I actually owned a Gen 2 Glock 23 back in the early 90s, but sold it in the late 90s. The Gen 5 23 is a bit more robust, due to a more substantial (and thicker) slide (intended to make it better suited for the .40 S&W). I generally like the Gen 5 Glocks, and have one in the Model 26 and the Model 19, but thought I'd give the new, more robust, Gen 5 Model 23 a try, and see how I like it.

I took delivery of it today, and brought it right to the range. I fired 150 rounds of PMC Bronze 165 grain FMJ through it without a hiccup of any kind. No brass in the face, or on top of the head, or any sort of problem whatsoever.



I had the medium sized backstrap insert installed, which helped me to keep it from slipping out of position in my grip under recoil, and it did the job. I found the recoil quite manageable.

It came with three 13 round mags, but I put in an order for three more today with Midway.

The factory sights seem to be right on. Here's a 15 yard, off hand, group of 13 rounds:



One observation that I have is that you practically have to sit on the magazine to get that 13th round in, and forget about carrying one in the chamber besides (making for 14 rounds onboard), because pushing a fully loaded mag up in there with the action closed was difficult enough that I didn't put a whole lot of effort into trying. I guess it's a true 13 round gun.

Overall, I'm impressed with its handling. And, although the slide is thicker, it fits perfectly in my well worn El Paso Saddlery C-Force IWB holster, which was made for the Glock 17. I hear that it won't fit in the fitted Kydex or plastic holsters designed for earlier Gens, though. That's an advantage to a leather holster, I guess.

I might end up carrying this gun.

Great review, I'm glad you're rocking the .40 S&W. Sounds like the 23 Gen 5 is a hot little carry pistol. If you haven't tried it, I can recommend the Lost River Ammunition load if you don't mind shooting a 170 grain +P, it's very accurate in my pistol:

https://www.lostriverammocompany.com/product/40S&W-P-170-GRN-Poly-Coat-Semi-Wadcutter-100-RND

40 is bad ass 👍

Do yourself a favor, https://gunmagwarehouse.com/maglula...l-magazine-loader-and-unloader-3486.html

They are a fun gun to shoot, and Lost River Ammo shot good in it also.

Love the UpLula. Been using it for years. Were it not for the UpLula, I'd likely have only loaded 12 in the mags. In order to get those 13th rounds in, I had to palm the top of the UpLula and use my chest to push down on the back of that hand, while using my other hand to slip the round in.

Nice Glock. 23 has been one of my favorites for a long time.

Thanks. I need some better sights for it than the plastic ones that come on it. Suggestions?

I'm thinking in terms of the Trijicon HD.

You'll get a ton of opinions. I like Tru glo TFOs

I had those on a Gen 4 19 once. Really liked them.

Trijis are tha schit👍

One question: Are all sights that are designed for the Glock 23 good for the Gen 5 23?

Good shooting, TRH. Not a .40 guy, but 23s are the shizzle in that caliber.

My understanding the barrel in the Gen 5 is different resulting in a higher point of impact so the rear sight is different from gen 4 and earlier. Just make sure it's Gen 5 sights and you should be good.

Don't think i would buy one without the mos cut.


Nice pistola anyway.

I received my Glock 21 gen 5 2 wks ago and have been impressed with it as well. These are nice shooting guns!! It is not a CC firearm, but very comforting having it on my side! That 13th round is a bitch to get in. I've decided I can live with 3 12 rd for a 36 total of 45 ACP.
Mickey

Been kicking around the idea of a Gen 5 17 MOS, but now you've got me thinking....

I’m gunna have to get a Gen 5, just don’t know what model.

The gen 5 MOS are a great addition...regardless of 17-21. I'll be setting my 21 up with both RDO and the under barrel light. I've always been a 1911 man but these are a new rendition for sure.

I sure like my g45.

My age, grip strength & arthritis has me shooting a 9 a bit better. But know that no 9 can out perform the 40, so don't ever let someone back you in a corner with the; short & weak BS.

The 40 will send a 180 as fast as most 9's can sent a 147. Shadetree math still tells me the 40 has some spunk.

Hits hard:

This .40 S&W +P Poly-Coat Hard Cast Semi Wadcutter (170 grain) is a true high performance load.

Velocity: 1,200 FPS (Glock 22 Gen 3).

