Glock Gen 3, 4, or 5 Versions

[GlockGuy]

Awesome site guys! What a great idea!

I have a pistol question. I'm a Glock fan and have had Glocks all my life. I still own just Gen 3s. I've shot Gen 4s and Gen 5s, and despite the cosmetic differences, I don't really notice any differences in performance.

My question is, for a civilian and self-defense use, does it even make a difference? Thanks in advance.

[Gordon]

Hi Glockguy
I am glad that you like your Glock, it is one of the most reliable platforms on the market. I still shoot my Gen 3 and it preforms well, although I did change the trigger and install a tungsten recoil spring. I am not sure how much you shot the Gen 4 and 5s. There is not much difference between the Gen 4 and the Gen 5. There was even talk that the Gen 5 was not changed enough to have a new designation. But that is neither here nor there. I personally felt a substantial reduction in recoil from the Gen 3 to the Gen 4. That is one of the reasons I replaced my recoil spring with a tungsten guide.

As for making a difference to a civilian and using it for self-defense.The most important choice is knowing the gun you are using. Knowing how to load and having good recoil management will be far more important than if you are using a Gen 3 or Gen 5.

I hope this helped.

[GlockGuy]

Hi Glockguy
I am glad that you like your Glock, it is one of the most reliable platforms on the market. I still shoot my Gen 3 and it preforms well, although I did change the trigger and install a tungsten recoil spring. I am not sure how much you shot the Gen 4 and 5s. There is not much difference between the Gen 4 and the Gen 5. There was even talk that the Gen 5 was not changed enough to have a new designation. But that is neither here nor there. I personally felt a substantial reduction in recoil from the Gen 3 to the Gen 4. That is one of the reasons I replaced my recoil spring with a tungsten guide.

As for making a difference to a civilian and using it for self-defense.The most important choice is knowing the gun you are using. Knowing how to load and having good recoil management will be far more important than if you are using a Gen 3 or Gen 5.

I hope this helped.

Thank you Gordon for taking the time to give your insights. I appreciate it.

I shot a Gen 5 G19 more than a Gen 4, but I can't say I recall much a difference in recoil between the Gen 3 and Gen 5. I will get my hands on another Gen 4 and see how it compares.

I avoid making any mods to my Glocks these days. Every time I have switched something with an aftermarket part, my Glocks do not function as they should after a while.

Again, thank you for the info!

[Gordon]

Hi
I think to get the best info on Glocks is for you to look for Matt on the expert link. He has worked at The Glock Store for I think 9 years. He will be able to answer any questions about Gen 3,4 or 5.

it was a pleasure talking to you.

[Matt]

Hello fellas,
Thank You Gordon ... the best glock that you can possibly have.... is the one in front of you when you need it most! We all must understand that training is the most important aspect of self defense !
Now that being said there were some big changes with the Glock Generation 5 , first you will see that the finger grooves have been removed ... what the hell did they do that for ? Well they did it because the FBI has a hand in building this gun for the agency and they wanted it to fit all hands, both big and small .Lets say some dude with monster hands drew his pistol from his holster under stress and pressure and his big ass fingers crossed over the top of a finger Groove (like on a Gen3 or Gen 4 Glock) rather than in the middle of the finger groove where they should be....well he would have to readjust in the middle of the draw that causes inefficiencies in your pistol draw . Next They added ambidextrous slide lock release for both right and left handed shooters . Our beloved FBI also requires the upmost in accuracy so they added a more accurate barrel calling it the marksman barrel ,you will notice that the barrel has different rifling from your conventional Glock pistol barrels and it shoots sweet, as I personally have thousands of rounds behind the new Gen 5 pistols. You can also tell that Glock has clearly cleaned up the trigger on this new generation 5 pistol ✅ Last but not least On the more notable changes to the generation 5 Glock pistol is that it has a completely new finish that is more rugged and has a much better appearance in my opinion .
If you all have anymore questions about anything on this particular generation 5 pistol or any other Glock’s...please feel free to ask any time or come Out to the Glockstore, out here in San Diego CA..... that’s right folks...we are in California, behind enemy lines but we are fighting a good fight 🤘🏼🇺🇸

[Arc Angel]

Hi! I, too, own only third generation Glocks. I’ve worked with Gen 4’s and 5’s; but, as of yet, I haven’t felt any imperative need to run right out and trade ‘um in for any other generation. Recoil and trigger pull among the various Glock generations seem to be about the same to me; or, if anything, perhaps a little bit heavier than the highly polished, but otherwise stock, Glock trigger bars that I’ve been using all along.

