Glock 22 Generation 4 Impressions

Late last year my department issued Glock 22 Generation 4 pistols. Let me first state that I am not new to Glock pistols. I bought my first Glock 17 in 1999. I now own several in 40 and 45ACP. I am also a Glock Armorer and worked for a Glock Stocking Dealer for several years. As a Law Enforcement Officer, I have carried Glock pistols as my duty gun, off duty gun and back up gun for over 10 years.

First, a few thoughts on the Glock in general; they are what they are. They aren’t the prettiest or most accurate pistol in the world, but, in my opinion, you can’t find a better or more capable combat handgun. With magazine interchangeability among common calibers, ease of maintenance, and general durability, they are tops. For Law Enforcement, I don’t understand why a Law Enforcement Officer would even consider another pistol.

Glock Generation 4 Changes



The first thing you notice when laying eyes on a Glock Generation 4 pistol is the frame. It now wears the more aggressive RTF 2 style texture. This is an advantage in my opinion, as someone who has Glock Generation 3 pistols whose grips are wrapped in skateboard tape. The grip is not aggressive enough to really tear into the skin, but you instantly notice a more positive grip on the gun.

Another feature of the new frame is the interchangeable back strap system. Each Generation 4 gun comes with 2 back strap panels, a medium and large. The frame without a panel is slightly smaller than a Generation 3 frame. I noticed this immediately upon gripping the gun. The straps are easily changed on the fly with an included plastic punch type tool.

The final major change one the frame is the reversible magazine catch. It features a larger button that I found easier to index without breaking my grip. As for the reversibility, I’m right handed, so I wasn’t that impressed. Neither were the two left handed officers in our group, who initially had me switch their catches to left hand, but after the first relay featuring reloads, promptly returned to the right hand configuration they had been shooting for several years with Generation 3 frames.

The frame retained the accessory rail originally pioneered by Glock, as well as the hollow back strap well, lanyard loop, and finger groves, much to the disappointment of Generation 1 and 2 frame fans. The frame did lose the cut out on the bottom of the front strap magazine well, also.

Some other changes to the Generation 4 Glock include a dual spring captured recoil rod assembly. This improvement features a metal recoil rod with two springs, one full length internal to the rod and one approximately two thirds the length of the rod on the exterior of the full length spring. This is a similar design to the recoil rod assembly featured in the sub compact or “baby” Glock pistols. Initially you do notice it takes more force to charge the pistol, and it takes a little getting use to when performing a press check, but the design is suppose to mitigate some recoil. We will address that later on in the review.



My duty issued Glock 22 Generation 4 wears Trijicon night sights. The only modification I have made to it was the installation of a Glock factory extended slide stop. I find the extended slide stop provides for more positive engagement, especially in a remedial action situation or when your hands are wet.

Shooting Impressions

When we were first issued our Generation 4 Glock 22s, we were issued a case of Winchester white box 180 grain FMJ ammunition with it. We spent 6 hours on the range that day, firing a minimum of 450 round each. IT was a long, but fruitful day of training.

We started with a few close range drills intended for us to adjust to the feel of the new guns. Most of us had already been carrying Glocks in some form or fashion. I had been carrying a Glock 21 Generation 3 with Surefire X200A and DG11 pressure pad. This had been my duty rig for the last 4 or 5 years. My new rig crossed over to the Generation 4 Glock 22 with the X200 and DG pressure pad.

After the “fam fire” we shot a Louisiana POST Qualification course. As usual I qualified with 115+ out of 120 score. We then moved to some tactical based drills, shoot/no-shoot drills and finally some stress position drills featuring multiple targets.

At the end of a long day we shot one last Louisiana POST Qualification Course. I missed a perfect score by 1 point and felt at that point I was as comfortable and adjusted to the new gun as I could be in one day. Confident in my new rig and ready to hit the street, I packed my trash and headed to the house to do some cleaning.



Overall I was very satisfied with the gun. I had 450+ rounds down range with no cleaning and only the initial lubrication I did before loading the first round with no malfunctions of any kind. It did initially take me a few rounds to adjust to the smaller grip size of the Glock 22 verse the Glock 21. I will say the Large back strap DID NOT make the 22 grip feel closer to the 21 grip, in my opinion.

I found the gun to be adequately accurate out to 25 yards. It is definitely capable of achieving Minute of Bad Guy at 25 yards. I found it easy to deliver multiple head shots at 15 yards in rapid sequence, call it “hammered pairs” in USMC lingo.

Importantly, I did find the recoil to be, not necessarily less, but different, than a Generation 3 Glock 22. I found the muzzle flip was reduced and the gun recoiled similarly to my Glock 21, coming more straight back with less muzzle rise than I remembered. This opinion varied between the 8 shooters in my group. Some said they felt less recoil, others said it felt the same.

The important factor was reliability. Across the board we had no malfunctions out of 8 pistols firing 400+ round each. That speaks for itself.

All in all I am pleased with the improvements of the Glock 22 Generation 4, so much so that I also bought a Glock 23 Generation 4 to carry off duty and in plain clothes. I am also looking into upgrading my Glock 35 Generation 3 to a Generation 4. Who knows, maybe I’ll Upgrade all my Glock Generation 3 guns to Generation 4s, we’ll have to see.

