The Glock G17L, the company’s original full-size longslide model chambered in 9 mm Luger, prominently features a 6.02-inch barrel and has about 1½ inches over the standard models. These longslide pistols have been notable models that also happen to be one of the earliest offshoots of the original first-generation Glock G17. The longslide concept was part of a trend in sporting pistol design from yesteryear which is why it inspired Glock to produce a longslide version of its flagship during the 1980s.
Beyond its initial introduction in 1988 with the first-generation, Glock kept development of the G17L moving forward and brought them into the fold of their second- and third-generation specifications. For years Glock stopped there, only producing those somewhat rare third-generation models in occasional production runs. It wasn’t until summer 2024 that Glock decided to breathe new life into the G17L and refactor it into current fifth-generation standards giving it a fresh facelift—and to make it a regular production item.
G17L GEN5 OVERVIEW
The Glock G17L Gen5 is a striker-fired, semi-automatic, polymer-framed 9 mm Luger pistol built on Glock’s proven “safe-action” striker mechanism and the tiltingbarrel Browning delayed-blowback action commonly seen in today’s prominent semi-automatic pistol designs. Distinguishing any Glock pistol from other striker-fired designs is that even when the handgun is cocked with a round in the chamber, the striker assembly itself isn’t actually fully cocked nor ready to detonate the chambered round’s primer. To fire, the shooter must pull the trigger in order to finish building up the striker’s tension and allow it to be released. This is both a blessing and a curse, as by virtue of their design, Glocks will never have a dangerous hair-trigger, but the trade-off is a different trigger pull.
SLIDE & BARREL
The G17L’s fifth-generation facelift shifts certain elements from previous generation builds. Gone is the prominent rectangular slide cut between the breech and muzzle. Instead, the new guns’ slides are all cut for the MOS optics mounting pattern directly from the factory, much like their Glock G34 Gen5 siblings. Most of the slide’s weight reduction is focused on the rear of the slide in and around the MOS cut.
The new model includes an upgraded 6.02-inch Glock Marksman Barrel with a recessed crown and polygonal rifling. Glock Marksman Barrels are something that every other model upgraded to the fifth generation also counts on. The fundamental design in how the GMB locks up in conjunction with the slide and frame hasn’t changed, but critical surfaces have been tweaked to promote tighter lockup and more consistent shots. I did notice that the stock RSA (recoil spring assembly) included in the Glock G17L Gen5 (marked 1-1-3) has a different number than those included in G17s or G34s which are marked 1-3 or 1-0-3. It makes sense that the G17L’s RSA has a stiffer spring to better negotiate the increased mass of the longer slide. Since the G17L’s Gen5 RSA is the exact same size and length as that found in its other full-size 9 mm Luger siblings like the G17 and G34, the G17L uses a polymer bracket to make up for the longer slide length. I’ve seen some chatter online lamenting the fact that the bracket is molded from polymer instead of machined from metal, but I suspect the lighter material also plays a role in keeping the slide’s tracking well balanced during shooting.
FRAME, GRIP & TRIGGER
On the frame, gone is the extra frame pin underneath the breech, as well as the finger-grooves that were prominent on the G17L Gen3’s grips; instead, the grip and frame on the new Glock G17L Gen5 is identical to the current production G17 Gen5 and G34 Gen5 frame with the smooth, finger-groove-less front strap. Another welcome change that’s present across the fifth-generation models is the presence of a pair of ambidextrous slidestops, which make these guns the most left-handed friendly ones since their inception in the 1980s.
Trigger wise, my Glock G17L review unit shipped with the standard 5½-pound trigger found across all “blue label” SKUs. This trigger isn’t new and has been present with fifth-generation pistols since their launch in 2017, and it’s a definite improvement over the triggers fielded in previous generations, which had a spongier and less crisp trigger break. I’m happy to go on record and consider it “good enough” for a general purpose handgun, in fact. But for my review, I outfitted the Glock G17L’s frame with the Glock Performance Trigger, a factory drop-in part that’s installed identically to standard triggers. The trigger’s face is flatter and more squared-off, and according to my digital trigger-pull scale, 10 breaks averaged three pounds, 15 ounces. With a lighter pull, this trigger certainly helped in making high-stakes shots at challenging targets during my USPSA match.
