New Glock G19 Gen 6 Review

The Glock 19 Gen 6, let’s check it out. 

 

The Glock 19 Gen 6, let’s check it out. The Glock introduced their first handgun in 1982 and it was a Glock 17, 17 for the patent number.

Since that time, they have introduced five separate generations. The Gen 5 was introduced in 2017. Now we have the Glock Gen 6. This is a huge upgrade, even in appearance, over a lot of the original Glocks, but there is a lot of cool things about it.

Is it still a Glock? Yes. But do we want it any other way? The thing about the Glock is it is extremely reliable, it’s extremely simple, and that is the key to the Glock. But with the Gen 6, it just ups the game quite a bit.

Now we were invited down to Glock to preview the Gen 6, and to be honest with you, I was very surprised. After I took it out to the range, I was pleasantly surprised. This is a much more shootable Glock than any of the other generations.

A big thank you to Glock for sending the Glock Gen 6 for this review, and we will be buying this one. Guys, the Glock Gen 6. I’ll just be honest, this was a big surprise. I was invited down to Glock a couple of weeks ago with a bunch of other guys to unveil what I thought was going to be the V series.

It was already out, but I just thought this is what they’re going to talk about. Then they brought out the Gen 6. This really surprised me. Guys, I am a huge Glock fan.

If I only had one handgun, period, it would be the Glock 19. It’s concealable, yet it shoots like a full-size gun, and they’re just extremely reliable to the point that I call this the AK-47 of the handgun world. But with the changes that are made, guys, I’ll have to say, while I love the Gen 5, the Gen 5 to me was an accumulation of a lot of upgrades with the Glock internally as well as externally, but it still looks just like a Glock 19.

And then they came out with a Gen 6, which honestly, it does still have the same lines, but it’s definitely a lot of improvements around the grip area, much more than just texturing or just removing the finger grooves. There are some things about this that really put it a step above, and there’s a lot of other things. But the one thing about this handgun is that it’s kind of stopped feeling so blocky.

Now let’s go ahead and drop our standard Glock 15-round magazine. Check the chamber, gun’s empty. So you’re still using your standard magazines.

I love that because I love Glocks, I have a bunch of them, and this just gives me extra mag capacity. Also we have a nice bevel here at the mag well, and it just flares a little bit. They kind of did that with the Gen 5, but it has a nice flare.

Easy to put those mags in. Slide is a lot the same in a sense, but there are some things, especially their optics mounting system, which they call the MOS. And the MOS typically was a little more expensive than your standard model, but now they’re going with all guns with this new system, and this addresses a lot.

Just this. And we’re going to get into the details. Glock has always had some issues with their adapter plates and not being all that great.

I’ve made improvements over mine. If I carry it that way, so this is a big deal. What’s really funny is they’re still going with those Glock plastic sights, and they just add those in.

But the thing is, is most people, if they don’t just leave the sights and they don’t care, are upgrading it to night sights or fiber optic or whatever. So this just really kind of keeps the price down because I’m going to change the sights out anyway if I want to carry this for self-defense. But the grip is the big deal.

Now for me, when I first saw it, I thought, well, they’re PDP. I mean, it just has that carpet look to it. Very nicely aggressive, yet you can rub your hand on it and it’s not prickly.

So this is going to be nice to be able to grab hold of it and get a good solid grip. And you’d see that it is a wraparound all the way around, all the way down the back strap, but it’s going to give you a really good feel to it. And then they have added the beaver tail.

Now the beaver tail was only available if you added the large that went on the back of your back strap. And to me, for my hands, I didn’t like that. It was just too big, even though I love the beaver tail.

So this gives you a natural frame, integral beaver tail with a moderate grip, which I love. Now, if I want to change these back straps out and make it larger, I can, but this just definitely is a vast improvement. It just rides in the web of your hand and it really allows you to get control of the recoil.

Also, with this little area right here for your thumb rest, it actually gives you some leverage to push down on. And they have gone with the recoil pads here or a memory pad for your shooting finger. What’s beautiful about this is that it has the same texturing, and yet while it comes out, it doesn’t extend past the original flat panel that the Glock already had.

So this will fit in any of your Glock 19 holsters, even the Kydex that are fit specifically for the 19. And here we see that panel, and it’s always been just a touch thicker, actually, than even the rest of the frame. And so now they’ve just popped that down a little bit, and it makes it really effective for recoil management.

Not just a pad, but a ledge, and you can put your finger on that ledge, your thumb, get that high ride with that beaver tail, that thumb. Now I’m riding the meat of my hands, actually, in that little area, and now I have a lot of control. But what’s beautiful is instead of just that squared off grip, they’ve actually added some palmswell.

