I'm planning out a pistol build for when I eventually am in a better financial position. I think I'd like a Glock with an RMR and a Surefire X300U.

I see a lot of Glocks in this configuration seem to be the Glock 19, or other models with a 19-length slide. But that seems odd to me, since I would think that the benefits of a shorter gun are negated by the light. What's the point of trading away the longer barrel and slide if you're going to add a light that extends well past even the G17 length slide anyway?

I can obviously understand the concealment benefits of a shorter grip, but people do this setup even with Glock models that have a 19 slide on a 17 grip.

Is there some other benefit I'm missing of using a 19 slide over a 17 slide that still applies even if you're attaching a really long light like the X300U?

You’re on the right track. If it’s gonna have an X300, might as well put it on a 34.  It’ll be flush with the muzzle.  

The 19 is super popular with the Tactical Timmie crowd that train like they fight, shoot combat accurate, don’t own a shot timer, and don’t compete. Because kilt in the streetz.

Another opiton would be to go with a TLR 7a, with a G19. Gives enough light for handgun distances, and keeps the setup compact.

I own a few versions of both those guns.
Glock 17 mos with RMR and x300u for a duty gun
Glock 19 mos with rmr and x300u for a bedroom nightstand gun
Glock 19x slide cut with rmr and x300u for concealed carry.

I prefer the 19 for carrying, but the 17 mos is a great weapon. Accurate and very comfortable to shoot.
You will get alot of blow out on the light when you shoot alot but it all wipes off, not that big of deal. You cant beat surefire lights.
I could never stand the long slide glocks. hard to carry, and just ugly imo.
Granted if its only a range gun then thats awesome but for carrying everyday I would never do it.

If you are going to but a MOS version do yourself a favor and throw the MOS plate away the first day. They are garbage.
Get this plate. Awesome build, nice height, and Im sure if you do your research you will understand why they are light years better than the stock.
Good luck!
https://chpws.com/product/v4-mil-leo-glock-mos-to-trijicon-rmr-holosun-407c-407c-v2-507c-507c-v2-508t-and-508t-v2

Dare I say the 19/X300U combo is a product of availability and popularity a decade ago, and somewhat outdated today? The 19 has been an extremely popular gun for both concealed carry and duty use. SF procured them a while ago and use them a bunch. The X300 is the gold standard of weapon lights and has been since it was released. This combination meant the two were used pretty often and recommended just as often. That doesn't mean that today they are the best combination.

Lights have come a long way since the X300 was released. There are a few different lights by surefire and streamlight that fit under a 19 barrel now and produce enough light for most purposes. The Roland Special had a compensator in part to make use of the extra room in a holster in front of a 19 barrel when an X300 is attached.

If you're set on a Glock 19, you can get a smaller light that performs nearly as well and have a more compact gun.

If you're set on an X300U, you could get a Glock 34 and have a flush muzzle end and gain some slide weight, barrel length, and sight radius. Or, you could compensate the 19 and still have a flush muzzle end and reduce some of the recoil of the 19.

The only benefits I can see to a plain 19 with an X300 are a little bit of saved weight over a 34, and the added weight of a big light up front to help with recoil. The two of these might cancel each other out. I honestly think most people combine the two as a compromise because both the 19 and X300 are so popular on their own that it seems like the obvious choice.

It did occur to me that people probably used the G19s because that's what they already had when they got the X300Us, and also so they can swap over a different light for concealed carry configuration.

But I'm not planning to use this as an IWB gun. Maybe I will wind up doing that down the road if it doesn't turn out to be too big for me to conceal, but I have another pistol that I CCW.

So for the time being it sounds like a G17 gen5 would be the best base for this pistol.

Any recommendation on where to buy a G17 gen5 that's already setup with RMR cutout and suppressor height sights that can be seen through the bottom of the RMR window? Preferably with actual metal sights rather than the plastic ones that Glock uses, and preferably not night sight (I'm sure different people have different views on using both night sights and an RMR, but I don't like having multiple glowing dots competing for my eye's attention against the dot that I actually want to aim with, I think it makes the sight picture feel needlessly cluttered).

