First shots with Gen 4 G26

[JHC]

"Broke in" a new Gen 4 G26 this morning. I am increasingly finding use for the 26 lately and since I'd had good luck with the Gen 3 G26 I decided to give the Gen 4 version a try. I much prefer the grip texture and mag release on the new version. I have found many occassions where the G26 conceals much better than a G19.

It's "test fire" cases were dated Feb 3, 2012 and it has the updated ejector. 170 rounds fired exhibted strong and consistent ejection. (side note: it also successfully ejected when fired without a magazine. FYI, some insist these guns won't do this.)

Blazer 124 grain 50 rds
Blazer 115 grain 100 rounds
124 grain +P Gold Dot 5 rds
Hornady 115 gr 10 rds
Federal 135 gr +P bonded 5 rds

I'd intended to shoot another 100 today but unexpectedly I was offered a Gen 4 G35 and a full ammo can to check it out. I ran 150-200 through it and it was impressive. Easy to manage recoil and flat handling. No malfunctions. Good accuracy.

Back to the Gen 4 G26: at this link is a picture of three targets all fired offhand. A 4x6 from 15 yards, a paper plate from a paced 70' and a paper plate on which I was timing shoot 1 reload 1 with the new G26 from concealed AIWB with a FIST holster. The first hits aveaged around 1.8 and the reload/2nd shot ave around 2.40 as marked on that plate. I was trying to make a good hit on both and I was happy how easy it was to get a good hit pretty quickly. The reloads went fairly smoothly here.

I also tried two FASTs getting one clean in 6.10 with a stuttered mag insert another clean over 7 with a double stuttered insert. LOL I'll order a Glockmeister grip plug pronto. About a month ago managed a 5.69 clean (concealed) with the Gen 3 26 and that really got my attention about what these smaller guns can do.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78036189@N07/6847466462/in/photostream

The Gen 4 G26 came with a dot connector that felt pretty good. But I just had to change it out to a OEM minus before even shooting today. It may be lighter, but not by much. It doesn't feel as even and clean as it was in factory configuration though. I may try one of the LWD minus connectors I've got in the spare parts to see it it smooths thing up some. I'd hoped to keep it GSSF ready. Might end up back with the dot.

I like these subcompacts very much but I am not one that outshoots my G17 with one that's for sure.

[LOKNLOD]

Kaipnn

ETA: sorry my daughter got ahold of my phone and this post was open in Tapatalk. I don't see a delete option...
Never mind me, just validating your sig line :p

[GJM]

After taking note of TLG's performance with his Gen 4 26, a few months I bought one. At 25 yards, the 26 outshoots virtually every M&P 9 I own. I carry a 17 or 19 magazine as my spare, and think the extra grip of the longer magazine improves shoot ability, which would be a good thing if you needed a reload. In my RH Shaggy, you almost forget the 26 is on, and I recently bought a LH Garrett Industries Super Slim, for possible use as a BUG. Mine still has the dot connector and feels acceptable for its role.

As an aside, I recently shot a Gen 4 G35, and with a Warren standard height front sight, it shot high for me -- would need a .235 height to zero POA/POI.

[JHC]

I will try out a .235 tall Warren front next weekend on this 26. It's POI is a bit high as well.

[EMC]

Nice report. Glad to see more good news about 2012 gen 4's!
I really like the glockmeister grip plug myself.

I think I'm also going to stick with the dot connector on my 19. The more I dry fire, the more I get used to it.

[JHC]

Kaipnn

ETA: sorry my daughter got ahold of my phone and this post was open in Tapatalk. I don't see a delete option...
Never mind me, just validating your sig line :p

Man that's too funny. :D

[JHC]

Todd's rationale that a G17 and G26 were a more efficient combo for a wider span of concealment requirements was interesting and somewhat counter most conventional wisdom that exalts the versatility of the G19. And I've certainly agreed with that; carrying a G19 more than any other for many years and having two Gen 3's 19s and a Gen 4 19 currently.

Then DocGKR wrote up a superb class AAR about a Kyle Defoor class and IIRC mentioned Kyle's observation that shooters perform about 11% (?) better with a 17 than a 19. I thought, that's nothing to sneeze at.