So this grip feels different, different than your standard Glock. And that little palmswell keeps it from being so just flat and blocky. So I really love that.

And you can see just the difference in the texturing itself for the Gen 5, which honestly, guys, I was very happy with the Gen 5. I love it. I mean, it’s a great gun, but this really stepped up the game. Of course, here at the front, we still have those serrations.

We have an undercut now that comes from Glock, and one of the things that they really wanted to achieve is still that strength, without weakening the frame. Because a lot of times when you cut here, you get a very thin piece of polymer. This just allows this to be still solid, and yet allow you to get that hand way up, and you bypass the Glock knuckle, which I have a permanent callus right here on my finger as a Glock knuckle.

So this is really nice to have. In fact, I usually undercut my Glocks anyway. So this gives me a factory finish.

Also, they’ve taken a fence and improved it around the slide stop. So this way, you’re not going to inadvertently getting that really high grip, hit that slide stop, and on the last round, the slide just goes straight down. Of course, they kept their one slot Picatinny rail, which is what they’ve been doing for a number of years.

They’ve already started adding the front cocking serrations. So we have those still Glock, still straight, in a line, everything in order, which is great. It works, and it’s real grippy.

But they have improved these serrations to where they actually start to come up. In fact, it’s probably a little bit more of a cut in between, just to allow for these serrations to have a little more ride right at the top. And man, it’s very grippy.

And so your hand’s not going to slip off, which I like. You can see how they just come up to the top and they fade out. With the new slide serrations, they’re definitely beefed up.

Also, they have changed their extractor. Now one of the problems with the extractor has been, it came in from the back, the safety plunger, and it went down into the extractor and where your safety plunger is. And we’ll look at this when we break it down and I’ll show you how it works.

Now it’s been shortened right here. Now why would they do that? Well, if you put two longer screws in the mounting plate, it can actually interfere with your extractor and your extractor safety plunger. This way, you don’t have to worry about it.

You put the screws in and it doesn’t matter as much because a lot of times there’s a lot of variation. Now for your optics cover plate, it’s polymer. But instead of just a flat plate, there is a shape here, which allows you to take an adapter plate, put it inside, it rides down into that cavity.

And then this is also polymer and it acts as a crush washer. So when I put my sight on here and I tighten down the screws, this will allow it to just build up some tension, which is going to make it stronger even than having metal because it’s going to have a little bit of give and it’s just going to rest on this plate. The great thing is you get the adapter plates, all of them, with the handgun.

At this point, there are three and of course you have your Trijicon RMR, I’m sure it’s the Aimpoint Delta Pro, and it may be the Doctor. I don’t know the different plates and the information hasn’t really come out yet. But this gives you those plates to be able to sit in here, sit down your optic, tighten it up, and it’s going to be way more secure.

And this is probably one of the most secure fitting adapter plates on the market. Now let’s face it guys, you put an optic on here and you change it, you’ve got to reorder an adapter plate and sometimes they can be as much as $100. So they all come together, you can change these out and it’s no problem.

And they will be including this on all their models. There is no more MOS version. It’s just this, according to what Glock said.

So this is really a big upgrade, plus it looks kind of like a cat and a Torx wrench does come with it. Also, you do get your additional back straps and we have the large and they’re marked and the medium. And of course, without a back strap, it is the small and you get the extended rod that goes through the back to add the back strap.

And so this was too short for these extensions. So you have an additional pin. Still have the four inch polygonal barrel.

We have it cut here, which we do on the standard Glock 19, just rounded off crowned barrel, which is going to extend the life of the barrel. And of course the finish, which it used to be Tenifer. Now it’s some sort of black nitride that actually impregnates the metal.

I mean, Glock finishes are always top notch. Also, their new flat face trigger, which they had improved the trigger a while back, but this is a vast improvement. It has that 90 degree break.

So just like with the safety, when you hit it, it’s not going to fire unless you get a full pad on the safety. So you can see it breaking and it allows for you to pull the trigger. And so we come to a complete stop at 90 degrees, then a little resistance and then a nice break.

And then as far as reset, right there. Glock triggers have been the bane for Glock originally, and then they started improving them. And now, I mean, this is really a nice trigger.

Are there better triggers out there? Yeah. The Walther PDP, the Canik makes an incredible trigger. The CZ P10C, excellent trigger.

I mean, very crisp, but for a Glock and for a utility duty trigger, this is a really great trigger. Trigger pull weight with our Lyman trigger gauge and Brownells, four pounds, 4.3 ounces. Four pounds, 8.2 ounces.

So about four and a half range Glocks traditionally are around the five pound range. So here we have the Gen 5. You can see that the texturing has definitely been increased way up high. Guys, we do a lot of that real high ride, get your hands up high on the slide, which is important.

