The 17 would be known as its "compact carry" version.

Based on a sample of one G34, they don't know how to make target pistols. Gaston made a wise choice building a service pistol first.

No doubt.

I shot the 17L a few times, meh. Nice but.......

What I find interesting is that many consider a standard government model 1911 as no big deal to conceal, yet poo poo the idea of carrying a G17 or the slightly larger G34.


I have yet to find a centerfire handgun as easy to shoot well, when combining speed and accuracy, as a G34.

In the pure accuracy department, a well built 1911 gets the nod (for me),but when it comes to speed shooting, the G34 has proven to be an exceptional piece.

In the case on my G34, the barrel had a bit of play in it while in battery, so it was not what I would expect for a quality target/hunting gun. Perfectly fine for a service pistol, and was completely reliable. Sample of one, of course. I sold it to a member here after letting him try it, and the last I knew he was still happy with it.

The Glock 17 is my daily carry. Has been since summer. I have a couple of 19s, always figuring that I'd eventually switch to them, but as yet I see zero down side to the 17. I shoot it better, too. I guess the 19 prints ever so slightly less, but when zero printing becomes a top priority, I find that I'm more likely to switch out for a 43 rather than a 19. I guess if I could only ever have one concealed carry gun, it would be a 19. Fortunately, that's not the case.

I wish more people and departments/agencies recognized the advantage of longer sight radius.

Grab a timer and shoot comparable handguns with extreme differences in sight radius and you'll quickly realize that it's a game changer.

If you're going to strap something to a duty belt, by all means give me the longer sight radius. Within reason...




Dave

Deflave: What you are NOT considering in your contention is that its NOT just the strapping of a pistol to a duty belt!
Then once its strapped there you have to live, work, sit in a car, sit in witness chairs, run with it, fight with it, swim with it, wrestle people with it, draw it from the holster as quick as possible etc etc etc.
I did the above for 3 decades - so's I know!
I switched (at my own personal expense by the way) from a 4" barreled pistol to a 6" barreled pistol - that switch lasted about a year.
I even tried carrying that 6" barreled pistol "cross-draw" for a while.
I went back to the shorter "sight-radiused" pistol and was happy I did.
You would not think 2" in length and a few ounces more would make a difference enough so's one would go back to the shorter barrel length but for me it did.
As well as some of my cohorts.
Indeed the weight and longer sight radius of the longer barreled pistols made a slight difference in qualifying scores for me and others but often it was not worth the "hassles".
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VG,


how about a 1911 for a work gun, size wise?

The six inch double action revolver was the standard police length till most cops started driving as opposed to walking their beats. The four inch was adopted due to discomfort while sitting in a car seat with the six inch barrel revolver.

The middle ground, 5" is very hard to beat. Carries like a 4", handles like a 6".

Clark, shut your dirty mouth, you Perv.

This is the main reason why the NYPD is now issuing the 17 two new recruits.

if only it were modular would be much more accurate and reliable.

LOL. Yes, that's essential.

Never considered that.

Thank you for sharing your experience as a LEO.



Dave

If only your lug was more fuller...




Dave

Varmint Guy
Congrats the first guy not to get a GFY

Hank

A set of Warren sights made my G34 a different beast.

Oh, he got a GFY - in spades - but would need someone to draw him a picture to explain how.

Yep!

That one left contrails...

Btw,

The overall length difference is less than an inch between the 17 and 34...

Also, when was the 34 ever marketed as a 'target' pistol? It was, as Mack pointed out, intended for speed/tactical matches--a role it excels in.


As an aside, our local PD switched back to Glocks giving the choice bewtween the 34 or 19. I'll have to ask my buddy what the % split was (he chose the 19).

Interesting. Entirely skipped over the 17.

As a uniformed officer, I gladly exchanged a bit of comfort for the longer sight radius, first with a 1911, then with a 5" M&P. There really arent enough negatives to offset the increased "shootability."

Yep. That did surprise me.

That's been my experience, too. I can't justify giving up the slightly (yet very comfortingly) superior shootability of the Glock 17 for the ever so slightly decreased printing characteristics of the Glock 19.

Agreed. For uniform work, a G34 would be a top choice.

The funny part most view the G34 as this overly long and hard to conceal piece, yet take a look at a G34 vs a standard 5" Government Model:

Yep.

I went through my firearms trainer course at The Texas Department of Public Safety, home of the famed Texas Rangers. We shot out to 50 yards with handguns, which was the limit of their range. We shot with Model 60's and most of us had a semi-auto that had a 5" barrel. The longer sight radius is incredibly helpful in aiding accuracy. Hitting a 50 yard target in the center scoring rings with a 2" barreled 5-shot revolver was almost a circus stunt, or the result of a very talented marksman doing the shooting.

Very, very, very fugking few people do what you're doing in that pic.

It's always telling.



Travis

+1. Pistol size is always an entertaining topic.

Absolutely. Factor in that many LEO pistols now have lights which extend well beyond the G17's muzzle, and enough to at least split the difference between the G17 and 34. If a duty holster is long enough to fit the light, then why not a longer slide too?

If my memoir is correct, years ago it was either the Tribal Police or BIA guys ordered the 17L. A gun shop owner I knew was working on the bid.