Over the past couple of years shooting much more demanding drills (almost all of which picked up for PT/PF) and I've seen very starkly how much better I perform with a 17 vs a 19 when the precision component is amped up dramatically.

So, I want to now see how close I can get to G19 performance with a 26.

[Super J]

Congrats!

[NickA]

Thanks for the report, I'm trying to decide between a Gen4 or Gen3 26 myself. They seem to mostly be running fine, my concern is getting consistent trigger feel between it and my Gen 3 G19 and G17 with a "-"/NY1 combo in them. Any thoughts on that?

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

[peterb]

Then DocGKR wrote up a superb class AAR about a Kyle Defoor class and IIRC mentioned Kyle's observation that shooters perform about 11% (?) better with a 17 than a 19. I thought, that's nothing to sneeze at.

Over the past couple of years shooting much more demanding drills (almost all of which picked up for PT/PF) and I've seen very starkly how much better I perform with a 17 vs a 19 when the precision component is amped up dramatically.

Interesting. What's your take on how much of that is slide length/sight radius vs. the grip length?

[JHC]

Interesting. What's your take on how much of that is slide length/sight radius vs. the grip length?

I think its mostly or exclusively sight radius and overall weight. Nothing to do with the grip length. Weight because of the role trigger pull to overall gun weight ratio plays in accurate shooting.

[JHC]

As an aside, since I mentioned the Gen 4 G35 in the OP, it was this easy to shoot offhand at 15 yards (measured). http://www.flickr.com/photos/78036189@N07/6852252226/in/photostream

[old_trapper]

FWIW, after a VERY problematic first 500 rounds or so of privi 115 grains (~10% malfunction rate) I have since shot 3903 rounds through my gen4 glock 26 (jan 2012 test date) of s&b, wwb, blazer aluminum, pmc, and 124 +p gold dots. with zero stoppages. Maybe its ok after all.

[JHC]

FWIW, after a VERY problematic first 500 rounds or so of privi 115 grains (~10% malfunction rate) I have since shot 3903 rounds through my gen4 glock 26 (jan 2012 test date) of s&b, wwb, blazer aluminum, pmc, and 124 +p gold dots. with zero stoppages. Maybe its ok after all.

That would have sure worried me. But after a couple thousand rounds clean . . . I'd feel better. Does yours have the updated ejector? If not, and you can slide in to a GSSF match , I'm sure the Glock factory armorers there would upgrade you.

[old_trapper]

That would have sure worried me. But after a couple thousand rounds clean . . . I'd feel better. Does yours have the updated ejector? If not, and you can slide in to a GSSF match , I'm sure the Glock factory armorers there would upgrade you.

I am not sure If I have the latest ejector...The ejector says 30274 on it, is that the one? Other than those issues it is just starting to "break in" nice and smooth. I just put around 300 wwb and 350 pmc through it today mostly at 25 yards trying to see if my relatively new warrens/sevigny carry sights were good to go and to do some needed marksmanship practice at that distance. No reliability problems, and I think my .215 front is actually ok: at least I saw no evidence of consistently high impacts.

[JeffJ]

30274 is the latest ejector

[old_trapper]

30274 is the latest ejector

thanks. those early failures are still unexplained: my 19 shot that ammo fine (n=100). Anyway, I am happy with 4500+ stoppage free rounds so I feel like I can trust this little gun to carry.

[JeffJ]

My gen 4 19 had 3 stoppages on the first mag and had 2 in the next 100 rounds and has been fine since. Not ideal, but I'll trust it until it gives me reason not to.

[Robert Mitchum]

You will enjoy that little pistol..
I let a guy at the range shoot one of my guns he let me try his 26.
Indoors at 25 yards I fired one round to see where I was hitting at.
I than did this 10 round group at 25 yards with WWB ammo.
His was stock except for $20 upgrade done on the trigger
Connector.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s1/cjstinks/mm0012-1-1.jpg

[JHC]

And WWB 9mm is not particularly consistent ammo in my experience - nice! Plans for this weekend incl trying a LWD minus connector and/or returning to the original dot connector, "benching it" at 25 yards vs the Gen 3 G26 and a couple FAST from Smart Carry with the reload in my back pocket. ;)

[EVP]

I have been wanting to pick up a gen4 17, but think I should wait it out a little longer. Maybe by the time the gadget is available I might pick one or two up.

