How Accurate Is Your 9mm Glock

[shadetree]

I am thinking about buying a 9mm. I will be using it mainly to shoot steel and would like one that is fairly accurate out of the box. Glock is one of several guns I am currently considering. I am most interested in the accuracy of stock guns but would also like to know what kind of groups people are getting with aftermarket barrels.

Thank you for any input.

[Joe D]

I am yet to find a reason to buy an aftermarket barrel for a Glock. All of mine group better than I can shoot. My wife's G34 has shot a 5 shot group at 25 yds that could be covered by a nickel.

My G35s will group under 1 1/4" with several loads. The G21 that I just purchased appears to be just as accurate. Have not grouped it yet, but the bullet goes where the front sight is.

Here's a group that I shot with one of my G35s.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Joe D

[Mad Scientist]

I am thinking about buying a 9mm. I will be using it mainly to shoot steel and would like one that is fairly accurate out of the box. Glock is one of several guns I am currently considering. I am most interested in the accuracy of stock guns but would also like to know what kind of groups people are getting with aftermarket barrels.

Thank you for any input.

In my opinion Glocks are as acurate as any combat handgun in the world. Joe is right to say they will out shoot most people. under2 " groups at 25 are not uncomon.

as far as aftr market barrels go drop in barrels shoot as good as factory in most cases.

fitted barrels can improve the accuracy in the same way as a fitted 1911 barrel.

I have seen guns that are properly fitted that shoot into one small hole at 25 in the one minute of angle range off bags.

I shot one last week that would group into 1/4 inch at 15 yards.off the top af a cartrige box.And I was just messing around

Bottom line for all the plusses in a Glock platform I see no issuse with your choice

just depends on how acurate you want it and if your wallet feels the same as your heart

Johnnie

[shadetree]

Thanks for the in put Johnnie and joe. Any idea how they compare acuracy wise with cz 75 and xd? These are my top 3 right now.

I am planning on going down to one of tha local indoor range/gun shops and renting a bunch of nines in a few weeks to see what I like best.

Any thoughts on the ease of customizing the abouve shootin irons? I'm not a gunsmith but I play one on tv.

[Chris Keen]

Any thoughts on the ease of customizing the abouve shootin irons? I'm not a gunsmith but I play one on tv.

LOL

Glocks are the easiest pistols to customize and add/remove options.

Alot of the accuracy also depends on the ammunition you plan to shoot through said gun. I have a G17 that I always considered to be an average accuracy Glock, until one day whern I shot 50 rounds of 147gr. 9mm handloads at a GSSF indoor match and scored 498 out of 500. Keep in mind this is timed and therefore under pressure. I now think this Glock is just as accurate as anything else I own, but I also now know my handloads are probably better than factory ammo.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Glock24Shooter

[Matt Cheely]

My stock 34 is accurate enough for indoor PPC, I've shot a 599 out of 600 with it.

[jkrispies]

Any thoughts on the ease of customizing the abouve shootin irons? I'm not a gunsmith but I play one on tv.

LOL

Glocks are the easiest pistols to customize and add/remove options.

Alot of the accuracy also depends on the ammunition you plan to shoot through said gun. I have a G17 that I always considered to be an average accuracy Glock, until one day whern I shot 50 rounds of 147gr. 9mm handloads at a GSSF indoor match and scored 498 out of 500. Keep in mind this is timed and therefore under pressure. I now think this Glock is just as accurate as anything else I own, but I also now know my handloads are probably better than factory ammo.

1. +1 on the ease of "gunsmithing" your own Glock. This is easily the #1 reason that I'd use to recommend a Glock to anyone.

2. ++1 on the benefits of handloading to increase accuracy... provided you're willing to invest the time and money into that persuit, otherwise you might want to simply invest in a handfitted barrel. Of course, any benfits you might achieve through having a primo barrel will easily be negated through shooting sub-par ammuntion. My solution has been to learn reloading first, then layer the benefits of using primo ammunition by conjoining it with a handfitted barrel. Of course, everytime I buy another new reloading gizmo, my much-anticipated tricked-out Glock keeps getting put off another month, and then another month...

[Flexmoney]

After marker-barrels in the Glock.

There is no question that some of the after-market barrels are first rate...top quality barrels. I also think that the stock Glock barrels are right up there as well.

When you have barrels that are of top quality, then the biggest factor is how close the barrel comes to returning to the same spot every time...with relation to the other parts of the gun (the sighting system being of major importance).

So, you come to an issue of fitting.

Now, the Glock is a production line gun. It is designed to be a bit sloppy in fit so that it runs well (you get that same trade-off with 1911's, or any other platform). It doesn't likely come off the line with an ideal fit with regards to exacting accuracy.

Joe has said that he pays attention to the fit when he picks out (stock) Glocks. So, he keeps an eye on fit.

Johnnie has explored aspects of fitting parts as well.

All with the idea/goal of getting a quality barrel to lock-up into as close to the same position each time the gun cycles. The idea here is to remove mechanical variables.

