Glock 17 Gen 3 police trade in

[GunnyUSMC]

I picked up this Glock 17 Gen 3 three days ago. It was issued by my department around 2003 and sold 4 years ago when my department went to Gen 4 Glocks.
I bought it from the guy that bought it when it was first sold. He said that he had not fired it since he bought it. I got it for $300.
Here’s what it looked like when I got it.


Let’s just say it was a little dirty. I’m guessing that the officer that carried it didn’t clear it before turning it in.
I put a few rounds through it and it works fine.


This weekend I decided to give it a good cleaning.


Boy was it dirty. I don’t think it had ever been fully disassembled for cleaning.


I remember back around 2004 someone, higher up, in my department decided that the heavier trigger spring was a good thing and they had the range install them in our guns. A few years later they gave us the option of going back to the standard trigger spring, which I did, but the officer that had this gun stayed with the heavy spring.
I replaced the old spring with a new spring I had in my spare parts.


Here it is all cleaned up.

 

[AK103K]

Nice!

Always amazes me that people dont clean/maintain their guns. Especially guns you plan on using for anything serious.

 

[JTQ]

Nice job.

A bit off topic, if you don't mind, I understand Glock is largely the Gold Standard for ease of detailed disassembly which makes getting all that gunk out easier than some other guns.

If I recall correctly, you have a Beretta APX. How is a chassis system gun like the APX compare to the Glock as far as ease of disassembly and cleaning?

 

[GunnyUSMC]

Nice job.

A bit off topic, if you don't mind, I understand Glock is largely the Gold Standard for ease of detailed disassembly which makes getting all that gunk out easier than some other guns.

If I recall correctly, you have a Beretta APX. How is a chassis system gun like the APX compare to the Glock as far as ease of disassembly and cleaning?

The chassis system on the APX is very easy to remove from the frame, but the slide is easier on the Glock.
But changing parts on the Glock is much easier.
Both are great guns. I hope the APX holds up like the Glock has.

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

NY1 trigger spring... *Shudder* Glad you did the right thing and yeeted that right out of there. $300 is an absolute steal for that gun.

 

[entropy]

I hate the way Glocks look. I hate the way they feel in my hands. But your post reminds me of the other thing I love about Glocks beside that I love what I can do to a target with them. I love that they are simple to tear completely down to maintain.

Good deal on that 17, Gunny!

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

I hate the way Glocks look. I hate the way they feel in my hands

See if anyone around you has a Polymer 80 Glock. They have a more 1911 grip angle on them. I stopped shooting Glocks after being involuntarily subjected to a Gen 3 Glock 23 for many moons. Absolutely hated how it sat in my hand and the finger grooves were my mortal enemy. I've gone back to Glocks now with the Polymer 80 frame shape.

 

[entropy]

As I said, I still shoot them very well. Why mess with success? Besides, I do not own any Glocks currently. But I do shoot several owned by friends, to 'keep my hand in." I am considering a 19 for a CCW in the future, but there are many other guns in the running for that.

 

[1KPerDay]

IME the hump on the trigger guard causes most of the ergonomic issues, and the finger grooves if they don’t agree with you. I shot a Salient modified G22 yesterday with a nicely done trigger guard cut and a tasty stipple job and it was a pleasure.

Nice looking G17! $300 is an awesome price.

 

[JTQ]

The chassis system on the APX is very easy to remove from the frame, but the slide is easier on the Glock.

Thanks for the feedback.

I have no first hand experience detail stripping either pistol, but had run across the Galloway Precision Beretta APX striker guide replacement video and thought the APX slide seemed pretty simple.



As other's have mentioned, spare parts for Glock's are really plentiful, easy to obtain, and replacing them seems awfully easy. There is no perfect gun, but those features can make one overlook some other shortcomings.

 

[JRadice45]

Whats wrong with the NY 1 spring , I pair that with a factory minus or dot connector on all my carry glocks and have no complaints

 

[1KPerDay]

Whats wrong with the NY 1 spring , I pair that with a factory minus or dot connector on all my carry glocks and have no complaints

What's the dot like? What's the trigger pull/break like?

 

[GunnyUSMC]

Whats wrong with the NY 1 spring , I pair that with a factory minus or dot connector on all my carry glocks and have no complaints

The NY trigger spring is heavier then the standard trigger spring and not as smooth.