As always, Thanks for checking us out. We have more to come, including a review of Ed Santos’ book RULE THE NIGHT, WIN THE FIGHT, a FNHUSA SCAR 16S review, and more training tips and ideas.

The Fighting AR15 Part 2: Accessories

So you got this gun and want to get it set up to fight, but you don't know where to start. There are so many options and access available. What do you need?

Laser, lights, grips; Oh-my!

Lets look at a few different categories of accessories, their purposes, and talk about their real life application to your personal vision for your rifle.

These first items aid or enhance operation and function of the gun, but are not essential or required. They consist of after-market replacement parts for original components like triggers, charging handles, safety levers, and furniture. Lets start there.

Triggers

I run a standard mil-spec trigger in two of my guns. One is my Patrol Rifle/Go-to All Purpose gun and the other is my back-up/home defense gun. I don't particularly see a need for a fancy, super light trigger in a fighting gun, unless it is going to be employed as a Precision Rifle. There is no room of a 1 ½ pound trigger in an entry stack. Now, I do like to polish up all the contact surfaces of the mil-spec trigger. This lightens and smooths things up just enough. I don't do anything else to the trigger. I run standard trigger pins and springs just as they come.

I also use a JP Enterprise 3 ½ pound fire control system in my Semi-auto Precision Rifle and a Chip McCormick drop in trigger in my Intermediate Range/Hunting gun. These triggers are both finely tuned, single stage “precision” or “performance” triggers.

The JP system is a 4 piece kit that allows the user to keep their hammer. The kit comes with a trigger that is adjustable for engagement and over-travel, a disconnecter, a reduced power hammer spring, and a reduced power trigger spring. I find this trigger to be the most tunable and easiest to use/install system out there. The only recommendation I have is to put a little blue lok-tite on the screws and let it dry before you install them. This will prevent the screws from walking out and messing up your trigger tune. I like the JP system in my SPR because it is very close in weight and feel to the trigger in my bolt gun.

The McCormick system is a simple, straight forward drop in trigger kit. Just remove the safety and old trigger then drop in the McCormick kit and reinstall the safety. Your ready to rock and roll.

Both of these trigger systems allow me a reduction in pull weight, as well as a short to non-existent over-travel. These rifles are, by purpose and configuration, for delivering more accurate fire on target. As such they get a little extra love in the trigger department. You may also look into the 2 stage trigger. Personally, I don't like the 2 stage trigger. I don't really know why, other than I'm a Marine and learned to shoot a Mil-spec single stage trigger. I guess its just not my thing.

Making Loading Easier

Do you have an optic that rides over your charging handle? Don't like having to move your hand to the bolt catch to get your gun into battery? Check these gadgets out!

Two other gizmos I run on my guns are the Magpul BAD (Battery Assist Device) lever, and Badger Ordinance's Gen 1 Tactical Charging Handle Latch. Combined they solve both of the above issues. They are a quick, bolt-on, do-it-yourself add-ons that enhance the function of your combat carbine.

The BAD Lever is an extension of the bolt catch that allows the shooter to function the bolt catch with the trigger finger, without moving the shooting hand from the pistol grip. It allows you to both lock and release the bolt. This is great for speed re-loads and malfunction clearing.



The Badger Ordinance Tactical Latch adds a little extra meat on the charging handle latch side to help you get good purchase on the charging handle for a grip-n-rip charge. It also helps you reach the charging handle under a scope, if that is a set-up you run.



Some other Operational Accessories that may interest you would be Ambidextrous parts like and Ambi-safety selector or Ambi-magazine release. If your a lefty this is a must. If your a righty it is a accessory that only you know if you want or need. As for my guns, I don't like the ambi-safety selectors. I find the right side lever hits my finger and forces me to move my hand away from the grip to function it. All in all, I figure if I'm running my gun lefty only, I have bigger problems than not having an ambidextrous magazine release.

Furniture

Furniture is what it is. I'm not going to spend a bunch of time on this. My thoughts on this it “To each his own”. There are all kinds of styles, colors, shapes, materials, and designs to consider. It is all up to you. My suggestion is to go with what works for your vision.

Some things I take into consideration are weight, design, and material. I am a huge fan of the Surefire M73 quad-rail handguards. I have been running these on my Patrol Rifle for years. They are machined aluminum, so they are strong but light. They offer a good amount of rail space for mounting all your goodies and even come with ladder rail protectors.



I also have a rifle with the ARMS 50M SIR forearm. This thing is a beast. It is a free floating aluminum and polymer piece that had a modular rail system. It also incorporates a riser that attaches to the top of a flat top upper receiver for a little extra stability and height. You can purchase an additional rail to add to the top to give you 14 inches of uninterrupted top rail. This is great if you run night vision or a magnifier for a red dot. It is a little heave, but the weight is worth the benefit.



As far as grips go, I'm a Magpul MADI fan. I like the oversized trigger guard piece and the adjustability of the whole thing. I also have a modified ERGO tactical grip on my .308 ar. I cut the palm shelf off of it and rounded the bottom to make it more suitable to my needs.



