Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Glock 21 Gen 5. w/ RDO

As a new Glock guy....who has only had a Gen 5....what were some of the upgrades you keep mentioning?

Glad to be an enabler!

I really like my Ruger .45 Flattop Convertible. The G21.5 and the Flattop actually pair well together!

I have an older picture of my Gen 3 G21 and my full size, large frame Ruger .45 convertible. They paired well together too. The G21.5 is simply a modern, better version!

I will have to find it and post that pic in a bit.

First I will say that my experience has been somewhat limited so far. However, I have done some research on the optic. C&H did their homework before they brought it to market. naming it Duty is appropriate, as it really seems to be a duty grade optic. Being a sealed optic makes sense both for a duty type and outdoors type optic. Plus the 50,000 hour battery life is a crazy long time on a battery. I will never find out about that, as I have a habit of changing mine out annually. Batteries are very inexpensive, and it only makes sense.

The adjustments and controls are super easy. I actually never bothered to download instructions, as the thing is so easy to use, you can look at it and figure it out. It is simply user friendly. The punchline is that it won't be my last. I really would like to have one on one of my ARs too. I have a 16" carbine with an SWFA 3x9 that this would pair up perfectly with.

That article that pain relief linked has a number of the things that are new on the Gen 5s, but it sounds like it was written by a person who has never handled or shot one.

The grip texture is completely different. Between the 3s and 5s, they changed to a much more aggressive texture. The 3 had a more smooth texture that also had finger grooves. The grooves are gone and replaced with a flat front strap.






The frame changed on the large frames on the underside of the trigger guard. You can choke up on the gun higher. Getting a better grip on the gun for more control. This is a slight thing, but it helps. On my Gen 3 G30S .45, I actually modified my frame so I could get my hand higher up since I have XL hands.

Plus the mag release, as you can see in the pics is totally different. Larger, flatter and with no sharp edges. It is like getting a custom mag release w/o paying for it. It is by far the best mag release they have ever done and there is no need to ever bother with anything else. It is one of the very few things I ever fiddled with on some of my old guns. I actually changed out mag releases to something that looked almost exactly like that.



Magwells. The gen 5 magwells are HUGE on the large frames. I always thought the G21.3 had a massive magwell, but the new ones are massive. Here is a comparison between a gen 3 and gen 5.





You can see on the bottom of the grip picture (shown above) that the Gen 5 is slightly flared. This has made for a big magwell. Also aids in your grip a bit I noticed. Glock really did their homework. If you miss a mag change with an opening like that.. Well Helen Keller could do mag changes with a Gen 5!

Glock calls the barrels Marksman barrels. I do understand they have new machinery. New mandrels. The crowns are recessed, and the rifling appears to be more of a traditional design, compared to the previous octagonal rifling. From what I gather the bore is ever so slightly tighter. What the specs are I have no idea and even if I were to ask, I doubt anyone would tell me, as that is most likely proprietary information.

I am sure there are a couple things I am forgetting but this is off the top of my head. The punchline is that the guns are a true improvement. Enough so that they warrant spending the coin if you are a really a serious shooter or are looking for a tack driver. They are the softest shooting, most accurate big bore handguns I have ever shot. Hands down.

Like I said previously. I don't get new guns often. When all the new breed of mini guns came out such as the P365s, micro shields, and Hellcats, LCPs, etc, I took the time to shoot each one, but I asked myself in realistic terms "what can this do for me that my plain old G19, and J Frame are not doing?". The bottom line is most required a holster, generally IWB, so once that came into play, in the real world, I did not shoot any of them better than my G19, so I just stuck with my G19 or G17 and a J Frame in my front off side pocket.

I just don't upgrade unless it is truly noteworthy. I have been shooting the Gen3 G21s for about 20 years. Well in excess of 100K through various G21s between years of USPSA competition, duty, executive protection, teaching, hunting, etc.

Now there is a gun (actually a series) worth upgrading to. The Gen 5 is worth it. Adding the optic (in this case the C&H Duty) is allowing me to get the most out of the gun.

Thanks Mackay. Looking at the same darned combo you have. Seems like a pretty sensible packing gun. I like the accuracy aspect. Seems like it's real promising.

Thanks!

I guess I jumped into the Glock pool at the right time.

