GLOCK 22 VS 23: HOW TO COMPARE?
By The American Law enforcement’s handgun of choice, Glock came from humble beginnings and immediately rose to fame by bringing amazing innovations to guns. Glock came from curtain rod manufacturing before transitioning to making weapons. Understandably, people will easily love or easily hate the Glock based on the same reason, it’s construction and material, which is Glock Formulated Polymer, and hate it or not, it’s stronger and more resilient than metal. But today, we’re taking a look at two Glocks, the 22 and 23, and we’ll list what’s best for you. Stay tuned.
Glock 22 vs 23: Highlights and more
Let’s start with the full-sized semi-automatic law enforcement pistol the model 22. This model is the gun of choice for 60-%70% of all American police due to its reliability, a full-size form factor, and a high ammo capacity for its standard magazine. Besides that, it’s also one of the most affordable ones to buy, considering its quality. For this review, we’re going to discuss specific features of each gun and give an overall verdict to whom the gun is best for.
In terms of the design, the Glock 22 has new updated features that set it aside from the previous generation of Glocks. For instance, there is now a thumb rest on both grip sides offering more comfortable ergonomics which will help improve your aiming, especially in fast and stressful situations. For the same purpose, the Glock 22 also has finger grooves now on the front side of the grip. For practical purposes, the Glock 22 also now has an accessory rail to support a flashlight, laser, and other accessories.
Next up, let’s discuss all the important information about the Glock 22 that you need to know if you’re planning to buy one. The gun has an overall height of 5.43 inches which makes it suitable and comfortable for the average male hand size. While it has an overall length of 7.32 inches which is a bit too big for most citizens that are planning to conceal carry the Glock 22. So, for people who are planning to carry the Glock 23 around public spaces, they better have a good holster and a permit to open carry.
The Glock 22 has a width of 1.18 inches which is not the best for concealment, but it can be beneficial to your aiming performance. To further assist your aim, the Glock 22 has a 6.5 inches sight radius. And lastly, the Glock 22 weighs around 960g when the 15 bullet magazine is fully loaded together with a barreled bullet, which is perfectly balanced between heavy and light, which means that it is not too heavy to induce fatigue to the user, and not too light that it becomes unstable and hard to aim.
The Glock 22 and Glock 23 both have a .40 S&W caliber that raised some speculations and well-debated whether to use the .40 S&W instead of the trusted 9mm bullet for the standard handgun of USA law enforcement. The 9mm is undeniably cheaper per round compared to the .40 S&W, but the problem with the 9mm bullet is that it can be less effective to incapacitate a criminal or a perpetrator. In contrast, the .40 S&W bullet is slightly more effective to incapacitate a criminal as studies and research proved. Although being a larger bullet, it has a steeper learning curve to overcome, since it will kick in a more powerful recoil and it will wear and break your gun faster than with what you would experience with a 9mm bullet.
Overall the Glock 22 is one of the best handguns you can get for open carrying, and it’s the perfect size for full-sized hands. And with the new updated features, it is now more capable of standard police and law enforcement operations.
Pros:
- Balanced weight
- Great accuracy
- Loads 15+1 bullets
Cons:
- Factory sights aren’t the best
- Not ideal for conceal carry
- Has a steep learning curve
Glock 23 Overview
For our next gun, we have the Glock 23, a cheap and modular compact handgun that will never fail you in self-defense. The Glock 23 is also mostly found on the holsters of law enforcement officers. But, unlike the Glock 22, the Glock 23 entertains the female demographic since the Glock 23 not only fits most female hands perfectly, it also brings an easier learning curve. Other than that the Glock 23 also entertains the conceal carrying demographic. For now, let’s move on with some of the specifications of this gun.
Like its larger sibling, the Glock 23 is built with a tough polymer frame that helps with prolonging the gun’s lifespan, it also helps to keep the cost down, and it helps keep the weight down making it more comfortable to carry. And most of the parts on the Glock 23 can be easily maintained. Since Glock 23 guns can be found on most gun store, the parts are also widely available and even interchangeable with aftermarket parts, making it easily customizable and making it easy to feel like “your gun.” And of course, apart from the Polymer parts, the Glock 23’s metal parts are also coated to prevent oxidization, making it tougher, more accurate, and more reliable on the long run.
In terms of the dimensions, the Glock 23 has an overall length of 6.85 inches, a height of 5 inches, and finally an overall width of 1.26 inches. So, in terms of size, the Glock 23 is truly easier and comfortable to conceal carry since it won’t bulge out too much. Combine that with the Glock 23’s weight of 885g, and that’s the weight of the gun when the 13 round magazine is fully loaded.
Performance and safety-wise, the Glock 23 sit above the average performance of guns, here are the reasons why. First, the Glock 23 is truly durable, with the combination of tough metal parts and flexible polymer parts, you can always fire the Glock 23 and not worry about damaging it. And with the simple mechanism, the Glock 23 will fire every time as it rarely jams or has errors in reloading. And the Glock 23 is always safe to carry, even if it’s loaded with bullets and ready to fire, this is thanks to the Safe Action System developed by Glock which will prevent any accidental firing while the gun is holstered.
Getting a fresh from the factory Glock 23 is amazing, you get every worth of your money. But, it’s even better that you can get a used Glock 23 with up to 100k rounds put through it and you can get it in perfect working condition. And if something gets wrong, the gun is easily serviceable, and as we mentioned earlier, you can always replace parts yourself, and the parts are always easy to find and are most likely affordable.
I also found some disadvantages to this gun. The first disadvantage is with the factory sights, which is not accurate most of the time. The second problem with this gun is that it’s not perfectly balanced from front to rear, and when the magazine is empty, the gun tends to feel heavy on the front. But still, these advantages can be easily solved by buying and replacing new parts that will suit your preference.
Overall, the Glock 23 is something that you should get if you’re looking for a perfect self-defense weapon that can work with everybody whether you have small hands or even with large hands. Although the best reason for you to get the Glock 23 is to have a gun that you can comfortably carry concealed.
Pros:
- Affordable price
- Reliable and durable
- Can be used by everyone
- The Glock 23 is one of the safest guns to conceal carry
- Parts can be found easily and for cheap
Cons:
- Factory sights and accuracy are not the best
- Gun weight is not perfectly balanced
Which is the One for You?
Picking between the Glock 22 and Glock 23 comes down to two things. First is your intended purpose with the gun. Are you a law enforcement officer looking for a gun with better performance? Then you should get the Glock 22 as the Glock 23 has a slight problem with accuracy and balance due to its smaller body. While you should get the Glock 23 if you want a gun to conceal carry.
The other thing to consider is your hand size and ergonomics. If you have large hands and prefer a thicker gun, then get the Glock 22. Get the Glock 23 if you have smaller hands and prefer a slimmer and smaller gun grip. If you are planning to get a gun for yourself, visit your local gun shop and try to handle these two guns yourself so you can make the best decision.
[sc name=”faq3questions” a1=”Glock 22 vs 23 Compared” a2=”We analyzed 20 forum threads, researched 18 sources, evaluated 44 reviews and spent 14+ hours on our analysis.” a3=”If you have large hands and prefer a thicker gun, then get the Glock 22. Get the Glock 23 if you have smaller hands and..” ]