Like I said before, there are a million options out there in the way of furniture. There are many different models made by many different manufacturers at a wide range of prices. Go with what works for your mission and budget.

Illumination Tools and Laser Sights

Statistically speaking you are more likely to get involved in a shooting in a low light/no light situation. Weather it is in you home in the middle of the night or as a Police Officer responding to a Business Burglary, chances are the scene will not be lit up like a Hollywood movie set. In steps the Illumination Tool to help you make the shot to save the day.

Light is the difference between shooting your teenage kid sneaking in after curfew or just giving them a good lecture on “you could have gotten shot!”. Light is the difference between a hit and a miss as someone is trying to shoot you first.

Without getting deep into low light/no light tactics, I just want to state a few simple principles of LL/NL Operations. Darkness and silence aid stealth. Darkness provides cover in an familiar environment. Light should be used sparingly and quickly to identify threats and clear possible threat areas. Red light filters are worth their weight in gold. Red light does not effect night vision and is much less detectable, especially in no light environments. Strobing is cool but it will effect you ,albeit not as much as the person on the other end. Light is your friend when used properly and your worst enemy when used incorrectly. Now the tools.

There are, once again, seemingly endless options when it comes to weapon's lights. I will address the few models I own or have owned, as well as the few I have played with and would consider as a future purchase.

First, my primary, go to, mother of all weapon's lights- The Surefire M900. This is a bad mofo. Period. I purchased this unit shortly after Hurricane Katrina and it has been on my patrol rifle ever since. Briefly described, it is a vertical grip style light that features a high power (150 lms/225lms) bulb housing and twin LED “navigation lights” offered in your choice of white, red or blue. It uses pressure pad activation switches on both the right and left side of the vertical grip for temporary activation and a twist on/off knob on the bottom of the grip. This also serves as the battery cap, which allows access to the 3 123A batteries that power the unit. The LEDs are activated by a small pressure pad located on the back of the unit at the top of the grip, easily reachable with the thumb. The unit attaches to any Picatinny rail via either a quick release throw lever or a dual thumb screw style attachment.



There are several other weapon's lights available from Surefire, including the Millennium line or the X series lights. You can also adapt a 6P or G2 light to fit on a rail or use a CAA Forward Grip Adapter to achieve a M900 type effect for a fraction of the cost.



I-Tac Defense makes a vertical grip light similar to the Surefire M900. It features a LED light as well as a red laser sight in a vertical grip platform. The light has steady and strobe modes and also runs on 123a batteries. If you are looking for a less expensive alternative to the M900, this is it with extras. With sturdy construction and a super bright 700 Lumen light (yeah, its right- 700 Lumens) you can't go wrong for a MSRP of $229.95.



Crimson Trace recently released a vertical grip light/laser combo that features a 150/200 Lumen LED light with a red or green laser. The unit runs on 2 123A batteries and features pressure pad activation on both sides of the grip for both the light and laser. The green laser is a bit pricy at around $650.00, but if you are looking for an all in one unit this may be just the ticket. My only issue was on the one I tested I found the pressure pad activation switches to be stiff, requiring heavy pressure to activate both the light and laser.



There are several laser units available ranging in price from $80-100 to several thousand, depending on laser color, quality, and weather or not you want (or need) Infrared capability. I have used the military issue AN/PEQ 2a and AN/PAQ 4c. These are both high end military issue IR laser sights. The PEQ 2a also has IR illumination and spot designation capability, if you may need to call in an airstrike. I am not a real fan of laser sights.



That being said, I have a Lasermax Unimax (somewhere). These are available in red or green lasers and can have a remote pressure switch attached. The will fit any Weaver or Picatinny rail and can be set to strobing or steady on. They are small enough and light enough that you can out them on a pistol, but they work just as good on a rifle. My bottom line on laser sights is this- Don't rely on them as a replacement for sights or quality optics. They are a sighting aids, thats all. If you are going to employ a laser, it is best to get a quality laser that will withstand the shock and abuse of being on a fighting gun.


Odds and Ends

There are a few other things I see as essential equipment on a fighting carbine. The first is a sling. The type is a personal preference. I like the Magpul MS2 because it can be a single or 2 point sling. It is supper versatile and allows for quick transition from single point to 2 point, as well as moving the rifle across the back for climbing, hand cuffing, or other various activities you don't or can't do with a rifle hanging off your chest.

The other items that are a must if you run an optic, especially a red-dot style like the EO-tech or Aimpoint, are backup iron sights. Again there is a wide array of options in this category. Do your research and determine your needs. I like the ARMS 40 and the Magpul BUIS, but there are several other good ones out there that I have seen.

I was going to cover optics, but I decided that will be Part 3 of this series. I'll cover the Aimpoint Micros, M2/3/4 series, EO-Tech, the Trijicon ACOG series and variable low-power (1-4X) combat optics along with some other lower cost optics I have seen out there. Part 4 might get into custom parts and build stuff like barrels, gas blocks, bolts/bcgs, stocks and all that fun stuff.