Somewhere toward the end of the Gen 3’s long production run the factory increased both the length and the angle of the sear’s so-called ‘kick plate’. Once upon a time, low serial number 3rd gen. Glock pistols that I bought were (with a little work) able to produce truly smooth trigger pulls in the 4 to 4.5 lb range; but, nowadays, I don't find that to be true anymore.

Later on and in subsequent production runs, higher serial number 3rd gen. Glocks had two things working against producing the same smooth trigger pulls that could, once, be achieved with the earlier pistols: First, the factory increased the sear angles, and created a more noticeable let-off; (You could actually feel the increased angle at the end of the trigger’s stroke.) and, then, the factory went from Tenifer-treated, hardened steel trigger bars to electroless nickel plated, soft steel bars—Which, of course, meant that gone were the days of putting a super smooth ‘glass-like’ finish on any of the more recently produced Glock trigger bars.

A good fifteen years ago, now, I retired my Behlert, custom-made, Colt 1911’s from everyday carry, and bought my first low priced (As in: "I didn't care what happened to them.") plastic Glock pistols. I did this because too many of the guys were chiding me about how I was going to cry if I ever had to surrender one of my umpteen thousand dollar, custom-built, 45 autos into somebody’s cold, damp 'n drafty, evidence locker!

Well . . . that started me down the long road to adding one Glock modification after another until, finally, I turned out to be the ‘first kid on my block’ who owned an EDC plastic ‘wunder pistol’that was, at least, 3 times more expensive than it ever should have been! (You know, I just wanted a nice cheap plastic pistol to carry around and, maybe, abuse a little; but, as is often the case, old habits die hard; and I just had to start making that first Glock 'my own'!)

Today, I’ve got well over 150,000 fired rounds through three of the Gen 3 pistols I carry most often, and I, too, am going to say that how the shooter is 'tuned' to his gun is far more important than having something like an adjustable backstrap, or an ambi slide release.

What I like most about my 3rd generation Glock pistols is that they are extremely reliable. With a little routine maintenance and a few periodic part changes (mostly springs) it is common for me to go through as many as 20 or 30 thousand rounds without experiencing so much as a single operational ‘hiccup’.

My best advice would be to practice often, keep your muscle memory sharp, and stay well tuned into your Glock(s). Do this and I’m positive that whether you’re shooting a generation: 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 Glock pistol, your shots will go where you want them to, and they'll do it in rapid order, too; and, with a self-defense pistol, THAT is what really counts!

I do think, though, that 3rd Gen. Glock pistols have been, are, and will continue to be numbered among the most combat reliable pistols the factory has ever produced. (They had a very long production run!) I know I’ve never regretted putting the work into, or spending additional money on any of my third generation models. Each of them is what a self-defense pistol should be.

Me? I’d say to stay with what you’ve got. Continue to practice regularly, dry-fire periodically, and stay well tuned into your Glock. That old Tenifer-treatment is very tough, and when the muzzle finally starts to turn ‘silver’, and the slide picks up one too many scratches, then you can send it out to someplace like ‘Birdsong’ and get it recoated for another 10 years’ use!

Here's one of my Gen 3 Model 21 EDC Glocks: (Note slide and muzzle wear, but who cares!)





One last word of advice: I swear by Wolff Gunsprings 'All Steel Guide Rod and Recoil Spring Kits'. I've added one of these kits to each of my 3rd generation Glocks; and, just so you know, they really do smooth out the recoil impulse. With an occasional spring change (like every 10 - 12,000 rounds) the super-slick, hardened steel rod will last for the life of the gun!

[Myles]

Welcome, Arc Angel! Nice to see a familiar face! Glad to have you on the forums.

[Arc Angel]

Thank you, Myles. I know you worked hard on creating this site, and I really must say you have done a truly impressive job! This website works very well; and the talent you've assembled, the design and screen layout, along with the editorial articles are, all, among the very best that I've ever seen. Kudos, my friend, you did it! Yes, I'd really like to hang out around here, and I'd be glad to contribute whatever I'm able.

