Glock G34 Generation 5 MOS For Carry Optics, Production

Much like Aron Bright said in his recent review of the Glock G34 Gen 5 MOS, I am not a “Glock Guy”, nor am I a Glock hater. I have owned several over the years, and actually got my first classification in USPSA Production Division with a model G34. I have just never really shot them that well, which has nothing to do with the gun. Every model of Glock I have owned has done exactly what it was supposed to do, pull the trigger and go bang. I cannot think of a time that I have ever had a malfunction shooting one.

People know that I shoot and, probably like you, I get asked “What gun should I buy?” After I ask them what do you want to use it for, I will usually tell them to get a Glock. It would usually go like this—get a G34 for competition, a G17 for a back-up/carry/home defense and a G19 for everyday carry. This is the advice I have given, and I have used a G34 in competition but currently do not own a Glock—so when I was at SHOT Show Range Day earlier this year, I was excited to try out the new Gen 5. You only get to shoot a couple of rounds through the guns that are set up for demo, but I liked it. It felt better in my hand, I liked the trigger and the overall feel of the gun. Consequently, I chased down Ed Fritzgerald and asked about getting set up to test one out.

I was looking forward to running it through the drills that Aron and I usually do, and I was ready to “Rock out with my Glock out.” For me, the biggest improvement was the grip and the flared magwell. When changing from a 1911/2011-style gun to a Glock, I would always struggle with reloads—the magwell helped with the adjustment this time. The new nDLC finish was very nice, and is supposed to last longer and protect against the elements better. The barrel is the Glock Marksman barrel that has better rifling for improved accuracy. From our shooting, I noticed that the groups were tighter than my previous experience had been.

There are other internal changes, like a reshaped firing pin, and the trigger return spring has been replaced and moved inside the mechanism housing. There is no locking block pin, the trigger bar has been modified, and the Gen 5 models use a new extractor. Glock has reinforced the front slide rails as well. Externally, they have redesigned the frame under the trigger guard, removed the finger grooves, added the ambidextrous slide stop levers, dehorned the slide nose and scallop-cut in front of the grip.

I liked shooting it, and was hoping that I would get a chance to run some more drills or a match and compare my performance with the Walther PPQ Q5 that I have been using in Carry Optics this year, but Glock needed it back. The changes that were made were well thought out and made this gun better shooting in my opinion than previous generations. If you get a chance I do recommend checking out the Gen 5 lineup, especially the MOS if you are thinking about Carry Optics.

Since receiving this model for evaluation Glock has just released and now approved on the Production/Carry Optics list an updated Gen 5 with front cocking serrations.