So let me preface, I am a Glock fan. Some may say a fanboy. I've been to the Glock US HQ's, been a member of GSSF and have officially drank the Glock Perfection Kool-aide. So with that out of the way, here's my review of my Glock 19 g4.
The Glock 19 gen4 is my primary every day carry weapon. It is on my side everytime I wake up and put on my pants. When I go to sleep, it's by my bed side. I am basically married to this weapon and care for it as such. When I am forced to leave it behind due to legal restrictions of carrying (airports, Federal Buildings, etc.), I feel naked...kind of like when you leave the house and forget your cellphone at home.
I've trained with this weapon, taking NRA handgun classes, Tactical Response Fighting Pistol class and various other handgun training classes at my local range. I've put well over a thousand rounds through this gun without cleaning and without a single failure to feed, failure to eject or stove pipe that wasn't manually manufactured (failures created by me for training purposes). I've thrown this gun to the ground on gravel and dirt, picked it up and fired it without any issues. I've fired it in the rain and yet no malfunctions.
This gun is completely stock with the exception of XS 24/7 Big Dot sites and a Pachmyer Grip Glove. When training I typically shoot Fiocchi 124g FMJ's, American Eagle or CCI Blazers; whichever is the cheapest at the time. When I clean my Glock, I use Breakthrough Military Grade Cleaner and a couple very small drops of Breakthrough's Purity Oil on the contact points. Cleaning the gun, like all Glocks are extremely easy and quick.
The grip on a Glock is something that is often debated and criticized. I personally like the grip of a Glock. Maybe it's because I am used to the grip angle. However I have found that the grip and design allows for a lower bore angle in context to my arm thus provide less muzzle flip and better sight acquisition. I added the Pachmyer Grip Glove to add additional comfort and grip.
The trigger is also one of the most criticized part of a Glock and that is something that I do believe Glock could improve upon. I've trained so much with this Glock that I have memorized the trigger pull and trigger reset. However when I shoot my 1911, the trigger reminds me why 1911's are such sweet shooters.
The Glock 19 is not a snappy shooter. I've owned nearly every Glock (minus the 10mm, 45GAP and the 380 cal Glocks) and the Glock 19 is the second best shooting Glock I've owned, the Glock 21 (45acp) being the sweetest shooting Glock. The Glock 19 however is lighter, carries more ammunition and is cheaper to shoot than it's 45acp counterparts. In fact the Glock 19 took the place of my Glock 30SF as my every day carry weapon for those very reasons.
I would highly recommend trying out a Glock 19 as an everyday carry weapon for both men and women. My wife who is petite and not a regular shooter has shot it and has not had an issue with recoil, muzzle rise or accuracy.
