Image credit
- Title
- Glock 17 (6825676904)
- Author
- Askild Antonsen(attribution required)
- Licence
- CC BY 2.0
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glock_17_(6825676904).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
How Muzzle energy is calculated
E = ½ · m · v²
Inputs
- m7.452 g115.0 grverifiedsource115 gr as published, converted to grams.
- v359.7 m/s1,180 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 101.6 mm barrel, not this arm's 114 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Muzzle velocity is calculated
nearest sourced barrel length — no extrapolation (SPEC.md §8.2)
Inputs
- v at 101.6 mm359.7 m/s1,180 fpsverifiedsource1180 fps as published.
Assumptions
- This figure belongs to a 101.6 mm barrel. It is shown because it is the closest measurement that exists, not because it applies here.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
How Loaded mass is calculated
m_loaded = m_empty + m_magazine + n · m_cartridge
Not calculated: m_cartridge has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- One magazine, filled to the stated capacity. Spare magazines, optics, slings and lights are the owner’s, not the arm’s.
3 of 4 inputs link to their source.
How Free recoil is calculated
E_recoil = ½ · m_firearm · v_recoil²
Inputs
- m_firearm0.63 kg1.389 lbverifiedsourceWeight without magazine, 630 g.
- v_recoil4.255 m/s13.96 fpsestimated
Assumptions
- Propellant gas momentum is excluded: ARMAG does not record charge weights (SPEC.md §14). This is therefore a lower bound on the real free recoil, consistent between entries but smaller than a figure that includes the gas term.
- Free recoil: the arm is unrestrained. Stock design, muzzle devices, stance and shooter mass are not modelled, because none of them is a property of the arm.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Capacity is calculated
as published for the primary chambering
Inputs
- capacity17verifiedsourceStandard magazine. 10, 19, 24, 31 and 33-round magazines are also listed.
1 of 1 inputs link to their source.
Derived figures
Computed from the sourced values above. Open ƒ on any figure for the formula, its inputs, and the assumptions it makes.
How Momentum is calculated
p = m · v
Inputs
- m7.452 g115.0 grverifiedsource115 gr as published, converted to grams.
- v359.7 m/s1,180 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 101.6 mm barrel, not this arm's 114 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sectional density is calculated
SD = mass(gr) / (7000 · diameter(in)²)
Inputs
- mass7.452 g115.0 grverifiedsource115 gr as published, converted to grams.
- diameter9.03 mm0.3555 inverifiedsourceCartridge maximum, dimension G1.
Assumptions
- Reported in the conventional lb/in² so it is directly comparable with published figures.
2 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Power factor is calculated
PF = mass(gr) · velocity(fps) / 1000
Inputs
- mass7.452 g115.0 grverifiedsource115 gr as published, converted to grams.
- velocity359.7 m/s1,180 fpsverifiedMeasured with a 101.6 mm barrel, not this arm's 114 mm. Velocity outside the sourced range is not projected.
Assumptions
- A competition classification defined by the IPSC and USPSA rulebooks, stated in their units. It describes a scoring category, not an effect.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Magazine dump is calculated
t = (n − 1) / (rpm / 60)
Not calculated: rpm has no sourced figure yet. Nothing is substituted for a missing input.
Assumptions
- Cyclic rate held for the whole magazine, no stoppages, trigger held down. A theoretical figure for comparing mechanisms, not a measured one.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
How Sight error at 1 mm is calculated
θ = atan(misalignment / sight radius)
Inputs
- sight radius165 mm6.496 inverifiedsourceSight radius with polymer sights.
- misalignment1 mm0.03937 inverified
Assumptions
- Shows what a stated aiming error costs. The misalignment is the reader’s figure; the site does not claim how well anyone aims.
1 of 2 inputs link to their source.
Variants
First generation
1982–1988
The pistol as adopted by Austria in 1982: pebble-textured frame, no finger grooves and no accessory rail.
Second generation
1988–1997
Checkering added to the front and back straps. No published dimensional change.
Third generation
1998–2010
Finger grooves, a thumb rest and an accessory rail on the dust cover.
