Glock 34 Gen5 MOS competition pistol
One of the new products launched by Glock in early 2018, the G34 Gen 5 MOS was designed to provide speed and accuracy in a competition-ready package that's just as appealing to tactical buffs!
Glock 34 Gen 5 MOS
First introduced in 1998, the Glock 34 was the first pistol specifically conceived by the well-known Austrian gunmaker as a competition firearm. Sure thing, an earlier sport shooting-oriented model – the Glock 17L, now a limited-production only item – had been available ever since the year 1988, but it wasn't really much more than a longslide version of the baseline Glock 17.
The Glock 34 Gen 5 MOS pistol was officially launched in January 2018 and integrates all the most recent upgrades implemented by the Austrian company to its well-established striker-fired pistol design. Although conceived for competition shooting, the Glock 34 Gen 5 MOS is part of a recent wave of long-slide, optics-ready pistols that are increasingly gaining popularity for other uses such as home and property defense, leisure shooting, and tactical applications.
Technically speaking, the Glock 34 Gen 5 MOS semi-automatic pistol is nothing new: a classic Glock modified Browning cam locking system, it incorporates the Company's signature Safe Action system and three passive mechanical safeties, including a trigger safety. The trigger of the Glock 34 Gen.5 MOS offers a 24N (approximately 2,4 kg) pull and is crisper than standard Glock triggers, with a shorter reset.
Chambered in 9x19mm, the Glock 34 Gen 5 MOS pistol feeds through 17 rounds double-stack magazines.
Most of the improvements of the Glock 34 Gen 5 MOS over the original Glock 34 are the same found on all "Generation Five" Glock pistols, and mostly focus on ergonomics and accuracy.
The slide and barrel feature a matte black nDLC protective finish, tougher and more durable protection than Tenifer: the nDLC finish increases protection against corrosion and scratching and improves the ability of the pistol to function in adverse conditions.
The polymer frame now features a reversible magazine release and an ambidextrous slide stop catch, as well as a flared magazine well, a slip-proof RTF texture on the grip with no finger grooves, and a set of interchangeable grip backstraps with enhanced beavertail options included to make it more user-friendly to larger-handed shooters and to left-handed shooters as well.
A 5.31" (135 mm) barrel allows the 9mm ammunition to develop an average muzzle velocity of 1214 feet per second (370 mps), and muzzle energy levels ranging around the 550 Joule (406 ft/lb).
Just like all Gen 5 Glocks, the new G34 ditches the original Glock polygon rifling in favour of a new rifling pattern dubbed the Glock Marksman Barrel, or GMB. Still a polygon rifling design, the new GMB features tighter tolerances to provide enhanced accuracy.
The Gen 5 Glock 34 is available only in a MOS (Modular Optic System) version, featuring a patented modular interface system for small-sized optical sights on the slide, located just in front of the rear sight.
By removing a protective cap, the user will access a slot to install one of four interchangeable, factory-issued mounting plates for handgun-oriented, small-sized optical sights. Installation requires an issued Torx screw key, and the four plates allow the use of popular micro red dot or reflex sights manufactured by companies such as C-More, Docter, Insight, Leupold, or Meopta.
The growing popularity of optics-ready pistols among practical shooting enthusiasts – either amateurs or top-level competition shooters! – as well as between tactical operators led the Glock 34 Gen 5 MOS to global market success in the turn of a few months, so much so that many American gunwriters went as far as calling it "the best Glock pistol ever".
Without arriving to declare nothing like that, the Glock 34 Gen 5 MOS is undeniably one of the best handguns in its category in terms of quality and performance, all in a user-friendly platform that most shooters worldwide are already familiar with. And at a price that won't break the bank – as usual for Glock.
