God help me I think I'm on the Gen 4 Glock bandwagon.

[Bluedragon]

Let me start off by saying I have owned quite a few Glocks since I first got into shooting back in 2005. My first handgun and first 9mm was a Gen III Glock 19. I've also had other Glocks from the 17's,19's,26's,22's,23's, a 30,and shot 27's, 21's, and 20's from Gen I to III.

When the Gen IV first came out I thought the new guns didn't have that big of an improvement to be a necessity to buy a new Glock and by that time the only Glock I had left was a little 26 for uber concealed carry. *mainly carry H&K P30* and no I don't consider myself a fanboy for either one.

HOWEVER while venturing through the Indy 1500 yesterday I ended up getting a Gen IV Glock 22 just so I could give the latest Gen an honest try.

I've fired a Gen IV 27 and 19 before and just from the brief time with them my thinking was still the same regarding the new features. At the time I still preferred the Gen III. But I must say the new textured grip is really starting to grow on me. It reminds me a lot of the FN FNX 45's and Five Seven's.

Not only that but I really can feel a difference in the Gen IV 22's recoil compared to the Gen II's and III's that I've had in the past. It's a lot less flippy and not nearly as painful in my hands while doing rapid fire.

The back straps are a nice touch too I guess..I just installed the medium sized back strap to duplicate the Gen III's grip as that is what I'm used too the most.

I also could appreciate the larger magazine release even though it does look a little funny. I still have the belief that Glock didn't give much thought in designing the new releases with aesthetics in mind. Function over form I guess.

All in all I must say the latest Glocks are as I said growing on me and I guess I won't freak out as much should the Gen III's ever get discontinued. Although I still love the III.

But yeah just thought I would share my thoughts on my latest Glock.

 

[Bigbuck5]

I'm a gen 2 guy, but I like the feel of the gen 4 without the backstraps. The reversible mag release is a much needed addition too. Glad you like your new addition.

 

[jeberle40]

I got a G22 Gen 4 in a trade. I haven't shot it quite yet but I am very excited too! I bought some Federal HSTs and about 200 practice rounds to feed it when I get the chance.

 

[Bluedragon]

I agree it is still snappy but not nearly as so with the dual recoil spring. On the Gen III models especially the G23 and G27 the bottom of the trigger guard had a habit of slapping into my middle finger while shooting and would cause quite a bit of discomfort..it's not so with my new G22.

 

[DustyDawg48]

I love the new Gen 4 Glocks. I was with you in feeling that what they did to change from Gen 3 to Gen 4 was more of a knee-jerk reaction to what S&W did with the M&P series of autos than an actual needed improvement to a proven generation in the Gen 3.

But after finally owning one, and then a 2nd and a 3rd Gen 4 in different calibers, I really do feel that they are genuine improvements. The oversize mag release is a much needed plus and the grippy texture, to me anyway, is better than the RTF2.

I still won't get rid of my faithful and reliable Gen 3 Glocks but the new Gen 4 are the real deal in my book.

 

[Mr. Neal]

I too own a g22 gen4. I really enjoy shootin this gun! I think the gen4's just need some years to prove themselves in the feild. Let em flood the market and ranges. Then lets talk reliability in five years. I've heard a bit of fuss about the new dual recoil springs not havin enough ass to chamber next round and something about mags not releasing. I haven't heard enough to get too worried. Plus I don't think any of the problems were with the g22's.

 

[Rob377]

Better grip texture, better mag release, better fitting and better accuracy....what's not to like?

All 3 Gen4s I've owned have run perfectly, well, for very limited time I've owned them, anyway.

I do think that double recoil thing is a gimmick though.

 

[venenoindy]

I do like the gen 4 because all the new features and I do like it better than gen 3, the only mod I do to mine is the 4.5 connector and the rest I leave alone.

 

[koutsevil]

I started out with a G17 3rd gen. Have since picked up a G26 and G23 4th gen. Added an extended slide release, oversized mag release, and tungsten guide rod in the G26. Like the performance improvements, may do the same with the G23. The new stippling requires getting used to while cc'ing in summer. Instead of printing my shirt, it prints my skin.

 

[throttletony]

I like gen4 glocks too. Personally, I swap the trigger bar (google or youtube the gen3 vs gen4 trigger bar to see the "bump") to a gen3 and the disconnector as others have mentioned above.
As a lefty, I like the reversible mag release, but I've found that I'm so used to it on left, that I decided to leave it there.
Spring assembly is an unneeded change for the 9mm guns, but seems to be of benefit on the .40 models (especially with a light mounted)

 

[Bluedragon]

I agree about the spring assembly not being needed on the 9mm's. If I wanted another full size 9mm Glock I would go with a Gen III 17. But for the 40 I can appreciate it.

 

[Hohn]

I do think that double recoil thing is a gimmick though.

Not at all. it is Glock's recognition that one spring rate is not ideal for what the recoil spring is asked to do.


Any offroad racer will tell you the value of a good hydraulic bump stop. The suspension has a given spring rate in the main springs, then when they run out of travel, the bump stops add their additional spring rate for a brief period of travel as the suspension approaches its travel limit. This softens impact to the frame and drastically reduces the fatiguing of the frame due to bottoming.

Here's what those bump stops look like (next to a bypass shock here):

It's not much of a stretch to me that Glock should employ a dual recoil spring on the Gen 4s. Everything that makes it a good idea for the compact guns also makes it a good idea for the larger ones.

 

[Rob377]

I can run .15 splits with either one and recoil feels the same. Gimmick.

My STI Sentry came with STI's version of the double recoil spring setup. Made the gun cycle feel slow, didn't care for it. The slow cycling isn't as pronounced on the Glock setup, but I'd much rather have a plain setup.

 

[J Starkey]

I had never really cared for glocks bc of how big the grips are, until they came out with the gen 4's. Now its my favorite handgun. I own a gen 4 19 and 34. Hopefully I can add a 26 and 17 soon. I had a gen 3 34 and couldn't get used to the grip so I ended up trading it for a gen 4. I also really like the new mag release and grip texture to me its a huge improvement.

 

[led4thehed2]

It was nice to see the company "catch up" and offer a system to allow shooters to change the circumference of the grip to better suit them. I shot a friend's G23 with the smallest grip and it did feel nicer than my Gen 3 G19. The larger magazine release was also nice.

However, I did not care for the new grip texture. And the trigger pull felt radically heavier. I guess I'm still sold on the third generation design.