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Glock 17s

3K views 34 replies 28 participants last post by  jr24 
#1 · (Edited)
I have a buddy in the local police department and they recently switched from Glock 22 gen 3 to Glock 17 gen 4. He said the reason they switched from .40 to 9mm is because of the effectiveness of new 9mm self defense ammo, increased capacity, and less recoil. Also, I read a magazine article stating the FBI is gave up their .40 for 9mm for the same reasons.

On my local Armslist ad, I see a lot of Glock .40 models for sale and not so many Glock 17 or 19 models. Additionally, GunBroker.com released a statement saying their most popular firearm sold in 2016 is the Glock 19. Is there a 9mm revival happening?

I have never owned a 9mm Glock and have given it some thought. Underwood ammo has 9mm +P ammo with great ballistics not far off from .40 S&W.
 
#4 ·
Another reason is because of the cost of ammunition. With all the good used .40s on the market, now is the best time to buy the Glock .40 models. I am really considering to start picking up all the ( good used ) .40 models even though I probably won't shoot them much.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
I shot my 17 last weekend for the 1st time. I was pleasantly surprised on how well I shot it the first time out. It has almost no recoil and you get back on target real quick. I also have the 19 and it shoots very good as well. You can't go wrong with either, or, both of them.

EDIT: I didn't address the .40 cal in your post. I had never shot a 40 until one day my instructor brought his G23 to our session. I shot around 50 rounds each of 9mm, 40 cal, and 45ACP to compare. I felt better shooting the 9mm and 45ACP than I did the 40. That's why I bought the Glocks, and my other guns, in those calibers. I'm not knocking the 40 because it's a proven round. It just didn't work for me.
 
#5 ·
.40 was the new hot thing in the mid-late 90s. Many/most departments went the .40 route which was a powerpoint presenter's dream "wow look at the increased performance but high capacity." Popularity spread to consumers too who want what the cops have and think is the latest and greatest. All of this translates to a flood of guns coming up on the used market.

But yeah terminal performance just isn't much better, recoil impulse is worse, capacity is lower, ammo cost a lot more. Makes sense .40s sell for $50-$100 less than 9mm counterparts on the second hand market. It's been that way for a long time now.
 
#9 ·
40 cal is an awesome round.
9mm is an awesome round.
45acp is an awesome round.

380 just sucks plain and simple IMO.

But 9mm is my favorite. The 9mm also has a long and interesting history. Just look at WW2 til today. 9mm is number 1 worldwide.

But yea, the versatility, cost, and effectiveness of the 9mm is why so many "agencies" is making the change.
 
#10 ·
I got my first Glock a G22 police buy back as a novelty back in 1994 I believe. It withstood ridiculess abuse and never missed a beat, in fact it turned into a full blown Glock addiction. I never picked up a G17 until a couple years ago now my Gen 3 G17 is one of the Glocks I shoot most accurately.
 
#11 ·
With all the talk in the past about the military going back to the .45acp, it looks now that they are going to stay with the 9mm, but possibly dump the Beretta.

The real problem lies in the fact they can't use any ammo type but FMJ (ball ammo) because of the Geneva Convention.
 
#12 ·
I never undrstood why the 45Super didn't take off. It's the perfect round to skirt the Geneva Conventions stupid hollow point rule and still get a one shot kill. In fact the 45Super solves lots of problems a modern 45 would. Maybe someday gun engineers will see the value a 1600 fps 230grain bullet would provide.
 
#15 ·
Hague accords ( which the US never signed but agreed to abide by) prohibits ammo designed to produce excessive wounding. Oddly they have in recent years back pedaled and say a bunch of hp rifle ammo is ok as the primary mission of the hp is long range ballistic effieiciency not increased wounding potential ( which it also has) then there is the argument the gwot is not a war under international law.
 
#16 ·
Caliber wars have existed since the first days of Cain and Able.

After 50 years of reloading and shooting pistols I realize what my physical limitations are and prejudices.

I find fit to hand with a platform to fit the most important : the 26/27/33 with Pearce pg39s fit my hand the best and still can be carried in my pocket. The 17/22/31 gives the most overall comfort to hand and I carry appendix. I've had the other platforms through the years but the above fits best for best results.

The above gives the reader the 9mm, .40, and .357 sig to choose from.

When I decide I need more I have chosen the 44 mag in Ruger Alaskan snubbie.

