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Commercial Glock vs LEO

22K views 33 replies 17 participants last post by  Midnightgallery  
#1 ·
I am wondering what is the difference in the pistols besides pricing. My LGS has had a few commercial G41's come in but still waiting on any LEO's to come in. LGS dosen't seem to know. I am trying to patiently wait on a LEO.
 
#4 · (Edited)
The differences are sometimes in configuration and options. Here is what was on the (blue) label of my new Gen4 G34:

GNS (Glock night sights)
3 17 RD (three seventeen round magazines)
4.5 LB (lighter trigger pull, 4.5 pound connector)

I have seen other boxes marked 5.5 LB, with different sights and of course magazine counts and capacities. It's hard to apply firm and fast rules to how these things are configured at the factory, there may be "standard" setups. For example, on a red-label G34 I would expect to see Glock adjustable sights and 4.5 LB trigger. I think that night sights are pretty common on a blue-label LEO gun, but I was pleasantly surprised to see mine marked for a lighter trigger.

While there may not be rules to apply, you can pretty easily determine what is on the gun just by looking at the label. I would also be sure that the box contains the number of magazines indicated on the label....

Unless you are completely opposed to any parts swapping after the sale, I would not wait for a LEO gun, I would take what was on the shelf, but that's just my opinion and I'm somewhat patience-impaired.

Chris
 
#20 ·
Now that the 10+ round magazine ban has been lifted there is absolutely no difference at all. The "blue label" special or whatever it is that Glock calls the police package guns just means that they come with 3 magazines instead of 2 and they have the 5.5 pound triggers, even on the 34's and 35's that usually have the 3.5 pound triggers, and I think they come standard with night sights.

15 years in law enforcement
 
#21 · (Edited)
...The "blue label" ... just means that they come with 3 magazines instead of 2 and they have the 5.5 pound triggers, even on the 34's and 35's that usually have the 3.5 pound triggers....
They don't all have the 5.5 pound triggers.



That's a Blue Label.

It clearly shows that the gun has a "4.5LB" trigger.

Glock does not refer to a "3.5 pound trigger" in the current Armorer's Manual, Addendum or Attachment Sheet, nor in the previous editions. They do refer to a "4.5LB" Connector in the Price List, and to various combinations of Connectors and Trigger Springs in the Armorer's Manual, but there is no mention of any combination that will result in a trigger pull of less than "∼4.5 lbs.".

Chris
 
#22 ·
I can help a little in this discussion. I recently received a new GSSF coupon G34. I deliberately wanted the basic configuration so I could upgrade to whatever I wanted without paying for Glock options that I would not be using. This gun came with the standard plastic Glock sights and a "." (nominal 5.5 lbf) connector.

All Gen 4 now come with 3 mags so that is not different.

What is different is the serial number range. That may be transparent to the buyer, but it is vital to the dealer. Glock discounts the LE guns to the dealer. The dealer is barred from selling the discounted guns into the commercial market and at commercial prices. Glock kind of sets a maximum LE (and GSSF) price on these special numbered guns, but I'm not sure how they police that maximum. There is no minimum price set (although the cost to the dealer controls that). I live in a geography where guns are generally cheaper than other states and large cities so my gun was less than I've seen paid by some others.

I have to admit that I thought the G34 came stock with a "-" connector, but mine did not. Since the Glock price for the connector is pretty cheap I did not find that a big deal.

So the difference is that only specified serial numbers are discounted. So I waited 4 months for a gun that is readily available over the counter at numerous dealers for the commercial price. BUT, I saved $125+ dollars over the cheapest commercial gun I could locate. My price was $480. Because I bought from a dealer in an adjacent state I had to pay a small FFL fee that I could have saved had I bought in state.
 
#23 ·
GLOCK polices it by stripping the dealer of their right to sell their firearms if they are caught selling firearms at prices higher than they set for those specific groups. I know of one dealer that got busted for removing the third mag from blue label boxes and selling them individually, while selling the blue label (minus a mag) for the regular price.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I'm surprised by the apparent misunderstandings around this considering this is a Glock specific sight. Maybe the fact that I only live about 5 miles from the Glock factory helps..... But many don't seem to understand the difference between what is "standard" and what is an "option". Most don't seem to know much about the whole 3.5/4.5 lb connectors either. As to the 3.5 / 4.5 issue yes, the 3.5's aren't marketed by Glock....as that....NOW. But the "practical tactical" Glocks originally all came "standard" with the 3.5 lb connector. A few years ago Glock realized that if you're shooting the 3.5 lb connector with all other factory parts your pull will average closer to 4.5 pounds than 3.5 pounds. So they changed the name. The device itself is unchanged, and yes it was originally marketed by Glock as a "3.5 lb connector", not a 4.5. And if you order 500 Glock blue labels for your police department and don't specify they will all come with the "standard" 5.5 lb connector. If you order a non-blue label 34/35 it will come "standard" with the 3.5 (now called 4.5) pound connector. Yes you can get other options, but that doesn't make them "standard". When I started with my agency in 1999 we issued each officer a Glock 22 and 27. Both came with the, yes Glock factory OEM, 8 pound "New York" triggers. They weren't "standard" though that was an option. Luckily a few years later the range staff won out over the pencil pushers and we switched to the 5.5 pound connectors. Our 22's also came with extended slide releases then, our new ones don't. That was an option, not standard. I don't know if Glock even marketed it as the "blue label" thing back then for police. But either way the extended slide releases were not "standard" on any version of the Glock 22. Yet we had several hundred of them that had then. You can also get a Glock with the factory 12 pound New York trigger, like NYPD does, but that doesn't make it "standard". The IDPA even specifies that a "3.5 pound trigger" is legal for competition on all models of Glock pistol because it is available as a factory option. Yes, you could get a Glock 26, or a 35, or a 17, or whatever, with a 3.5 pound (now called the 4.5 pound but the same thing) trigger. So yes, a "standard" blue label Glock of any model will come with night sights, 3 mags, and a 5.5 lb connector. We even recently ordered a new batch of a few hundred blue label Glock 27's. Even they all came with 3 mags. Like I'm going to carry 2 spare mags for my backup gun when my primary gun's mags will fit it..... But that's what comes standard with the blue label guns. Other options are available of course. Extended mag releases, extended slide releases, adjustable sights, different trigger connectors, whatever. But you have to specify that stuff if you want it on there.

Of course I think all this strays from the original question. Which was basically what's the difference between the Glock that's in a police officer's holster and the Glock that's on the dealer's shelves that anyone can buy. The answer is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. The only difference is the MSRP and what is considered to be "standard" versus what is available as an "option". The guns themselves are 100% identical. Even the "blue label" program is not just a police program. Blue label guns are also offered by Glock to EMT's, fire fighters (including volunteers), military personnel (including Guard and Reserve), corrections officers, state licensed security companies, state licensed security guards, judges, district attorneys, ADA's, and recruits still in the police academy. So even the blue labels are not just "LEO" guns like the asker was asking about.
 
#33 ·
I bought a blue label Glock 19, gen 4 last winter. It came with the "." connector, and the plastic sights. I didn't want to pay for the night sights from the factory as I had planned on swapping out for the Orange Ameriglo's anyway.

The biggest difference to me is the price. And that is a significant difference.