What Makes The Glock 34 A Top Competitor?

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Built for competition, the long-slide Glock 34 takes striker-fired accuracy to a new level.

Why the Glock 34 is a top long-slide pistol:

• Introduced as a replacement for the Glock 17L.
• Exceedingly long to maximize sight radius, yet fit into the IPSC box.
• Top of the slide machined to ensure proper weight to function flawlessly.
• Trigger pull is right around 5 pounds.
• Aside from competition, the G34 is also utilized by law enforcement and some military.

The G34 was introduced in 1998, as a long-slide variant to the G17, and a replacement for the G17L. It was designed specifically to fit in the IPSC box that made the G17L obsolete.

Glock made sure to make the G34 as long as possible so as to maximize sight radius, yet still fit in the box. It was introduced as a third generation Glock, but is now also offered in Gen4 and Gen5. The barrel length is listed as 5.31 inches, which is .83 inches longer than the G17. The slide length comes out to just over eight inches, which gives it a sight radius of 7.55 inches.

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Not to point out the obvious, but the G17 was designed to fire a 9mm projectile, which it does quite well. If Glock were to change the weight of the G17 slide, it would change the dynamics of slide operation and wouldn’t function properly. The Glock 34 is a long slide sitting atop a G17 frame, and thus the question becomes; how does one make a long slide weigh the same as the standard length slide? Glock went with the simple solution of machining out an opening on top of the slide (it resembles the sun roof of an automobile). I like how it looks, some people don’t, but either way it’s a simple solution that works.

I purchased my Glock 34 as part of the GSSF purchase program, so mine is a blue box model (if you don’t know what that means, please refer to the GSSF Chapter). Mine came with the extended slide catch lever and a 5.5-pound trigger (standard trigger comes with the 3.5-pound connector, designated with a minus symbol) that averaged about 4.9 pounds on my Lyman digital trigger scale.

The 3.5 connector-equipped Glock is actually a very nice trigger, one preferred by a lot of competitive shooters. My Glock 34 did not come with the adjustable sights, like other G34s, but instead came with the non-adjustable polymer sights.

The Glock 34 is a competition animal, but as you would guess, it’s not a very good concealed carry gun. I’ve carried mine in open carry situations and it’s fine, but for concealed carry it doesn’t work as well. Carried inside the waistband, the long slide is going to pry against the upper part of your leg, dig into the bone, and generally not be very comfortable, especially when sitting. I found it to be the opposite of comfortable. Carried outside the waistband, it’s going to be too long and will stick out from under the bottom of the shirt.

There is a place for it in the tactical world, whether in military special operating forces, or special police units. Some of these units have no issues with carrying a pistol the size of a 1911, and if you factor in the 1911 grip safety, the Glock 34 is just a bit shorter than the 1911, except it has a longer sight radius. Of course, if a unit wants a .45, the best choice is the G41, but for something in a 9mm, the Glock 34 would make an outstanding choice.

When it comes to 9mm, compared to other popular duty 9mm handguns, the Glock G34 is shorter than most, despite the long slide, especially when you start to factor in the added length of the beavertails that most hammer-fired guns have. Factoring that, the Beretta M9 is about a half-inch longer, however, the sight radius of the G34 is over one inch longer. Another favorite 9mm, the CZ-75b, is also longer.

The Glock 34 uses standard G17 magazines and extended 9mm magazines, but just like the G17 it cannot use G19 compact or G26 sub-compact magazines

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Learn More About Glock Options

• Glock 17 Review
• Glock 19 Review
• Glock 20 Review
• Glock 22 Review
• Glock 26 Review
• Glock 29 Review
• Glock 30 Review
• Glock 34 Review
• Glock 40 Review
• Glock 41 Review
• Glock 42 Review
• Glock 43 Review
• Glock 44 Review
• Glock 43X Review

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from Glock Reference Guide.