Gen 4 G23 Review

[S&WMan]

I thought I'd go ahead and post this up because I've heard some spotty reports on the gen 4 glocks and thought it would be nice to get one more report out there.

I purchased a new gen 4 G23 this evening. Price was a little steep but that's what happens when things are in demand, and I don't like to wait for things to be shipped FFL. I made a quick stop off to get some ammo and took it to the range. No cleaning prior.

I put 200 rounds total through the gun. 150 rounds of wolf 180 grain & 50 rounds of blazer brass 180 grain. The wolf ammo was about an 1/8th inch shorter than the blazer. No failures of any kind while shooting.

I tend to thumb the slide release when shooting so my slide didn't lock back a few times but that happens with me when I shoot other guns as well.

I did make a conscious effort to pay attention to how the brass was ejecting due to the issues I've heard reported about the recoil spring. The brass was ejecting very nicely; high and to the right. The guy shooting in the lane right to me asked me to step back a little because my brass was going over the divider and popping him in the head. I even had to move a little to the left to completely solve the issue so ejection is very positive. I had one round land on my head but that was a limp wristed shot, so I'm happy ejection wasn't really affected by that. From what I understand, the majority of issues I've heard of are on the 9mm gen 4's. The guy next to me had a new gen 4 G17 though that he said he's had no problems with at all.

This is my first .40 cal so I can't really offer any comparison on recoil between this and any other .40 cal pistols. But I will say, once I was used to the gun after a few mags, recoil was very easy to control. You can tell you're not shooting a 9mm, but if you have a well formed grip on the gun then follow up shots are very easy to get back on target. As I drove away from the range I was pleasantly surprised at how the recoil compared to my M&P-9, it's really not that much snappier at all.

Accuracy was very good. If you take your time and shoot to be accurate, it's right on. I took some very slow off hand shots at the '8' on my B-27 target and I was easily within a half inch of it. My total group of about 50 rounds on that target, even with a few double taps, was melon sized, center chest.

After the range I brought the gun home and cleaned it. Nothing alarming internally. There's a small area on the underside of the barrel where I can see the larger recoil spring has been rubbing the barrel. I've heard of this on other gen 4's but it really isn't that bad, no gouging at all, very similar to the wear you eventually get on the top of the chamber. I also noticed the new little dimple that others have mentioned was new on the trigger bar compared to older models. Just as others have mentioned, this dimple does push the slide over to the right when you are disassembling or reassembling the gun, but it doesn't hang up at all, and I don't really see it as a problem.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the purchase. I don't plan on replacing the M&P in my nightstand with it just yet, but it's on the right track for now.

Hope that was helpful, I'm gonna try to post some pictures of the dimple on the trigger bar and of the wear on the barrel from the recoil spring soon.

[F16vipers]

I replaced the plastic recoil spring guide rod with an aluminum one. Doesn't seem to make the gun any noticably heavier but I don't trust the plastic guide rod...