Category Archives: Glock

Replica Air Pistol of the Year Part 3

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Replica Air Pistol of the Year Part 3

What it takes to become 2018’s Top Gun

By Dennis Adler

Two entry-level CO2 models with great features, authentic designs and shared handicaps based on retail price point (actually selling for just $69.95), the new Umarex Glock 19 and updated Umarex Walther PPS M2, have the looks down pat, good performance, and make the issue of separate CO2 and stick magazines much easier to live with. Note that the stick mags in both pistols have full size base pads so the guns look right from the top down!

It’s the best new non-blowback action BB model vs. the latest update to an unseated champion in entry-level blowback action semi-autos, the Umarex Glock 19 against the Umarex Walther PPS M2. No two CO2 models could be better pitted against each other despite the fact that the Glock is a non-blowback pistol…it’s just that good!

It is a masterpiece of external design that does the best job of looking like its centerfire counterpart of any air pistol on the market. The Umarex Glock 19 is almost indistinguishable from the 9mm model, and Glock being aware of that subtly made one obvious change to the gun by eliminating the caliber markings on the slide. There is also the equally subtle crossbolt safety at the top rear of the trigger, even though the air pistol has a working Safe Action style blade trigger. Attention to details in the grip panel pattern, front strap grooves, checkering and every functional feature, such as the slide release are perfect, even though it is a non-blowback action pistol.

What Umarex and Glock have delivered with an entry-level model of the G19 is about as much fine detail as it is possible to get into a CO2 pistol’s exterior design. And you can say the same for the Walther PPS M2. Both the new Glock and updated Walther look like their centerfire counterparts in almost every important detail. Neither has a self-contained CO2 BB magazine, both use separate CO2 chambers in their grip frames and easy to load stick magazines. Overall, they are pretty much equals in the air and BB loading department and are priced the same selling discounted for $69.95. They are very affordable entry-level pistols with exceptional performance and design. read more

Replica Air Pistol of the Year Part 1

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Replica Air Pistol of the Year Part 1

What it takes to become 2018’s Top Gun

By Dennis Adler

Each year since I began writing the Airgun Experience I have selected one new model as my Air Pistol of the Year. For 2018, given the variety of new air pistols and satisfying, though not overwhelming number of models introduced, the focus has specifically turned to CO2 air pistols that are based on actual centerfire handgun models, whether new (like the Sig Sauer M17) or older (like the HK USP) so long as the air pistol is new. I am also establishing an updated point system based on five comparative categories with values from 1 to 10 points for each. This is going to separate out a number of guns simply because of their various features, or lack thereof. The gun chosen as Replica Air Pistol of the Year will be based solely on total points earned. read more

Umarex Glock G17 Blowback Action Model

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Umarex Glock G17 Blowback Action Model

A first look at the long awaited CO2 pistol Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

By Dennis Adler

Compared to the vast majority of contemporary handgun manufacturers, Glock is a young company with a mere 36 year history compared to others that have been around for centuries. As a CO2 pistol it is also the newest brand compared to established names like Sig Sauer, Heckler & Koch, Colt, Beretta and Smith & Wesson. Interestingly, Glock’s influence on older armsmakers like Sig, Walther, H&K, and S&W (among others), has led to a new era of striker-fired, polymer-framed pistols following the Glock design method.

I write Airgun Experience for you, the reader, but to be honest, I choose the test guns for myself. I have very specific interests in firearms with a tendency to favor old designs with history (in case you hadn’t noticed). For Glock, history only began in 1982, yet in that comparatively short 36 year span the Austrian armsmaker has accomplished nearly as much manufacturing handguns as companies established more than 150 years ago. Glock has challenged the Colt’s Patent Firearms Mfg. Co., Smith & Wesson, Sig Sauer (originally established in Switzerland in 1860 as Sig Arms AG), FN (Fabrique Nationale) established in Liege, Belgium, in the late 19th century, as well as time-honored armsmakers like Heckler & Koch, Walther, Browning, and Beretta, the world’s oldest firearms manufacturer. Glock has not only held its own but achieved global success in the military, law enforcement, private sector and civilian markets, displacing many of the aforementioned as a primary sidearm. read more

Umarex Glock G17 Blowback Action Model

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Umarex Glock G17 Blowback Action Model

A first look at the long awaited CO2 pistol Part 2 Part 1

By Dennis Adler

Making it realistic means making it the right size in every detail and the new Umarex Glock G17 is dimensionally exact to the centerfire Third Model (top) and it fits into all Glock holsters as cleanly as the 9x19mm pistols.

