Glock 22 Gen4: A Top-Notch Civilian Self-Defense Handgun

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Glock-22-Gen4-1
A law enforcement favorite, the Glock 22 Gen4 is
also a top-notch civilian self-defense handgun,
packing 15+1 rounds of accurate, controllable
.40-caliber firepower. The gun comes equipped
with standard Gen4 features, including a dual
recoil spring, an ambidextrous mag release,
wrap-around grip texturing and interchangeable

backstraps for a user-customizable grip.

In the mid-1980s, an Austrian organization called Glock, named after its founder,
began importing a curious polymer-framed 9mm into the U.S., the Glock 17, so
named because it was the companys 17th patent, though the 17 was also indicative of the guns round count. The new pistol worked and, despite its unconven-

PDW Everywhere

tional appearance, made inroads into the LE market share. And if cops like something, so, too, do civilians, and the Glock pistol took off like a wild fire.
The cartridge for which the G17 is chambered, 9mm, was a popular round, too,
adopted by many military and law enforcement agencies. But, after the infamous
Miami Massacre, the search began for a caliber occupying a position powerwise between the 9mm and the .45 ACP. The solution was the .40 S&W round,
which fielded a 180-grain jacketed-hollow-point (JHP) bullet and a shorter cartridge case allowing its use in more compact handguns. Glock modified its Model
17 to accept the new cartridge and called the resulting gun the Glock 22. It was
an immediate success.
I was slow to take advantage of the .40-caliber cartridge, though I briedly carried
a Smith & Wesson Model 411. With some 65 percent of law enforcement officers
carrying a Glock, the G22 has become a contemporary version of the venerable
Police Special in autopistol form. As both a law enforcement officer and self-defense-minded citizen, I wanted to test and evaluate the G22, and my interest

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Glock 22 Gen4: A Top-Notch Civilian Self-Defense Handgun

10/8/15 9:54 PM

was further piqued by the introduction of a Gen4 variant. After I made contact
with Glock, a spiffy new Glock 22 Gen4 pistol was a few weeks later kindly delivered to my doorstep.

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Although the Glock 22 reviewed features the newest cutting-edge Gen4 enhancements, it still
possesses the familiar Glock profile and outstanding handling characteristics.

Gun Details

37 Holsters For Every

Style Of Concealed
Carry

My sample Glock 22 Gen4 came in a plastic carrying case. The case is foam-rubber-lined and includes two magazines, a magazine loader, a cleaning rod and
brush, a cable lock, a safety brochure, and an owners manual. The G22 is based
on the same medium-sized frame as the G17 9mm and has only 34 component
parts, which demonstrates the designs rugged simplicity. The pistol also features
Glocks legendary, striker-fired Safe Action system, which some erroneously refer
to as being double-action only. The service-grade trigger pull is factory set at 5.5
pounds, and other pull weights are available.
The pistols grip frame is slender; yet it holds a high-capacity, double-column
magazine, which on the G22 will hold 15 .40-caliber cartridges (Glock also offers
a 22-round magazine). The Gen4 grip frame is modular, with interchangeable
backstraps that can be replaced to better conform to each users hand size. A
new, rough, wrap-around texture on the front, back and sides of the grip provides increased control in rapid fire and during inclement weather. Internally,
theres a new dual (concentric) recoil spring system that increases the guns service life, and another improvement is the enlarged, ambidextrous magazine
catch, which can be changed over in seconds for left-handed shooters. Add to
this an accessory rail located beneath the dust cover and you have a versatile
sidearm for many different roles.
The size of the Glock 22 Gen4, with its 4.48-inch, polygonal-rifled barrel, is just
7.95 inches long overall, 5.43 inches high and 1.18 inches wide. This makes it a

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Glock 22 Gen4: A Top-Notch Civilian Self-Defense Handgun

good uniform-carry pistol, but its also not out of place for everyday civilian use.
Its empty weight is 25.59 ounces, and even fully loaded it weighs just 34.42
ouncesabout the same weight as a number of older, larger designs that carry
fewer cartridges.

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Not only does the durable polymer frame weigh less, its also stronger than most
metals, requires little maintenance and reduces felt recoil. Another factor in recoil
and muzzle flip reduction is the pistols low bore axis. The barrel is positioned a
lot closer to the top of the hand, which causes the recoil impulse to push straight
backward instead of down and up. The polymer frame, coupled with the surfacehardened steel slide, makes it almost impervious to rust and corrosion.

The G22s integral rail

offers ample space for mounting lasers like the Viridian C5.

