The Glock 17L (along with the G24) is kind of the unicorn of the Glock line up. Produced in small batches and rarely, if ever, is it seen in the wild. Here’s a quick review of mine:
Pros:
-Reliable. The gun has had 0 malfunctions
-Accurate. The longer sight radius helps when targets get small or range gets long.
-Durable
-Easy to maintain
-TONS of aftermarket support (not as much as some models however)
-Accepts 17 and 33 round factory magazines
-Glock’s customer service is excellet
-Durable finish
-Cheap replacement parts, should you ever need them
-Low Bore Axis combined with relatively long slide resulting in a soft shooting gun.
-Easily modified to fit the shooters’ preferences
-Requires very little cleaning/lubrication to run reliably
-Many of the worries about brass to the face are assuaged; I’ve never heard of it with the G17Ls.
-Increased velocity due to the long barrel
Cons:
-Availibility
-Not offered under the Blue Label or GSSF programs
-Factory adjustable sights have a cheap feel
Chrono numbers:
-Gold Dot +p 124gr: 1331 FPS, 487 FT/LBS energy
-HST 124gr: 1203 FPS, 398 FT/LBS energy
Here’s a video with some shooting from the 12m line, a size comparison, and a chronograph test with some popular carry/defensive loads:
The first handgun I ever bought was a G17L, 10 years ago. I don’t shoot it very much anymore, but when I shoot it I feel like I am cheating. It shoots very smoothly!
Seriously, I do not know. I own a 19, 17 and 34. 19 for carry, 17 bedside and 34 for games. Although I take em all out for an IDPA match at least once a year.
A buddy of mine came up with a 17L a couple weeks ago. He’s one of those guys that gets guns and sells them in a few days without ever even firing them.
He wound up trading it off for something or another before I could get the chance to buy it off him.
I seriously had no idea Glock even still made the 17L.
Upon seeing the topic of this thread i was all set on posting a sarcastic comment thanking the OP for providing us with a review of a gun that has been around for 25 years… then i read the replies and apparently some people have been living under a rock for the past 25 years.
I think it’s more of the impracticality of the gun. Not too many people see them anywhere or would pick it over an alternative shooting enthusiast purchase… ammo… guns… whatever.
I had a Glock 17L a few years back and I have to say it was an awesome hand gun, just too impractical. The super long sight radius made it ridiculously easy to make hits, and the recoil was much smoother (more of a push than a snap) compared to my Glock 19’s. In the end I ended up selling it to a friend because of its size. It’s too big to carry concealed, so it ended up being more of a novelty for me than a serious fighting gun. But it would make a fantastic sidearm to a long gun, freakishly accurate for a production gun.
I use17L’s in 3 gun. Soft shooting gun especially when you reload specifically for it. If you are looking for one, you can find one, they are frequently for sale in the EE on the other site.
Mine certainly was a “Holy shit I have to have that right now!!!” purchase. When I got mine my LGS had two 17L’s and one 24. Two weeks later they had about 15 long slide models. I thought they were super rare but apparently not…:mad:
I’d love to get another one or a 24 and put them in a nice velvet lined mahogany case like a modern day twist on dueling flintlock pistols…
There will be a year or longer where there are zero new factory runs hitting the market and then batches will hit the distributors/LGS making availability to find a NIB example not very difficult.
Here’s a quick review of mine:
