Which Glock to teach son with ?

tercel89 I am going to teach my teenage son on how to shoot a centerfire pistol. I want him to learn on the Glock since it is so reliable , easy to shoot , and so easy to take apart , it has so few parts and it's easy to detail strip it . I just cant figure out which one . I have narrowed it down to the 17,19, and the 26 .
The 17 being the first Glock pistol would be great and it is a nice full size for his bog hands. The 19 is a nice midsize and can use the mags from the 17 . The 26 is nice because it is small and can accept the mags from the 17 and 19 .
Which would you choose?

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Don't ask us.....ask your son.

Take him to a gun store and let HIM make the decision.

19 or 17, whichever he likes better. There's no need for the 26 unless you or your son plan on carrying with it.

Are you going to disown him if it turns out he prefers a CZ or Sig or some other brand?

Seriously, a fella's first handgun is much like his first car or buying that special snowboard or anything else which has to fit and work with one particular person. Why not let him make the choice? Take him to some rental range place where he can try a few different brands and models. Then both of you go out together as a father/son outing to buy the final winner.

Glock 34

9mm, Longslide, Low recoil.

My son with long skinny hands liked the G19.

I've shot all three a fair amount. I don't find the recoil harsh on the G26 by an means but it has more snap than the other two. In fact shooting one after another I found it snappier than a G35 .40 S&W. If it is just a range gun I'd probably get a 17 or a 34. A 19 is my favorite all round glock.

I'd recommend getting the .22 conversion unit for it, too, if you can. You can get a lot more trigger time in with the cheaper ammo.

It is best to teach with the full size. Once he has mastered the shooting, he can pick whatever he wants. If he knows how to shoot a gun to begin with then like someone said above, take him to store have him pick whatever he likes. Don't ask us to make decision for him. We don't even know him, let alone you.

Here is this 12 y/o's first time shooting a handgun. Glock 19. It is the perfect size for the smaller hands.

Absolutely no reason to teach him with a G26, it is just too snappy due to the size. A 19 or 17 would be great.

If he knows how to shoot a gun to begin with then like someone said above, take him to store have him pick whatever he likes. Don't ask us to make decision for him. We don't even know him, let alone you.

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Yeah because picking up a gun in store will tell you things like relative felt recoil of each or a number of other things. I agree generally with letting someone pick their own gun but to act like there is no value in asking about various guns from those with experience with them is silly.

Here's what I would do: put all three in the range bag, let him choose.

Well the connector rating doesn't exactly equal the pull weight, because of the springs and all, but that's an awesome first gun!

And since you've already got a 26, you two can shoot both ends of the spectrum. Well, not counting the 17L anyway.

Depending on his hands' size, the one he likes better. That almost gets the 26 out of the equation. Whether he has large or small hands, he won't be able to get a proper grip, simply because no one can.

I have medium to large hands. Not too wide but long enough. I personally prefer the 19 over the 17, and not just for the grip size. I have the personal feeling that the 17 has a "heavy nose", whereas the 19 seems, to me, to have her mass more evenly distributed.

I would imagine your teenager has a mind of his own and opinions of his own whether he expresses them openly to you or not. How cool would a dad be to allow his son serious input into what he starts with. He just may surprise you and disagree completely with you.

My son wanted to start with a .357 Magnum so I created some mid range loads that still had plenty of roar. He worked his way up to full power loads and then wanted to try my BHP and then the G22. I later sold him the G22 on his 21st birthday. We did a bill of sale and all that and he paid a phenomenally low price but in the end, he is the legal owner. And it was all done with his input ... I'm glad I listened.

Nice buy! The G34 is an excellent handgun. I am sure he will be well served by it. Great going!

With the sole exception of concealed carry duty, I'm not a fan of little guns (physical size, not cartridge fired). As such for any type of ranged use I'd say to go with a Glock 17 or even a Glock 34.

What size is his hand? Fit the gun to his hand. I learned that late at a NRA basic pistol course.

There are some companies that sell aftermarket Glock slides, like Lone Wolf, I think they sell their own and other maker's slides. Might be able to find a 17 or 22 slide from them too. I really like OEM for Glock.