GLOCK Longslide 9mm: G34 Gen 5 MOS
GLOCK Longslide 9mm: G34 Gen 5 MOS
The GLOCK 34 has good features, and we feel that the Gen 5 guns are the best yet, with superior accuracy and features over earlier GLOCK handguns. The GLOCK demonstrated a high level of practical accuracy on the combat course. The pistol’s fast handling and accuracy for the first-shot hit are good, and reliability is faultless. The GLOCK has a lot going for it. There are also many accessories for this handgun.
The GLOCK 34 tested is the newest version of the Generation 5 pistol. This handgun features detail changes, including an ambidextrous slide lock and the new Marksman barrel. The GLOCK 34 is the longest pistol tested, but it is considerably shorter than the previous GLOCK G17L. The GLOCK G34 conforms to competition rules concerning overall length. This pistol is the MOS optics-ready version. We did not test it with optics. In common with the other polymer-frame pistols, the GLOCK G34 isn’t a huge or heavy pistol. This pistol has more weight to absorb recoil than the GLOCK G17 and with its 5.3-inch barrel, the GLOCK G34 offers a 7.5-inch sight radius. A shorter sight radius tends to magnify errors in sight alignment, so for more-accurate shooting, longer is better.
The MOS system allows mounting a red dot sight. With the MOS plate removed, there is plenty of metal remaining for safety. The GLOCK 34 MOS is supplied with four plates to accept popular red-dot sights, including Trijicon, Docter, Meopta, C-More, and Leupold.
This pistol features a sharp and crisp 5.0-pound trigger compression with an excellent feel. We don’t know if we were lucky or if Gen 5 Model 34 pistols will come with a trigger lighter than the GLOCK 5.5-pound standard. This trigger allowed a marksman to make good offhand shots with the pistol and to fire good groups from a steady rest. The sights of the Generation 5 GLOCK 34 9mm are low-profile adjustable sights. These seem improved over those offered a decade ago for the GLOCK pistols and work well enough and are easy to adjust, although the adjustment screws are quite small.
The GLOCK 34, bottom, is shorter than the G17L. The GLOCK 34 9mm is among the most controllable 9mm handguns we have fired.
The pistol’s slide lock doesn’t require twisting of the hand to operate. The pistol features an ambidextrous slide lock.
This is a sighting in group at 15 yards with the GLOCK 34.
On the combat course the GLOCK handled well. Here, we have to make an important point — 9mm service-size handguns are easy to use well. They are soft kickers, even with +P ammunition. So, you might take several pistols to the range and get similar results. That isn’t what we do at Gun Tests. The pistols are fired in skilled hands to find the greatest advantage. We learn the best points of the pistols. The GLOCK is a pistol that competition shooters adapt to. The polymer-framed steel-slide pistols sometimes fire low if the shooter isn’t experienced. The GLOCK is perhaps the most neutral of the polymer-frame handguns. The balance or heft is perhaps the best of the pistols tested.
We fired the pistol a lot, more than any in recent memory, and the GLOCK frame treatment was never raspy but gave good results in firing heavy loads for extended periods. The GLOCK 34 MOS is supplied with four plates to accept popular red-dot sights, including the Trijicon, Docter, Meopta, C-More, and Leupold. The pistol is supplied with grip inserts to accommodate various hand sizes, and it is delivered with three magazines.
Our Team Said: In absolute accuracy, the GLOCK was the second most accurate handgun tested, but it was the most accurate with the SIG Sauer 124-grain V Crown JHP. Competing against a single-action pistol, this was a good showing. Considering the trigger is the same for every shot, this makes the GLOCK a superior competition handgun. There are many accessories for the GLOCK. We used an inside-the-waistband holster during the test and found that the JM Custom Kydex holster gave good results. It required some effort to learn to draw the GLOCK G34 with good speed, but it is possible, with practice. We found the GLOCK G34 to be a good all-round 9mm handgun, and it would be our choice for competition use.