This is an exceptional load. Deep penetration, high velocity. Great accuracy. Excellent reliability.

I have 2 Glocks and both are in .40. One is a gen 3 model 23 and the other is a gen 3 model 35 with the 5.25" slide. I see no reason to trade or sell for anything 9mm.

kwg

I’ve got a Gen 1 Glock 23 been carrying it for years.

Now what is the 45? 19 slide, 17 frame?

I was thinking that was a 19x.

Every Glock in 40 S&W I’ve ever owned has had very tight magazines when it comes to getting the 13th or 15th round in.

I am thinking the 40 will come full circle.

Yes.

Uuuuhhhh..I think.

It's not the 19x because it is black and has an MOS cut I think?

The “problem” with the .40 is the anemic factory ammo but with some real ammunition like Lost River a guy has something substantial in a compact package. I finally just went with the G20 and shoot the cases of 40 ammo I have through it for target practice…then I use stout 10mm for carry.

TRH….Your range trips with the various firearms you own are always worth reading and this one is no different. I’m glad you like your Gen 5 23 and I appreciate your range reports, that pistol looks like it’ll do the job quite well from 15 yards and I sure don’t wanna be down range of it or you. 😉😀

I bought a G45, put an optic on it and a Glock performance trigger and I carry it daily. I’m not a Glock guy, but damn I like this gun.

My understanding, the difference twixt the 19x and the 45 is the 45 has the optic cut on the slide, 19x does not. 19x will not accept gen5 mags, has a lanyard hole, and is fde. But essentially yeah, 17 frame with 19 slide.

Way to go Hawk!!

When My department finally dropped the 38 special and went to a semi auto it was the Glock 23. I liked that round, something with authority. Since, we pussifide to the Glock 19. We have a great many urban types and women who only shot that one time a year in qualification, they had trouble with the 40.

Absolutely agree. It's BS to suggest there's no difference.

It's good to remember, during the great obama ammo famine, 9MM was tough to find but .40 S&W was everywhere.

This is true.

We carried a G22 or 23 on duty. I rather liked them. I would guess the powers that be in the State of Misery refused to look like puzzies with a 17/19. The 180 gr loads we trained with and carried were no joke full powered HPs. They wouldn't let me carry my G21/41s. RZ.

All I have on hand in the way of carry ammo for it is Winchester Ranger 165 grain Bonded. I just cleaned the new Glock 23 from yesterday's shoot, loaded it with the Ranger ammo, and holstered it. Decent stuff? It doesn't say "T-Series" on the box.

Nice weapon. If the 40 operates at the same pressure as 9mm, where did the reports come from that it was so hard on the Glocks? Must have been true somehow if they felt the need to beef up the slide, or was the beefing up defensive marketing? I got the M&P when they were giving them away. It was purported to have been engineered for the 40, not modified from a 9, inferring superiority over the Glock. Maybe heavier bullets at same pressure equals more force because there is more energy? Doesn't make sense but math is my second language....

Heavier bullet at about the same velocity as 9mm (124 grain 9mm vs 165 grain .40, and 147 grain 9mm vs 180 grain 40), given the same barrel lengths, so there has to be higher pressures involved with the .40.

I shoot a .40 in an Sig and a .45 in a G21.

I always, always liked the .40. Still do and always probably will. In a semi, it’s the way to go.

Congratulations on the new pistol.

They operate at the same pressure in Standard loads which is 35k PSI. Plus P 9mm is at even higher pressure and there is no standard for +P in 40 S&W. Since the case head is a larger diameter in 40 cal, there IS more case head thrust. The main reason 40 has been hard on Glocks is they retrofit it into their existing platform that was only designed for 9mm originally. To make matters worse, the 40 slide is actually a bit lighter since the larger diameter barrel had to fit in the same slide, metal as removed. The lighter slide and the thinner 40 cal barrel chamber were not such a good idea for longevity.

Later designed pistols like the M&P were designed as 40’s to start with then downgraded/modified to run 9mm. Going down works well, going up not so much. Glock attempted to modify their 40’s over time adding the 2nd frame pin etc to try and address the fact that 40 was wearing down their pistols a bit faster than 9mm. And we have now arrived at the Gen 5 which adds slide weight and also a thicker barrel and chamber walls. The Gen 5 40’s run much smoother than anything Glock has previously offered in 40 and make them more durable to boot. Had Glock done this design change early on, you could argue that 40 cal Glocks riding in duty holsters would have held up better and we might not have seen such a resurgence of folks going back to 9mm. After all, no one ever complained about the performance of 40 on bad guys! Only the guns being snappy which was a factor of them being too light and lightly built.