ON THE RANGE
The irony of the Glock G17L Gen5 is that it’s too long to fit inside the USPSA/IPSC “Production Box” (whereas the 5½-inch Glock G34 is one of the most popular striker-fired pistols used in sport shooting). Nonetheless, I couldn’t wait to bring this pistol to my shooting club’s weekend match. I mounted the new Vortex Defender-XL “big-window” red-dot sight using the Glock MOS compatible plate supplied by Vortex. For my match, I registered in USPSA Limited Optics division, where guns fitting into “the box” are of no concern. Using 127-grain coated bullet handloads that I charged with 4.2 grains of TiteGroup (1,224 f.p.s., 155 PF), I shot my match with zero issues—well, as best as my moderate skill permitted. But the G17L Gen5 ran like a top, behaving like you would expect any other fifth-generation Glock pistol: with boring reliability, while staying out of the way to allow me to focus on shooting.
While clearing stages with the Glock G17L Gen5, I had no trouble negotiating targets at close distance or nailing far ones, especially steel poppers. During this match, under the stress of the shot timer and my focus on the stages, I noticed how nicely this modern version of the G17L balances while shooting. Equipped with the Vortex Defender-XL red-dot sight and a Surefire light (for holster compatibility), the G17L Gen5 felt much like a current G17 or G34, which was a nice surprise. I expected the longer slide to make the gun feel nose-heavy and throw it off balance. Adding the big-window Vortex, which I also used in my HK VP9 Match review, was a good call—it was certainly an asset sitting on top of the G17L Gen5’s slide.
Unlike the “typical” Glock, the fifth-generation G17L had a gentle break-in period, but nothing to be concerned about. It just may not fully cycle lighter commercial loads during the initial 200 rounds until the parts are worn in some. But this also led me to notice that this pistol heavily favors higher-pressure or duty-grade cartridges, due to the slide’s mass and the requisite spring weight of its factory RSA.
Even with the velocity-boosting, longer six-inch barrel, lightly loaded or specialty competition rounds do not generate enough pressure to reliably cycle the G17L’s slide in its factory configuration. Running lighter loads through this pistol would entail tuning and experimenting with the RSA and spring weights. However, a solid course of action would be to shoot a proven standard velocity and pressure cartridge, and enjoy the way the pistol balances during live fire. Ultimately, the trade-off for blueprinting Glock’s semi-automatic system into a gun with a longer and heavier slide will be using “duty-grade” ammo to reliably cycle the action. Although I didn’t shoot Speer Lawman for this review, it would be a good example of what the pistol works well with. In fact, it would do quite well with the Lawman 147-grain flat point round, as this Glock seemed to have an affinity for heavier 147-grain bullets.
Besides my match handloads, I surveyed some factory loads through the Glock G17L Gen5 as well, including 124-grain Staccato Range full metal jacket, 115-grain Federal Syntech Match and 147-grain HOP Munitions poly-coated match rounds. While not designed for competitive shooting, I also cycled 115-grain and 124-grain Nosler ASP jacketed hollow point rounds. All in, the round count lies close to 500 rounds, with no egregious failures to note.
SHOOTING RESULTS
THE TAKEAWAY
Because the original Glock G17L was created as a pistol for sports centered around action-pistol shooting disciplines, the extra-length slide is indicative of the style and trends seen in high-end and customized handguns built for IPSC or other games. Gunsmiths started building such handguns as far back as the 1950s to allow shooters to take advantage of a longer sight radius, while also allowing the bullet’s propellant to fully burn and impart higher (i.e., more efficient) muzzle velocities compared to shorter barrels.
With its fifth-generation revampment in 2024, this storied 9 mm Luger Glock model is getting a new lease on life, especially as it is now a regular production item. With modern slide-mounted red-dot sights, perhaps the sight radius benefit isn’t the consideration it once was for the shooter. However, the six-inch barrel certainly provides a nice boost in muzzle velocity—extremely useful to competitors when trying to tune guns and make power factor. Likewise, this performance benefit can also be of interest to those who spend time in the field and make use of high-velocity specialty 9 mm Luger cartridges, too. The most distinguishing feature of this gun is its six-inch barrel after all, so why not take full advantage of its performance benefits?
One thing is for sure, I didn’t want to pass up the chance to have fun and bring one of Glock’s storied and original-but-modernized competition models to a modern club match.
SPECIFICATIONS
Learn more about the Glock G17L Gen5 handgun at us.glock.com.
