Glock 17 Review

This Glock 17 Review is a result of my experience with the famous Glock 17, the first Glock pistol. I got interested in guns for the first time in 2009 at age 65. I had just returned from working in Iraq and Afghanistan for just over 4 years and was getting my house in order so to speak. One aspect of this became home security. My first firearm purchase was a Remington 870 12 GA shotgun. A week later I decided I should have an easy to use handgun to augment the long barreled shotgun. It didn’t take much research to determine that Glock is considered among the top handguns in the world. The Glock 17 is used by more military, law enforcement, and federal agencies than any other in the entire world and there is a reason for that.

Glock 17 Review
Glock 17 9mm Review

The Glock 17 is the result of a pistol designed by a team of military, and civilian handgun experts. The competition was to produce a pistol to a set of parameters that would yield a 9mm pistol for the Austrian military. There were eight other pistol manufacturers competing for the contract. The Glock 17 won against such notables as FN Herstal, Beretta, SIG Sauer, Browning, Styer, and HK.

One thing the Glock 17 is not and that is beautiful. The Glock is a rather homely and plain handgun compared to many other pistols. But what the Glock 17 is, is elegant in its simplicity. Glocks are simple, reliable, easy to use, and accurate. I chose the Glock 17 as part of my home defense arsenal because it is used by law enforcement, military, and has such an outstanding reputation worldwide.

Full Size Glock 17 9mm Pistol
Full Size Glock 17 9mm Pistol

The Glock 17 is a full size 9mm semiautomatic pistol. It probably is too large to be a good concealed carry pistol, but it is ideal for home defense or as a service pistol. Even with its large size it is still about the lightest weight full size 9mm available today. The frame is a nylon based polymer that is light, strong, and corrosion resistant. There are two hardened steel frame rails at the front and two rails at the rear which are set into the plastic frame and are not replaceable.

Glock 17 Frame rails, Trigger mechanism
Glock 17 Frame rails, Trigger mechanism

The trigger mechanism is similar on all Glocks and many of the parts are interchangeable within the same generation. Glock is presently producing both Gen 3 and Gen 4 models through the end of 2011.

Glock 17 Slide Assembly
Glock 17 Slide Assembly

The slide is CNC milled out of steel and nitrided to surface harden the slide up to .020 inch deep. Glock calls their process Tenifer and it results in an almost diamond hard 64 Rockwell rating which is as corrosion resistant as stainless steel. The slide is Parkerized to give it a black finish.

The Glock 17 barrel is hammer forged and the rifling is not cut, but is beat, into the barrel to produce six arcs that result in the polygonal shape. This type of rifling is why only copper coated bullets should be used in your Glock. The use of lead bullets in a Glock will coat the inside of the barrel and can result in excessively high barrel pressures which could eventually damage the pistol. Glock barrels are tested to twice the normal operating pressure.

The standard magazine holds 17 rounds. There is a 19 round magazine, and a popular 33 round magazine that was designed for the Glock 18, a fully automatic version of the Glock 17.

Glock 17 Sight Picture
Glock 17 Sight Picture Standard Sights

The Glock 17 Sights consist of a white dot front with a white outline rear. I find the standard Glock sights work well and allow me to quickly acquire the target. There are a multitude of variations in sights for the Glock, night sights, Hi Viz sights, Big Dot sights, and more.

The Glock 17 trigger is part of the Glock Safe Action Pistol safety system. Depressing the center part of the trigger releases the safety and allows the pistol to be fired. Trigger pull is about 5.5 Lbs on all Glocks and can be easily increased to 7.9 Lbs or decreased to 4.5 Lbs by changing the connector, part available from Glock. Trigger travel is about half inch. I changed the connector in mine to the 4.5 Lb pull, but didn’t care for it. I had grown accustomed to the 5.5 Lb pull and the lighter trigger caused me to fire before I was ready. Rather than relearn to shoot my Glock 17 I opted to return it to standard pull and kept all my Glocks the same with the standard trigger connector.

Another feature I like about the Glock is price. I paid $549.00 for my Glock 17 Gen 3 at Scheels. You can also find the Glock 17 for sale online at Buds Gun Shop for $499.00 with shipping to your FFL included.

Glock 17 vs Glock 19
Glock 17 vs Glock 19

The Glock 17 vs. Glock 19. How does the Glock 17 compare to the Glock 19? The G19 is a compact version of the Glock 17. It is shorter, not as high, weighs less, and holds 15 rounds versus the Glock 17 at 17 rounds. All the higher capacity Glock 9mm magazines are compatible with the Glock 19 including the 15, 17, 19, and 33 round magazines. I like the Glock 19 because it is an ideal size. Not too big, can be concealed carry, yet not too small, can be used as a home defense weapon, or a duty pistol. The Glock 19 is a lot of fire power in a compact size pistol.

 

 

 

 

 

Glock 17 Specs

  • CALIBER 9×19
  • WEIGHT 22.04 oz. LOADED 31.91 oz.
  • LENGTH 7.32 in.
  • HEIGHT 5.43 in.
  • MAG. CAPACITY Standard: 17 OPTIONAL 19 / 33
  • WIDTH 1.18 in.
  • BARREL HEIGHT 1.26 in.
  • TRIGGER PULL 5.5 lbs.
  • TRIGGER TRAVEL 0.5 in.
  • LINE OF SIGHT 6.49 in.
  • BARREL LENGTH 4.49 in.
  • BARREL RIFLING right hand, hexagonal
  • LENGTH OF TWIST 9.84 in.

Take down for cleaning is easy, but takes a little practice to get the hang of it. Move the slide back just until the trigger cocks. Pull the trigger to release the striker, then move the slide off the front of the frame.

Glock 17 Disassembled for Cleaning, Frame, Recoil Spring, Barrel, Slide
Glock 17 Disassembled for Cleaning, Frame, Recoil Spring, Barrel, Slide

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