U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- December is always a tricky time to launch new products. In one aspect it’s nice to build hype just prior to January’s annual SHOT show. It’s also true that announcements dropped during one of the busiest and most stressful times of the year can sometimes go unheralded. The latter option seems to have been the case when Glock announced the G44, their first handgun chambered in .22 LR, during 2019’s final month. Many people have clamored for Glock to produce a .22 slinger over the years, but when it was finally announced the response seemed lukewarm. I put a pin in it and waited until SHOT during January of 2020 to try the Glock 44 out during range day.
GLOCK 44 .22LR
I liked it. I nearly loved it. I went back to my hotel in Vegas and wrote up my range impressions (here) which were positive. I figured the general consensus would be approximately the same, as I’d heard nothing but good comments from those around me at the Glock booth. I was wrong. Instead, Glock’s grand launch was spoiled by a couple reports of cracked slides in the Glock 44, apparently due to rounds igniting out of battery. The internet was ablaze, and made it seem like hundreds or thousands of such reports were just around the corner. So far, a mass recall hasn’t happened and there are a ton of positive reports to offset the few (justified) complaints. Issues with a Gen I design? Bad batch from a supplier? Time will give us more information. As I’m planning on teaching my three sons to shoot (in part) with the G44, I need to give this one a serious break-in first.
Before I cover range time, let’s take a look at the tech specs courtesy of Glock.
- Length: 7.28″
- Width (overall): 1.26″
- Height: 5.04″ (with magazine)
- Weight: 16.4 ounces (with loaded mag)
- 2 x 10-round factory mags included
If you’re experienced with shooting Glock guns in any degree, the G44 will feel incredibly familiar. The grip texture, mag release, sights and slide cuts are all quintessential Glock. Oh, and the trigger too.
The Glock 44 is nearly a twin to the immensely popular Glock 19 Pistol. In theory, this gives the G44 a great role as a trainer. You can spend all day at the range with a brick of .22LR improving your draw speed and building muscle memory. After you’re done, run a few more reps with your centerfire companion and you’ve hopefully achieved the dream: a solid day of training on a minimal budget.
I hit the range with four varieties of .22LR, Remington Golden Bullet, American Eagle, CCI Mini Mag, and Federal Champion bulk pack. These are all 40 gr, with the exception of Federal’s round at 36 gr. Loading up, the G44’s mags are as easy as any other .22LR’s mags are. It is important to make sure the first round is nose up, as it can easily sit in a nose-down attitude which nearly always causes a failure to feed. This was the sole cause of feeding issues on the day. When I ensured the first round was seated properly, the gun ran like a sewing machine.
I’m not one for benchrest grouping handguns, but I do like shooting some groups as I get a feel for the gun. Below are some offhand 10-round groups at 7 yards, quick-paced. I vastly prefer hit/miss targets, such as empty shotgun hulls, steel plates or clay pigeons. While the G44 grouped fine (limiting factor: me), I found it to perform really well during hit/miss drills. I was a bit surprised at just how well it shot for me, given that it’s really not set up as a target pistol at all. If I had this during my grouse hunting years, there’d have been many more feather piles in the backyard before dinner.
So I’m a few hundred rounds down the road from when I pulled the Glock 44 out of the box. I’m a happy shooter so far, but I still have more .22 ammo sitting on the shelf that I’m just itching to burn up and the Glock 44 is the perfect candidate to send it downrange. Even though my hands-on time with the Glock 44 is only a couple of months now, it has still had enough time to make a very positive impression. Check back soon for more coverage, updates, and experiences using the Glock 44 as a youth trainer. In the meantime, head over to Glock’s website and check it out! MSRP is $430, while the street price is hovering around $359.
About Rex Nanorum
Rex Nanorum is an Alaskan Expatriate living in Oregon with his wife and kids. Growing up on commercial fishing vessels, he found his next adventure with the 2nd Bn, 75th Ranger Regt. After 5 tours to Afghanistan and Iraq, he adventured about the west coast becoming a commercial fisheries and salvage SCUBA diver, rated helicopter pilot instructor (CFII) and personal trainer, before becoming a gear reviewer and writer.”
I was looking at one of these at Sportsman’s Warehouse the other day and watched .22 Plinkster’s review of the G44. Based on his review and the comments here, I’m gonna hold off for a while before I consider adding the G44 to the safe. It appears to have, like almost all new models of firearms, some bugs that need to be worked out. My Glock 20 is one of my favorites and my Glock 21 was/is the most accurate out-of-the-box .45 ACPs I have ever shot/owned, so I am a fan of Glocks, but this one is going to… Read more »
Before the Coronavirus pandemic put a stop to the matches, I shot in five GSSF matches earlier this year. There were between 4 and 6 G44 shooters at the match, for each dat that I was there. More on other days. Every G44 shooter experienced match interrupting malfunctions, every time they shot. Not just on my lines, every time. Same story for the other days, reported by the people running the matches. I have read about the G44s that work(Unicorns!), but I have seen every one around me, in every instance, fail! The GSSF should group all those turd guns… Read more »
Shot 50 rounds in ranger officer’s G44. Not impressed. 4 failures to feed CCI Standard and Min Mags. It’s light and comfortable enough, and decently accurate, but Ruger Mark4 and Walter P22 are better guns, the Ruger being same price, and the Walter being less expensive. I am a Glock owner, but not this one. Not everything Glock makes is perfection.
G44 was found to be too difficult to rack for strength-limited people. MK IV 22/45 Lite or S&W Victory are better 22LR pistols. Best for strength-limited are the S&W EZ in 380 or 9mm. They are easy enough for strength-limited people that they will actually be used. I see the G44 as being mostly a curiosity. Just opinion.
Make a 20 rd stick I’ll add one to my collection…maybe
For all Glocks hype at it’s announcement,3 years development 1 1/2 million rounds of bulk 22 rimfire didn’t help their cause, because like any other rimfire they tend to be more than a bit ammunition sensitive. That said the ammo that my sample likes it shoots very well,is Glock perfection,No but it operates as well as any other handgun system available.