Glock 17 Gen 4 vs. Glock 22 Gen 4

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DieHard06

New member
I need some advice. I love Glocks (and other guns too), and own a Glock 19 (my favorite gun and primary carry) and a Glock 26. I have always been partial to 9mm and .45 auto; I carry 9mm and have a .45 as my HD gun. Recently, I saved up enough cash to buy a Glock 17 Gen 4. I love the Glock 17, and I like the Gen 4 model because of the grip and the extended mag release.

Recently though, I have been hearing people have issues with the 9mm Gen 4. I was wondering if anyone had advice on if I should buy a Glock 22 Gen 4 or a Glock 17 Gen 4? I do not want to buy a Glock 17 Gen 3 because inevitably, I would trade it in or buy a Gen 4 down the road. On the other hand, I have never gotten into or even fired a .40 caliber gun. I don't have a range nearby to go rent one either. My gun dealer is going to pick up my gun next week. 9mm or .40? Also, this will double as a HD gun and carry gun when I am wearing a suit. I am still leaning to what I know, the 9mm. Is the Gen 4 Glock 17 full of problems or is just a few people that I shouldn't worry too much about? I have already read the thread with the Glock 19 Gen 4 malfunctions. Any suggestions and thoughts would be helpful. Thank you.
 
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Daryl

New member
Buy what you want, amigo. It should run, but it it doesn't, then jump through the hoops with Glock 'till it does.

It's not your only pistol, so you can play with it to make it run right and just carry the 19 'till it does.

I'm a fan of the .40, so what I'd do is irrelevant. Seriously, buy what you want.

Daryl
 
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Dc9Loser

Moderator
Glock had better fix the problems with the Gen IV as reliability is the biggest reason I can think of to buy a Glock. They are going to kill their brand name.

I agree with Dayrl, Glock will fix it if you have problems. To me a Glock would be broken if you had one failure in 10,000 rounds. Some of the Gen IV stories and videos are more like a failure in 10 rounds.

Hopefully Glock is on top of it and fixing the problems in future manufacture. If they are not fixing this fast they are going to lose market share. People have long memories and they talk.

I'd make the decision on the 17 vs. the 22 on the round.

9mm you hold more and the ammo is flat out cheap (on the internet lately for about 8 bucks for 50 rounds of FMJ). You also get more bullets in the magazine. If you plan on practicing a lot the 9 mm looks better.

Sounds like you don't go to the range much as it is far away, so 40 cal, which for sure is a better round than 9 mm, might be the way to go.

I shoot .357 SIG/Glock 33. I am really thinking of buying a Glock 26 to practice with. 8 bucks a box is a bunch better than 20 bucks plus a box.
 
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AustinTX

New member
I'm sure the G22 is fine, but I'd never own it simply because it's essentially nothing more than a G17 with the barrel bored out to .400 instead of .355. That might not bug most people, but it does me.
 
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varoadking

New member
I'm sure the G22 is fine, but I'd never own it simply because it's essentially nothing more than a G17 with the barrel bored out to .400 instead of .355. That might not bug most people, but it does me.
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So how is your .40S&W P229 different than a 9mm P229, other than it has a barrel bored out to .400 instead of .355?
 
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AustinTX

New member
The Sig P229 was specifically designed for the .40 S&W, so the design direction is the reverse for the P229 in 9mm. To be accurate, the .40 version was "bored out less" to create the 9mm.

The .40 S&W obviously didn't exist when the G17 was created. Glock figured that the G17 was overbuilt enough that it could handle the .40 and simply bored out their 9mm pistol to create the G22. While I'm sure they're right, that engineering process doesn't make the gun particularly attractive to me.
 
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Dc9Loser

Moderator
Since pre-gen IV Glocks are probably the most reliable pistols ever made, I fail to see the problem with the lack of a total redesign for the 22 (your claim not mine).

Glocks are good, not exciting but if I were going to war and needed a pistol that my life might depend on I'd pick one over anything else I can think of.

I carry a G33 which I love - but I really want to buy another gun (boredom? need for something better?) but I really cannot find one that is better. Every other gun is either heavier or bigger or has less firepower or whatever. There is nothing better, only prettier, newer, better advertised, etc.

Glocks have been around a while and are still the cutting edge in my opinion. Your mileage may vary.
 
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AustinTX

New member
You don't have to see a problem with it. It's my own personal design preference. I would be more interested in a Glock in .40 if Glock had designed a pistol around the .40 when the cartridge was released instead of designing the gun on the cheap (i.e. doing essentially nothing other than boring out the barrel of a G17 to .400 and calling it a G22).