It gives you more control over the firearm. Here with the Glock Gen 5, it’s just more smooth, that kind of a texturing. And then all of your checkering or the pyramids are done down below.

But you can see that they’re a little bit closer and it’s definitely a little bit different as far as the way it looks, but the feel is where the story comes into play. And this has a much more aggressive feel to it. Like you’ve got a good solid grip, even than the Gen 5. Gen 5 is nice.

I like it. And I will still carry this, use it at times. But I don’t know because the Gen 6 is just really, that grip is just over the top.

You can see too where they’ve increased the fence. So it was just at the bottom here, they’ve kind of surrounded it a little more. And a lot of the studies to how these are being deployed or activated when they don’t want to be.

You see the little back piece, the back panel, and that is your striker safety plunger piece that comes in. And it also holds in the ejector. So that’s definitely a difference in the internals.

Weight on the Glock Gen 6 Model 19, 22.45 ounces. Glock on the Gen 5 Model 19, 24.36 ounces. It is a little bit heavier.

And just holding them side by side, you can tell that the Gen 5 has a little more weight to it. Maybe it’s the grip reduction. Maybe there’s some other things they’ve used to save some weight, but definitely a little bit lighter.

Big thank you to Fiocchi for sponsoring our ammo. All made in the USA. One of the biggest suppliers of ammunition in the country.

Also big thanks to Lula Loaders for saving our thumbs. Well guys, the Glock Gen 6. The grip is really the story here as far as shootability. Texturing is over the top.

I love the recoil pads on the front. Slight serrations. Much more grippable than your standard Glock.

Of course, we didn’t put an optic on here, but just the way this fits, it’s just going to hold it very snug. Still uses your same magazines. So that slide coming back is really easy.

The texturing gives you a really good solid grip on it, and then again, I can place my thumb, get that high-ride grip, and it just keeps it steady. And then the beaver tail. The beaver tail is definitely a big plus, and it just rides up, and it just spreads that little recoil energy across the back of your hand, which just gives you more leverage.

Nice undercut. This is a big plus as well. I mean, that Glock knuckle again is tough.

And these magazines with that little flare at the bottom. Just a lot of cool upgrades. Still a Glock, and I love that.

Now we’re going to shoot about five rounds, and then I’m going to shoot the standard Gen 5. I mean, you can just see how just smooth it shoots. Gen 5 Glock 19. Shoots like a Glock.

I can feel that lack of undercut here. Just wears right here on my finger. Texturing’s great, but they really made an upgrade over the 6. Slide serrations, they’re fine, but definitely an improvement.

Of course, this is with the red dot, but overall as far as it shoots, the trigger is not as good either as the new Glock. That’s a big plus. So guys, while typically it’s not very exciting, especially with the appearance of each new generation, but to me with the new Glock Gen 6, this makes a big difference, and I just love the 19.

It’s a Glock. Now we’re going to go to disassembly, and there are some things that are different that we’re going to take a look at on the interior. First off, we drop our magazine, check the chamber, gun’s unloaded.

Go ahead and pull your trigger, pull back about a quarter, half an inch, just pull down on your takedown tabs, and the slide comes right off. Standard Glock fair. First off, we have a single coil recoil spring.

They’ve gone away from the double recoil spring because that was really for 40, and you only need the single recoil spring. It is flat, and so that’s going to actually aid in recoil management as well. Pull out our barrel, and it’s just your standard Glock takedown.

The one big change is in the slide, and here is your striker safety plunger, and of course it has been shortened. It used to go from the back plate all the way down. Now again, it’s really short, and it has a small hole here, and this is for disassembly.

Now it does come with this tool, and this is to change out your back straps, but it’s just the right size for this little small hole. So we bring in our punch, and you want to just hear a snap, just like that. Once you hear that, you should be able to drop out your extractor.

Next, we just go ahead and push forward on our assembly, and it comes right out. Now we have our firing pin safety right here, or striker safety, and all you need to do is take your striker, pull it back, and this piece will fall out. It also has a spring at the back.

Now when you’re reassembling this, it only goes in one way, and so you can see that one is more rounded, one is more flat. Now the sleeve on your striker is you just bring it down, and then your back plate will pop off, just like this. Put your finger over it, just so your sleeve doesn’t come out.

But you’ll notice that there is no place for your extractor assembly, and so that’s a difference as well, which honestly makes this much easier to reassemble. This is your extractor assembly and safety plunger. Now to reinsert your firing pin safety plunger, you want to have the curved end toward the back, and it’s more scalloped around.