JHC I think you do have the golden touch since your gen4s have not showed any issues.

[JHC]

I have been wanting to pick up a gen4 17, but think I should wait it out a little longer. Maybe by the time the gadget is available I might pick one or two up.

JHC I think you do have the golden touch since your gen4s have not showed any issues.

I'll pick one out for you from the stock at the gun superstore in Dawsonville. ;)

[JHC]

Short trip to the range this afternoon. I intended to shoot the Gen 3 and Gen 4 G26s from the bench on the bullseye range but it was tied up with a match for a troop of Boy Scouts. Nice!

So it was to a bay. For a backup plan I decided to shoot FASTs of the two more or less side by side. Three each. I opted to run the Gen 3 G26 first - frankly to give the Gen 4 an unfair advantage. ;) Funny how things turn out.

I shot these from a IWB FIST K1 holster with an untucked polo. Reloading from an RCS single pouch. Started cold; the first shots since last Sunday.

Gen 3 G26 with Trijicon HD (orange) sights and a "dot" connector.
#1 5.64 sec - missed 1 head
#2 5.45 sec - clean
#3 5.18 sec - clean

(broke and shot some slow precision on index cards)

Gen 4 G26 with Warren Sevigny carry (two tritium dots) sights and LWD minus connector
#1 5.40 sec - clean
#2 5.58 sec - missed 1 head and 1 body
#3 5.32 sec - missed one head

Hmmmm. Well, subjectively I was surprised to perceive the Gen 3 felt under tighter control during the 4 shot strings. I expected the coarser Gen 4 RTF grip surface would be an advantage but I didn't feel it. Gen 4 seemed harder to keep on the plate. My only theory yet is my longish fingers make the smaller grip more work to manage than the slightly larger Gen 3? Just a guess at this point. Doesn't matter yet.

Even with the LWD minus connector the Gen 4's trigger feels noticeably rougher than the Gen 3 with the dot. Maybe heavier too. It seemed to have 3 stages. I'm likely to revert back to the factory dot connector for a spell. I don't expect the Warrens to be factor as I've shot a lot of FAST with those sets on other guns and generally performed slightly better with them with the nice contrast of so much black on a white target.

The Gen 4 has a .215 tall Warren front now and it's poi is pretty high above poa so that messed up my 25 yd slowfire comparo as I shot my groups with the Gen 3 on a 4x6 card and the Gen 4's high poi wouldn't stay on the card. Shot some with it at a paper dinner plate and in summary, the Gen 3 seemed to group a little tighter. I'll try to get a picture of a couple targets added later. Two 10 shot groups to compare.

[Sparks2112]

Aren't the recoil assemblies the same between gen3 and gen4 subcompact models?

[JHC]

Aren't the recoil assemblies the same between gen3 and gen4 subcompact models?

Yes sir. No change there. Just short frame treatment (incl internals) and the mag release.

[GJM]

I have a number of Gen 4 pistols, but keep admiring my wife's Gen 3 triggers. Enough so, I went on GunBroker and tracked down a few Gen 3 17's including a 17 RTF.

It is amazing how well you shot with "just" a 26. It is hard to beat a 26 for a smaller sized pistol, since it seems to shoot close to a 19/17 on many drills.

[JHC]

I have a number of Gen 4 pistols, but keep admiring my wife's Gen 3 triggers. Enough so, I went on GunBroker and tracked down a few Gen 3 17's including a 17 RTF.

It is amazing how well you shot with "just" a 26. It is hard to beat a 26 for a smaller sized pistol, since it seems to shoot close to a 19/17 on many drills.

In my limited experience out to 10 yards there is not a lot of difference.

But I digress . . . you scored a RTF2 17. Nice. That is probably my favorite Glock in the battery. I have a line on another but don't really need it.

[JHC]

Today was all about coaching up a relatively inexperienced pistol shooter through about 300 rounds of .22lr, 9mm & .45. But this Gen 4 G26 did have one failure extract today.

Total rounds on it are 320.

