The internet is full of two types of people. There are people who adore Glocks so much that they might as well be the only gun ever made. Similarly, the other type hates Glock for reasons that are mostly made-up. With the Glock 17 Gen 6 arriving, we’ve seen that discourse flare up once again.
The Glock 17 Gen 6
I’ve got my hands on a Glock 17 Gen 6 to figure out if one extreme or another is right. In reality, I think the truth lies mostly in the middle when it comes to Glocks. Glocks are like Toyota Corollas. They are reliable, easy to handle, and will last forever. However, they aren’t exactly thrilling to drive, and they are kind of boring to shoot.
Glock’s biggest claim to fame is setting the modern standard for reliability and durability. Glock ergonomics have always been a bit blocky and annoying to me, and my hands tend to get bit by the slide. That’s always been my biggest problem with Glocks.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
It’s not the grip angle nonsense. I disliked the finger grooves and didn’t care for how the double-stack guns feel a bit like holding a 2×4. The Gen 6 Glock solved that. In fact, as you look the gun over, it seems Glock looked at the aftermarket, took the most popular upgrades, and installed them on the Gen 6.
What’s New with the Glock 17 Gen 6
The grip feels a fair bit slimmer and trimmer. Likewise, the palm swell feels nice, and the Gen 5 and beyond eliminated the finger grooves. The new RTF6 grip texture is rough, in a good way. It’s highly aggressive and runs up the entire frame of the gun. At the bottom of the grip sits an enlarged magwell for quick reloads.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Glock added an undercut on the trigger guard to allow a high grip without getting Glock knuckle. They mixed that with an extended beavertail to allow for a high grip while avoiding slide bite. Glock replaced the trigger with a flat-faced design, complete with the safety dingus device.
They installed these little scalloped thumb rests to act as micro-sized gas pedals for recoil control on both sides. The gas pedals are designed to ensure they don’t interfere with holsters. Glock also added a little bit of fencing around the ambidextrous slide stop to prevent your thumb from accidentally pressing it upward.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
All those ergonomic differences make a significant difference when the gun is in your hand. The Glock 17 Gen 6 feels fantastic. The texture feels good in the hand, the controls are easy to access, and those little gas pedals seem promising.
Sighting In
Glock redesigned the optics system. It’s still modular, but now the optics are installed directly to the slide. Previously, the plate was attached to the slide, and the optic to the plate. A polymer filler plate provides recoil bosses, and the gun comes with options for RMR, Leupold, and CMORE footprints.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Hopefully, an RMSc footprint comes soon, since I’m sick of dealing with footprints, and most of my favorite optics are RMSc compatible. Alongside the optics system, the slide has more aggressive, textured serrations. Glock seemed to address everything the aftermarket offers for Glock, but kept the cheap plastic sights.
Don’t Call it a Comeback
The Glock 17 has replaced the Glock 47. The Generation 6 Glock 17 and Glock 19 can swap slides and frames so that you can have a Glock 19 slide on a Glock 17 frame or a Glock 17 slide on a Glock 19 frame. This is the same compatibility the Glock 47 previously offered.
Sure, they could have let the 17 moniker rest and just gone with 47, but the Glock 17 was the first Glock pistol. Keeping the 17 namesake around allows them to lean into their history and to keep their oldest model in production.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
The Glock 17 Gen 6 comes with three magazines, three optic adapters, and the traditional little Glock magazine loader. You also get two backstraps to change the gun’s grip size. We still get the suite of upgrades we saw with the Gen 5, like the Glock Marksman barrel with a target crown.
At the Range With the Glock 17 Gen 6
Let’s talk accuracy. Zeroing my red dot was the first task and represented my first shots fired with this Gen 6 17. Luckily, the optic and gun were a good combination, partially due to the Gen 6’s accuracy.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
At 15 yards, taking it as slow as I could from an offhand position, I was able to keep shots within mostly two-inch groups. I used dot torture dots as my target and kept most of my shots in nice, tight groups.
At 25 yards, I could clear a plate rack in less than five seconds. At 50 yards, I could land consistent shots in the A and C zones of an IPSC target fired from an offhand position. The new flat-faced trigger, combined with the new grip design, makes this thing accurate and easy to shoot.
The Glock 17 Gen 6 is a smooth shooter. Most modern 9mms are fairly smooth, but it’s almost buttery smooth. I’ve been shooting a few 2011s recently. The transition between a Staccato and a Gen 4 is a bit jarring, but the transition to a Gen 6 Glock isn’t so crazy.
Going Fast
It’s not as smooth or as nice as the $2,500 Staccato, but it’s not that far off. The Gen 6 Glock 17 is extremely flat shooting. Compared to my Gen 4 Glock 17, there is a big difference in how fast I get back on target after I fire a shot.
I dumped a couple of dozen rounds from a 33-round magazine. I started fast, but just kept going, aiming to see how fast I could go while keeping the gun on target. The gun recovers incredibly quickly, and the recoil impulse is soft and smooth. The sights track extremely well, and the gun is the definition of flat shooting. It’s not just flat shooting for a Glock, but for any modern 9mm.
The dot goes up, then settles back down. My ability to get a good, high grip, and the sharp grip texture keep the gun easy to control. I can go fast, and I like going fast.
The Glock 17 Gen 6 recoil is predictable and easy to control, which allows for easy, rapid-fire strings. From a Level 3 Safariland holster, I shot a 2.3-second Bill Drill. My draw was about 1.3 seconds, so I fired six rounds in about 1 second. That was my fastest Bill Drill; my slowest was 2.5 seconds.
Going fast is fun. Controlling speed is even more fun. Shooting a Glock wasn’t a boring affair for me. I enjoyed it a lot, and getting the gun going faster and faster became a theme for the day.
The flat-faced trigger isn’t any lighter than the stock Glock trigger, but stock Glock trigger pulls were never bad. The flat-faced design prevents the distinct rub provided by the old Glock triggers.
Feeding the Glock 17 Gen 6
The integrated magazine-well makes reloads fast. Admittedly, I would either goof up or struggle to find the slide release because of its small size. However, after a little repetition, I figured it out and got going fast with clean and consistent reloads.
The problem I have is that my thumbs pin the slide lock down, so when the last round is fired, the slide doesn’t lock open. This has always been an issue for me with most modern striker-fired guns. I’m trying to switch to a Ben Stoeger loose, floating-thumbs style grip, which will help with this problem.
In terms of reliability, I had two malfunctions, both of which were failures to cycle. However, I believe these are ammo-related. Both rounds had reduced recoil and noise, enough so that I stopped and checked to make sure they weren’t squib loads. I guess that’s what I get for using the absolute cheapest ammo possible.
The Gen 6 Revival
I’m a fan of the Glock Gen 6. More so than I thought I would be. In my mind, a Glock is a Glock, and the differences between generations are often not all that major.
However, the Gen 6 seems to be a big move for Glock. Glock’s use of the term “perfection” invites what’s arguably understandable criticism. However, while nothing’s perfect, the Gen 6 is a lot closer to perfection than the company has been before.
Sure, the sights still suck, and the slide release is still a dinky, tiny thing placed too far rearward, at least for me. However, the ergonomic updates and the optic mounting system are well-needed changes.
It’s downright progressive for Glock.
