Just picked up a Gen5 G19. Haven't shot it yet. A couple things I noticed right off the bat: the barrels have gone back to Gen2 style sans hood-cut. Also, the ambi slide catch doesn't come close to "catching" on the right side...not sure if that's ok or not...thinking I'd rather it not even try to catch than try and fail. Seems pretty stout, regardless. As a righty I'm already not a fan of ambi-anything. But so far, I love the feel of the pistol and trigger and am looking forward to testing accuracy and brass-to-face...I'm hoping the Gen2 barrel arrangement has solved that.

I don't think any ambi slide catch is designed to catch both sides at once. The trick is to be sturdy enough to wrap around the magwell and still have enough leverage to release the other side.

Shot mine again today. That's a total of 600 rounds. Zero BTF. Ejects at 3 o'clock with several brands of range ammo. Brazer, Lawman, UMC. It seems to like Lawman the best if we're looking at accuracy.

Post back when you've put a few rounds down range.

Still happy with my Gen 4 17 and 19. Not sure why I will want to go with something new...

I had a 'gotta have it' moment when the Gen 5s were announced.
But decided they really don't do anything my Gen 2 19 and 17 don't do..

I might get one someday..

I love it

I now have 4 (3 19s and a 17) and have gone to carrying a 19 everyday

Across the 3 19s I am well north of 2000 rounds through them, with no failures, including 200 rounds of 147 gr HST (my carry ammo)

It's finally a striker fired pistol that I literally only need to change the sights on


Now I need them to come out with a 26 and 34

I finally shot the new G19 yesterday. I'd been practicing a little dry-fire with it, and it suddenly developed a bit of a "hitch" in the second stage of the pull.

As of now, I can't say it's any better a trigger than any Gen4 with a Gen2/3 trigger in it. I went ahead and swapped out the "dot" connector with an older standard non-dot connector and have been happier with that arrangement. It's a bit heavier, but it's cleaner with no over-travel at all.

It is an accurate pistol...it holds an edge over my Gen4 but no distinguishable edge over my favorite bone-stock Gen3.

The sights are dialed in right on. I've seen and read of others receiving these pistols with rear sights cocked way to the right. My sight was shifted a bit to the right out of the box, but it's not obscene. I really do like the new sights. Although I still prefer dot-the-"i" sights above all else, these are definitely an improvement for Glock sights. The rear notch is lowered and widened, and the front sight is taller. Sight acquisition time is cut in half (for me).

I don't know about anyone else, but my sights are adjusted exactly as my Navy NSW P226 sights are...i.e., "cover-your-target/shoot-em-in-the-face". So I have to hold high to hit the bulls eye. My pistol might be be peculiar, but if not, I wonder if the Special Forces community might have had some say in the default sight config.

Ejection is fairly consistent with most shells landing in a pile at 4 - 5 o'clock. The only issue was with the very last round in the mag - every single last round either went directly over my head or hit my head...maybe more break-in will help.

I like the pistol and would choose it over a Gen4 if I were shopping for a G19, but it really doesn't do much more than any other Glock ever did...better OEM sights, maybe a little more accurate.

Picked mine up today. I have a ton of time on the G3 and G4 platforms in 9mm. My favorites have traditionally been the G4 26 and the G3 17.

My number one issue with the 19s has consistently been the grooves. Something about the back strap screws up my grip on the middle-sized Glock. There's not any logic to it, and I can't explain it. And yes, I realize the G26 is exactly the same as the G19, just cut down, but something about the way the 26 cups in my palm just works better.

Anyway, on to first impressions.

1. The new slide lock/release. I think it's a novel idea for the southpaws, and those who use them, and mine seems to work fine. That said, in all honesty, I could give two shits. In fact, if it had no lever at all that would be fine with me. I utilize the slingshot method when shooting and I cup the back of the slide during take-down. Aside from intentionally locking it open for competitions or inspection and the like, I have no defensive need to lock it open or release it with a lever of any sort.

