Note to GLOCK fanboys: I’ve done my bit for the brand. I’ve shared my Three Reasons to Buy a GLOCK Gen5. But, as this website’s called The Truth About Guns, I feel obliged to forward the alternative view: three reasons not to buy a GLOCK Gen5.
As before, please understand that this comes from a place of love. I own, shoot, carry and coddle GLOCKs. Respect! And here’s why you might want to give Gen5 a pass . . .
1. You already own a GLOCK
Provided you’ve loaded your current GLOCK, it will go bang when you squeeze the trigger. And when it does, your GLOCK-brand GLOCK will send a bullet — any bullet of the correct caliber — down the barrel with more-than-merely-adequate accuracy. What more do you want from a GLOCK?
Faster reloads? A more accurate barrel? A more durable finish? An end to those pesky finger grooves? I seriously doubt you cursed Gaston’s gang for not building your GLOCK Gen 1,2,3 or 4 with a flared magwell, Marksman Barrel, nDLC finish or grooveless grip.
Face it: your current GLOCK is just fine. It’s not broken, in danger of being broken or worn out. It does what it’s supposed to do. And will continue doing it for the foreseeable future. If it ain’t broke, don’t upgrade it? Like that.
2. There are better ways to spend your money
If you already have a GLOCK and haven’t upgraded to night sights or a better trigger, grippier grip, more efficient holster, more expensive range/carry ammo, match grade barrel or maybe a red dot, that might be a better “investment” than buying a new, bone-stock Gen5.
If you have upgraded these bits and pieces on your current gun, buying Gen5 puts you right back at GO. You might like that. (Thomas Edison was delighted when his Menlo Park lab burned down.) You might not. But you sure ain’t gonna get your modification money back at trade-in.
If you don’t have a GLOCK-brand GLOCK, you’d be forgiven for wanting to jump on the GLOCK train at Gen5 to own the best handgun for custom modification — given the ginormous number of aftermarket parts providers. Well, eventually; not all Gen5 parts are backwards compatible with Gen4 and previous.
Yes there is that, for now. Meanwhile, practical handgun owners — people who view their firearm as nothing more than a defensive tool — are well advised to divert their eyes from the Gen5 magic feather. Consider spending money on professional training with your current gun, whatever that may be. What’s between your ears is miles more important than what’s in your hand. (Keep it clean fellas.)
3. There are alternatives
I haven’t shot the new GLOCK Gen5’s. So I can’t say whether or not the latest GLOCK is better than, say, the latest Smith & Wesson M&P M2.0. But I can say that the low bore axis, grippier grip M&P M2.0 is one hell of a pistol. And at the risk of alienating Beach Boys fans, she’s real fine, my [FN] 509. Not to mention the Walther PPQ with its fresh-lettuce-crisp PDQ trigger.
Here’s a piercing glimpse into the obvious: these other handguns are not GLOCKs. They don’t look like GLOCKs, they don’t shoot like GLOCKs and they don’t carry like GLOCKs. Guess what? That’s a good thing! The world’s a better place with a wide selection of non-GLOCK GLOCK (i.e. striker-fired, polymer pistols) options. Guns that are, for all practical purposes, just as reliable as a GLOCK Gen5.
Heresy! OK, how about this: non-GLOCK GLOCKs may be more reliable than a GLOCK Gen5. At least until GLOCK gets some experience building GLOCK Gen5’s. Ask Ralph (or SIG SAUER): new guns are prone to “glitches.”
Just so you know, FN fired a million rounds through the 509 before releasing it to the public back in April. Not a million rounds through one gun, but still. Anyway, if these and other non-GLOCK GLOCKs are nearasdammit reliable as a GLOCK, why not consider the alternatives?
As Dyspeptic Gunsmith asserts, when it comes to choosing a handgun, comfort is key. The GLOCK’s grip angle isn’t everyone’s cup of cartridges. To compare a non-GLOCK GLOCK’s ergonomics to a GLOCK brand GLOCK’s ergos, simply handle the competing pistols at your local gun store.
Bottom line: if you want a GLOCK Gen5, buy a GLOCK Gen5. But don’t feel like you have to. Gaston’s mob will get on just fine without you. And the chances that you’ll suffer non-GLOCK buyer’s remorse are smaller than than the chances that the GLOCK Gen6 will look or function significantly differently from a GLOCK Gen5. Or 4 or 3 or 2 or 1.