5 Best Glocks – When it comes to pistol manufacturing, Glock is widely regarded as one of the best firearms manufacturers.
While plenty of worthy manufacturers are out there, Glock and Sig Sauer seem to dominate the industry in recent years.
Glock: The History
The Glock family of weapons is arguably the most widely known on the market in the last 30 years.
While they are not everyone’s cup of tea, especially early in their infancy when many members of the weapon-owning community as well as members of the military and law enforcement had grave misgivings due to the polymer construction. However, Glock remains one of the best functional, reliable weapons on the market.
The Glock 17 was the first pistol produced by the company and Gaston Glock, who was known for his work with polymers designed this weapon when Austria was looking for a replacement for the iconic Walther P-38. It was first designed, prototyped, and tested in just a few months in 1982.
So, while lists like this are strictly opinion-based, they always provide nice topics of conversation among pistol enthusiasts as well as professionals, whose life depends on their weapons, and competitors who need the best possible weapons in highly-charged shooting competitions.
In that spirit, I’ve listed my opinion on the five best Glocks to own and broke it down by category. Best overall pistol, best duty carry for professionals, best-concealed carry, best home defense, and for best for training/target practice.
5 Best Glocks: Best Overall Glock Pistol
Glock 19, 9mm:
The Glock 19 is compact enough to carry it concealed and powerful enough that it is widely used by law enforcement and military forces around the world.
The Glock 19 is lightweight (24 ounces) and carries 15 rounds in the magazine plus one in the chamber. The Gen 5 has done away from the finger groves that I didn’t care for. The Glock 19 MOS has a built-in cutout for a red dot. For those new to the game, the red dot makes it much easier to focus on your target.
The Glock 19 gives the shooter the perfect blend of a service weapon in a compact package. It may probably be one of the most popular concealed carry pistols of all time. It is considered by many to be the gold-standard of which other pistols are judged.
Image: Creative Commons.
Glock 19. Image: Creative Commons.
Glock 22 B&W 1800×1196 ( 23 Images in Helicon Focus )
5 Best Glocks: Best Duty Carry Glock Pistol
Glock 45 MOS, 9mm:
While the Glock 17 full-sized frame is used by many law enforcement agencies and military units in the world, the slightly shorter Glock 45 MOS is my choice here. To the uninitiated, however, I must add that the Glock 45 MOS is NOT a .45 ACP but a 9mm.
Although the frame sizes between the Glock 17 and Glock 45 MOS are the same, the slide length of the 45 MOS is slightly shorter so it gives the shooter the ability to get out of the holster quicker due to its shorter slide.
Image: Creative Commons.
With a 17 +1 round magazine and the red dot optics, this is a fantastic duty pistol and many special operations units use a the threaded barrel or a compensator, the 45 MOS is the way to go as it won’t make the weapon too long.
5 Best Glocks: Best Concealed Carry Glock
Glock 43X, 9mm:
About a week ago, I posted that the Glock 19 was on my list of best-concealed carries, and that hasn’t changed, but Glock has another great concealed carry weapon in the 43X. The Glock 43X is a micro-compact concealed carry pistol that has the reliability, durability, and sweet-shooting of other Glock models while giving the shooter a slim profile for a comfortable carry and increased concealability.
Image: Creative Commons.
The 43X is a slimmer version of Glock that has a single stack 10 + 1 magazine that gives the user a bit more concealability due to the thinner profile and the shorter slide. And for the shorter statured carrier, and additionally, with a shooter with smaller hands, this is a perfect fit.
5 Best Glocks: Best Home Defense Glock
Glock 40, 10mm:
This is a cannon, a long-slide cannon that will knock down a bear so for home defense, this is a great addition.
Glock sells this particular model for hunters, but for home defense, I want something powerful, and this…fits the bill to a tee. There is an old adage that goes something like this…”When they come in the day, they are after your possessions…when they come in the night, they are coming after you.”
The Glock 40 is perfectly designed to take care of that second scenario. It is far too long to be a potential concealed weapon candidate here, but for home defense, that isn’t a factor. With a 15 + 1 magazine carrying the powerful 10mm cartridge, it will stop anyone in their tracks, who threatens you or your family.
Glock G40 MOS. Image: Creative Commons.
The beauty of Glocks is that they all feel the same in your grip, although the Glock 40 is slightly longer and heavier, it is still accurate and with ability to add optics makes this the perfect home defense weapon.
5 Best Glocks: Best Target Practice/Training Glock
Glock 44, .22 LR:
With the rising cost of ammunition, one excellent way to plink and/or to train someone on working with a Glock is to buy a Glock 44,.22 LR pistol to train with. And let’s face it, the .22 LR ammunition is still the cheapest there is by a long shot.
The best thing about this is, it looks and feels like a Glock (although much lighter at about 16 ounces when loaded), and will allow you to train a youngster or a first-time shooter on the workings of a firearm. And the ammunition is cheap enough for gettng those type of shooters to where they’re accurate enough to step up with the big boy calibers without breaking the bank.
Image: Creative Commons.
Image of a Glock .44 chambered in .22LR. Image Credit: Glock.
Image Credit: Glock.
With the same size as a Glock 19, the Glock 44 has a 10 + 1 magazine of .22 LR ammunition and is, because of the size, able to be carried in the same holster as the 19 is. Plinking with a .22 is a time-honored tradition and provides a great training tool.
Glock 20. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Glock 19. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Image of Glock 17. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
.45 ACP Glock 21. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Steve Balestrieri served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer before injuries forced his early separation. In addition to writing for 19fortyfive.com, he has covered the NFL for PatsFans.com for more than 10 years and his work was regularly featured in the Millbury-Sutton Chronicle and Grafton News newspapers in Massachusetts.
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