2. The new trigger. In side by side testing with my G3 and G4 models, I can't tell a damn bit of difference. In the store - however - it was smoother than new G3 and G4 models they had on the shelf. I don't think it is any lighter (that I can tell) but it is smoother. Still feels like a Glock trigger, but one that has some miles on it and has smoothed out some.

3. The new barrel. Not any more or less accurate than any other Glock I've fired. Of course it's brand new, so time will tell, but so far so good. I am not "blown away" by how much better it is. But I am not disappointed in any way either.

4. The slide. Two things worthy of note here; first, the new coating, and second, the milling on the nose. I love both of these changes. The nose milling is exactly like that of the G26, which I am a fan of compared to the old squared front of the other models. It gives the gun a more svelte look. The new coating is another thing I like. Looks more like the old G3 coating. More black and beefier looking than the gray-ish semi-thin coat on newer G4 models. It may be more or less durable - time will tell - but from a strictly aesthetic point of view, I like it.

5. In my opinion the most significant change is the grip frame and the lack of finger grooves. I found I was able to get "up" into the gun without any discomfort in finger placement, and I was able to really put side to side squeeze on the pistol. It also "feels" thinner than the previous generations. I have not busted out the calipers to see if it really is.

6. In shooting, I did ten rounds of 115 Federal fmj rested and then ten standing. Then I did ten rounds of 124 Aguila fmj rested and ten standing. Both performed well, but the 124 grain grouped a little tighter in both bagged and standing shooting. Better than I shoot most guns, but not noticeably better than the G3 or G4s I've owned.

In summary, if you want one because you have an issue with the finger grooves and don't feel like getting sodomized on GB trying to find a clean G2, you should buy one. Or, if you're a fan of the older blacker frying pan finish and the milled G26 slide look, you should buy one. But, if you're thinking it's magically going to be better than the G3 or G4 that you're perfectly happy with - you're probably setting yourself up for a let down and a loss of cash.

Bottom line, is it better? Yes, but maybe not in the ways you were expecting it to be. I'm glad I bought the 19, because I don't think I'd have gained enough advantage over my current 17 to make it worth the current difference in price. Thus far, aside from ergonomic and visual enhancements, the number one thing the G5s have done is drive down prices on G3 and G4 models. So if you always wanted to try one of those, the time is now.

I still haven’t shot mine yet! Too busy.

quote:

Originally posted by 1lowlife:
But decided they really don't do anything my Gen 2 19 and 17 don't do.

Except allow the attachment of a weaponlight.

That's my main reason for getting a Gen 5 G19. I love my Gen 2, but I want to be able to use a light.

Absolutely love mine. I see huge difference and have gone entirely to Glock Gen 5's for semi autos. Well, i guess the G43 is a Gen 4 but not sure.

I am going to hold off buying one.

At first sight I wanted one, but after handling one at the gun store, I was left wondering if the finger grooves of my 3rd Gen really bothered me that much. I have had my 3rd gen G23 for about 16 years now, so I guess I've grown somewhat used to the finger grooves.

After shooting both Gen5 platforms yesterday I think that I've developed a more rounded op/ed about the guns. I've come to the conclusion that there's really not much to them that I can't live without. I may still buy one but that's now well down on the priority list. Unless Glock offers up some must-have feature(s) on subsequent Gen5 variants, I can't see myself lusting for one of these in their current configurations.

As I noted in another thread, I'm less enamored with the G19 Gen5 than I am with its G17 sibling. I still haven't quite completely figured that out yet. Compact Glocks have previously been smack dab at the center of my wheelhouse and I expected the same with the Gen5 models. The lack of finger grooves combined with the shorter length of pull? Most likely, but for certain I do like and prefer how the G17 feels in hand over its Gen5 stablemate. If I do buy a Gen5, right now it's going to be the larger of the two, though frankly I didn't shoot the larger Glock any better during my short time with both.