With all that info in mind, I'd like to point out that...IMO...an off the shelf Glock does a very good job of getting the barrel back into consistent lock-up. Whatever the reason (how deep do we need to go into this subject?), the Glock system takes those parts (that have a tolerance built for reliability) and gets them pretty close to where they ought to be when the gun is locked-up and ready to fire.

I would have no problem going into a shop and picking up a Glock 34/35 (or a G17/22, fwiw) and competing with it at the USPSA Nationals (where I expect to be competitive at the GM level). Nor, would I have any worries about running it at the Steel Challenge (I am the Match Director for the local steel match).

Crappy Glocks are few and far between. With all the Glocks out there, it would be interesting to do some statistics on them. I bet we'd find that "good" or "very good" ratings on Glocks would extend out to close to two Standard Deviations.

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Next factors....

Sights

Well there are a pile of sight choices out there for the Glock, to be sure. And, there are also plenty of good choices for the XD and CZ lines.

Triggers

A few years back, everybody thought Glock triggers were crap. Now you can get a Glock trigger that is anywhere from really damn good...to flat out fantastic. And, a lot of that can be done on the cheap.

XD's and CZ's were probably in the same boat up until about a year ago. Then, with growing popularity, the trigger evolution started with them as well. Maybe not as cheap as the Glock for the "good enough...do-it-yourself" variety.

Ammo

Every gun likes good ammo...often loads that were developed in that particular platform. Ammo is likely as big as any other factor we have talked about.

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CZ...

Angus (Team CZ shooter) make a good argument for the the CZ and the double-action first shot for USPSA/IPSC shooting. (briefly, a match may only have 5-10 firsts shots...at double action)

In Steel Challenge, you will have fives times as many first shots. If you went with a CZ for steel, then you would probably want to look at their single action models. But, if you choose a gun that doesn't allow the first shot to be double-action, then you can't use that gun for USPSA/IPSC in Production division. (It doesn't look like you are in the market for a gun dedicated to Steel Challenge only?)

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A big factor...

The gun (you choose) should hit very close to your point of aim. That is probably more important than how tight a group the gun can get.

I think you are on the right track. Go try some guns out. Maybe try a variety of ammo in them. Pick one that you are comfortable with. Then shoot it for a while in the stock configuration (before you go replacing barrels and such). You may find that it works just fine.

[Joe D]

I get reports from shooters that the XDs as a whole are not the most accurate of guns. Most of the magazine articles I have read seem to agree. I cannot say for certain as I do not own one.

One thing that would keep me from owning one is the location of the slide release. It sits right under my thumb. The slide will not lock back for me. Someone gave me a HS2000 several years ago to shoot IDPA with. The gun pointed great, but I could not live with the slide release.

I have no experience with a CZ.

I have been toying around with a G21 for IDPA SSP. I shot about a 100 rounds through mine the other day. I set up some simple stages. I kept track of the shots that were on the very edge of the 0 circle. There were 8 hits that would have been a -1 with a 9mm or .40 yet cut the perf. with a 200 gr SWC.

Hmmmmm let's see that equals 4 seconds.

Edited December 24, 2005 by Joe D

[gmshtr]

I used my Dept's old Glock 17 at last year's PPC Nationals. (OLD is the operative word. It's the 72,550th Glock ever made!) I used it in the Stock Auto match, and ended up with a 478-41X, and then went on to win (with a good partner) the X-Team Challenge with it, shooting a 476-40X...oh, and with Trijicon Night Sights. The Glock 9mm is plenty accurate.

On another note, I was messing around with my duty Glock 22 during rifle training at Quantico last week, and noticed that I couldn't hit a 100 yard chest plate. Thinking it was just rust, I tried again at 50yds with no success...then 25 with 75% hits. I couldn't believe it! I thought that it was time to throw in the towel. Then I grouped it on paper at 25yds, and the best I could muster was a 15" group.

Needless to say, I'll be replacing it as soon as I get back to work, but I thought it was interesting that a gun could go down the shitter that quickly. I just shot a perfect PPC Qual score with it a few months ago, now this. I hate getting rid of it...the serial number is my birthday.

Oh well, hope this helps,

Phil Strader

[jkrispies]

I used my Dept's old Glock 17 at last year's PPC Nationals. (OLD is the operative word. It's the 72,550th Glock ever made!) I used it in the Stock Auto match, and ended up with a 478-41X, and then went on to win (with a good partner) the X-Team Challenge with it, shooting a 476-40X...oh, and with Trijicon Night Sights. The Glock 9mm is plenty accurate.

On another note, I was messing around with my duty Glock 22 during rifle training at Quantico last week, and noticed that I couldn't hit a 100 yard chest plate. Thinking it was just rust, I tried again at 50yds with no success...then 25 with 75% hits. I couldn't believe it! I thought that it was time to throw in the towel. Then I grouped it on paper at 25yds, and the best I could muster was a 15" group.

Needless to say, I'll be replacing it as soon as I get back to work, but I thought it was interesting that a gun could go down the shitter that quickly. I just shot a perfect PPC Qual score with it a few months ago, now this. I hate getting rid of it...the serial number is my birthday.

