Guess it depends on whether it means a lot to you to have a grip with no finger grooves and/or an ambi slide release. Does your department even have plans to make a purchase of Gen 5s any time soon? Where I live, I still see most officers carrying Gen 4 Glocks, even though the Gen 5s have been out for several years now. I feel like the Gen 5s have not sold nearly as well to local and state law enforcement as the Gen 3s and 4s, though I'm basing that conclusion on observation, not data.

It's hilarious how many times Glock has revised and improved "perfection," isn't it? ;)

I switched the mag release to the right side of my pistol (since I shoot with my left) and I don't use the slide release lever (I use the overhand technique). I also prefer the finger grooves. They work for me. Since my last post I learned that my agency is switching over to the GLOCK Model 45 (9mm) and a few of our new officers are already carrying the G45.

The only detectives who are slated to get the G45 are the ones still carrying the various 45acp Glock models. Mostly the G36 and a couple are hauling around the G21! Those of us who carry the G19 will continue to carry it.

Eventually all the uniformed officers will carry the G45. A few detectives have asked if they can purchase the G45 and they have been told no; the G36 guys have to wait to be issued the G45. I don't think they would be able to get one right now even if the department said yes to private purchases.

I think a more accurate motto is "proven".

Yeah, I hear ya. Though I don't like using the slightshot reloading technique in most circumstances (even though there are Glock fanboys who insist that this is the way Glocks are meant to be reloaded, hence why Glock still hasn't standardized longer slide stops, i.e. slide releases).

Finger grooves, I'm kinda divided. I like how the straight frontstrap looks much better, but the grooves work fine for me, so I've never taken them off the Glocks I own that have them.

G45 should be a good choice, but yeah, good luck to them trying to find one right now. (I considered buying one myself a few months back, and they were out of stock everywhere.)

Kinda surprising, but the Glock 17L Gen 5 MOS has been announced.

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...-17l-gen5-mos/

Wow that is a surprise. I thought that Glock had essentially stopped making the 17L.

They still make the Gen 3 G17Ls in limited quantities (something like a few dozen per year), but no, they've never left production. They still have a following amongst Glock fans (especially in countries where competition shooting is considered the only legitimate reason to own a handgun), and I believe that Glock also has a few military and/or LE contracts to build them, too.

I definitely don't understand the point of offering the G17L in a Gen5 MOS configuration, though. If you're buying a pistol to put an optic on it - which is the main reason anyone would buy the MOS version - then why bother purchasing a gun with such a long iron sight radius? (Side note: I've always thought that the G17L from the movie "Ronin" was an impractical setup in reality for this exact reason.)

I agree. I purchased a G34 a few months ago for the longer sight radius.I don't think I'm going to put optics on it either.

Not sure if anyone's heard yet, but the G17L Gen 5 is apparently very unreliable. At least two firearms YouTube channels that I watch have tested it now, and encountered serious jamming issues even with decently-powered loads. Apparently, the slide just isn't light enough to handle many loads, possibly because Glock didn't put the lightning cut found on earlier G17L generations. I suspect that the recoil spring is also a bit too stiff, and I wouldn't be surprised if Glock needed to play around a bit more with the feed ramps and barrel lock-up, too.

I see a lot of people selling Gen 3 G17L slide/barrel assemblies on eBay, and I've been tempted to buy one just to retrofit to my Gen 3 G34 frame. The main reason I haven't is that the sellers always want ridiculous prices for them (often the cost of an entire gun), and they're all post-2010 assemblies, which I can tell by the S/Ns. I won't buy Gen 3s made after 2010 because those don't have the Tennifer treatment, unlike all of the Gen 3s that I own now, and IMHO, that's still the most durable and aesthetically pleasing finish that Glock has ever offered.