There´s no such thing as an airsoft Glock…

…we all heard that saying over the past years a lot right. But is there really no such thing? Well I think for some of us there´s no left or right there´s just the Glock, that´s it! It´s because of the love to this Austrian handgun, maybe its history, the fact that it´s used from several special military units and because of that, you need it for your MilSim loadout or just like the love to an M1 Garand or a classic AK-47. it´s just a “thing”.

Airsoft Glocks have been around a long time and many manufacturers like TM, ASG, WE and others produced different replica versions from the Glock line-up already. Aftermarket parts which allow you to PIMP your Glock to the moon and back, make it even harder to get away from the Glock Train. Shit hit the fan a couple years back and the official license was taken away and almost every Glock which was produced under this contract was gone. Hell on earth for the #glockaddicted player!

Relationships fall apart, players went to rehab or just quit the sport and used Glocks have been sold on the black market for more $$$ cash then an AOR1 Crye Combat Shirt worn by a badass SEAL operator in Afghanistan during a raid. But what should I tell you? You know the whole story…

So, what´s to say for us about the airsoft Glock17 Gen4 (CO² version) we have here for the review which is not already been said/discussed from our media friends as this gun is around for a while already? If you´re into it what you probably are, you already know how this gun performs and you know the small “extra” details compared to the standard Gas version. We decided to do this review or comparison a bit different from the one you already watched or read because we kinda dislike to bore you to death with just another Glock review.

We grabbed us a real deal Gen4 at a local gun store (of course in Austria) and placed it next to the airsoft replica to answer you the question: “as real as it gets?” Also, how does this gun run as a training gun for you if you shoot the real one on the range, on duty or wherever.


Starting from the outside first, finish and overall look

As the UMAREX VFC Glocks are fully licensed from the company, you find all those real markings on it which are nice if you´re a collector or addicted to the detail what I believe you are. Otherwise, what´s the reason for you to buy that one? It´s because of these details, you love to have them and you trust the quality made by VFC.

The left side of the slide, traditionally Glock Austria Logo incl. the information for Gen4 and the caliber which is 9×19 on the real steel version. The right side of slide and chamber cover, serial number, Glock logo as well on top of the chamber cover small Glock Logo including the caliber is engraved. All very well done compared to the real deal.

Looking at the left side of the frame, there´s just the Glock logo on the grip – on the right hand side we have on the airsoft replica the “officially licensed by Glock” slogan (made in Austria on the real gun) and the MBS marking which is the same as on the real steel gun. All the way down at the grip we have the U.S.Par. Number which is, unfortunately, missing on the replica gun.

Bottom of the frame right in front of the Trigger (mounting rail area) we have the serial number of the gun engraved onto a small piece of metal which is embedded into the frame itself. UMAREX placed the “F Cal 6mm BB” marking right next to it so it´s almost invisible to the human eye which is another cool feature when you need to use guns like these as probs for movies or professional photo shootings as I do sometimes.

The frame offers a solid grip on both guns. Thanks to the Gen4 RTF, a new rough textured frame surface designed to enhance grip traction, without being too aggressive. It is present on the frame as well as on the interchangeable backstraps which are incl. to the package of both real and replica. This texture is new compared to the previous Gen3 version.

Talking about the interchangeable backstraps, Every GLOCK Gen4 comes with these backstraps in two sizes. The multiple backstrap frame allows the users to change the circumference of the grip to fit their individual hand size.

The surface of the Glock slide and barrel is black metal and non-reflective. Some slightly material finish differences can be seen here as the replica doesn’t need to have a that strong metal and the production process is less costly because – it´s a toy gun.


Let’s have a look under the hood

Again, starting with the frame. As you can clearly see, the replica doesn’t need to stand in the shadow. The attention to detail is amazing! Of course, there are some but this belongs to the fact that a BB Blaster needs to have some special internals to get that bullet rolling which is much more complicated as on the real deal.

After you looked at the internals from the slide, I think it´s kinda needless to point them all out. You know how to „tech airsoft“. It´s a fact that most differences can be found here!

But there´s a small attention to detail which I want to highlight here. The “dual spring system” which comes with the Gen4 which VFC perfectly replicated. Kinda useless for airsoft, but cool for the real deal as it´s a great little tool for recoil assembly. Well done VFC and all thumbs up for taking the effort to make that detail.


Does size matter?

In our case yes or should we ask: are the dimensions the same? Yes, they are almost exactly the same. Just a few inches if you measure it but this isn´t an issue to go on. The good thing about that, the airsoft replica will fit into the holsters made for real Glocks and you don´t have worry about. I run it with a Safariland Model 6355 ALS and a Kydex Duty Holster – Light Bearing Version from Björn Tactical. It just fit right in there.

Editors Note:

Personal opinion on Holster: If you wanna have your handgun which you probably spend a lot on well secured, go and pay that little piece of extra money and get the real deal instead of that cheap China bullshit. ~ “Good gear – ain´t cheap, cheap – in most cases ain´t good”.

To close the ultimate comparison, here´s a picture that in cooperates the VFC frame and the real Glock slide. It´s just amazing how well they fit together. Only a few inches miss fitting 100% what owe to the internals in the rear part of the real slide.


Training benefit of the gun

…istheir one?! I would say yes. Why? Let´s talk about it. The Glock17 Gen4 CO² is a well-balanced gun that offers a good strong kick once you pull the trigger. Trigger reset is not bad at all so you can get a training benefit out of this I would clearly say. Yes, I agree with you if your real Glock has a modified one this is another story and trigger weight also depend

Thanks to the CO² powered magazine that delivers a really constant power of about 315 ~ 320fps as measured from us, this pistol is also a good partner for the colder days whether for training or playing outdoors.

As some of us are not able to shoot as much with the real firearm as we want because of law reasons, money you have to spend on ammunition, range etc. – to run an airsoft replica of the real gun you shoot at the range to keep that “muscle memory”, weapon flow – handling high and cost for this type of training low, this is an option to go with from my point of view.

If you like to run it with a gas mag, these are compatible from other VFC Glock versions also Gen3 so you´re good to go with these.


Conclusion

Back to the question: as real as it gets? I would say the fully licensed airsoft Glocks by UMAREX are really a thing and they´re damn close to the real deal. So yes, if you´re a Glock addicted person you will like it a lot, others will say “it´s just another Glock”. Out of the box, the Gen4 CO² performs well and offers a strong kick which you will like to shoot with. The attention to detail which we expected to see is where it should, also quality wise and makes you a happy customer/collector.

The fact that it fits into real holsters like Safariland or the once from Björn Tactical I run without a doubt makes it a great benefit for your real steel training because your gear stays the same.

To increase the performance- and customization, aftermarket parts are much appreciated to make the overall shooting experience much better. As we know from some friends in the industry, some companies are already on it and we can expect some the beginning of 2019 for sure.


Wanna grab yourself one now? Go and head over to our partner Gunfire Airsoft & More in Poland which provided us the gun for the test. They do ship all over Europe and further. There you find most of the other Glock models like the Gen3 or the Glock19 if you like to add one of those to your collection as well.

Thanks for reading and if you want to ask something, drop us a line in the comments below.

Grab yours >> www.gunfire.com/umarex+glock