Glock 17 vs. Glock 19 Full Details

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Which gun is better, a full size Glock 17, or the smaller Glock 19? This is a very common question, and like most questions it has more than just one answer. That’s how real life is, it’s not just yes and no, or true and false. It’s always a little more complex than that.

So first lets look at a few of the features of each side by side.

Magazine Capacity

Glock 17 holds 17 – the Glock 17 staggers the bullets in a way that allow you to put an extra 2 bullets in the same clip space. TheĀ  9mm Beretta the standard Army issued sidearm holds just 15.

Glock 19 holds 15 – The glock 19 holds just 15 bullets, but it will just like all the other Glock’s accept magazines from the same caliber weapon. That means you can put a 17 round or even 32 round clip in as well.

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Gun Size

Glock 17 – 7.32 length, 1.18 width, 4.49 barrel, 5.43 height (all numbers in inches)
Glock 19 – 6.85 length, 1.18 width, 4.02 barrel, 5.00 height (all numbers in inches)

So we can see that they are both 1.18 in wide, and the Glock 19 is about 1/2 in (.47 inches) shorter in length, about 1/2 in shorter in the barrel length, and about 1/2 in shorter in height..

Shorter barrel means less accuracy, but common is a pistol not a rifle right? I’m not sure how much it effects accuracy, I’m not able to tell a difference, but I’m not a marksman and I don’t shoot competitively.

The big thing here is conceal-ability. Unless you are a very big dude, then the Glock 17 is a little more difficult to conceal. If you are wanting to conceal carry then you are most likely going to want the 19, but as most people say. Make sure you shoot them both. We can pull all the stats in the world and show them to you, but nothing really compares to real life, and at around $500 a pop that’s a expensive mistake, right?

Some people say the 19 fits better in their hand, some people say the 17 fits better. Some people like the balance of the 19, some like the 17.

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Glock 17 – 22.04 oz w/no magazine (full mag +9.87 oz, empty mag +2.75 oz)
Glock 19 – 20.99 oz w/no magazine (full mag +8.99 oz, empty mag +2.46 oz)

Trigger Pull

Glock 17 – 5.5 lbs
Glock 19 – 5.5 lbs

The trigger pull for both the glock 17 and the glock 19 are the same. You can take your Glock to a glock specialist and have them reduce the trigger pull of course, but these are all after market mods.
Usage

What are you planning to use this for? Home defense, open carry, conceal carry, for the truck/car? If you are using it for home defense and you are happy with the way a Glock 17 feels then go with that, if you want a backup weapon, or a conceal carry weapon and you like the way the Glock 19 shoots, then choose that.

So what did we decide? Well we decided to buy one of each of course! We suggest you hit up your local gun range, they most likely rent both of these out. The only way to tell is to hold it in your hand.

Happy Shooting, and and all comments, criticism, or additions welcome. Check out the Glock 27 Review from GunData.org