No I haven’t crawled through the mud with a G34 or G35 also didn’t get to use the M4 as I got out in 99 and had the A2. I do own a G34 and G24 and have never had them jammed due to pebbles - but they are mostly used for competition and not carry.
I have a G34 and a G17. I shoot just about the same with either of them so I never saw any reason to carry the larger G34. I have talked to Ken about the 34 and he definitely is not a fan.
I was unaware that Glock changed their status of the 34/35 because they were called Practical/Tactical and I have seen several Glock ads for their use as tactical team guns.
As far as CAG using G22s instead of G35s I am going to answer that by asking why they use Eotechs? (I am not in any way bashing CAG/Delta but I will say that they are not all gun guys and don’t always make the decisions) I will only venture to guess that the use of the Federal Enhanced ammunition (No expanding ammo) has more to do with the choice of the .40S&W than the model of firearm they are using.
I have no dog in the fight as to which is the better choice. I have all of the models except the G35. I shoot the G22 most accurately but prefer the recoil of the G17. I wouldn’t mind stuffing a bunch of shit in the slide of my G34 to prove or disprove this argument but I will still most likely use my G17. If my appointment to SWAT ever happens (budget issues) I will have no option but to use my G22.
Guys at the end of the day carry what ur comfortable with weather its for duty or everyday carry. I belive timed drills are great but paper doesn’t shoot back. So if your comfortable and confident with a 34 carry it or like wise with a 17 or any gun of your chossing .
Kentucky State Police issues them, there are a few SWAT teams around the country using them, Glock sells them with 5.5lb connectors in the LEO/Mil program. I wouldn’t cry if I were required to use one as an issued gun although it wouldn’t be my choice just because of the size.
I had a 34 for a while but sold the upper and used the lower for an RMR G17.
Ok my .02 I have had plenty of Beretta’s cease functioning on the range with little to no debris involved, anyone who has extensively used the M9 knows you can easily see the locking lugs from the top of the slide and the tolerances will allow crud of sufficient size to cause failure into the slide. The only way to fix this is disassembly.
When the Glock 34/35 is in battery there is no real access for dirt/debris into the locking mechanism. Yes debris can get into the area around the barrel but if you are in an environment where shit is getting in your holster, slide, sights, etc wouldn’t you clear this out with any firearm to ensure your weapon is somewhat free of failure causing debris prior to firing? You could have shit in the barrel just as easily as something in the top of the slide. Which would be more detrimental?
Ultimately all of these arguments are what if’s, people are saying it’s a bad idea because it’s possible, but the only real instance cited is a second or third hand account of a penny or dime getting in the top of the slide and creating a stoppage.
I’m just trying to play devils advocate here, not start a war. If I lived in a colder climate where I wore more clothing I would not hesitate to carry my 35 daily.
JP
The Hackathorn story is legit (heard it many time from Ken himself). So NO third person BS.
To date, we have had anyone really get their gun in situation where debris could get in there (at least not in this thread).
Since pistols can not work for a multitude of reason (maintenance, stupid user tricks, broken parts, weak springs, etc) why add one more thing that could possible go wrong.
Again, if the 34 made me go from shooting drills in HALF their time or hitting targets 100yds with ease, then I would say rock on, but that just isn’t the case.
C4
I have never been particularly interested in the 34s/35s. Beyond the slide cut out, I don’t think they are worth the 100 dollar premium they command over the 17/22s. Shot them plenty of times, never could really tell the difference but admittedly it wasn’t clocked. Honestly that is more of an issue for me than the slide cut, but I also agree with Grant - seems like another place that debris can lodge. I do not personally see that being a problem for me, but I also don’t have a crystal ball… if I did, I probably wouldn’t carry my gun all the time!
Glad y’all like them I guess.
Not sure what people are looking for as far as a “real world” story here. Do you want someone to say that their buddy had to fight a deranged killer in an abandoned rock quarry and the G34/35 wouldn’t function after tussling in a gravel pit which resulted in him getting killed? Alternate ending to “Dirty Harry?”
People are responsible for their own decisions, and I’m sure in 99.9% of circumstances the G34/35 would be fine for whatever they encounter.
But if we based our decisions on what happens 99.9% of the time, we probably wouldn’t need to carry a gun because how often do we get into gunfights? I’m pretty sure I’ve gone to the grocery store over 10,000+ times without having to get in a shootout, so should I only carry when my spidey-sense is tingling?
Point being we prepare for the worst case scenario, and when you do need a gun it will be at the worst possible time in the worst possible circumstances. Why not stack the deck in your favor?
The EOTech issue has been brought up before. The Tier 1 guys use the older 551/552 EOTechs because it works properly with the higher top rail on the HK416. The rest of SOCOM uses the 553 with the built in riser.
Heres a 17, 34, 35 and a 17L side by side for those that had slide/port questions.
