Glock 19EXO Range Report

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

Whelp, just got back from the range with my first Glock. Prior to today I had only put 20 rounds through a Glock. I had pretty much written them off. They didn't feel right in my hand, and I didn't shoot them as well as other guns I had tried. However, I recently changed my grip and suddenly the Glock I was spying on at the shop was feeling much better to hold. I was in love, and I jumped on the Glock train.

Going into today I was really hoping that I had not made a huge mistake, but I figured I would throw some rounds downrange and see how it worked out. 200 rounds later, and the preliminary results are in. No surprise, I experienced no FTF (feed or fire) or FTE.

Here are some pictures of how it went... All pictures represent 15 shots fired unless otherwise specified. Shots were taken about 1-2 seconds apart unless otherwise specified. Other groups were shot between these, but they are reasonably representative of my shooting from today. They are from my cell phone, so they're not great.

Right out the gate I had a few difficulties. 3 fliers before I settled into it. Distance of 3 yards.

Then I improved my performance at 3 yards.

After getting a feel for the gun, I moved back to 5 yards.

Then to 6 yards.

Finally out to 7 yards. 40 shots in reasonably quick succession. Probably .5-.75 seconds between shots. Pictures with and without measurements.

I'm sold. I take back anything bad I may have ever said about Glocks (all I know for sure is that I said they didn't work in my hands, and apparently that's not true - if I disparaged them beyond that I was really in the wrong). This thing is a shooter. I don't think I have ever shot this well this consistently. I don't really consider myself much more than an average shooter, and this definitely helped me step up my game. I was shooting a bit low and left (hard to tell as some targets have been rotated in the pictures), but I can work on that more now that I have a feel for the gun itself.

Pictures of the gun itself are in the Show and Tell section if anyone is interested. http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/show-tell/57880-joined-glock-club-56k.html

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

And if anyone finds it relevant, I was using 115 gr. Remington UMC.

[Magiccarpetrides]

That's a failzero coated gun right? Now that your comfortable try something a Derringer couldn't do ;-) try it at 15 and 20.

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

Correct on it being a failzero coated gun. And further distances are definitely the order of the day next time out. But sometimes you just need to get a feel for a new gun before going all out. If I was having trouble at 20 yards it would be hard to tell what the problem was. Now that I know I can shoot with it I won't just be able to blame it on the Glock being all Glocky.

[Magiccarpetrides]

You raise a very good point.

[willis68]

Forgive my ignorance but what does the EXO mean on the new Glocks?

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

The EXO line is a group of special edition Glocks released by Talo. They have a nickel boron coating on the slide and barrel on top of the regularly finished metal. This is supposedly harder and more durable, and also somehow self-lubricating. Not so sure what to make of that part, honestly, but it definitely wiped down easier than any other gun I have cleaned.

It comes in versions with or without night sights. Mine has night sights. They are the Ameriglo iDots, with a very high visibility ring painted around the front sight and a blacked out rear (both with tritium inserts).

Mostly they just look a little different and have fun sights. Durability may be higher, but it's hard to see where you would need much more durability than your stock Glock. You can see pictures if you follow the link at the end of the first post.

[Guest ArmaDeFuego]

Good to see that your Glock 19 seems to work better than a Gen 4.

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

Yeah, that was one thing I had been a bit concerned about after hearing the horror stories of the Gen 4 9mms, but I double, triple, and quadruple checked to make sure everything was being done on a 3rd Gen body and internals before finally jumping in.

[Warbird]

The Gen4 19 has had some issues. Very few Glocks have any history of issues. All makes have issues from time to time, especially with new models. The failure rate of the Gen4 19 is still well below the problems rate of many, many manufacturers' guns, especially in first runs. It is only news because there have been more issues with this model than at any time in the past and Glockophiles historically hate any model changes until several years into them. Then they buy that model and swear Glock should never change again.

In truth though again, most manufacturers would still be envious of the failure rate, or lack thereof, of their models even the new ones.

