I have had a long and slightly tumultuous relationship with Glock spanning over 3 decades now. My first CCW gun was a Gen 2 G19, my first issue police gun was a Gen 3 G19 and a G26. I then used Gen 3 19s overseas on and off (mostly off), until getting a Gen 3 G22 as a duty gun, followed by a Gen 3 G23, a Gen 4 G22, a Gen 4 G17, a 19M, a 19M MOS, a Gen5 17M MOS and a Gen 5 19M MOS. I think that is most of them but I may have left out a few guns like the Gen 4 G26, Gen 5 G45 and some others in 10mm and 45acp.
At the same time I was using them overseas, my then girlfriend (now wife) worked for Glock, and as with many things, you can learn too much. I won several Glocks at a GSSF match and promptly sold them at a great price for whoever ended up with them. I really had no interest in them beyond what I needed for work.
Fast forward to the early 2020’s and I used some in various competitions, where I discovered that the first hand cycled shot would always go to a different point than the rest of the group. Each gun put that first shot somewhere else, so there was no consistency. At the same time, some guys at the Secret Service were discovering the same issue and fast forwarding again, the Gen 6 Glocks were designed to fix that issue. I did pretty well in competition with the Glocks, but I never felt like they were helping me shoot and they always seemed to be the least forgiving of any gun I have extensively shot. I have always shot them a tiny bit worse than anything else. Maybe not really noticeable to an outside observer, but I could see where my performance was just a little off.
Since retiring last year, I have been carrying and shooting HK P30’s pretty exclusively. In competition and training and edc, they have been my choice for the past year. Because I still train cops, many of whom carry Glocks, not to mention all the normal shooters who use Glocks in my classes, I decided to break mine out for a day on the range. I am also teaching a class soon where I know everyone will have a Glock, so while I plan to bring and use my HK’s, I will also use a Glock for some of the class.
You should never trust a single day of training, so I did it again to see how it would go. I actually enjoyed shooting them, and the results were very satisfying. Enough so that I went out and picked up a Gen 6 17 COA. This Gen 6 may be the most accurate 9mm pistol I own or have ever shot. I have to shoot it more before making a final statement, but it is a very impressive gun. The groups below were fired offhand at 25 yards with Federal Gold Medal Match. I think the gun is a keeper.
I’ve tried hard to like Glocks over the years, and even own a few. They keep making small improvements but I feel like they are still behind in several areas. It’s good to see that maybe they have finally figured out how to make an accurate pistol.
One thing they do right is quality control. They aren’t perfect, but reliability out of the box is pretty typical.
I think they have a great business model where glock owners will always go out and buy the newest version, even though no real changes have been made. In the case of the Gen6, the big issue for me is the improved barrel to reduce or eliminate first shot flyers. The Gen5’s were very accurate, but not as consistent as the Gen 6. The shorter trigger reach of the Gen6 has also worked out well for me. Other than that, all the other changes are really cosmetic fluff.
As far as quality control, you would be amazed if I told you the various issues we saw at work with the guns.