Very conflicted: G17 or G34

[Lead Waster]

Get the 17 (IMHO) I have both and used the 34 in USPSA before I decided to fool around with a PPQ instead. I also used the 17. I'm not good enough to tell the difference but the 17 trigger was a touch heavier because they use different connectors (15 bucks if I wanted to change it so not really an issue).

I know guys who made "master" class with a 17, and same with the 34.

So all things being equal, save some money and spend it on magazines.

You probably won't notice a difference. Just practice with whichever you get and it's mostly the same thing.

Yeah, more 34s than 17s in a match, but these guys use the 34 as the match gun and have other things at home. So for competition ... why not just get the 34? But for a do-it-all, they are the same but you save money on the 17.

So IMHO, get the 17, use the saved money for magazines OR fiber optic
sights for the same price as a 34.

Either will do what you want, but one saves you money.

[Mr.Caketown]

Typical CG thread

Asks everyone for advice
80% says get the G34
OP does the opposite

[Click Boom]

Got both in gen 4, 17 gets used more by a lot. 34 is great too but not as handy for most things.

[grim1U]

For all of your reasons stated, sounds like the G34 is the way to go.

[cebuvfr]

G34!

[BoJackUSMC]

G34 all the way..... for match, HD, fun, and range.

[Captainron84]

Get the 34, were done here

[Tmatt1973]

Comparison

I bought a 34 shot it 17 times and took it back and got another 17. The exposed slide created a heat wave over the sites and gave a mirage appearance on target. Generally, the shorter the barrel the more accurate, the longer the barrel the more velocity. Get the 17

[Bill Steele]

For all of your reasons stated, sounds like the G34 is the way to go.

Definitely.

[ElDub1950]

I bought a 34 shot it 17 times and took it back and got another 17. The exposed slide created a heat wave over the sites and gave a mirage appearance on target. Generally, the shorter the barrel the more accurate, the longer the barrel the more velocity. Get the 17

Weird, no mirage for me. With a lot more than 17 rounds. And a shorter barrel is more accurate?

Never heard of the mirage problem either .. I don't get a mirage. If shorter barrels were more accurate, why aren't all the pros shooting Glock 26s in their competitions?

[Click Boom]

I like guns

[golfrj]

So i'm super conflicted right now. I originally wanted a 17 because I saw it as an all around good gun, but saw a 34 today and really liked it. The little things like lighter trigger, extended releases don't really matter much to me since you can add all of them to a 17 fairly cheaply but the fact that it comes with it all from the factory is kind of nice. So with that said I'm really looking at the two, debating whether or not the extra price is worth the barrel length. At the moment I'm looking at the g17 for 565 OTD and the g32 at 715 OTD, for those who have shot both, does that extra barrel length really make it any more accurate than the 17?

Some things about me:

This is my first handgun
Will be using this gun for recreational purposes, HD, and hopefully some USPSA and IDPA shooting.
My original budget was 500 before tax and DROS, so the 34 will be a bit out of my budget.

ALWAYS buy what YOU personally like...

[Ant45]

Get them both.

Problem solved.

[23 Blast]

Mainly a matter of size and the intended use.

For HD, it's a wash. If you can get to the gun doesn't matter if it's a G17 or G34. For competition, I also think it's a wash. The distances involved in USPSA/IDPA aren't great enough to give an advantage to the G34.

For concealed carry, I think that would be a more difficult to conceal and draw a G34 because of the longer slide. While people will argue that that doesn't make a difference, based on my experience, it really does. Also the ported slide can actually be a disadvantage if the gun is used where dirt can fall into the port and cause slide action problems. No such issue w/the G17.

So, in this sense the G17 is the more versatile and "practical" gun for someone like the OP, who is buying his FIRST and ONLY gun.

The bolded is why, after I sold my last 34, and wanted to get a Glock again, I opted for the enclosed slide of a G22.

With a Lone Wolf 40-9 conversion barrel, subjectively I shoot better with it than I ever did with my 34s. (Shrug) perhaps it's just that my overall experience and skill is greater now than it was then. Had I owned the 22 before and the 34 now, I might be singing the 34's praises.

That said, I think the 17 will have more available accessories (holsters and such) than a 34.

[Lead Waster]

Never heard of the mirage problem either .. I don't get a mirage. If shorter barrels were more accurate, why aren't all the pros shooting Glock 26s in their competitions?

LOL, some people do shoot 26s. Some writer said he shoots the 26 better than the bigger glocks. The reasoning being the way the bottom of the grip fits into the palm of his hand like a palm swell does. I dunno.


As for the "vented" cutout on the 34, that's of course to make it weigh the same as the 17 (so you can use the same recoil springs, etc).

If you feel dirt gets in it (and are shooting in a sandy/dirty place) ... a piece of grip tape (or what the heck, black duct tape) covers it up pretty handily.


For competition, you might see more 34s than 17s maybe due to the longer barrel giving more velocity over the chrono so that the same load gives a higher power factor in the 34 than the 17. That's a real gamer thing to do though, but valid nonetheless.

I take my 17 as a backup when I shoot the 34. I bought the 17 in case I wanted to do a pistol class or something, it just seemed to me that the 17 would be the most practical in those classes as the size is more average sized.