GLOCK G34 Gen 3 Review: A GLOCK With A Winning Record

GLOCK G34 Gen 3 PROS and CONS

PROS:

• G34 Gen 3’s track record
• Low price
• Long list of easy-to-fit aftermarket parts

CONS:

• You can either shoot a GLOCK well or you should ignore it
• Factory trigger
• Rear sight could be better

If any 9mm pistol has dominated Practical Shooting, it is the GLOCK G34. The G34 Gen 3 is essentially a G17 with a 5.31-inch barrel and longer top end. The guide rod does not run all the way to the muzzle. It is captured by the slide just above where the single slot accessory rail ends on the dust cover. The G34 also had a low-profile windage adjustable- only rear sight matched with GLOCK’s wide front sight blade. The rear notch had a white outline, and the front sight showed a large round white dot.

Most competitors change to a rear sight unit that blocks more light and employs a thinner-gauge blade up front. Other standard equipment that make the G34 more race ready than its stablemates include an oversized slide release, extended magazine release, and 3.5-pound disconnector, which provides a lighter trigger pull compared to service models. Our G34 trigger presented a 3.5-pound pull. We should note that the slide had a large rectangular hole on its top side just behind the front sight. This does nothing but lighten the slide, which reduces mass. Beyond a change of sights, there are several aftermarket modifications that are legal for competition.

The rear sight was adjustable for windage. Elevation changes are accomplished by changing the height of the front sight blade. We’d rate these sights as mediocre, and competitors typically change them out. This can be costly, but target sights are well worth the investment, our competitive testers said.

One goal of these modifications is to shorten the distance the trigger needs to be released for the firing mechanism to reset. Changes in recoil springs and guide rods can also make the gun more efficient. The two supplied magazines held 17 rounds, but extensions that add five more rounds are available, too. There is no shortage of parts available for GLOCKs, including alloy and stainless-steel replacement frames. There are entire small businesses set up around customizing GLOCK pistols. The gun is basically modular, but at this time the G34 remains a Gen 3 pistol with no plans for adding replaceable backstraps. The main ingredient in shooting a GLOCK is learning to hold the gun steady as you press the trigger. You could say this about any pistol, but the grip shape and grip angle can take some getting used to. The trigger is not as long as some of the DAO pistols, but it has its own unique sense of compression.

The flat wound spring was captured on a polymer guide rod. The recoil unit was buttressed against the rear of the yoke (arrow). Changing to an open recoil system with steel guide rod and standard coil matched to your ammunition is a popular modification.

In terms of accuracy, from the bench the top performer was the Black Hills 115-grain FMJ rounds. If it weren’t for one five-shot group measuring 2.5 inches center to center, our groups would have ranged in size from 1.0 inch to 1.4 inches wide. The 147-grain American Eagle FMJ rounds averaged about 2.1 inches for five shots. The Black Hills 124-grain JHP rounds were better, with groups about 1.8 inches across.

One of our testers used a GLOCK 34 to compete, but he switched to an S&W M&P more than two seasons ago. It was not represented in this test, so we thought he was capable of making a fair comparison of the remaining guns. But performing the step test did bring back old skills suited to the GLOCK. He didn’t miss any shots out to a distance of 30 yards.

In our action drills we pulled back on the slide to release it from lock back. That’s a foolproof method on any pistol. But we could have saved time by pressing the oversized slide release (arrow).

Many of his hits were dead center, but they trailed low and right on the final few shots. The Double Tap test required a smooth first shot and a release that did not over extend because the second shot on a GLOCK can be accomplished with a shorter press if you pay attention to point of reset. Letting the trigger move fully forward, or worse, losing touch with the face of the trigger, can result in jerking the muzzle downward or out of line. Visually, our test shooter was able to track the front sight rising and falling between shots in an elliptical motion at an angle from rest to a point somewhere between 1 o’clock and 2 o’clock. A somewhat cautious first run yielded a first shot beginning 1.23 seconds after the start signal with a slow 0.37-second split time. By the third pair the first shot registered before 1 second, and the final two pairs were nearly identical, scoring a first shot at the 0.86 mark followed by a .28-second split. All hits registered on target. One modification to the pistol that would have made a huge difference would be applying grip tape to suit the contact points of the shooter’s hands. The added grip inspires confidence, and shooting double taps relies on confidence as well as precision. Cutting up a $7 sheet of grip tape and pasting it on the GLOCK probably would have been a good investment.

In our load-and-shoot multiple-target tests, we were able to score the hits as well as read the timer. We were looking for 10 hits to the lower section of each target and five hits to the head area. Target left, or T-1, was engaged first and showed 10 hits scoring 3 A’s, 6 C’s strung vertically to the left of the A zone, and one more C high of the A-zone. Target right, or T-2, showed 7 A’s, a C-zone shot to each side, and a single D-zone hit. Both targets had showed all five shots delivered to the head area. Start signal to first shot took 2.57 seconds on the first run with a total elapsed time of 6.08 seconds. The last two runs were very close, with the best overall run beginning at 2.33 seconds after the buzzer and ending after 5.20 seconds. Our test shooter reported that he was aware of, if not distracted by, the gun’s torque on recoil as described earlier. Naturally, an off-center track takes more time and effort to recover from. Some of the aftermarket recoil-system parts address this issue directly. We could have saved much more time using a different initial loading procedure. The over-the-top method is not necessarily the fastest method, but it works every time on any type of pistol. Had we chosen to simply depress the GLOCK slide-release lever upon loading, we could have saved a huge chunk of time.

Not too long ago most shooters agreed that you can either shoot a GLOCK well or you should ignore it. But GLOCK pistols have worked their way into shooter’s hands by being economical and therefore accessible. The GLOCK G34 Gen3 is a quick, easy way to get into competitive shooting, with a long list of aftermarket parts to make it even better.

GLOCK G34 Gen3 9mm Auto Range Data

Black Hills 115-grain FMJ   

Average Velocity 1199 fps

Muzzle Energy     367 ft.-lbs.

Best Group           1.00 in.

Average Group     1.60 in.

Federal American Eagle 147-grain FMJ          

Average Velocity       976 fps

Muzzle Energy           311 ft.-lbs.

Best Group                 1.90 in.

Average Group.          2.10 in.

This review originally appeared in Gun-Tests.com