Some of the Most Common Issues People Have with the Glock 17

The venerable Glock 17 is a staple within the handgun community. World renowned for its iconic looks, its phenomenal reliability and its versatility, the Glock 17 is one of the most popular hand guns on the planet. However, despite this pristine reputation, like any firearm, the Glock 17 does have its issues and this is what has caused many to avoid the Glock platform. I’ve got extensive experience with a wide variety of Glock handguns including the Glock 17 and although I love the platform, it is not perfect. Today we’ll go over some of the most common issues that people run into when considering the Glock 17 for their duty or carry pistol.

Issue #1 – The Glock Trigger

As a striker fired pistol with no safety, Glock Inc has taken a lot of care in engineering the Glock 17 and their other pistols to be extremely safe despite the absence of a manual safety. I am personally a huge fan of Glock’s dedication to leaving their handguns without a manual safety but it can be a point of contention for others. Glock pistols technically do feature a safety but it is integrated within the trigger as a blade style safety which necessitates proper finger placement on the trigger blade in order of the trigger to travel rearward.

Glock triggers don’t exactly come out of the box feeling all that great. In later generations (Generation 4 and Generation 5) some of the triggers I have used right out of the box on new Glock 17’s aren’t exactly the smoothest out there. With time and repetitive shooting these issues tend to go away but a far easier method is to simply replace the factory Glock trigger with an aftermarket trigger. Doing this usually eliminates the grittiness you feel from a factory fresh trigger but even with the aftermarket replacement you’ll still get that infamous “Glock Finger” if you have a particularly heavy range session. Despite this, I still think that the stock Glock trigger is perfectly serviceable and still one of the better triggers in striker fired guns.

Issue #2 – Getting the Best Glock 17 Holster

Getting the best Glock 17 holster is somewhat of an issue not because of a lack of variety, but because of the sheer number of options you have available to you. Finding a Glock 17 Light Holster is even more difficult as you’re adding on the complexity of a weapon mounted light which not all holster manufacturers can accommodate. However, there are a couple of key considerations you can factor in when selecting either a tactical holster for the Glock 17, a concealed carry holster for Glock 17 or even a Glock 17 light bearing holster.

First off, the Glock 17 is a relatively large double stack pistol. As far as concealability goes, you’d have to be a large guy or perhaps consider a belly band holster (my personal belief is that a belly band is the best Glock 17 IWB holster as it offers a lot of versatility and still maintains a low profile). Concealment is more or less a difficult thing to accomplish with such a large pistol. A far more common option is to select something that well-made, covers the trigger, and fits comfortably. A Glock 17 Nylon holster would be a good option for outside the waistband carry over heavy clothing, however Leather and Kydex are far more common and better suited for this job.  So what is the best IWB holster? That’s something you’ll have to do some personal research and testing on, and if you’re like me you’ll likely end up with a huge box of holsters that you’ve tried.

One of the best IWB Kydex holsters on the market right now happens to be Falco Model A903 L 2021 which allows a lot of versatility in the clothing you wear and the positioning of the holster along your waistline. One of the best hybrid IWB holsters out there happens to be the Falco model A116 2021. The A116 is a comfortable leather and Kydex combination that features strong belt clips and can hole almost any handgun on the market and has loads of options for configuring it to your exact specifications and carry style. If you change things up a lot, you might want to start looking for the best IWB OWB combo holster for your Glock 17.

Now that pistol red dots are becoming more common, the market is becoming flooded with loads of Glock 17 concealment holster options and even IWB gun holsters for pistols that make use of red dots. To find the best Glock holster for your situation, you should do a lot of research but make safety your number one priority. I would sternly discourage the use of Glock pocket clips for the Glock 17 as it is simply too large to conceal in this manner without maintaining a high level of carry safety.

Issue 3# - Glock Sights

This is an issue I haven’t personally experienced but one that I do hear often enough that I will bring it up here. A lot of people do not like Glock sights for one reason or another. I suppose a large amount of the contention comes from me that fact that many people are used to older models of pistol iron sights and either are new to Glock style sights or do a lot more long range shooting with pistols and in that case I can understand the dislike for them. Glock sights are intended for close in work and tend to be lacking in long range capability.

However, many people will simply swap out their factory sights for night sights or other aftermarket sights which solves the problem for very little up front cost. Most aftermarket sights will give you exactly what you need and even provide you with better sight visibility at night if you purchase sits with tritium in them. I happen to like factory Glock sights and have attended many class and pistol courses and used them to great effect within what I would consider to be “normal” pistol ranges.

Final Thoughts

Many of these common issues tend to be ones that aren’t exclusive to the Glock 17 platform. In fact, I would almost argue that when I hear these there is always a simple solution to them. This is becoming even more apparent as there are those who still want to have ultra compact guns but with high capacities in them. Many people will simply opt to secure a 9mm magazine holder for a quick reload but this also adds more complexity to your carry setup and that reload may not even be necessary in a defensive situation.

Out of the three issues mentioned above, I think finding the best IWB nylon holster, or Glock light bearing holster is the toughest thing on the list, largely because it is an insanely subjective and personal choice that has to be made. Lucky for you, you’re reading a block that is hosted by a company that sells and manufactures many types of holsters for virtually any Glock pistol on the market.  Happy hunting!