After I got my G43, which I consider a Gen5, I sold my 19.3 and two 19.4s. Unfortunately, I've only bought one 19.5 as a replacement, so I am down a couple of Glocks. I really like the 19.5 and I don't plan on buying any other Gen3 or Gen4 pistols. However, I still carry my 26.3 a good bit. Eventually, I'll buy a 26.5, but there's no big hurry. If I had five 19.3 pistols, I'd probably trade one toward a 19.5 and try it out. Be warned that some Gen3/4 holsters won't fit Gen5 pistols.
I have several mid-2000's Gen3 Glocks ("frying pan finish") and plenty of experience with them.
I own a Gen5 G19 and have shot a few 17's.
Although I briefly owned a couple, I never cared for Gen4 and the post-2010 Gen3's always seem "meh" to me.
Honestly, comparing a mid-2000's Gen3 to a Gen5...Six of one or a half-dozen the other.
How do you feel about finger grooves?
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
I don't have a preference. I don't really notice them to be honest.Originally Posted by BehindBlueI's
I am interested in the interchangeable backstraps. I have always thought I would like my G19 to have slightly wider grips. I don't have long fingers but I have large palms.
With the G19/23, if I am not careful on my draw, I can get too much finger in the trigger that leads to me biceping and pushing my shots to the left. On my G30, I have never done this. I have always wanted to try the large grip frame on the G19 to see if it helps.
I also really like the G5 mag release.
I went by a store today and handled a G48 and a G43X and the mag release was the only thing I liked about them.
I didn't handle the G5, someone came and wanted to buy the G48 I was playing with and since I wasn't planning on buying anything today I got out of the way.
While I've been trained on, and appreciate the Gen5s, my Gen 3 Glocks (G17, G19, G21) are uniformly excellent, in terms of both operation and accuracy. They're going no place, and I don't feel compelled to trade any of them for their Gen5 equivalent.
However, if I was getting a new Glock, I absolutely would normally recommend the Gen5s. They do posses some worthwhile improvements, but arguably they're more improvements over the Gen4s as opposed to the Gen 3s. And, as BehindBlueI's stated, how you feel about/index with or without the fingergrooves may be a critical part of the equation. All things being equal, I suspect that "without" is better for many-or it least it doesn't present a work-around.
Best, Jon
I never thought that the finger grooves were really an issue for me until I had them removed from my 19.
I have a Gen 3 19 that I had no issues with. The first Gen 5 I bought was a G19. For me, it was better in just about every area, especially in accuracy. I held onto the Gen 3 but it sits in the safe as a vetted backup. I didn't think the finger grooves mattered much until I shot the Gen 5 a while.
I would recommend what others have said which is pick a Gen 5, run it through whatever process you use to vette pistols, and then decide about the remainder of your Gen3's.
For me, I’d go gen 5 for any gun other then the full size. The finger grooves on the 17/34 fit my XL hands fine. They don’t fit me well on the 19 size at all. 3rd and 4th gen 19s are unusable for me without plastic surgery. My 2nd gen 19 will be one of the last guns I’d ever sell.
I wouldn’t trade a 3rd or 4th gen 17 or 34, but I would for a 19 or 26. If buying new anything I’d go gen 5.
Last edited by LSP552; 03-24-2019 at 07:57 AM.
IMHO, there are benefits to the G5. The top of my list is the new barrel. However, get one that has the new groove machined in the slide. That means for full width guns a 45 or 19MOS right now. This is supposed to be done with newly made pistols of other models like the 19 in the near future. The improvement in function that this provides plus the accuracy gain is motivation enough for me to upgrade to G5.
The 2 most important features that were upgrades on the Gen 5 for reliability sake that's rarely mentioned are the Trigger Spring & Slide Lock spring(s) Instead of being elongated (TRS) when trigger is pressed it's now compresses as well as the Slide Lock the (little leaf spring in the frame on prior Generations) These 2 spring were the if you want to call (weak link) in the Glock platform. I carry HK P30L but bought a G45 based solely on these huge upgrades.
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