Oh well, hope this helps,

Phil Strader

Jeez... that 22 sounds like it's possessed! I can't believe that it would be a "wearing out" issue that quickly. Have you had it looked at to see if something just flat out broke... or if it was a bad batch of ammo?

[gmshtr]

I went through it pretty good, but I haven't completely broken it down. Once I get back from visiting family this week, I'm going to look into it, and see what's going on.

[Kevin Kline]

Yes Phil, please let us know what happened. We are looking at a few different manufacturers to possibly replace some of our duty guns and would like to know what caused that.

THanks, hope your Xmas was good.

Kevin Insco

[Clay1]

Phil, check the locking block. I have heard of these cracking and causing accuracy issues. At least Glocks are easy to tear down and look see what is going on in there.

Rick

[Kevin Kline]

The accuracy out of my 17 is pretty good. I was shooting the plate rack at 32 yards and hitting pretty consistently. My 354 is a little more accurate and I think that might also be due to getting used to the trigger more. The 9mm Glocks are more than accurate enough.

[Newguy]

My G34 started off with horrible accuracy. Disgusted, I borrowed a Storm Lake barrel from a friend and got the same results. After 2,000 or so rounds the accuracy improved dramatically. Two things happened. I learned the Glock trigger and I installed Dawson sights. Personally, I wouldn't invest in an aftermarket barrel until I figured out the trigger and either got used to the stock sights or bought aftermarket ones.

[jkrispies]

Shadetree,

I don't know how true it is (it's probably not!), but I've heard it said on several boards that Glocks can sometimes vary in terms of fit. If you're concerned about accuracy, you might want to purchase your gun from someplace that has several already in stock so that you can compare the fit of each gun and choose the best of the litter.

J

[Trisha Lowry]

I started with a Glock 19, moved to the Glock 34 and within the last year switched to a CZ75 and SP01. I have to say that each move has been a step up. While I will always be a glock fan, in my opinion the CZ's win hands down for ease of handling/shooting in a competition.

[Jasonub]

if you want an accurate outr of the box 9 get a sig 210 or a 226.

[spd522]

if you want an accurate outr of the box 9 get a sig 210 or a 226.

I certainly agree as I can shoot my P226 much faster and more accurately than my G17. However, a lot has to do with the G17 grip and angle that I just cannot get comfy with nor get a consistant grip from the holster with. The SIG fits my hand great.

I think most will agree that there are several makes and models sufficiently accurate for competition right out of the box and it really gets down to which feels best for you. Of the three you mention, my personal choice would be the CZ.

[shadetree]

I have handled and fired a few sigs in the past. Including a 226 and 226. I did not like the way they felt in my hand and all the controles were awkward and in the wrong place for me. They were accurate but I just didnt like the way they felt in my hand.

I like the way the cz's look and feel but I have not had a chance to shoot one yet.

I have owned glocks in the past. I love their simplicity and ease of dis assembly. My cousins modle 20 was very accurate. But the modle 22 I had was disappointing.

I am looking for something fast and easy too shoot, that fits my hands better than the para's and single stack 1911 I have. My hands are medium sized but my fingers are kind of short so the controls on the bigger guns are ipossible for me to reach with out changing my grip back and forth. Also square guns contact my hands on the front and back straps but very little on the sides which can cause problems some times.

Maybe I am asking too much but I just want a gun that's accurate, easy too shoot, fast cycleing, points naturally, simple to dissassemble, easy to repair, does not require much repair, has controls in natural easy to reach locations, and doesn't cost more than my first car.

hmmmm.

Maybe I am asking for too much.

[jkrispies]

Maybe I am asking too much but I just want a gun that's accurate, easy too shoot, fast cycleing, points naturally, simple to dissassemble, easy to repair, does not require much repair, has controls in natural easy to reach locations, and doesn't cost more than my first car.

Sounds like a Glock to me!

Seriously, though, I've always felt that real, usable accuracy is as much a product of shooter comfort than whatever a gun can technically shoot out of a ransom rest. Personally, I know that a 1911 is potentially more accurate than my Glock, but all the 1911's that I've shot and owned have felt like a brick in my hand. It's no insult to 1911's: it's just that MY hand fits the Glock better. For the next guy, it'll be a Sig, and for the guy after that, it'll be a revolver. Try a bunch of guns, and whatever is easiest for you to point, work from there.

[glockess1]

I use a G17 for GSSF indoors and outdoors and it is pretty accurate. I had a G34, which I liked, but I did better with my G17. Actually, my G26 is accurate also, and I just love the "baby." Yes, I like the 9mm for accuracy.

[iainmcphersn]

I've never been good at shooting groups but I have hit a 1" wide steel post at 100 yards 3x in a row with my Glock 19.

Of course these are much the exception to the rule. Usually I can get them close enough to scare the post though.

[gmshtr]

I completely broke it down, changed a bent locking block pin, cleaned the poop out of it, and it seemed to be a bit better, but still not as good as others I've shot. I may just completely change out every part in it! Then we'll see.

BTW Kevin, I would strongly recommend the G22. As a whole, we've had very little amount of problems with them, and when we did, they were minor. Mine's the first one I've seen this happen to.

Phil