Galaxy Note II + Tapatalk 2
Simunitions
Who keeps their loose change in their ALS holster? :blink: Not only does my duty rig for my 34 completely cover the slide cut out but I have been in serveral scuffles in the dirt and sometimes mud, coming home to clean my rig finding my firearm in 100% working condition, and free from obstructions. Yes, I shoot the 34 a bit better than my 17. As does almost everyone shooting 3-gun around here. I have nearly 31,000 through my duty/competition 34and debris has never been an issue, even when rolling around on the ground in some silly IDPA COFs. I respect LAV’s opinions but I also give merit to the fact that Bob Vogel and Dave Sivigny chose the 34. (yes, I know he is no longer with Glock.) Vogle just happens to be one of the best handgun shooters in the world right now, and I am sure he has the numbers to back it up.
I started looking at the 35’s about a year ago. We carry G22’s. I first considered the G17 because if carpal tunnel. Surgery has really helped with that.
The OAL of the gun with X300 in the ALS holster is what got me to make the switch. I didn’t see a down side. Until reading this thread I’d never thought of debris in my pistols action. I still don’t think it is likely to happen. But it’s a possibility I’d not considered.
They might not suggest it in that chart but they sell blue label 35’s with 5.5# pound triggers which speaks louder than the chart.
It is second hand but from an excellent source. 
What if’s can be a PITA and sometimes they are just from nay sayers or people who just want to argue. This is not the case. Grant, Ken and Larry are trying to give us information to keep us safe. I run what if scenarios through my head often. I’m sure many of you do too. I just need to decide if the 35 is worth it for me and my folks. We only bought a pair of guns and holsters to try so not really a huge investment.
It is interesting there is only one known example of this malfunction.
But I also sold a pair of SF 60 rounders because of info Larry shared here on m4c. They always worked fine for me. But I decided it wasn’t worth the worry.
The good news is the pair of 35’s still hold their value well and the holster will be good to go as dedicated sim gun holsters. The sim guns will not lock up in our 17/22 holsters because the bore is not centered like in the real guns.
Anyone have a few G17T’s the wanna trade for a pair of slightly used 35’s
It went to a good loving home :dance3:
I know the debris thing is a “possibility” but my 35 has run like a champ in muddy/dirty/wet/debris filled conditions that choked the shit out of my teammates Sig P226s (which do not have a slide cut out). I carry a 35 on duty and have no problem with it (not that I have a choice anyways).
Yeah, but you could look at that both ways. If someone shoots the 34/35 better, wouldn’t that also be “stacking the deck in his favor”? You could argue, and it has been argued, that a couple of tenths don’t make a difference. I don’t know whether that’s true or not but I do know that fights/violent encounters each have a life of they’re own; they’re unpredictable. I’m not saying you’re wrong, but I certainly see the other side as well.
And am I wrong or has the 35 been the most reliable Glock in .40?
My experience seems to run contrary to the suggestions listed here. I carried a Glock 35 daily for a little over eight years, both on and off duty. It survived a few high volume training courses during that time, as well as countless range training sessions, some of which occurred in the sandy, dusty and windy Fort Dix ranges. It was unfailingly reliable, during that period. I found that I personally shot it faster and more accurately then the Glock 22 it replaced, which I had previously carried for five years. It also functioned perfectly with a few different weapon mounted lights, and I carried it for the last few years with a light attached as a result.
While I understand the hypothetical possibility that it could have become disabled from debris entering the pistol through the top of the slide, this was never my experience carrying the pistol seven days a week.
I managed to get a pretty sizable hunk of gravel into a ALS/SLS and locked the gun in requiring disassembly of the holster, fun times. This rock however was too big to do anything to a 34.
sent from mah gun,using my sights
It’s an admittedly remote possibility that a holstered sidearm will pick up debris sufficient to cause malfunction. Still, I don’t see a need to go with a 34/35 instead of a 17/22. I see this as a situation where a very small “con” is enough to overrule an even smaller “pro”.
There are a lot of very experienced folks running G34/G35 as duty guns–particularly when x300’s are mounted. The pistol is reasonably protected when in a good holster like the Safariland 6354DO.
A very experienced senior SOF NCO who has battled many of our Nation’s foes and who has the distinction of having used 9mm, .40, and .45 Auto pistols in combat during various phases of his career wrote the following superb analysis discussing pistol calibers recently:
“Not getting into the weapons transition issues from frame design to frame design (it’s the reason I love to hate the Glock), the fact of the matter is that the recoil on the G23 crosses the magic line of running the shit out of your pistol. Allow me to explain… Most of the guys mentioned that they can handle the reduced size of the 19 and the recoil increase over the G17 is acceptable. Most of us have also determined that this does NOT cross over to the .40 cartridge. Guys with a firm handle on recoil manipulation can use the G22 and G35 with acceptable results. However when you go down to G26’s and G23’s, the juice is not worth the squeeze. The recoil is now noticeably effecting times and it’s measurable. If you can’t effectively control recoil and are wasting time allowing your pistol to settle between shots then this is all a wash and means nothing to you, but if you can apply the fundamentals effectively you will quickly see that you can’t run a sub compact 9 or a compact .40 worth a shit. So a decision to accept a larger pistol in order to have an acceptable recoil impulse based upon caliber must be made. The smallest 9mm Glock recoil that I will accept is the G19 and I will not go below the G22 when bumping up to .40.”