GLOCK 34

[Ken O]

Hi. I'm wanting to buy my first Glock. I want it in 9mm for home protection. When I read the description of the G34 it sounds like it was intended as a competition, target shooting gun. Is it not a good choice for personal protection? Should I go with the G17?
thanks, Ken

[Black Majik]

It would be a fine home defense gun, just keep in a proper holster where the trigger is covered.

Know that the trigger weight will be lighter with a 3.5# connector, but you can get the regular 5# connector if you wanted to for really cheap.

The extra sight radius can help with accuracy and precision with sound shooting fundamentals.

[Tanner68]

The G34 is just as good as all the others, as long as its particular attributes suit you. It isn't a tricked out race gun. For target shooting and HD, it is as good as any of the others.

[Ken O]

ok. so it has a more sensitive trigger for the competition reason. thanks.
Ken

[tsoiky]

I won't say the g34 trigger is sensitive, it is just little lighter with the 3.5 connector on it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lead Waster]

I wouldn't say that the trigger is really that much lighter than a glock 17. It has a different connector but striker guns are by no means hair trigger guns like a cocked single action trigger.

With the 17 or the 34, which is less than three quarts inches longer, you are getting an excellent he gun. The 19 is also great.

Bullets come out a hair faster in the 34 than the 17, but it's insignificant except for if you are tuning a hand load for competition.

[BoJackUSMC]

Lot of guys buy Glock 34 for competition purpose and have Glock 17 or 19 for carry or HD. However, I went with Glock 17 for carry and HD purpose. I always train and practice with Glock 17 on eveything. That's just me thou and I am very happy with my 17 and 19.

[DRAB_81]

I have a GEN 4 G17 for USPSA, a GEN 4 G19 for carry & a GEN 4 G34 for the nightstand. I chose the 34 for my nightstand gun because I wanted the light to sit flush with the muzzle.

[Ken O]

and I assume that all the 9mm have the same mag?
thanks, Ken

[DRAB_81]

Yes and no. All Glock 9's are compatible with G17/34 mags, but the G19 mags don't fit in a G17/34 & the G26 mags don't fit the G19/17/34.

[003]

My 34 is the gun that goes to the range most often, also my HD gun. Hard to beat.

[nikki#2]

I chose the 34 for my nightstand gun because I wanted the light to sit flush with the muzzle.

^^ Haven't thought about it... but couldn't one argue that the extra barrel length gives the bad guy a bit more leverage to wrestle the gun out of your hands with?
Plenty of lights on the market short enough to not extend beyond the 17's barrel (e.g., Crimson Trace).

The extra sight radius can help with accuracy and precision with sound shooting fundamentals.

^^ While true in theory, my personal experience is that when shooting them side-by-side, the 1" sight radius difference does not translate into better accuracy at 25 yards (or at realistic HD distances).

The 34 IS the most popular gun in IDPA SSP or USPSA Production competition, so if you're going to compete, that would be a reason to choose it. A 34 Gen3 was my first Glock, and I got sucked in
because Dave Sevigny was winning everything under the sun with his G34. Now that Dave has left Glock, it's pretty clear that he can win with any gun he chooses. I have since switched to the 17,
which is faster on the draw for me. Plus if you practice with an AA .22LR kit, they don't offer a long-slide version to match the G34's sight radius.

The 34 is ~$100 more expensive than the 17, without any benefits that I have found. I don't care for the huge hole in the top of the slide, which Glock put there to lighten the slide so they could use
the same recoil spring as the 17 (I subconsciously think dirt and crap is going to get in there and jam the gun).

YMMV... A lot of folks swear by their G34.

[hermosabeach]

Either the 19,17 or 34 will work extremely well............

The trigger pull is a bit lighter with the 34 but it mainly feels different, to me anyways, then the standard connector in how crisp or soft the break is on the trigger...

Some prefer the standard connector as the break is easier to feel as the trigger stacks a bit more before breaking....

---
For anyone worried about weapon retention- take classes -- yes formal instruction and training

[Black Majik]

The extra sight radius can help with accuracy and precision with sound shooting fundamentals.

^^ While true in theory, my personal experience is that when shooting them side-by-side, the 1" sight radius difference does not translate into better accuracy at 25 yards (or at realistic HD distances).

The 34 IS the most popular gun in IDPA SSP or USPSA Production competition, so if you're going to compete, that would be a reason to choose it. A 34 Gen3 was my first Glock, and I got sucked in
because Dave Sevigny was winning everything under the sun with his G34. Now that Dave has left Glock, it's pretty clear that he can win with any gun he chooses. I have since switched to the 17,
which is faster on the draw for me. Plus if you practice with an AA .22LR kit, they don't offer a long-slide version to match the G34's sight radius.

The 34 is ~$100 more expensive than the 17, without any benefits that I have found. I don't care for the huge hole in the top of the slide, which Glock put there to lighten the slide so they could use
the same recoil spring as the 17 (I subconsciously think dirt and crap is going to get in there and jam the gun).

YMMV... A lot of folks swear by their G34.

I suppose it would depend on the person and what type of practical accuracy is expected. If a shooter has proper fundamentals, with good trigger discipline, sight radius probably doesn't matter much. Lined up sights is lined up sights, whether the sight radius is 5", 4" or 3.5". While I would agree that accuracy and precision is marginally discernible on at 25 yards between the G17 and G34 with a shooter having good fundamentals, it is noticeably easier with the longer sight radius of a G34 past 25 yards.

Comparing side by side the G34 to the G17 at 100 yard steel, which the front sight normally covered the majority of the steel holding over, I was able to maintain good sight picture easier with the longer sight radius all else being equal (exact same set up in both guns).

[DRAB_81]

^^ Haven't thought about it... but couldn't one argue that the extra barrel length gives the bad guy a bit more leverage to wrestle the gun out of your hands with?
Plenty of lights on the market short enough to not extend beyond the 17's barrel (e.g., Crimson Trace).



^^ While true in theory, my personal experience is that when shooting them side-by-side, the 1" sight radius difference does not translate into better accuracy at 25 yards (or at realistic HD distances).

The 34 IS the most popular gun in IDPA SSP or USPSA Production competition, so if you're going to compete, that would be a reason to choose it. A 34 Gen3 was my first Glock, and I got sucked in
because Dave Sevigny was winning everything under the sun with his G34. Now that Dave has left Glock, it's pretty clear that he can win with any gun he chooses. I have since switched to the 17,
which is faster on the draw for me. Plus if you practice with an AA .22LR kit, they don't offer a long-slide version to match the G34's sight radius.

The 34 is ~$100 more expensive than the 17, without any benefits that I have found. I don't care for the huge hole in the top of the slide, which Glock put there to lighten the slide so they could use
the same recoil spring as the 17 (I subconsciously think dirt and crap is going to get in there and jam the gun).

YMMV... A lot of folks swear by their G34.

Any decent light will extend past a G17's muzzle. Also, I'm not worried about the G34's extra .75" of muzzle vs my G17. If a man has a hold of the muzzle of my nightstand gun, I've got bigger problems than the extra leverage he may or may not have. The extra barrel length does have one benefit for HD (the extra velocity doesn't really matter to me). The longer barrel will allow the powder to burn more completely. SD rounds that may produce muzzle flash in a G17/19, can be greatly reduced or eliminated by the longer barrel.