 

[Trey Veston]

I got a good deal on a G35 online that was a MA compliant gun. I used it for GSSF matches which does 10-round strings, so the mags didn't bother me, but the trigger was simply awful; like pulling an oar through oatmeal. I replaced the trigger spring, did some polishing, and installed an OEM Glock (-) connector. Very nice 4.5lb pull now. People hate on Glock triggers, but they are cheap and easy to get them to your liking with factory parts.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

See if anyone around you has a Polymer 80 Glock. They have a more 1911 grip angle on them. I stopped shooting Glocks after being involuntarily subjected to a Gen 3 Glock 23 for many moons. Absolutely hated how it sat in my hand and the finger grooves were my mortal enemy. I've gone back to Glocks now with the Polymer 80 frame shape.

I have two Polymer80s, a 19 and a 17 size frame. I like them, but prefer my Glock Model 45 Gen5.
I have seen many times where people state that Glocks have pretty much stayed the same over the years, but that’s because most of then don’t know, or haven’t looked close enough..
One of the biggest changes was the length of pull from the Gen3. The Gen 4 and 5 have a 1/4 inch shorter length of pull.
Plenty of people complain about the finger groves. I have never had a problem with them, they just seem to fit my hand. But the finger groves were done away with on the Gen5’s so, there’s no longer for people to complain about them.
There’s no one gun out there that will make everyone happy. Take the 1911, I don’t care for the short trigger and arched mainspring housing. I prefer a long trigger and a flat mainspring housings.
But let’s try not to get to far off topic. This is about a retired Gen3 Glock 17 that has found a home with a soon to be retire old Cop.

 

[JRadice45]

In a gen 3 pistol with a minus or dot connector the pull weight averages around 5.5 lbs with a smooth break and a snappy re-set. You feel some spring resistance as you begin to pull the trigger (the striker spring compressing) because with the coil spring, it helps overcome the striker spring being compressed so all you would feel is mush before hitting a wall and a break.

In a gen 4 pistol with a minus or dot connector the pull weight averages around 6.5 lbs with the same characteristics as the gen 3 pistols just a bit heavier. I like this combo for the re-set it gives you. It almost pushes the trigger back into your finger upon re-set.

For smoothness I just use a slight dab of moly or red grease on the trigger connector.

 

[Tallball]

Nice deal Gunny!

 

[1KPerDay]

In a gen 3 pistol with a minus or dot connector the pull weight averages around 5.5 lbs with a smooth break and a snappy re-set. You feel some spring resistance as you begin to pull the trigger (the striker spring compressing) because with the coil spring, it helps overcome the striker spring being compressed so all you would feel is mush before hitting a wall and a break.

In a gen 4 pistol with a minus or dot connector the pull weight averages around 6.5 lbs with the same characteristics as the gen 3 pistols just a bit heavier. I like this combo for the re-set it gives you. It almost pushes the trigger back into your finger upon re-set.

For smoothness I just use a slight dab of moly or red grease on the trigger connector.

Thanks. I'd like to try one.

 

[Styx]

The chassis system on the APX is very easy to remove from the frame, but the slide is easier on the Glock.
But changing parts on the Glock is much easier.
Both are great guns. I hope the APX holds up like the Glock has.

With the APX slide breaks down very similar to the Glock slide. The only difference is how you get the backplate off, and that only involves the extra step of of pushing down on the extractor pin. The other parts basically slide right out. I've done it several times already, and it's pretty simple... Not really any harder than breaking down a Glock slide.

I agree that Glocks are easier to change out parts on the frame if for whatever reason you wanted to completely disassemble the FCG. With that said and from looking at the FCG as well as the exploded view, it's seems pretty simple, eazy, and straight forward to switch out any springs, etc.

They are pretty easy to take down for detailed cleaning which is a plus and unlike the M&P slide and frame which seems like they over engineered it to be more complicated than it needed to be... Especially with having to remove the rear sight to completely disassemble the slide.... Adding the full APEX trigger kit was a real PITA.

 

[johnmcl]

Hey Gunny,

That's a superb buy. My suspicion is you will discover it is one heck of a shooter, and will run like a fat boy after an ice cream truck.

 

[Robbins290]

$300 isnt bad for a Gen 3 17. Good score.

Side note, i will be picking up a APX tomorrow. Can not wait to compare it with the glock 17, M&P9 and P320.

 

[GunnyUSMC]

$300 isnt bad for a Gen 3 17. Good score.

Side note, i will be picking up a APX tomorrow. Can not wait to compare it with the glock 17, M&P9 and P320.

I like my APX , but think I’m going to get a Striker Guide from Galloway Precision to see how much it improves the trigger pull.