So we’re going to bring it and place it, it only goes in one way, and then take your firing pin, or your striker, and pull it up, and just drop this down. And once it goes in, it’s locked in. Next we’re going to take our plunger for our extractor, and we’re going to go ahead and set it close in, and then it just slides right into that groove.

Now to reinstall your extractor, you’ll notice the little claw goes toward the outside, and the circular cylinder goes toward the back. And it goes right into this slot, but you’ll notice that little silver detent. We’ll take our punch again, and we’re going to just depress it.

And I want you to watch, it pops it back into place. This allows you to drop in your extractor, and then you can release it. And now it’s locked in.

Next, just take your barrel, and your recoil spring and guide rod, flat end goes to the back of the lugs, and then bring your slide right over your frame. Test for function, and we’re back in business. Otis makes some of the best cleaning equipment out there.

They make a number of different kits that are dedicated for different rifles, pistols. They also have Shooter’s Choice, which makes excellent CLP, and bore solvent, and different cleaning materials. The Ripcord is one of their signatures, and there’s a whole system based around it.

They are suppliers to the US military. So check out Otis Technologies, highly recommended, and we want to thank Otis for being a sponsor of the channel. Of course, we have the Glock box, and of course, pistol, three magazines, your two back straps, three adapter plates, your tool, a Torx wrench.

This is to put on your sights for optics. So really cool system. Of course, cleaning rod and brush, which is typical for Glock.

All right, guys, pros and cons. I think that the texturing has been extremely well done. Very aggressive, very nice, and yet softer to the touch.

And of course, you have your back straps. Integral beaver tail, that’s a big plus. I love the recoil management pads on either side, or memory pad to put your shooting finger.

Serrations have been improved where they expand up, gives you more traction here. This is a big one with the optics ready. The plates are just a huge plus.

You don’t have to order extra plates. They fit down into this same shaped section, and it acts as a crush washer. This is a big, huge plus.

Flat face trigger, very well done, and the undercut right here. We’ve gone to that single recoil spring, and of course, the extractor assembly has been changed, and that will keep from you inadvertently putting pressure on your extractor and causing it to malfunction. So overall, this is a huge change over any of the other Glocks, in my opinion, as far as the looks and the feel.

Of course, the palm swells as well are a big plus. Feels totally different in your hand. This is just, to me, a big upgrade.

There will be those that’ll say, well, it’s just a Glock, it’s the same thing. But again, the Glock has proven itself to be a very reliable handgun. Are there any cons? Well, it’s a Glock, and all the cons that are possible have been talked about, and all of those are typical preference.

But with the improvement of the grip, that’s a big plus overall, and it’s one of the things about the Glock system is that blocky grip. Now, we’re going more to an ergonomic grip. So Gen 6, we’ll be seeing different models coming out.

Again, the 19, the 17, and the 45 so far, and of course, the V series is still in production and still available. The price, I’ve heard it all over the place, so we’ll see how that goes, but you can look that up simple enough. But overall, I’m a big fan.

I was a big fan of the Gen 5, and I’ve liked Glocks, loved Glocks for a long time. There have been handguns that has surpassed the design with ergonomics and a lot of other things, but I think with the Gen 6, we’re going in the right direction, and it’s just great to see. But the one thing about the Glock is, again, it is the AK-47 of the handgun world, and they’ve kept that same Glock design all throughout.

The only con, they still have those plastic sights, but again, you can change those out easy enough. Now guys, why has Glock stayed around for so long? First off, it’s simplicity. It’s very simple.

It has few moving parts. You can change them out on your own. Of course, with all the Polymer 80 builds and a lot of things that have gone on over the years, you could actually do this all on your own, all the parts in the slide, all the parts in the frame.

They’re just very simple, and this allows you to upgrade, but it also allows you to repair it and to change parts, but then it also adds to reliability. And that’s one of the big secrets of the Glock model. While there are great guns out there, a lot of different, very highly competitive to everything that Glock is.

So the one big thing that Glock has going for it is the simplicity, and because of that, the reliability. To me, someone that is a prepper, this makes the ultimate prepping handgun. You can buy all the parts for it, you can keep them on hand, and you can service that all on your own with not extensive training to be able to change everything out.

So guys, the Glock is a Glock, no doubt. But we want it to be a Glock, because the Glock is extremely reliable. Few changes have been made over the years, but to me, the Gen 6 really kind of takes it to a different level.

And guys, the ergonomics on this have been vastly improved, the trigger, and a lot of other features. And so, if you’re a Glock fan, you’re going to really like the Glock Gen 6. And a big thank you to Glock for sending the pistol for this review, and again, this one is going to be added to my Glock collection.

 

Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America, long live the Republic.

 

-Don