The Differences Among the Glock Generations

a Glock is a block and that is it at least as far as most people are concerned but then there are these different types of locks in these strange add-ons to their names like gen 3 or gen 4. these little things stand for the different Generations now when you think of other things coming in different Generations you might know that there are actual differences between them not always are they enough to matter for everyone or just for you and sometimes they simply are another example are 1911s yes one of the competitors of Glocks this type of gun has been around since you've guessed it from the name since the year 1911. in all of these years there have been changes it might look marginal at best but that do improve the original design considerably once you actually use the gun compared to the 1911 the block is still a very young system but it does have its own long production run on the American Market it has been available since 1986 without amount of time the temptation to change a little detail here and there was just overwhelming that led to the five generations that you see today there have been some quite important changes but the basic system is still the same a plain and simple pistol with minimal controls that just does what it is supposed to do whenever it is called upon without being said let's take a look at what the generations are and what makes them special generation one the first generation had its time from 1982 to 1987. it was the big Glock 17 that came with a capacity of 17 rounds now you might suspect a connection between it having 17 rounds in the magazine and the model number 17 but as things are sometimes that is your coincidence block assigns model numbers based on the patents at that time the design made for quite some publicity being polymer everyone was afraid that this was the perfect gun for criminals as it would just not be detected by metal detectors gun Savvy guys knew that this was plain wrong as there was the ammo that would set off the alarm as well as some major parts that were made from metals however that was how the block was perceived by the market being the first of many to come this generation was the basic of Basics it had a reputation for being reliable and accurate but it missed all the features that would come with future Generations it was just that reputation that helped it find its way to America generation two generation 2 was the first update of the design and it stayed from 1988 all the way to 1997. after it found its way into the spotlight and the American Market it was normal to expect improvements to make it more attractive for Shooters and to keep it up to date in some ways generation 2 did not bring many changes instead it was still a reliable and proven design that was popular to begin with however if you look at the type range there were some new options added new calibers were produced while the biggest changes otherwise were some passive safety upgrades minor changes were just cosmetic with a grip sporting more checkering at the front and back strap Generation 3 from 1998 to 2009 Generation 3 was produced it did retain all the changes that came with generation 2 but more importantly it came with some more improvements that started with an accessory rail thanks to that the owners of the gun could now attach lasers and lights this made these pistols much better suited for self and Home Defense when you want to identify a Target in the dark using a light or getting the gun on target faster with a laser if the rail had been all that changed it would have been a great generation but there was one controversial thing that did set off quite a few Shooters and fans the generation three introduced finger grooves in front of the grip and a thumb rest on either side while this seemed trivial for many and even helpful for some when it comes to recoil control or is that faction on the market that abhorse finger grooves a storm followed condemning this unwanted help on the grip making for quite some waves generation 4. Generation 4 at its manufacturing time from 2010 all the way to 2016. you might now think that was inspired by the anti-finger groove faction but surprise surprise the finger grooves stayed as well as the thumb rest not always does a very loud minority managed to pose for the majority as most customers were either indifferent to the finger grooves or welcomed them as what they were a way to manage the recoil so if it were not for the grooves then what brought about the new generation a cool new system to mitigate The Recoil in yet one more way this time besides the finger grooves that help your hands retain control it was The Recoil itself that became the target Glock introduced a system to better reduce its Force to make the guns much more pleasant to shoot in fact many shooters getting into a Gen 4 commented on how the recoil was much better compared to their older gen 3 models how did Glock achieve this feat they went from a one spring weak oil system them to a two spring system for that a smaller coil was embedded into the bigger one acting like a shock absorber this worked like a piston inside the spring reducing not only the felt force of The Recoil but also muzzle rise allowing for much faster follow-up shots while the haters of the finger grooves might have felt and heard Glock actually did listen to the wishes of the customers besides keeping the finger grooves they brought about another upgrade in the form of a larger magazine release with more real estate for the thumb it made dropping the magazine much easier this upgrade was no coincidence as the owners of gen3 Glocks very often used aftermarket mag releases that were bigger at the same time Glock openly acknowledged that the hands of Shooters are not necessarily created equal what was too big for another person may be too small for another to make the pistols fit more Shooters perfectly they came with replaceable back straps in various sizes with it your Glock and be made to exactly fit the size of your hands then there was the era of the red dots when Generation 4 came to its end everybody and his dog started to shoot with red dots Glock saw this change in demand and offer the MOs version this accepted red dots from most Major Brands without any Milling or any work performed by a gunsmith generation 5 generation 5 has been around since 2017 and introduced the most external upgrades since the beginning of the production all in all five changes were made to bring this gun back to modernity this begins with the following the trend to more ambidextrous controls now the slide stop can easily be actuated by a lefty and a righty without having to alter the grip or anything else then there were the forward slide serrations more and more gun reviewers commented on features like this so block followed the competition and added forward slide serrations as well no matter how important or maybe not important they might be another trend of the time was for faster and easier magazine changes let's face it if you have 15 rounds in your Glock 19 you have to change your magazine in the self-defense encounter okay that might not be the case but you never know so being able to reload fast does have an advantage while you might not see it from the outside the new blocks come with a flared Magwell that makes it much easier to get the next magazine properly seated in the grip while in a gunfight in less time another change is the beveling and sculpting of the sliding muzzle that does not only make the appearance more rounded but also helps with carrying a Glock concealed one of the most common uses of these pistols last but not least the anti-finger groove Lobby one and this feature disappeared many see that as a step back a return to gen 1 if you will however there is the hope that the little helpers for your fingers when controlling The Recoil might appear again in the Next Generation just wait and see Glock has done its best to produce a great gun that is accurate reliable and extremely easy to use over time they have adapted their products more and more to the demands of the shooters with their new generations for the future it is safe to assume that Glocks will live on and stay reliable as well as accurate they will be easy to use as well and if you think about changes maybe the trigger will improve or maybe the finger grooves will come back if you want to venture a guess put it into the comments

Channel: MadMan Review

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Keywords: glock generations, glock gen 6, all glock gens, gen 6 glock, glock generation differences, glock gen 6 release date, glock 19 generation differences, difference between glock generations, glock gen 1, glock 19 gen differences, glock 17 generations, glock 17 gen 3 vs gen 5, glock gen 5 release date, glock differences, madman review, glock 19, glock

Id: VyAYDj7tsZc

Length: 8min 53sec (533 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 21 2022