Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Which is stronger the Glock 17 or the 19? Small frame vs. large?

Yep, just one of the "weaknesses" of a Glock. EVERY pistol has an Achellies heel; every last one. Best idea is to find one, find out what it is, then determine if it's an Achilles heel you can live with, or mitigate somehow.

Sig's...They have no backstrap on the frame, so break the grips and the pistol is all but useless (grips are pretty tough). How to mitigate? Hogue's are all but indestructible, but they also make the grip significantly fatter.

Beretta's - If you don't treat the locking block as a wear part and change every 5k rounds, it WILL break and completely lockup your pistol. Slide mounted safety takes a good deal of extra training to live with; better do it.

Look closely and you'll find a weak spot on EVERY pistol.

I haven't given it much thought as to the impact weapon use of my Glocks, but I do have a D cell maglight next to my nightstand gun. ASP training back in the day said, never use your flashlight or pistol as an impact weapon. I can buy another Maglight for $35 and the pistols start as over $500 and the light doesn't launch bullets. I am now paranoid about falling on rocks while running.
Thanks for the heads up about Achilles heels. I wish a Glock 20 had a 1911 style grip, or a CZ75 in 40 S&W wasn't so blocky. A crisp S&W single action trigger on every revolver would be nice too.

I'm not gonna hit somebody with a gun unless I want to kill them, in which case shooting them makes more sense. And if it's empty and I'm beating somebody with it, let it break.

I've seen training like that and have been subjected to it too. It makes me cringe.

It's unlikely to have to use a Glock as a club. They tend to work well as a firearm.

Ease of carrying, i can't tell any difference in shooting them

I have a friend who instinctively thumped a suspect in the head with his drawn Glock after the suspect jumped out of the bushes and rushed my friend at close quarters. The slide jumped the rails and made the gun totally inoperable, as in not even a single shot. That was 10-12 years ago, though, and I have no recent reports of such a thing happening with newer model guns.

In answer to your question, neither. Get a 1911.

I don't advocate using a pistol as an impact weapon, unless it's empty and you're in a struggle for your life. But you have to consider, one good face plant on a hard surface can do exactly the same damage to the gun as using it as a club.

And might I offer a correction in your description of your Mag-Lite...It's an attitude adjustment tool, with built in flashlight

IIRC the 2nd Gen Glock's failed the Secret Service's "Frisbee" test, where they threw it like a Frisbee onto a concrete surface; the slide popped off nearly every time. That was embarrassing to Glock, so when they made the Gen-3, they fixed that problem.

I would think the more compact nature of the G19 would make it stronger. All things being equal, the cantilever effect of more mass would make the G17 weaker. Not an exact engineering description but most will get the point...

The G17 is not a large frame Glock either...

I have done an overload work up in a Glock 19, and like other 9mm pistols I have tested, it is stronger than the brass.

The stock G19 barrel has feed ramp intrusion to .19".
Most 9mm brass have a .16" web, leaving .03" of thin unsupported case wall over the feed ramp. That causes a bulge with typically 60% more powder than published maximum loads.

Typical 9mm.

Back in the mid '80s,Glock people traveled around giving demonstrations at large companies that had armed security.The new Glock 17 was dunked in a mixture of mud and crud and then fired.The pistol was frozen with co2,and then fired.The gun was dropped from a chopper to land on the hard pavement to be kicked back and forth,and then fired.Last but not least,the Glock was was rolled over and parked upon by a pickup truck,and then fired,RAPIDLY.Apparently,a lot of folks were impressed with the demos,because Glock is still around and a very large company.

The barrel lugs are different, but the G19 and G17 have essentially the same frame, not counting length of course. G17 magazines can be used in a G19.

You have to move up to the G20/29 or G21/G30 to get the 'large' frame.

I've been shooting Glocks (and other pistols, too...) off & on for nearly 20 years now. I have owned and sold off a dozen or more over the years, but somehow I always keep coming back to the G17 and the G19 (although G30SF is a tidy little package in its own right!). I don't know if the G17 is really stronger than the G19, but it's certainly not weaker. As others have pointed out, the G17 was Gaston's first and basic design, and it's stood the test of time.

I took an "advanced" pistol class at Chapman Academy about 10 years ago in which we went through a phenomenal quantity of ammunition. The pistol I took was a G17 with NY-1 trigger and a 3.5 pound trigger connect that was fairly new to me. I put nearly 4500 rounds through that pistol in 5 days and it never hiccuped... and to the best of my recollection it was the only handgun in that class that made it all the way through the full course of fire.

Which range do you work at I get out to LV a few times a year, would love to stop by and say hello.

Since the 80's people have done some real dumb things trying to break a Glock. Suppose if your determined enough you can do it. As much as I love the slimness, trigger and the feel of a quality 1911 or Hi Power, I carry a G17, with +P+ loads. I have found that evil normally brings an accomplice and more bullets available is never a bad thing.

I believe the polymer striker fired handgun is here to stay. With Wilson Combat 1911's running around 4 grand with a 9 round capability, and the new H&K VP9 at 600 dollars with 16 rounds in the gun, many are looking hard at the H&K/Glock/M&P platforms. Knowing there are no safety's to manually engage and disengage, or having to struggle with a DA/SA, and decock and holster under stress, just engage the threat and shoot. Yes, the triggers are at best OK, but I feel these polymer striker fired semi autos are the new revolver in both simplicity of use and durability.

While the G19 is the most popular 9mm sold today, I would carry which ever feels and shoots best to you. If there is a durability edge, however slight I'd have to guess it would go to the G17 as its the platform that's been tested the most. I would also purchase the 3Gen series, as the 4th Gen has had some teething problems.