I tend to believe that the new trigger configuration does very little beyond pissing off all of the aftermarket vendors who've made a decent living trying to fix the idiosyncrasies of the factory Glock trigger. The pull and break characteristics aren't significantly different than any current production Gen3 trigger in the past 10 years which taking into account my biases is superior to most any factory Gen4 setup, though given what we're comparing that really isn't saying a hell of a lot. They're all entrenched in the 'meh' league. Shooting side-by-side with my ZEV-triggered G19 MOS and my factory spec Gen3 G19, I didn't find any appreciable difference in accuracy between the guns at 7 and 10 yards. If anything, what I had for breakfast may have had more of an impact than any changes with the Gen5s themselves.

The MOS was a bit easier to shoot faster for me, due primarily to the ZEV Fulcrum and its RMR that I'm getting quite used to and reliant upon. The Gen5s' lack of finger grooves didn't make that much of a difference, though they did make me wish that I hadn't left my Gen2 G19 at home to compare them to. Given that base Gen4 pricing has come down on the 9mm, 40S&W and 357SIG models at the wholesale level, the now less spendy Gen4 makes more sense to me even with its cursed finger grooves. I already use a cheap Chinese sourced grip sleeve to placate that irritant quite satisfactory. And unlike the Pachmayr sleeve it plagiarizes, the knockoffs have this strong tendency to stay in place. Kudos for the counterfeit.

The magwell flare is another one of those 'meh' amenities that for me doesn't offer that much improvement over the old straight design. There's just not enough flare to make that much difference, just like some of the current aftermarket magwell pieces that seem more show than go, like my Agency Arms funnel on my MOS. But definitely its inclusion on the Gen5 is another 'back to the drawing board' moment for the aftermarket magwell funnel makers. As for the rest of the frame, IMHO Glock missed an opportunity to improve the tang by extending it to better mitigate slide bite (ala G43) rather than relying on the Gen4 way by adding length via the grip backstraps, which also adds length for the trigger reach that may not be desirable. Everyone else on the internet seems to think that the muzzle end of the frame is where Glock fell down when they didn't match the new taper at the front of the slides. Who cares? It's still a damn Glock; aesthetic beauty is not something the brand has ever been known for. That taper doesn't impact the operation of the gun. The tang does. Missed again Glock on the little tings, just because you already had the Gen4 backstraps that your cheap self wanted so much to keep using.

The nDLC slide finish is also one of those mixed bag things; if it stops the corrosion then it's worth putting up with the added slippery feel in handling. Maybe. More aggressive serrations would've helped counteract the slick feel. Then again Glock could just have gone back to using Tenifer pretreating for their steel and been done with it. We then wouldn't be dealing with overly slick slides or longings for better serrations. I get that a one-step slide finish likely saves time and production cost. But given that what we had before worked pretty damn well, all of the subsequent monkeying around seems to me to be a bunch of worthless and wasted energy and effort.

I've finally come around to thinking that making the gun more ambidextrous is indeed a good thing for more than just lefties. I can actually operate the slide stop with weak hand shooting, where an overhand or sling shot slide release might not be possible given that I'm having to resort to shooting with the weak hand to begin with. Exposed slide stops matter to me, and I do use them from time to time to send the slide into battery.

So in the end I did enjoy my live fire time with the Gen5s. Learned a bit more about them, definitely development more pointed opinions as well. Not guns that I must have or need, but maybe I might like to have...perhaps someday when they get around to a MOS version, hopefull with better slide serrations to counteract the nDLC slickness.

Or perhaps not. Which tells me a lot about my ambivalence towards the Gen5s.

I nearly bought one because I like the lack of finger grooves but ended up just sending my G4 19 out to be stippled and have the grooves knocked down.

I love my 19.5, mainly due to three reasons. No finger grooves, the slide coating and the smmother trigger (for a Glock). I have a Zev Tech Defender 19.3 (same slide coating), a Glock 19.4 and now a 19.5 to round things out.