My last issue pistol was a Gen 5 G17. I was issued the pistol and had a little time to play with it before qualifications. I discovered it was surprisingly accurate with Federal American Eagle 147 gr. flatpoint FMJ. Also, the trigger didn't suck as bad as older generations of stock Glock triggers. I hauled some of the 147 gr. AE ammo to the range with me on Q Day. As my squad was waiting our turn to shoot a couple of guys began to complain they didn't like the new Gen5 9mm as much as the older Gen3 G22 .40 caliber guns they were replacing. I commented on how accurate the new pistols were and the bullchitting was on big time. One of the detractors of the new 9mm seemed particularly motivated and was relentlessly yammering on and on. I told him I could qualify with the new gun with headshots only - no center mass shots on the B-27 target. Now it was on! He bet me lunch that there was no way I was going to make 100% headshots and that included the 25-yard 12-round stage. I had some line cutters but all of my 60 shots scored on the head area of the target. Those Gen 5 rifled barrels are accurate. I'm not necessarily a Glock fanboy but have been issued one or another of the Glock pistols for most of my 32 years in LE. Over the years and a lot of rounds later I have developed a grudging respect for their capabilities. Probably why my woods gun has been a G20SF 10mm for many years now. I'll never get rid of that Gen 3SF 10mm. I have too many good memories of it. However, since I have been moving to the optic-sighted pistol the last few years a Gen 5 G21 MOS .45 ACP would be a handy gun to have around.

Glocks from one Gen to the next never change much. It’s kind of the Glock trademark. Minimalist pistols that go bang. Some people like that and some don’t.

The light rail starting with Gen 3 was a big change and the triggers have improved over the years. Red dot compatible models starting with the Gen 5 is a big change. The rail and factory milled slide option were big functional changes but didn’t change the actual guns much.

Overall Glocks are the old Ford’s of the gun world. They really haven’t change much in 40 years. Most of it is subtle changes. I liked the Gen 3 grip texture better but I didn’t like the finger groves but thats obviously subjective. Some people are big into front slide serrations starting with Gen 5. I can’t see any downside but really don’t care one way or the other. Same with the bullnose starting with Gen 4’s.

Gen 1 through 5 are a lot more similar than different in appearance and function. They’re all reliable and are all combat accurate. They’re been a favorite in IDPA stock class for years. I like Glocks a lot but I’d love to see a better factory undercut trigger guard and a flat trigger shoe.

Thanks for the reply.

I recently acquired a G20.5 primarily as protection while horseback. While milled, and I had my kydex holster formed to allow an optic, I wasn’t planning to mount one for my application. Now rethinking that.

Local pard (akpls on here) acquired same pistol and mounted an optic. He sent me pics of groups similar to yours.

Tks for the info.

"I had my kydex holster formed to allow an optic, I wasn’t planning to mount one for my application...."

Special tools needed to do that or just a heat gun and dremal tool?

The holster maker does it from the get-go as he builds the holster. Same thing for a weapon-mounted flashlight. If the gun has a weapon-mounted light most Kydex makers index the gun in the holster based on the specific light you are using.

+1

$5 upcharge to have it done from
HOSKING HOLSTERS

I’m sure it can be done with a dremel, but might look like a bubba job.

Friends,

I took the G21.5 out again today.

Shot it at 50 yards this time.

I shot 10 rounds that was on the cardboard but just off the white target paper. You can se it in the pic below. Very nice tight cluster of shots. I made one adjustments to the C&H optic and shot a 5 shot group that put them right where I wanted them right in the black.



The 5 shots went into about a 2.5" group. with 4 of 5 much tighter (I have a tendency to always throw one). Pretty dang tight shooting gun for 50 yards.

This was over the back of my Land Cruiser tailgate and not exactly the most stable. Here is a pic of the shooting platform and the target.




I have been discussing this with a few people today. I have shot a LOT of 1911s, both stock and highly customized (meaning super expensive) that did not shoot even close to this good.
I ended up shooting doing some quick shooting at other stuff just to get a feel for the gun. The very light recoil impulse of the gun is impressive. With the RDO on it, it is very easy to get back on target and hammer targets quickly.

Needless to say, I like it a lot.

I had to do some other shooting, as I was out there doing some T&E stuff. Shooting some other guns as well.

I can definitely say that shooting 325 grain Poly-Coat WFNs out of my short barrel .45 Colt at 1200 FPS are nowhere near as fun!

Great shooting! Very nice Mackay. You are definitely selling em!

LOL,

I should be in the gun business and not the ammo business!

It's why I bought a Glock.

Well, it is your handcrafted with angel tears made ammo that's making the small groups.. Shouldn't hurt sales a bit!

Ted, thanks for a bunch of great info...I ordered your exact set up G21 Gen 5 MOS with the C&P Duty RDO closed Emitter. But to be fair I do not think my hand gun skills will compare with some of the above displayed groups.

I wish you guys would stop, now you’ve got me looking at Gen 5 Glock 21’s.