Reloading allows me to use very good components with results that usually exceed the norm. My costs are usually higher than most reloaders as components are higher quality with better performance.

Accuracy after fit is probably my second concern, performance of the components ranks right behind.

Each individual hopefully one day will realize the value of experience vs the praise wrote by others.
 
#19 ·
I have a buddy in the local police department and they recently switched from Glock 22 gen 3 to Glock 17 gen 4. He said the reason they switched from .40 to 9mm is because of the effectiveness of new 9mm self defense ammo, increased capacity, and less recoil. Also, I read a magazine article stating the FBI is gave up their .40 for 9mm for the same reasons.

On my local Armslist ad, I see a lot of Glock .40 models for sale and not so many Glock 17 or 19 models. Additionally, GunBroker.com released a statement saying their most popular firearm sold in 2016 is the Glock 19. Is there a 9mm revival happening?

I have never owned a 9mm Glock and have given it some thought. Underwood ammo has 9mm +P ammo with great ballistics not far off from .40 S&W.
Have you not been paying attention at all over the past few years? The shift to 9mm has been very widely publicized and debated to death on the interwebz.
 
#21 ·
Yes, once the Pied Piper (FBI) jumped ship from .40cal to 9mm there is always going to be a big following. May it be PD or civilian. Personally myself I like to shoot .40cal out of my G33 with a G27 barrel when I find it on sale. Great round. Then again winter has set in and I'm carrying my G17 Gen 3 due to it's easier to conceal with extra clothing. Don't feel under gunned with either caliber. Hell, I wouldn't want to be hit by a thrown rock for that matter. Carry what you feel comfortable with.
 
#23 ·
Yes, once the Pied Piper (FBI) jumped ship from .40cal to 9mm there is always going to be a big following. May it be PD or civilian. Personally myself I like to shoot .40cal out of my G33 with a G27 barrel when I find it on sale. Great round. Then again winter has set in and I'm carrying my G17 Gen 3 due to it's easier to conceal with extra clothing. Don't feel under gunned with either caliber. Hell, I wouldn't want to be hit by a thrown rock for that matter. Carry what you feel comfortable with.
I have always wondered why?

Why do so many shooters care what caliber the FBI shoots?

:dunno:
 
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#22 ·
We can debate about 9, 40, and 45 until the cows head home. No handgun caliber has real stopping power. If you hit someone in the spine or the grey matter (the brain) they are going to stop. Otherwise you're hoping your hollow points are doing their job by making enough wounds for the attacker to bleed out enough to stop being a threat. In self defense you're trying to stop the threat, not intentionally kill the other person.
 
#24 ·
The real compelling reason for the switch to .9mm is the switch in the police culture. The truth is the diverse police force of today is not the gun culture police of yesterday. Most officers cannot qualify consistently with .40. Plain and simple, a Chief recently told me they switched to .9mm so half his force wouldn't be on probation for failure to qualify with .40.
 
#35 ·
I am in the camp that there's not enough difference to worry about, but I do agree with what you are saying vis a vi Police. Former LEO's I know have long bemoaned the fact that many of the newer police couldn't qualify (even with 9mm) the old courses, to the point where their department had to go to pass/fail and reduce the requirements to truly silly (and terrifying) levels. Basically you just had to probably not be a danger of shooting yourself to pass.

I stay away from that area as much as possible.
 
#28 ·
I'm late to my opinion which is the same as post #21. For the same reason that so many people seems to care what LE chooses, LE seems to care what the FBI chooses.

I''ve been in that "biz" for awhile and I can tell you that nearly all States use the same (or nearly so) qualification courses that the FBI does. Most of the reason is that there is automatic justification and assessment to a National standard.

Personally, I think a person should carry the largest caliber they can handle effectively. We would do well to remember that those calibers have also increased in technology, just as the 9s have.
 
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#29 ·
There does indeed appear to be a 9mm revival of sorts going on although I've never left it myself. You can do no better than a Glock 17/19 for a 9mm defense weapon IMO. I own two 17's, a 19 and a 26. All are fantastically reliable. 33 rounds mags are also a nice option to have. Most view the high capacity mags as kind of being a novelty or for range fun only, but there seems to be an increase(or maybe just more information available) in home invasion cases of multiple determined attackers. Having extra firepower on hand makes sense.

"Own several guns, but master one: The Glock 17"
 
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