This gun just plain works, and thats right out of the box with no fine-tuning or
aftermarket parts needed. The gun arrives with polymer sights, but, like all
Glocks, it can be had with steel tritium night sights.
One other advantage is the guns ease of disassembly. The one area where you
have to be extremely careful is in making doubly sure that the gun is unloaded
before starting the takedown process. Thats primarily because the first step in
the process is to pull the trigger, and unfortunately some careless and/or improperly trained individuals have accounted for some negligent discharges when a
round was left in the chamber. Once the chamber is clear and the magazine removed, the trigger can be safely pulled, and then all that is required is to manipulate the takedown latch, retract the slide the proper amount and pull it forward
off the frame. With the slide off, the captive recoil spring can be removed and
then the barrel. For routine cleaning, thats all that needs to be done.
For this test, I elected to use an IMI Defense Model IMI-Z1010 holster and double magazine pouch. This is a polymer outfit with an easy-on-easy-off paddle-

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Glock 22 Gen4: A Top-Notch Civilian Self-Defense Handgun

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back on both units, contoured for comfort. The holster is a high-ride, open-top
design that has a push-button-style retention system that allows a fast, natural
draw. There is a tilt-adjustment built into the holster so you can cant the holster
angle to your liking using an included Allen key. That same key can be used to
adjust the tension retention screw on the magazine pouch. Black in color, this
durable holster and mag pouch combo should provide service for many years.
A final accessory for my G22 evaluation was a Green Guide Rod laser sight from
LaserMax. The high-tech modules for this system were initially developed by
LaserMax over 25 years ago, and I tested one of the early red laser sights in the
mid-1990s on a Glock 19. It worked well and was easy to adjust for point of aim,
making daylight use at anything but close ranges challenging. The latest guiderod laser from LaserMax features a power output of 5 milliwatts, has a battery
life of one hour of continuous use, weighs only 1 ounce, and is factory aligned for
a distance of 20 yards.

As expected, the ultra reliable G22 Gen4 performed well with all three loads tested.

Range Time
I recently became aware of some ammunition producers with which I was previously unfamiliar and decided to query a couple of them about .40-caliber test
ammunition. The first maker, Nosler, is certainly not an unfamiliar name to the
cartridge reloading fraternity, but it is still relatively new as far as complete
handgun ammunition production is concerned. I was interested in shooting its
200-grain JHP Bonded Defense loadthis bullet weight was at one time felt to be
optimal for the 10mm/.40 cartridge. Going to the other extreme, I contacted Liberty Ammunition for some of its Civil Defense cartridges. In .40 caliber, this load
features a 60-grain copper, monolithic, fragmenting HP bullet that leaves the
barrel at some 2,000 feet per second (fps) with 500 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. For a more conventional, middleweight .40 load, I selected Winchester
Ranger LE cartridges with 165-grain T-Series JHP bullets.

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Glock 22 Gen4: A Top-Notch Civilian Self-Defense Handgun

10/8/15 9:54 PM

The G22 Gen4 is truly an everymans handgun, combining reliability,

controllability, and excellent firepower with an effective cartridge

My day at the range started with chronographing the three .40 test loads through
the G22 Gen4. The biggest surprise was the velocity of the Liberty Ammunition
load; while the box rated it at 2,000 fps, my Oehler Model 35P chronograph
showed an average velocity of 2,130 fps from the Glock pistol. I put up bullseye
targets at the 25-yard line and proceeded to shoot three 5-shot groups with each
test cartridge from a benchrest position. My best group, shot with the Liberty HP,
featured three in the X-ring and three in the 10-ring at 9 oclock.
For a practical shooting test, I donned the IMI Defense holster and double magazine pouch, then placed a B-27 competition silhouette target at the 15-yard line.
I loaded up my magazines with six rounds each of a mix of the test cartridges.
Backing off 3 yards, I drew and engaged the target with six shots from 3 yards in
a point-shoulder stance with only my strong hand, did a combat magazine
change, then fired six more shots support-hand only and again reloaded. I then
moved to 7 yards, where, using an isosceles stance, I fired two shots after drawing, then two more from high ready, and then two more before reloading. Next, I
performed a body armor drill at 7 yards, where I drew and fired two rounds into
the center-mass and one to the head; this was repeated from high ready, then
another reload. Lastly, at 15 yards, I used a barricade. Stepping to cover, I fired
two shots from the left side standing, two from the right side standing and then
two from the right side kneeling. Using the scoring rings and counting the two
headshots as 10 points each, I scored 290/300 with 10 Xs. Not too bad, but what
I failed to mention was that Id fired much faster than the allotted times; before I
fired each string Id activate the LaserMax green guide-rod laser sight and used it
for my shots instead of the handgun sights.
During testing, the Glock 22 Gen4 performed flawlessly, and the test ammo, IMI
Defense holster and LaserMax guide-rod laser all worked famously. I dont think I
could be better equipped for a plainclothes assignment or for self-defense if I
used anything else. Its easy to see just why the Glock 22 Gen4 has become so
popular with both law enforcement agencies and civilians. The G22 Gen4 is truly
an everymans handgun, combining reliability, controllability, and excellent firepower with an effective cartridge. In my estimation, it deserves the title of Police Special, and Id have no qualms depending on it as my daily sidearm.
For More Information
Glock
http://us.glock.com; 770-432-1202
IMI Defense
http://www.imidefense.com
LaserMax
http://www.lasermax.com; 800-527-3703

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Glock 22 Gen4: A Top-Notch Civilian Self-Defense Handgun

10/8/15 9:54 PM

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Glock 22 Gen4: A Top-Notch Civilian Self-Defense Handgun

10/8/15 9:54 PM

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