Don't forget the weight difference, as well.

I don't have a steel 5" but my Scandium Commander with 8 rds of 230 weighs 34 oz.

My G34 with 17 rds of 115...33 oz

After not handling my 1911 for quite a while, I picked it up and my first reaction was: man, I can't believe how thin this thing is! The photo shows oal is the same but, also shows this thinner fact.

The photo also demonstrates the wide variety in personal preference and impressions. Mackay is using the photo to show similarity, all I see is difference. The G34 looks huge to me.

I believe the discussion had drifted to LEO duty carry, in which bulk and/or concealability doesn't matter, but weight, length, and shootability does.

The G34/35 was designed to pass the "box test" so not surprisingly is roughly the same as a 5" 1911. Holding the two tells a different story, but on a duty belt you're basically back to the "box test" standards.

If it doesn't excessively weigh down an already heavy belt, and doesn't bury the muzzle into patrol car seats (and push up into your torso) then shootability and control "at speed" and under stress should become the focus of evaluating the best pistol.

Just a guess, but the lack of widespread adoption of longer slides probably has something to do with "uniformity" within departments, with the detectives, management, and little people preferring the G19 or G17 sized pistols. Also, most cops aren't "gun people" so they probably haven't even considered the benefits of a longer sight radius. Just guessin'.......

and in reality there is no where near as much difference as you think

Lets put this in another perspective:


5" 1911, with one magazine of 8+1, for 9 rounds of 230 grain JHP, equals 2 pounds, 15 ounces:




Versus,

Glock 34, with 2 magazines of 21 rounds +1, for 43 rounds of 124 grain JHP, equals 2 pounds, 14 ounces:





9 rounds versus 43 rounds for essentially the same weight.

That is MORE than FIVE TIMES the ammo.

BTW, the Glock slide is only about 1/10th of an inch wider than a 1911. I think it is the rounded versus block profile that gives people a misconception.



I will also note that these are actually 22 round mags. I download 1 round, as I find them a bit too tight.

That said, I am not stacking the deck for arguments sake, and simply showing the two, as I actually run them.


EDIT:

Thanks to Steelhead for catching my dyslexic math!

You might want to check your math, but I hear you!

Yeah, but, but, the "average gunfight" is only 2-3 shots............and I don't want to leave brass behind with my fingerprints.









Sorry for the immaturity.

Thanks for the post Mac, complete with photos AND math.

I'd swagged my way to "it's close", but had no idea it was basically a push for weight.

Well, start digging in that snow bank, dammit!

I just spent two (more) hours digging in the snow this afternoon. I'm officially tired of snow right now.

If I had an 18/12 pitch metal roof, enough garage and shop space to get ALL of my rigs indoors, and a Bobcat to move snow around, I'd say bring it on. Since I have NONE of those things, I'm getting a lot of exercise this winter.

Mac,
What kind of magazines are those? They look like OEM G17/34 mags (or at least non-extended base plates), but the ones in my guns are only 17 rounds. The G18s are 33rnd. What's the secret?

BTW my G17, an extra mag and 35 rounds of 147gr HSTs comes in at 2 pounds 12.4 ounces, or 3 pounds 1 ounce with the horsehide they ride in.

ETS brand 22 round mags!

MAMMGA

(Making American Made Magazines Great Again!)

With all the mobs/anarchists/hoodrats that attack in packs, I will take door #2 pretty much every time.

Cool, thanks. I couldn't run the brightness up on my laptop enough to read the logo. Judging by the fact YOU are carrying them, I'll consider that field tested for my purposes.

I've been trying to do my part to make America great again, and just took my 5yr old son out to the desert in the sub-cold as schit wind to slaughter some milk jugs full of colored water with my .223AI. Naturally he was impressed.

I've wasted some opportunities to shoot with him, but that's changing, as of today.

Hold tight on the ETS mags!

There have been some reports of some issues. Mine have seen a good bit of use and have been flawless, but others that I respect had problems.

That said, ETS was immediately on top of it, and sent them out new springs or mags.

The punchline is, I would suggest you give them a good workout or 2 on a range day before putting them into the carry rotation.

Speaking of snow, I just got back in from teaching the oldest daughter/and her friend about building snow caves/shelters. I gave them a quick lesson about skiers getting lost/off trail and freezing to death due to not knowing how to build a simple cave.

These pics are crappy because it was dark out but they were having fun.

Could you send them over to finish mine?

The public works boys have graded the streets more than once, and then bucket loaded the snow onto yards/corners. We have a 9ft high pile which is perfect for a cave, but the snow is PACKED and my 5yr old isn't quite big enough to run a shovel well.........though he tries. The room is large enough now that I have to relay the snow to the door, and I've kept the door just large enough to squeeze my shoulders through. I'm getting tired just describing it.

I'm enjoying the heck out of this "dad is a hero" stage, and know it won't last, so I plan to rest after he's grown and gone.

Good to know about ETS. I'm not in a huge hurry because I'm well supplied with OEMs, but I'll watch for a sale then give 'em a good wring-out.

I had spring issues with one of the first batches, but ETS sent new springs to me right away.

The only other issues I've had with mine are dependent on length of the loaded round, they don't handle really short or really long rounds as well as Glock OEM. For most ammo though they are good to go.