You would have to get something with an aftermarket slide, so probably used. The other option is to get a non-glock.

As for the sights, the GL-429 is the popular choice for a lot of people who don't want night sights. Personally, I run the Trijicon GL201-C-600661. They are still night sights, but they don't have the white outline around the vials, so it isn't as intrusive in the sight picture.

Eh, the shorter grip of the 19 does carry better and print less than a 17, regardless of what you may have hanging off the front of the pistol.

I have a frame that can hide lots of stuff. Carried 1911's, G21, Beretta M9A1, CZ SP-01, etc. Up until my most recent holster purchase, I was always carrying my 19. My Phulster Floodlight opened up my X300 carrying more, and I bought a G17 at the same time, so I slid into carrying it more because I prefer full-size guns.

Aint a darn thing wrong with the 19 though.

One of the reasons I do kind of like full size guns is because I don't have to move my pinky to reload. Either way, I have another gun that I can conceal IWB, but it would be pretty cool if it turned out I could conceal the longer grip of the G17.

Also consider a grip-cut 17 (a "19L") if you want the longer slide but shorter carry grip.

Just to throw it out there, consider getting a comp if you’re already going to put on an rmr and light. If it’s not going to be a IWB like you say, I’d recommend a G45 with a agency comp. kinda like an agency sage dynamics gun. I haven’t shot a 17 in a while but I prefer my 19x to the previous 17s I shot. It’s subjective but i prefer the recoil impulse of the shorter slide on a longer grip. I run a griffin comp on a 19 mos for AIWB

I was under the impression that shorter slides and recoil springs generally result in a slightly snappier impulse?

And do you find that a comp'd G19 has caused significant reliability issues? My understanding is that since the comp is pushing the end of the barrel down, which needs to tilt up for cycling, that you need higher pressure ammo to reliably cycle the gun, which makes for harder recoil and sort of negates the intended benefit of the comp.

If you're carrying concealed then the 19 is what you seek, but when you start adding a light, RDS and comps, then it doesn't offer anything over the 17 or 34 but a little less weight at the expense of less ammo.

+1 to this. With the X300 or any full size weapon light, the 34 is the way to go.



-Flush fit with X300
-Softer shooting
-Higher velocity

It's basically a combat competition pistol, as the X300 is comparable to a Frame Weight used in open division.

I'm actually really surprised the G34+WML isn't a more common duty pistol. Once you've got a WML hanging off the front of the pistol, you might as well have the long slide as your pistol is de-fefacto long slide length.

The worst is the dudes running 19x/G45's with X300's....now you've got a weapon the length of the G34 in a holster, but the velocity of a 4", and sharper recoil then the 34.

The G34 + TLR 9 is also nice, as the TLR 9 can run 16650 rechargeable batteries:

I've put about 2.5k rounds through a KKM comped 19 MOS with an RMR and X300. No issues running the gun. The recoil and muzzle rise is actually better than my Cyanide design comped 17 MOS with RMR and X300.

Sorry life happened. I would say the 19x's recoil is "snappier" but with the larger grip to distribute that recoil, it makes it seem to me that the sights are tracking faster. My griffin comp has worked flawlessly on my 19 MOS but it isn't the most aggressive comp either. If I lost a little weight I would carry the 19x frame with my MOS comped slide (ill get it milled and comped eventually) because I find that combination to be the 'best' shooting combination.

I guess I'm one of the "worst" as I have been shooting a G19/23 with an X-300 since the X-300 came out. I carried the 19 without a light concealed about 95% at work. But I also did a lot of low-light shooting with pistol and carbine at the time. So it made sense that the gun I would shoot would be the one I carried all the time. Now that my 19 has an RMR, it really makes no difference. I carry it with a light from time to time. Surefire has had to replace the bezel once. Glass is loose again, so it may go back again. And 9mm isn't "snappy."

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