I have said this before but it is worth repeating, a good air pistol doesn’t have to be a training gun but a CO2 training gun has to be a good air pistol. The Umarex Glock G17 qualifies as both. One of the most important features a training gun must have is correct dimensions so that it can interchange with holsters, magazine pouches, and primary accessories used with its centerfire counterpart. Even if you are not looking for a training gun, have no intention of ever owning a centerfire G17, it should at least fit in a G17 holster. When the Umarex Glock G19 came out earlier this year it failed that requirement by being a fraction oversized through the triggerguard which prevented it from fitting into or locking in any G19 level 1 or higher injection molded holsters. It fit tightly into an ASG Strike Systems injection molded Level 1 tactical holster made for a basic size gun, and it fit into almost every leather holster I tried. Leather gives, injection molded holsters don’t. read more

Umarex Glock G17 Blowback Action Model

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Umarex Glock G17 Blowback Action Model

A first look at the long awaited CO2 pistol Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

By Dennis Adler

The new Umarex Glock G17, which will soon be available from Pyramyd Air, is almost everything one could ask for in a blowback action CO2 model designed to be both a sport shooting and training pistol. Matching the Third Model Glock 17 inch for inch, the CO2 model has all the correct Glock factory markings and a slide that locks back on an empty magazine. Also note the accurate shape of the barrel with the slide locked open.

The Glock 17 was intended to be the most advanced military handgun design of the 20th century but I think Gaston Glock’s intent in designing the G17 was not solely to win the Austrian Military trials in 1982 (becoming the country’s standard issue military handgun the following year) but for the Austrian-made semiautomatic pistol to eventually replace every military handgun in the world. Over the past 36 years Glock has almost achieved that goal, intended or not. Glock models are carried by U.S. military units, foreign military and government agencies, U.S. state and local police, international law enforcement, and by civilians in greater numbers than almost any other handgun currently in production. read more

Accessorizing the Umarex Glock G19

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Accessorizing the Umarex Glock G19

Best options for an entry level air pistol

By Dennis Adler

This is the Umarex Glock 19 air pistol, not an actual 3rd generation model, but it is hard to tell because there are only two obvious differences, first the crossbolt safety at the top of the trigger (if you see it) and the absence of the caliber marking 9×19 after the GLOCK logo, the model number 19, and AUSTRIA all in capital letters on the left side of the slide.

I like to think of myself as a “the CO2 cartridge is half full” kind of guy and hope that airgun manufacturers eventually get everything right. But I have learned that sometimes you just have to be overly optimistic. It’s like major league sports; you hope your team is going to win the championship every year even though you know from experience they’ll probably never make it to the semi-finals. But it does happen once in a great while, so there is always a glimmer of hope. I was disappointed with the first Umarex HK USP when it came out as a non-blowback model some years ago. After a long wait, in 2018 they hit it out of the park with the new blowback action USP, currently a serious contender for my Air Pistol of the Year. So, let’s take a second look at another non-blowback with the promise of greater things to come, the Umarex Glock 19, a pistol that was actually less disappointing than it appeared. This mid 2018 offering was a big surprise in ways that other non-blowback models have disappointed. For one thing there is the potential versatility of this entry level air pistol to lay the groundwork for a follow up blowback action model, very much like the first HK USP. When that will happen is a little uncertain, hopefully not as long as the USP, but what can the current G19 model accomplish in the interim? read more

First Look: Umarex Glock G19 Part 3

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First Look: Umarex Glock G19 Part 3 Part 2 Part 1

Almost the gun you have been waiting for

By Dennis Adler

It is a form of Glock Perfection; the CO2 model is Glock’s first .177 caliber model (there have been Airsoft versions previously) and the G19 looks exactly like a 9×19 Glock pistol in every detail right down to the finish on the slide.

As a Glock training gun the new G19 non-blowback action model serves as a basic hands-on tutorial on holstering, drawing, aiming and firing a G19. It’s a 1-2-3 process that is fundamental to learning to shoot, whether a Glock or any semi-auto or revolver. What is lacking is feedback, i.e., any sense that the gun is working beyond the audible sound of the air pistol firing. No blowback action slide to instruct in sight reacquisition. It is an imperfect trainer in that regard but for practicing the basic handling skills for a Glock, including the magazine release, this less than $80 CO2 pistol has authentic design, weight, balance in the hand, and provides a basis for learning to properly fire a pistol with a Safe Action trigger. With a Glock, aside from specially modified guns, the only safety (externally) is that thin, cantilevered blade projecting from the trigger shoe. Glock put the concept on the map, others, many others, have followed, but no other CO2 semiautomatic air pistol has yet offered a working Glock version until now. read more