From my first experience with the “X-Ray,” I saw what everyone saw. The tan finish, FDE polymer frame, the pair of G17 magazines with Glock +2 base pads, all in FDE – along with the standard Glock 17 magazine in the dark earth coloring.
The Glock night sights atop the slide – not my preference, but the Glock night sights will do just fine until the tritium stops glowing.
The trigger is “Gen5-ish” – an improvement over the standard Gen4 equipment. A Glock Marksman barrel is in the slide. Other Gen5 touches include the bilateral slide stop and no finger grooves on the frame.
The front of the toe of the frame has a protruding lip. It prevents seating a standard Glock 17 Gen5 magazine (with the extended floorplate). Standard pre-Gen5 magazine floorplates fit fine as do Magpul magazines and Glock magazines with Vickers base pads.
I’d worn the Gen5 G19 I’d been using as my primary carry gun in the Bianchi Suppression IWB holster I’ve been wearing for years. Happily, I found the Gen5 fit that holster with no modification to the holster needed. I placed the X-Ray into the holster and found that the longer G17 frame fit up close to my body.
That’s good too.
The Glock 19X has a unique feel in handling and shooting from any other Glock. Will it be the “Combat Commander” of the Glock line?
I’ve taken the X-Ray to the range a few times along with other guns. I’ve had a couple of major concerns. One is my personal tendency to shoot left – perhaps vision, perhaps grip, maybe a combination. At my age, changing my way of shooting in a major way is unlikely to be fruitful in time to do me much good.
I shot 25 yard groups over a rest. I found that loads hovered around four- 5 ½ inches low at that distance – that’s placing the top edge of the front sight 2/3 of the way up on the B-8 repair center bullseye; 1/3 of the bull is visible over the top edge of the front sight. Bullet strike tended about 3 inches left of center for the center of the groups. Groups averaged around 3 ½” for five shots, with the best three tending to cluster into less than two inches at 25 yards.
Pressing the rear sight to the right and using the tritium dot in the front sight as the aiming point will clean up point of aim/point of impact issues. I like using the top edge of the front sight but that seems to be a thing of the past. At distances closer than 25 yards, it’s not a big thing. At fifty yards, it becomes more critical – and that’s where I need to move next.
On one range trip, I used the Safariland Pro-Fit 575 IWB Holster. A multi-fit rig, this one has taken Glock 19s, an FN 509, a Ruger Security-9 and others. Using the very fast Grip Locking System, the gun is reasonably secure in the rig. Wearing it in front of my hip, it’s in a good place for control.
I shot the “5-Yard Roundup” designed by Justin Dyal on a couple of occasions. It’s a good close range work out with a good mix of skills. I’d posted a 95/100 on one trip with the aforementioned low-left tendency.
Sadly, on the latest trip, I failed going overtime on the “dominant hand only stage” and was engaged in trigger-jerking driving the score down to 91/100. Five were in the “9” at around 7-8 o’clock. The tragic over-time shot was at 7 o’clockjust outside the “7” ring.
If you don’t take care of business, business will take care of you.
There was no joy on the Wizard drill. As I’m still trying to learn the “front of the waist” carry, I only went over time on three of the four stages. That’s miserable.
For some, this seems to be a negative review of the gun. It’s really just learning a new firearm. While “Glocks are Glocks” to some extent, each gun has its own way or so it seems. With me trying to learn to see what I need to see and learning an alternative holster location, my results are what one would expect: if you stay in your comfort zone, according to Hackathorn, you’re not learning anything.
The X-Ray has inherited the “run everything all the time” reliability of the rest of the line. The trigger is superior. The subjective feel in handling is unique for this line.
I’ll carry on.
- - Rich Grassi