[JHC]

Today I had the 25 and 50 yard bullseye range available to work this pistol out both rested on a bag and offhand. The return to the dot connector was an improvement. It’s a very decent shootable trigger. Based on my perception during the FAST comparisons I installed the Large Gen 4 grip adaptor. Tomorrow I plan to shoot it and speed and see if I prefer it’s handling with a little more grip to hang onto. Also - the gun hit quite high with the .215 tall Warren front sight so today, I replaced that with a .245 tall Warren front and this brought point of impact down more acceptably. Exactly right for with the faster +P Gold Dots. A 6:00 hold was used on all bullseyes.

Rested on a bag from 25 yards
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78036189@N07/6887099184/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78036189@N07/6887098288/

Offhand at 50 yards (sorry about the pic, 7 of 9 are on paper)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78036189@N07/7033191707/in/photostream/

Offhand at 25 yards
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78036189@N07/6887095340/in/photostream/

This is pretty close to the shooting I can produce with a G19. Not a lot of difference. G17, a little more noticeable accuracy. Except for 50 yds. I can't predict any better unless I move to custom 1911 or K-38 at 50 yds.

It seemed to like the 124 grain +P Gold Dots and the Federal 135 grain +P Tactical HP. It really didn't like the Winchester PDX1. I think it'll be the Gold Dots if/when this gun is loaded for SD.

With the Large Gen 4 grip adaptor, I’ve gotten chewed by the slide in the past and “the past is prologue” it chawed on me a bit.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/78036189@N07/7033188515/in/photostream/

The ejection was remarkable for any Glock I’ve owned. All the cases today ended up in a about 4’ dia circular pattern about 5-6’ to my 4:30.

[JHC]

Gen 4 G26 hit 570 rounds. So far one fail to feed about 300 rounds ago with a heavily used range magazine. It warrants a shrug from me.

200 rounds today shooting a series of drills with a friend; retired senior NCO (Army Infantry), former LEO and now security contractor specializing last year anyway training up other contractors to fill security contracts OCONUS.

Warmed up with a State Dept standard, draw any make A zone hit in 6 seconds at 25 yards. Our rhythm of draw, sight, press, shot put us pretting consistently between 3-4 seconds and he was 99.9% A zone with his brand new Gen 3 G19 and I was about 95% with the 26.

We shot the the rhythm drill (1,2,3,4,5 drill Ken H called it) multiple times in the 8-9.5 second range. He was 100% A zone hits, I was about 95%.

We shot El Presidente multiple time and hovered mostly around 10 seconds for clean runs but I was able to clean one in 9.04.

Then his training programs variation of El Pres (still 10 yards) where after the reload, instead of 2 more to each torso, it's one to each head. Mupltiple runs, I ran several in the 7-8.5 second range - 100% on heads and 90+% on A zone hits.

Shot "The Test" a few times. He passed. I, not quite yet. But scoring nearly identically as with a G19.

My conclusion, for me, is that on a FAST, El Pres, or at draw and make a A zone hit at 25 yds in 3.5 seconds, etc etc (see above) the 26 gives up very little if anything in shootability to a 19.

[EMC]

Good info!

[Drew78]

Hey guys-

Just joined, but know a lot of you from M4C...

I picked up one of the first Gen4 26's available in my area and have roughly 5000 rounds through this pistol. It is my EDC.

Aside from some limp dik ejection issues that were solved by the upgrade I have had no stoppages with this pistol and I actually can outshoot myself with it vs my Gen3's.

I have polished up the contact points and I prefer a 3.5lb Scherer connector and the "rolling break" it gives me.

I can pretty consistenly hit 9mm brass off a backer board at 30' with it, and keep an entire mag on an 8.5x11 at 75 feet shooting at a good pace, just a bit slower to acount for the additional distance.

It is a great pistol and by far my favorite Glock to date. I am waiting on my "back up" Gen4 26 to come in on my GSSF ticket.

Just thought I would toss my 0.02 into the pool...

-Drew

[JHC]

Hey guys-

Just joined, but know a lot of you from M4C...

I picked up one of the first Gen4 26's available in my area and have roughly 5000 rounds through this pistol. It is my EDC.

Aside from some limp dik ejection issues that were solved by the upgrade I have had no stoppages with this pistol and I actually can outshoot myself with it vs my Gen3's.

