 bucks each

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O yea,duhh. I gotta read it over again. I'm sure they'll be getting alot of hk p30 requests now with the John wick movies. That'll be interesting too. Ok sorry OP for the de rail

How can "Perfection" be improved upon??
Most Glocks last forever because the owners replace every known part on them. The first is the trigger, than the barrels, plug the hole on the bottom, add a extend slide lock and take down levers, the list goes on and on.

AK103K said:

If I had to pick one Gen that had it about all right, it would be the Gen 3 RTF2 guns

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Gonna have to agree with that.

crestoncowboy said:

But then when they get up to replacing some with gen 4 the returns went way up. It's an interesting thread.

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Glock replaces the guns so its really no big deal.

For the average owner who burns through $10,000.00-25,000.00 worth of ammo to wear the gun out. Is it that big of a deal to go buy another 500 dollar gun if Glock doesnt replace it under warranty?

tarosean said:

Gonna have to agree with that.




Glock replaces the guns so its really no big deal.

For the average owner who burns through $10,000.00-25,000.00 worth of ammo to wear the gun out. Is it that big of a deal to go buy another 500 dollar gun if Glock doesnt replace it under warranty?

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That's a valid point. The fella from the range stated the Glocks still function just fine after the crack. POI shifted to the top right of the target and they sent them to Glock for liability reasons.

tarosean said:

Glock replaces the guns so its really no big deal.

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I have many brands of handgun. I choose to carry a Glock daily, over multiple sig/HK/Beretta/Smith/springfield/Colt etc I could carry. I'm a fan. I get it but....

The question was
"Do Glocks of yesteryear offer more longevity?"

So to the question, yes, the fact that all the gen4 guns were cracking the slides far sooner than the gen3. So in the context of the OP question I feel it's relevant.

If you read through the thread (I highly recommend it, multiple guns are covered so you have to scour the 16 pages) we are talking about, in about 2015 (page 4 of 16 currently) they started replacing a few battered guns with gen 4. Then they started having problems. The guns are fired many thousand rounds daily. Multiple samples of each Gun. They are maintained by armorers so not a "torture test" but a better test than any I've found where one gun is tested and a conclusion drawn. They go through 300k handgun rounds a month btw. Multiple guns go down a week. The owner actually tried to play it down (maybe convince himself?) That the problem wasnt generational. But by page 6-7 its apparent. There is a picture of the problem on page 6.
The guns continued to run cracked but with a change of poi BTW. And yes Glock replaced it. But the OPs question was are the new ones less durable. Not less durable when fired the average amount of times (which I fully agree and have said many times, very few people need to worry about wearing out a quality centerfire).


ETA its actually page 10 where the owner acknowledges the problems are more prevalent in gen4. They started failing as soon as 20-30k where gen 1-3 typically went over 100k

I'm not even a member of the other forum. But I check that thread often for updates. Best running long term info I know of. 50 or more guns of each type at a time and 300k rounds a month. It's pretty informative