FOG HORN
June 2020 Twobirds Flying Publications
GLOCK’S SURPRISE a 22LR G44!
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GLOCK’S SURPRISE a 22LR G44!
GLOCK’S SURPRISE a 22LR G44! By: Sal Palma
2020
holsters and magazine carriers work perfectly with the Glock 44. Based on that compatibility, I will venture a guess that Glock wanted a small caliber plinking pistol, something emulating the Glock 19, which is the most popular handgun on the planet, knowing it would sell like hotcakes. The timing couldn’t have been better as it started shipping just before the COVID-19 gun buying extravaganza, and try finding a pistol and ammunition today? Calling the Glock 44 controversial is an understatement. You have reviewers who feel that firing 5,000 rounds of .22lr through a pistol without cleaning and without a failure is a reasonable expectation. You then find those who follow reviewers who think firing 5,000 rounds of .22lr without a malfunction is a critical evaluation. To them I say that firearms are machines as such they need maintenance.
On 10 Dec 2019, just three days after our remembrance of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the world’s leading pistol manufacturer surprised the global community with the introduction of the Glock 44. Glock’s surprise was not a carbine, as we all anticipated, nope, no carbine; instead the Smyrna, GA Company announces a .22lr Glock pistol designated Glock 44. The bewilderment was palpable, what drove Glock to introduce a .22lr pistol, have they’ve taken leave of their senses? No folks, they did not!
The Glock 44 is identical in form factor to the Glock 19 and any variances in dimension are negligible; ergo, your Glock 44 can be reliably carried in your Glock 19 holsters.
Even to the unanointed, a mere visual inspection of the pistol suggests a grander plan begging the question, why does this thing look like a Glock 19? Only Gaston Glock knows the real answer but it’s certainly convenient that all of my Glock 19
Copyright 2020, Towbirds Flying Publications. All Rights Reserved.
GLOCK’S SURPRISE a 22LR G44!
2020
Glock 44 magazines too can be carried in your Glock 19 mag carrier.
extremely lightweight pistol coming in at just below 15 oz. with an empty magazine, that’s 9 oz. less than the Glock 19.
Appearances and physical dimensions are not where the similarities end. The G44 keeps the characteristic Glock design to include field stripping procedure.
While the Glock 19 slide is an all steel construction, Glock engineers have done something that is extremely creative; they used a polymer slide with a steel insert for the metal to metal contact. The end result is an
Glock ships the G44 with two ten round magazines, which created an industry wide uproar. We cried out, why can’t they be 15 round magazines. Glock’s answer, which was perfectly reasonable to me, was to express a desire to produce a magazine similar in size to a Glock 19’s that would feed reliably. I’ve owned .22lr firearms for years and 99% of all problems are ammunition quality and magazine stacking; not weapon reliability, it’s just the nature of the beast.
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GLOCK’S SURPRISE a 22LR G44! So, this has all been very interesting but how well does the G44 shoot? I’ll answer that in two words, Glock Perfection. I’ll start with the trigger. A number of reviewers have described it as “like a G19.” I compared the G44 trigger with that of stock G19 to validate that claim. The trigger pull weight of the G19 was 4 lbs. 2.8 oz. while the G44 came in at 5 lbs. 9.0 oz. The measurement was an average of three trigger pulls. Trigger reset on the G19 was shorter and smoother. However, having said that, the G44 trigger is well within the acceptable range.
2020
All controls are exactly like the G19 making the G44 an excellent training platform for existing or future G19 owners. Every aspect of shooting a G19 except recoil and report is experienced firing the G44; it’s a highly effective training tool. A shooter can focus on improving weapon manipulation like magazine changes, trigger pull and sight alignment. The G44 sights are consistent with Glock’s traditional factory rear bracket and front dot. Most Glock owners ultimately end up changing the factory issued sights. Whether by accident or intent, Gaston Glock created a Glock sight replacement industry. The G44 differs from other Glock models in that it has an adjustable rear sight, a complete departure from Glock’s modus operandi in the U.S. market.
Glock’s documentation indicates that the G44 can be dry fired but suggests in moderation. My personal recommendation is that you do not dry fire a rimfire weapon to avoid damage to the firing pin or dulling it. The G44 ergonomics are excellent. The grip is customizable to suite your hand. It features interchangeable backstraps with or without a beaver tail so you can adjust the size and shape of the grip. The pistol rests in your hand exactly like a G19 minus the weight, and its low recoil and ergonomics provides a very comfortable shooting experience.
Glock provides a small rear sight adjustment tool. Some reviewers complain about the G44 reliability suggesting that it’s finicky with regards to ammunition. At the range I tried about 10 varieties of .22lr including Lapua subsonic, CCI CB shorts, 40 grain standard velocity and high velocity variants. The CCI CB
Copyright 2020, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved
GLOCK’S SURPRISE a 22LR G44! short does not cycle the action which is true across all other .22lr pistols I’ve tested.
2020
to the ammunition. Otherwise, the G44 ran like a Swiss watch. Staying on the magazine for a bit, do not load the magazine by pulling the follower all the way down; then dropping in ten rounds. You want to load this magazine one round at a time by pushing down the follower sufficiently to load one round. The lingering magazine question is will Glock Inc. introduce a 15 round magazine for the G44? I did not have the opportunity to test fire the G44 suppressed; the Glock Store was out of stock on the G44 threaded barrel kits. I’m fairly certain that the added backpressure from a suppressor would have eliminated some of the problems with the Aguila Super Colibri.
The only failure I experienced in 300 rounds fired was with the Aguila .22 Super Colibri.
The Super Colibri is a 20 grain powderless subsonic round with an overall length of 0.81” and is significantly shorter than your average .22lr with a 0.98” overall length. For the reason previously mentioned, the Super Colibri lacks the blowback pressure to fully cycle the action; it also does not stack well in the magazine having a tendency to nose down. With the Aguila ammo, I experienced a number of failures to eject, double feeds and extraction problems. All failures were directly attributable
In closing, any suggestion that the Glock 44 is unreliable is unsupported by my experience. The pistol is fun to shoot and makes a great training tool. Skills developed or sharpened in trigger control, weapon handling and manipulation techniques are directly transferable to the G19 platform. The fact that it’s chambered in the inexpensive .22lr makes greater training frequency a possibility and as it’s been repeatedly proven, repetition is the mother of learning. The Glock 44 continues the Glock Perfection tradition. -SP Manufacturer Specifications
CALIBER: 22LR. LENGTH: 7.28” SLIDE LENGTH: 6.85” HEIGHT: 5.04” WIDTH: 1.26” SLIDE WIDTH: 1” BARREL: 4.02” MARKSMAN BARREL.
WEIGHT: 14.64 OZ. (W/EMPTY MAGAZINE)
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