Also, from what I've read, a good number of Glock fans would not consider the 22/23 as reliable as the 17/19.
 
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geetarman

New member
I have a gen. 4 G17. I had two failures to feed on the first magazine in the gun and none since.

I have replaced the stock trigger with a 3.5 lb one and the gun runs fine.

I installed the large back strap as my hands are large and the improved grip has improved my shooting.

The others who praise CZ are on to something. I bought the CZ75 SP01 and had the reduced power (13#) spring and competition hammer installed.

The gun has a 3.5 lb single action and 8.75 lb. double action pull now.

The guys at CZ shot a 5 shot group that you can cover with a quarter at 30 yards from a standing two hand hold.

I am impressed.

I think I can see a CZ97 in my future. . .:D

Geetarman:D
 
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Daryl

New member
You don't have to see a problem with it. It's my own personal design preference. I would be more interested in a Glock in .40 if Glock had designed a pistol around the .40 when the cartridge was released instead of designing the gun on the cheap (i.e. doing essentially nothing other than boring out the barrel of a G17 to .400 and calling it a G22).

Also, from what I've read, a good number of Glock fans would not consider the 22/23 as reliable as the 17/19.
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LMBO!

Have you ever looked at various firearms that are identical except for the chambering? A Remington 700's standard barrel is always the same diameter; the only difference is in the size of the hole that's in it. The bigger calibers get sorta thin looking in the walls, too, but they hold up very well. Nearly every namufacturer makes firearm barrels this way, so your argument is invalid IMO.

And I don't know much about the 9mm, simply because I wouldn't own one. My 23 is 100% thus far though, and I've put some rounds through it lately. A 17 or 19 might match it, but it can't beat 100%.

Daryl
 
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AustinTX

New member
Have you ever looked at various firearms that are identical except for the chambering? A Remington 700's standard barrel is always the same diameter; the only difference is in the size of the hole that's in it. The bigger calibers get sorta thin looking in the walls, too, but they hold up very well. Nearly every namufacturer makes firearm barrels this way, so your argument is invalid IMO.
Click to expand...

As should be obvious from what I've already posted, my complaint is not really about whether or not a firearm is chambered in different calibers without changes to external dimensions. That's merely incidental to what I'm talking about.
 
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DieHard06

New member
Just as an update, I ended up getting the Glock 17 Gen 4. As a bonus (or maybe this is normal), it came with three mags. I paid $540 for it. I won't be able to shoot it this weekend, but I will on Monday. I will let you know how it does. Thank you for your input.
 
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tjhands

New member
Enjoy your new gun. :)

Most of the problems I've read about concerning the Gen4 G17/22s revolve around practice ammo (light target loads). The guns are designed and used most often as defensive weapons, so if it runs flawlessly with a good HP round like Gold Dot, HST, or Ranger T, I'd be happy with it. If I were buying it as a range or competition gun I can see getting bummed out about it, though.

More than likely you won't have any problems. Curious as to why you said that if you had bought a Gen3 you'd end up buying a Gen4 eventually. For the backstraps?
 
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DieHard06

New member
Well, I said that because, eventually they will get any spring issues worked out and the gun will run flawlessly. I like the new spring (as long as it works), and I like the grip on the new gun. So eventually, I would have traded my Gen 3 in for a Gen 4. I feel like it slips less in my hand. The backstraps is the only new feature that I don't really care for (more like care about) since it already fits my hand like a glove. Although, on a Gen 4 Glock 20 or 21 I would probably like that feature.
 
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DieHard06

New member
Also, I forgot to mention that I love the extended mag release. I know that those are available for the Gen 3, but I like how this one is wider along the handle, not longer and more protruding. Pretty much I like almost all of the new features; I just want it to have the same reliability. I think it will.
 
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RT

New member
My Gen 4 G17 is up to about 1100 rounds. Zero failures between 5 different shooters with the cheapest ammo I can find.
 
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DieHard06

New member
I took my Glock 17 Gen 4 to the range yesterday. I am very low on funds and ammo so I was only able to put about a 100 rounds through it including some of my SD ammo. It fed everything perfectly. There were no failures whatsoever. Also, the recoil was the best of any gun I have ever shot, including the Beretta 92fs which used to hold that position. I loved the gun. However, one annoying thing is that close to 1 out of every 4 or 5 shell casings ejected straight into the air and came down on my forehead. I thought it was just the practice ammo, but one of the +P SD shell casings did it too. I am not sure why they don't all go in the same direction. It may have something to do with the added spring strength since all of them weren't traveling as far.
 
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