[SHOT 2026] Hands On With The Gen 6 Glocks

by Matthew Moss

Published: January 19th, 2026

shot 2026 hands on with the gen 6 glocks

The queue was around the block all day at the Glock stand at this year’s SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range. That’s to be expected because EVERYONE wants to get hands on the the latest and greatest - the new Generation 6 pistols. Eager shooters waited in line to get their hands on the Gen 6 Glock 17, Glock 19 and the Glock 45.

Our editor in chief Josh C just published his in-depth first thoughts on the Glock 19 Gen 6 so for a deeper dive on that pistol and the broader features of the Gen 6 head over and check that out here.

What can you learn from firing just a few magazines at SHOT Range Day? You certainly can’t get a complete feel for the pistol, I would have needed a few boxes of 9mm and there not to be 80 people in line behind me for that!

What you can get, however, is a first impression and while I was excited to get my hands on the new Glocks, I also (thought) I knew what I was getting.

I was surprised by just how much of an improvement the new deceptively simple ergonomic changes to the Gen 6 pistols made. The undercut of the trigger guard and the new frame with its integral beavertail allowed me to get a higher grip on the pistols and shoot them flatter and faster than I expected. Of the three models I found the Glock 45 to be my favourite, the combination of shorter barrel and slide with the full-size frame is hard to beat.

The hype around the new grip textures, the palm swell and ‘gas pedal’ shelves is real too. The new RTF6 texturing isn’t too aggressive but feels ‘gripy’ and allowed me to get a good grasp on the pistol. The new slide serrations, which are angled deeper into the slide, are very effective and an improvement on those seen on the Gen 5 MOS. Another significant move from Glock is to introduce a new flat faced trigger which I found made consistent finger position/placement and pull second nature.

Here are the specs on the new pistols:

Glock 17 Gen6 - Full-size duty pistol

17-round capacity
7.95-inch overall length
4.49-inch barrel
680g loaded weight (23.99 oz)

Glock 19 Gen6 - Compact

15-round capacity
7.28-inch overall length
4.02-inch barrel
640g loaded weight (22.58 oz)

Glock 45 Gen6 - Crossover (G19 slide on G17 frame)

17-round capacity
7.44-inch overall length
4.02-inch barrel
655g loaded weight (23.10 oz)

MSRP on the new pistols is in line with Gen5 MOS models and the best news is they’ll be available tomorrow. No word on what models and configurations are coming next but Glock assures us there’s lots in the works. As for my final thoughts, personally, I was impressed, it was certainly worth the wait in line!

#SHOTShow2026 #SHOT2026 #GLOCKGen6 #Glock

Matthew Moss

Managing Editor: TheFirearmBlog.com & Overt Defense.com. Matt is a British historian specialising in small arms development and military history. He has written several books and for a variety of publications in both the US and UK. Matt is also runs The Armourer's Bench, a video series on historically significant small arms. Here on TFB he covers product and current military small arms news. Reach Matt at: matt@thefirearmblog.com

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2 comments

Swch on Jan 20, 2026

Glock Gen 6 has been available for a few weeks.

I've had my 19 gen 6 since Jan 8th and other people got them before then. Pretty sure the release date was when they expected to have most stores stocked.

Glad Glock released it by when they promised, unlike other companies the give a date and miss it or keep delaying the release over and over and over

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Hon169783759 on Jan 25, 2026

Will they be in California?

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