I never thought I’d see the day when Glock came out with a rimfire caliber.
Speaking as someone who’s been firing Glock since 1990.
But then again, given Glock’s incredible brand loyalty in the shooting enthusiast community with its centerfire offering, it makes logical sense that they would eventually get around to producing a gun in the universally popular .22 Long Rifle (LR) caliber.
Glock 44 History and Specifications
The Glock 44 made its debut in December 2019. As the manufacturer’s official info page proclaims; “Once you start with perfection – you stay with perfection. The G44 is the ideal pistol to start or enhance your shooting experience. The innovative design of the hybrid steel-polymer slide chambered in our first .22 caliber round provides a lightweight and low recoil functionality for optimal control … The G44 was thoroughly tested with a wide variety of ammunition to ensure maximum performance and redefine what small can do … The G44 is a compact size pistol with the ability to adapt to nearly every hand size by using the different backstraps supplied with the pistol. The G44 comes standard with the GLOCK Marksman Barrel (GMB) for increased accuracy and precision … The right equipment is essential. The G44 comes with adjustable rear sights and two load-assist magazines. Everything that a well prepared shooter needs.”
Specifications include a barrel length of 4.02 inches, overall length of 7.28 inches, a width of 1.26 inches, an empty weight of 12.63 ounces, and a fully-charged weight of 16.40 ounces. The standard magazine capacity is 10+1 rounds.
The Boss’s Shooting Impressions
Upon my offering to write about the G44, our own intrepid Editor, Mrs. J. Beth Gorton, shared with me her own experiences with, and impressions of, the gun: “The Glock 44 sucks – jams all the time unless you use high-velocity 22 and not the cheap stuff. Curious to see how it works for you.”
For the sake of being fair and balanced, a couple of my other 19FortyFive colleagues have had somewhat better experiences: Richard Douglas reported early last year that “Throughout over 2,000 rounds, I experienced just a couple of failures to eject and one failure to fire. It shot pretty consistently for me overall, but other users have reported some reliability issues. Cleaning your pistol more often may help if you experience any failures or jams.”
Around that same timeframe, Brady Kirkpatrick opined that “The Glock 44 is a compact pistol that is perfect for self-defense. It has some features that make it an excellent choice for young shooters. The Glock Marksman Barrel helps to ensure accuracy, while the ambidextrous slide stop allows even left-handed shooters to use the gun with ease.”
Personal Shooting Impressions/Range Report
So then, with 19FortyFive editor’s and other colleagues’ somewhat ominous tale weighing in the back of my rather cavernous head – all of which are a sharp contrast to, say, the Glock 17’s unparalleled reputation for reliability – I was off to the ever-popular Cindy’s Hot Shots in Glen Burnie, Maryland, where the super-friendly staff hooked me up with their rental Glock 44.
Ammo used was 49 rounds of Aguila Prime Super Extra High-Velocity 40-grain copper-plated bullet. Test fire was divvied into 25 rounds of head shots at 7 yards and 24 rounds of center-torso shots at 25 yards, all delivered from the Classic Weaver Stance. The target used was the USPSA Silhouette Target from Baker Targets.
I split shooting into 49/24 rounds as opposed to 50/25. I had a slip of the fingers whilst charging the magazine, and one perfectly good round of ammo was wasted springing out of reach downrange.
The trigger was typical of a factory stock Glock, i.e. decent though not spectacular. Ergonomics were comfy, and the ambidextrous slide stop lever was an interesting touch that I’d never previously seen on a Glock pistol (perhaps Glock is starting to try to emulate Heckler & Kock [HK] and Walther ever so slightly). The slide also has forward cocking serrations, which some shooters find desirable but which I personally have no use for.
At 7 yards, my typical tendency to pull high-right on account of my right-hand/left-eye cross-dominance manifested itself, with two of my rounds taking the non-scoring periphery of the head,13 in the B-zone of the head, and 10 to the A-zone head box. At 25 yards, there were 10 hits in the A-zone, 13 in the C-zone, and 5 in the D-zone.
As for reliability, I had one malfunction, on round count #21; I topped off to 10+1 fired one round, and then for whatever reason the next round didn’t chamber even though the magazine was fully seated and the slide was fully in-battery. Mind you, it wasn’t a stovepipe jam, no uncleared spent brass, or live round hanging up on the feed ramp. It was just an empty chamber with a properly seated magazine after firing a live round.
My overall verdict is that though it was a fun shooter, and my well-documented love for Glocks in centerfire calibers notwithstanding, I won’t be rushing out to buy a G44 anytime soon.
Want Your Own?
True Gun Value states that “ A GLOCK 44 pistol is currently worth an average price of $353.27 new and $299.13 used. The 12-month average price is $357.73 new and $300.54 used.” Academy Sports Outdoors has a current asking price of $379.99, whilst MidwayUSA currently charges $359.00 for a standard G22 and $476.70 for the so-called TALO version with the Threaded GMB, which makes the pistol suppressor-ready.
Bottom line is that a rimfire Glock will cost you less than a centerfire pistol from the same manufacturer. I suppose it only makes sense that with the ammo’s gonna be cheaper, the guns are gonna be cheaper too with all other things equal.
Glock 44. Image Credit: 19FortyFive Original Image.
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for 19FortyFive. He has 34 years of shooting experience, starting at the tender age of 14. His marksmanship accomplishments include: the Air Force Small Arms Ribbon w/one device (for M16A2 rifle and M9 pistol); Pistol Expert Ratings from U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) Criminal Investigator Training Program (CITP); multiple medals and trophies via the Glock Sport Shooting Foundation (GSSF) and the Nevada Police & Fires Games (NPAF). Chris has been an NRA Certified Basic Pistol Instructor since 2011.
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