Are all 9mm Glocks the same?

[GmanVP9]

Im looking at my first Glock, and Im torn on which one to get. From a reliability standpoint, Is the Glock 48, 43 etc just as reliable as the Glock 19?

[Jason M]

The short answer is no, they're not. The slimline glocks have well documented issues with being a little finicky with ammo. They also have a much narrower "window" of tolerance for all things timing related, such as spring fatigue, adding weight to the slide, etc. They carry nicely, but for reliability's sake and, IMHO, shootability, the 19 is a better bet. With that being said, experience has shown me the 26s, regardless of generation, are the most reliable glocks.

[GmanVP9]

26 over the 19? I thought the 19 was the "gold standard"

[Rex G]

The slim-line 9mm Glocks use a different Recoil Spring Assembly. That is their weakness. @HCM has witnessed a huge sample size, and has written of this, multiple times, in multiple discussion thread, here at P-F. If I had tiny hands, and just had to have a slim-line nine, I would look elsewhere. Thankfully, I have normal-to-large hands, depending upon the measuring points, and am well-served by Gen4/Gen5 double-column-mag Glock Nines, without the added back-straps, and tolerably well by Gen3.

I am not saying this as a Glock apologist, or a Glock “fan-boy.” Specified 9mm Glocks were, quite simply, the least of four evils, among the duty pistols I was allowed to use, during a large portion of my policin’ days. After having invested countless thousands of rounds, countless personal-time dry-firing reps, and a considerable amount of time shooting “sim” Glocks during in-service and out-of-pocket personal-time training, one’s nervous system tends to get “hard-wired.”

[Texaspoff]

As others have said, no they are not all the same. I agree the slimline guns, 43,43x,48 can be finicky, with some ammo. My experience is different, as my three 43's and two 43x's have been flawless. Granted I don't shoot crap ammo through them either. They have digested just about every type of duty ammo I have carried from 115 to 124 +P. I don't use 147 in 9mm personally so I can't comment on how it does. One of my 43's a 43 frame with a 43x slide has thousands of round through it, with Shield Z9 magazines and is my off duty carry.

I do believe the 19 set the bar, and the 26 is an excellent pistol, but in most cases, if you can conceal a 26, then you can conceal a 19. When you get into the slimline Glocks, they are a different animal all together, and do conceal better than the 19 or the 26 as far as thickness.

With a 19 or a 26, your would be pretty much good to go. With the 43, 43x, or 48's in most cases you would be fine, but there is always a change you might have issue with one of them, as they can be less reliable than their larger brothers.





TXPO

[Jason M]

G19 is one of the gold standards. G26 punches above its weight. It maintained reliability across the generations when the 19 did not. There are several threads here about the later Gen 3 and Gen 4 G19 issues. The 26's kept its reputation for running well throughout. There is a reason the G26 is on many "If I could only have one..." lists.

[HeavyDuty]

If I could have only one Glock it would be a 26 instead of a 19 for two reasons. One, the hand and wrist positioning of shooting a 19 is noticeably more painful for me than a 26. And second, a 26 digs much less into a car seat than a 19 (I carry OWB.)

[GmanVP9]

G19 is one of the gold standards. G26 punches above its weight. It maintained reliability across the generations when the 19 did not. There are several threads here about the later Gen 3 and Gen 4 G19 issues. The 26's kept its reputation for running well throughout. There is a reason the G26 is on many "If I could only have one..." lists.

Interesting. Are the Gen5 Glock 19s pretty bulletproof ?

[Jason M]

I have a G5 26, 19, and 45. They all work very reliably. I have a 43 and a 42. Both of those run as well. I have had 43x and 48. I am located near and need to occasionally travel to "ban" states. My favorite of the 10 round guns is the 26. When there, I can carry the extremely reliable 10 round G26 mag in the gun with another for a reload. In normal states, I carry a 10 round in the gun with a G19 mag(s) as spares. The 26 is what I call "scalable". The slimlines do not have such flexibility.

[Jason M]

I'm sure @blues and @GAP will be along at some point to add to the discussion.