[Myles]

Thanks! Welcome 'home.'

I'll be in touch soon!

[GlockGuy]

Thanks for all the replies. Great information. Thanks!

[Coch]

Glock will continue to improve on "perfection" but none of their previous generations should be considered obsolete, I still shoot my gen 2 Glock 21 that I bought brand new back in the early 90's!

[GlockGuy]

Wow. I don’t know anyone with a Gen 2!

[Arc Angel]

GG, With an advanced, time worn and well-proven design like a Gen3 Glock I doubt that it’s necessary to jump to a higher Glock generation pistol—I really do. So, . . . how does this relate to keeping your magazines clean?

Well, as I’ve already mentioned, all of my Glock pistols are third generation Glocks, and they’re going to stay that way too. If, however, somebody asked me to ‘upgrade’ a third gen Glock I would only make a few simple changes, AND one of those changes would be to the magazines.

As a ‘rule of thumb’ the very first thing I have always done with a brand new Glock magazine is to break the new polymer ‘heat seal’ on the magazine’s baseplate (all newly molded polymer tends to stick together, OK) and, then, I’ll insert the tip of an armorer’s tool through the hole in the center of the new baseplate in order to push the magazine’s interior floor plate up into the mag body and out of the way of the baseplate locking tabs by about a 1/4 inch.

Next, I’ll place the back edge of that new (and always tightly stuck) baseplate against the very edge of a table and give the magazine’s body a quick slap with my other hand. It only takes a couple of slaps to get a new polymer baseplate to snap forward and break free. After that first time, all subsequent baseplate removals will be much easier to complete with nothing more than using just the armorer’s tool.

The very next thing I do is to replace Glock’s outside contractor-supplied magazine springs (which, by the way, are always slightly different from one another) with more powerful, more resilient, and highly consistent Wolff +10% magazine springs. Just make sure the magazine followers you’re using will match up with the new springs. (Ask and Wolff, or whoever else, will tell you!)

On page #28 of the June 2019 issue of ‘Shooting Illustrated’ (the NRA’s official journal) there is a nicely done list of magazine maintenance products that you might want to take a look at. I’m a longtime user of Lucas Oil Products, and I know I’m going to be picking up a can of Lucas Extreme Duty Contact Cleaner.

I, also, do two other things with aftermarket parts on my Gen3 Glocks: First, I replace the factory’s plastic frame pins with ‘Squirrel Daddy’s’ nice ’n tight fitting stainless steel pins; and, second, (as I think I’ve already mentioned) I use Wolff Gunsprings non-captured stainless steel recoil guide rods—In experienced hands the perceptible difference in the rapid-fire recoil impulse is huge! Huge like this: (The ‘ROF’, here, was just as fast as the Glock would go ‘Bang!’)



Frankly I think that a well maintained, cleaned, lubricated, properly tuned, and time-proven Glock IN ANY GENERATION is as good for CQB self-defense as anybody’s handgun ever could be. Out of force-of-habit I keep all of my handguns clean and lubricated; and with the semiautomatics I regularly replace all of the springs. After this, mechanical performance always seems to, pretty much, take care of itself.

Well, I should say, ‘Almost takes care of itself’. Why? Because there are two particular caveats that need to be carefully watched on ANY GENERATION Glock pistol: These two principal wear/fatigue points should be routinely examined and, just to be on the safe side, changed periodically.

At somewhere between every 12 and 15 thousand rounds I’ll reach into my large ‘Glock Box’ of spare parts and install a brand new slide stop w/ spring arm (Brownell’s Glock Part #27), and a new slide lock spring—Don’t ever forget to periodically change every Glock’s all-important slide lock spring (Brownell’s Glock Part #20).

Why? Because this silly looking little spring is THE ONE KEY PART ON EVERY GLOCK PISTOL that continues to hold the entire slide and frame assemblies together—That is ‘Why’! If you keep your Glock pistol (and its all-important magazines) clean, properly lubricated, and well tuned then there is absolutely no good reason I can think of to have to buy up to a newer generation Glock; and, just between you and me, there are several valid reasons why I, personally, would not; but, hey, this is a topic for another thread.