Ok. So I had a chance to finally see these two pistols in person. Actually at the same time. If you want to know the answer now and not read further? Get the G45 and forget the G19x.
Now for my reasons. Some are based on general principles and some are reflective of personal taste.
For starters…irrespective of what the terminally pissed off internet trolls say, the ONE gun firearms professionals have been desiring for years is a full-sized service pistol with a G19 sized slide. When the FNS-9 (now the 509) came out, that was a significant part of the appeal. Don’t take my word for it. Lay a FNS / 509 next to a G19. Slide is the same size.
It gets even more interesting when you go to unholster a FNS and drive it towards the target. It points very, very well.
Big Mongo-Guys like myself want a big gun that points faster. Big Mongo-Guys like myself have ZERO issues concealing a full-sized service pistol. We’ve CCW’ed or hidden away steel 1911’s, G17’s, G34’s and Beretta 92’s. The bigger you are, the easier it becomes.
Not starting trouble, but something needs to be noted. When the civilian reader gets opinions about handgun size from some of the famous named firearms folks, why doesn’t anyone ever even bother to note if that guy is a physically bigger person? Height, weight and hand-size of these people? More than a few of these folks are well under 6 feet tall and 200lbs. Well…well under. Like in…you meet them at SHOT and occasionally hear, “I thought you’d be bigger”.
Again, not being disrespectful. But this is a data-point the home-gamer should be aware of.
Additionally, there is this MEME in the industry that CCW guns need to be small, slim and compact? Which in some cases they actually do. But the end result is a bias towards everything being “compact” style guns. Which I agree….on balance…needs to be addressed for agency “issue” firearms. Doubly so if your group, PD or Department has female or slender, male members.
Once again. This isn’t a dick-checking comment. Giving slender shooters HK USP’s is actually fucking them over just as much as handing them a lightweight, J-frame snubby revolver.
But individually Glock has been missing the boat on the full-sized service pistol trend for too long. Until today. As of right now, the G45 is where it’s at! My reasons:
- Take’s all generation of Glock 17 mags.
- Has ambi slide-stop.
- Upgraded trigger over the GEN 3 & 4.
- Aggressive texturing like the GEN 4.
- Will fit in most (likely all) G19 and G17 holsters.
- Forward cocking serrations give the user options.
- The G19x has that weird magwell / lip that can cause issues.
So what does the G19x have over the G45? Only two things. A lanyard loop. If you MUST have that, consider the G19x. But IMO it’s easy to cut one into a standard Glock back-strap anyway.
The second is the G19x comes in FDE. It may not seem like a big deal, but at my age, I am very tired of all black guns. Most guns have looked the same for the last 30 years. I’m being petty and unnecessary. But I am frankly tired of black guns. A female, cop friend of mine once said it best when she sought out something other than black, “A girl needs a little color in her life”.
To this day I think that was a neat comment.
Will color make me choose a G19x since it’s not black? No way. The G45 is that good. Getting one in factory brown or green would be very nice. But I suspect a G45 lands in the armory long before factory color options become available.
Sincerely,
Marky
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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