I have polished up the contact points and I prefer a 3.5lb Scherer connector and the "rolling break" it gives me.

I can pretty consistenly hit 9mm brass off a backer board at 30' with it, and keep an entire mag on an 8.5x11 at 75 feet shooting at a good pace, just a bit slower to acount for the additional distance.

It is a great pistol and by far my favorite Glock to date. I am waiting on my "back up" Gen4 26 to come in on my GSSF ticket.

Just thought I would toss my 0.02 into the pool...

-Drew

From time to time I've noticed that connector get dogged but over the years we've had them perform very well across 5-10K live rounds and dry fire. That's excellent shooting.

[old_trapper]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I thought an update was in order.

I previously reported that my gen4 G26, born in feb of this year with all the latest and greatest parts was good to go after its initial issues with one particular type of ammo (Privi 115 grain).

I was wrong.

After over 5000 trouble free rounds, some issues started. I had 7 FTE type malfunctions where the extractor seemed to slip off the case and 3 light strikes that fired when re-chambered. These stoppages occurred during the most recent 1647 rounds that I fired. Ammo was S&B 115, Blazer Aluminum and WWB. There was at least one stoppage with each type.
This was not part of any endurance test or anything like that. I cleaned the pistol after every few hundred rounds and made sure the firing pin channel was clear and gunk free.

The gun is going back to glock.

[Drew78]

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I thought an update was in order.

I previously reported that my gen4 G26, born in feb of this year with all the latest and greatest parts was good to go after its initial issues with one particular type of ammo (Privi 115 grain).

I was wrong.

After over 5000 trouble free rounds, some issues started. I had 7 FTE type malfunctions where the extractor seemed to slip off the case and 3 light strikes that fired when re-chambered. These stoppages occurred during the most recent 1647 rounds that I fired. Ammo was S&B 115, Blazer Aluminum and WWB. There was at least one stoppage with each type.
This was not part of any endurance test or anything like that. I cleaned the pistol after every few hundred rounds and made sure the firing pin channel was clear and gunk free.

The gun is going back to glock.

I would be very interested in Glocks findings!

[old_trapper]

My G26gen4 came home today with a slip of paper that said: Inspected, Replaced Slide, Meets Factory Specs, Tested OK.
Sure enough, I got a replacement slide. I'll take it to the range and see what happens.
can someone who knows statistics help me out? If I had an average of 1 fte every 200 rounds, how many rounds do I need to fire without a stoppage to have, say 95% confidence the problem is gone?

[JHC]

I don't know the answer to your stat question although I recall TLG detailing this out once upon a time here or on his blog. In the event you don't see total resolution, this is what I did with an FDE Gen 3 G17 that didn't malfunction across it's first 440 rds, but it wasn't quite right either. Its extraction/ejection was weak with 10-20% of cases landing on my head or brim of ball cap.

. . . I first swapped out the slide assembly with a much older one from an OD G17. Immediately the FDE guns ejection arc was more consistent and positive and the long trusted OD gun displayed weaker ejection arcs and a few only making it a few inches to the right side of the gun. CLUE!

Then I swapped extractors between a circa '99/'00 G19 and the FDE Gen 3 G17. With this old extractor the FDE gun ran 200 rounds beautifully with consistent 4:00 ejection arcs out about 4-5'.

And the long proven old G19 displayed sketchy extraction - often only arcing out a foot and some dribbling on my forearm.

Game-set-match IMO. The new extractor from the FDE gun showed much more scracthing wear on the uppermost side surface. It was tight to get out of the gun whereas the old Gen 3 G19's extractor easily fell freely out of it's slide during the swap.

The fact that Glock replaced the slide is interesting. I hope they got your gun GTG.

[old_trapper]

The extensive scratching and wear on the top of the extractor seems just as I remember it. Glock seems to have replaced my slide and carried over all the old little bits. It is a so called "dip" extractor but it does fall out of the slide freely.

[EMC]

The extensive scratching and wear on the top of the extractor seems just as I remember it. Glock seems to have replaced my slide and carried over all the old little bits. It is a so called "dip" extractor but it does fall out of the slide freely.

Interesting. I wonder if this is a one off situation or if the problems people are attributing to the extractor could be related to an out of spec slide instead.