Fourth generation
2010–2017
Dual recoil spring assembly, reversible magazine catch and interchangeable backstraps.
Fifth generation
2017–present
Finger grooves removed, ambidextrous slide stop, flared magazine well and the Glock Marksman barrel. This is the generation the maker publishes dimensions for, and therefore the one every figure on this page belongs to.
| Variant | Years | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| First generation | 1982–1988 | no spec change |
| Second generation | 1988–1997 | no spec change |
| Third generation | 1998–2010 | no spec change |
| Fourth generation | 2010–2017 | no spec change |
| Fifth generation | 2017–present | no spec change |
Specifications
Every row here is generated from the schema, so a figure recorded on this entry cannot be missing from the table — and the same rows, read the same way, are what the comparison shows.
Identity
- Type
- Pistol
- Action
- Self-loading
- Fire modes
- Semi-automatic
- Operating system
- Short recoil
- Designed in
- Austria
- Produced in
- Introduced
- 1982
- Production
- 1982–present
Dimensions and mass
- Mass, empty
- 0.63 kg1.389 lbsource
Weight without magazine, 630 g.
- Magazine, empty
The maker publishes 708 g with an empty magazine and 630 g without one. The difference is the magazine.
- Length
- 202 mm7.953 insource
Overall length.
- Length, folded
- not recorded
- Width
- 34 mm1.339 insource
Overall width. Slide width is 25.5 mm.
- Height
- 139 mm5.472 insource
Height including magazine.
- Barrel length
- 114 mm4.488 insource
Sights and rifling
- Sight radius
- 165 mm6.496 insource
Sight radius with polymer sights.
- Sight height over bore
- not recorded
- Rifling twist
- not recorded
- Twist direction
- not recorded
- Grooves
- not recorded
- Sight graduation
- not recorded
Operation
- Cyclic rate
- not recorded
- Trigger pull
- 26 N5.845 lbfsource
- Effective range
- not recorded
- Units produced
- not recorded
- Launch price
- not recorded
Chamberings
- 9x19mm Parabellumprimary17 rounds
Scale
A to-scale outline against family siblings. The dimensions are sourced; the shape is a representative outline for the type, and says so.
- Glock 17202 mm7.953 in
Representative outline — the dimensions are sourced, the shape is not. Overall length, and barrel length where recorded, are drawn from this entry's own figures; the profile is a generic one for the firearm type and says nothing about this arm's actual contours.
Gallery
Image credit
- Title
- GLOCK 171926E
- Author
- Domenjod(attribution required)
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GLOCK_171926E.jpg
Image credit
- Title
- Glock 17 (transparent background)
- Author
- U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
- Licence
- Public domain
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glock_17_(transparent_background).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
Image credit
- Title
- Glock pistols
- Author
- Tiia Monto(attribution required)
- Licence
- CC BY-SA 3.0
- Source
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Glock_pistols.jpg
Detail
The pistol that Gaston Glock’s firm submitted to the Austrian army’s 1980 trial had a polymer frame, a striker in place of a hammer, a trigger-mounted safety lever in place of a manual one, and thirty-four parts. Every one of those choices had been tried before by somebody; the Glock 17 is remembered because all four arrived together in a design that won a state contract and then survived three decades of police procurement without a mechanical reputation problem.
Its name is a patent number, not a magazine capacity. That the seventeenth Glock patent produced a seventeen-round magazine is a coincidence the company has never bothered to correct.
Note what this page cannot tell you. Glock publishes a technical data sheet for the current fifth generation and nothing comparable for the four that came before, so every measurement on this page belongs to the Gen5 and the generation tabs record what changed without figures to put against it. The maker also publishes no rifling twist rate, which is why the trajectory panel on this page cannot say how fast the bullet is spinning when it leaves.
References
This entry's own bibliography. Every citation key on this page resolves into this list.
- G17 Gen5 technical data · Glock Inc. · read 2026-08-27
- Glock · 1371474807 · read 2026-08-27 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Last verified 2026-08-27 · review status: spot-checked