[Kevo]

Congratulations, took me about five years & 2,000 rounds before I learned a proper grip. Thankfully ammo was really cheap in the early 90's. You didn't ask but that won't stop me from throwing advice out anyways. Don't shoot any other pistols. Safely practice dry-firing Safely every day Safely. After proper grip and a few thousand SafeDryFires you will outshoot almost anyone. Unfortunately I've branched out into other pistols and my SafelyDryFiring sessions are few and far in between. Have Fun, Kevin

[Guest BenderBendingRodriguez]

Figured I would check in for my couple-month update.

Fired probably between 500 and 750 rounds through the Glock so far. No issues of any sort to report (no failures to feed, fire, etc.). My shooting speed with it has increased fairly substantially. I'm able to take about 2 aimed shots a second from 3-7 yards (fighting distance) with accuracy. Here's a target from Sunday. 85 rounds at about that speed from 6 yards. This included 5 mag changes. I pulled my first shot (knew I did it), so I just aimed left rather than leaving a flier hanging out all on its lonesome.

Click to enbiggen.

Yeah, I like this little thing. It has solidified its role as my fall/winter carry piece in a Galco pancake holster.

[Guest 240KAR]

Thats some nice shooting there! I lol'd at "enbiggen".

[graycrait]

Great news about EXO. I wanted one bad, for about a week, then got over it. However, I love slick coatings on action parts and think the EXO is a good thing even if it may be "gilding the lily" on a Tenifer finish. I would hardchrome all my guns if I could afford it.

As to Gen 4s.... I have owned a couple of dozen Glocks, including Gen 4's. Some knucklehead even sponsored me to recently go to Glock Armorers school. Long story short... I am not an advocate of dual recoil springs in the Gen 4 19 or 17, but I get why Glock did it. I find it odd that they initially oversprung the 9s, basically using the .40 Gen 4 springs. However, production after Jul 22 (I think it was July or was it Jun?) has made sure the 9 Gen 4s have springs that will accomodate most 9mm ammo. I converted my Gen 4 to a single "Gen 3" spring with the many aftermarket adapters available that reduces the slide nose recoil spring hole. yeah, one more part, but not much of a change. So, if you get a new Gen 4, build date after July 22, the dual recoil spring will likely be the correct one for "weak" 9mm ammo. I change up my springs so keep uncaptured steel and plastic guide rods around for my G19s and 17s. Most of the normal Glock aftermarket part outlets have the Gen 4 to Gen 3 spring adapters but this is an outfit I am trying out a couple of things: Brass Stacker

[Guest Victor9er]

Great news about EXO. I wanted one bad, for about a week, then got over it. However, I love slick coatings on action parts and think the EXO is a good thing even if it may be "gilding the lily" on a Tenifer finish. I would hardchrome all my guns if I could afford it.

As to Gen 4s.... I have owned a couple of dozen Glocks, including Gen 4's. Some knucklehead even sponsored me to recently go to Glock Armorers school. Long story short... I am not an advocate of dual recoil springs in the Gen 4 19 or 17, but I get why Glock did it. I find it odd that they initially oversprung the 9s, basically using the .40 Gen 4 springs. However, production after Jul 22 (I think it was July or was it Jun?) has made sure the 9 Gen 4s have springs that will accomodate most 9mm ammo. I converted my Gen 4 to a single "Gen 3" spring with the many aftermarket adapters available that reduces the slide nose recoil spring hole. yeah, one more part, but not much of a change. So, if you get a new Gen 4, build date after July 22, the dual recoil spring will likely be the correct one for "weak" 9mm ammo. I change up my springs so keep uncaptured steel and plastic guide rods around for my G19s and 17s. Most of the normal Glock aftermarket part outlets have the Gen 4 to Gen 3 spring adapters but this is an outfit I am trying out a couple of things: Brass Stacker

There was a big discussion about the recoil springs here: (edit - can I link to another discussion board??)

Long story short:

Any Gen4 Glock purchased before July 22, 2011 can have the recoil spring assembly (RSA) replaced at NO COST by calling Glock at 877-745-8523. (you'll have to provide your model & serial number) Obviously any Gen4 Glock purchased after that date should have the most current RSA. You can check the RSA in your Glock to see if it has the most recent version, they are numbered and there's a chart provided. I'll see if I can link to the picture...

[Troutburger]

I emailed them my replacement spring is on its way 2-4 week delivery time.