Mark in GA

This makes perfect sense. Same pressure on a larger caliber bullet will drive the bullet faster given the same weight bullet, and given heavier bullets, it will drive the larger caliber bullet just as fast, due to the same energy being applied to a larger surface. Agreed.

I carried one in an ankle holster for 3 years when I was an SRO. They are a bit heavy but it's doable.

kwg

WOW. I don’t know what else to say. 😄

Seriously? A Glock 21 on the ankle?

you going to put a red dot on that new Gen 5? Probably let you shoot it more accurately.

Not a fan of electronics on concealed carry pieces. KISS, Keep It Simple, Stupid. With emergency equipment, you want to minimize the number of things that can possibly go wrong. Nothing wrong with them on sports equipment, though.

Excellent explanation. The lightening effects related to larger bore would increase slide velocity and of course weaken critical parts. Kind of an inverse explanation of the 40 being "more powerful" than the 9.The forces are not greater per se. But because the critical parts are now weaker than the same pressure requires. I don't get how a larger diameter case head would create higher thrust, although it sounded convincing at first. Seems like greater surface area would dissipate forces better, not increase them. The ladies high heel principle, stilettos, etc.? Anyway it's a cool improvement all around. Thanks.

The larger surface area does dissipate force. That’s the reason for the larger powder charge for the 40. The end result is equal pressure for both but with a greater surface area and greater thrust for the 40.

Glocks are BADASS!

My brain finally let go! I get it. But then I dummy it down to my level. 35/9=3.88 35/10=3.5. Numbers are painful

Great looking pistol! These posts are making me really want a Gen 5. I'm a huge fan of 40S&W in general. It's a great caliber and far superior to 9mm imo. I don't understand all of the hate for it these days.

Do you all think the Gen 5 is worth the upgrade over a Gen 4?

Yes. Definitely. For one, I hated the finger grooves. There are other improvements, too.

No.

The praise that a poster in a previous thread heaped on the G5 based on an example of one is way out of hand. G1-G5 are a lot more similar than they are different. The fives are the most refined overall but some of it is individual preference. Glock changes at a glacier pace there’s no radical changes from one gen to the next IMO. G3, and G5 are my favorites along with the mostly G5 19X. I wouldn’t sell a G4 to buy a G5 though.

The MOS cut is nice but if Glock had really got it right it should be standard and milled for a Trijicon/Holosun footprint without the need for an adapter plate.

The trigger guard seems a little small on my one and only Glock(19x).

My PSA Dagger wears a Holosun with elevated open sights in case the former goes out.

The Holosun is pretty robust but I’ve shared your suspicion. I like this “belt & suspenders” approach.

Great pistol BTW; 40 is solid fo sho and I too LOVE the Gen 5 Glocks!

That's the thing for me. The finger grooves fit me perfectly and I really like them. I can see how it would be a big upgrade if they don't feel comfortable to someone, but that's not the case for me. The other main upgrade seems to be the barrel, but I just haven't been able to convince myself that I need to upgrade. All of these recent posts are making me wonder if maybe I do need to.

The trigger is improved, too. Also, there's the beveled forward part of the slide, which looks much better, and makes reholstering a bit easier.

It’s ironic. I’ve got or had all the Gens except Gen 5. Back in the day the finger grooves were the rave everyone wanted them, even me.

The grooves cause my middle finger to rub on the trigger guard on some models more than others.

If the Gen 5 is closer to the Gen 1-2 then I’m all in. My Gen 2 21 is probably my favorite. It has the best trigger by far of all that I own. 4.5 pounds red label.

For me, the finger grooves fit my hand perfectly on the Model 17/22, but on the Model 19/23 they did not. My pinky would always rest on the point of the bottom finger groove rise. Of course, I could have simply filed that off, then smoothed it out with some Emery Cloth, but that would have really damaged resalability.

Spit on it.

if PSA made the dagger in 40 it would temp me to replace my G20 as a hunting pistol, but that's a pipe dream I think, these days with glock your get about $400 worth of pistol and $200 worth of name or a $400 pistol for a $600 price.