Glock MOS. G17 and G19. Coming Soon to the U.S.
Rumor mill engage… One of our readers sent in the above image detailing what appears to be a number of SKUs that very recently dropped into a distributor database. The SKUs are for Glock G17 and G19 MOS handguns. For some background on the MOS, we had published a review from Range Day at SHOT 2015.
Here in the US we have only had access to the G34, G35, G40, and G41 variants (though the G17 and G19 have been available overseas since April I believe).
Personally I’ve never run a pistol with optics. The idea makes sense from a fast acquisition standpoint, but since I generally carry concealed, I can’t imagine trying to secrete a pistol with a tall sight on it. Maybe for pistol competition, I suppose. But even there, I’m not sure if it is cool to run your pistol with optics–can anyone speak to that? I don’t recall seeing anyone at my local 3-Gun club that does. Overall I don’t see the practicality for anything other than a dedicated competition gun.
That said, have the ability to easily mount them on a gun without having to engage the services of a machinist is great. Buying one with that off the shelf versatility does have some appeal to me, though there are certainly some aftermarket mounting options available that use the dovetail.
Has anyone had hands on with ANY of the Glock MOS guns? What are your thoughts? What about optics on a pistol?
Tom is a former Navy Corpsman that spent some time bumbling around the deserts of Iraq with a Marine Recon unit, kicking in tent flaps and harassing sheep. Prior to that he was a paramedic somewhere in DFW, also doing some Executive Protection work between shifts. Now that those exciting days are behind him, he teaches wilderness medicine and runs an on-demand medical staffing business. He hopes that his posts will help you find solid gear that will survive whatever you can throw at it--he is known (in certain circles) for his curse...ahem, ability...to find the breaking point of anything.You can reach him at tom.r AT thefirearmblog.com or at https://thomasrader.com
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Back in the day, I put one of the first C-More rail sights on top of a Lew Horton 'Heavy Hunter' S&W magnum revolver - for hunting and target shooting. It was fine for that.
But, even with practice, I had real difficulty in anything like a rapid acquisition of the red dot in the reflex sight when held out at arm's length, Weaver style. It's nothing like an Aimpoint on a carbine.
You'll have to move and twist that pistol around out there to find the dot in that tiny window. It will mostly just look empty. Maybe a better way would be to start way in close, find the dot, and them present the pistol forward evenly before firing. Or, co-witness with the iron sights first and then transition to the red dot. Either way, it is accurate once you have found and centered that tiny dot, but muscle memory cannot achieve this for you without intense, and I suspect sustained, practice.
This kind of optic on a defensive-use pistol could be a mistake. It will require both valuable time and your critical attention away from the threat and onto the plane of the optics. Good for hunting and target shooting, maybe competition, but I feel these would be wrong for defensive use. Your Mileage May Vary
When I started getting into studying this pretty heavy, nearly 20 years ago, people were already using Aimpoint Comp sights on their auto pistols. Check out any Blue Press, for example, from the late 1990s and you'll see. So this ain't exactly a new concept. I'd bet it goes back a lot farther in time than that, even. It's just that Glock is now actively accommodating it, which is cool.