Check out the video review from our Johnny B above!
The Glock 44 is Glock’s first .22LR since its founding in 1963.
Is it worth the wait?
We’ll cover it’s fun factor, reliability, accuracy, ergonomics, stats, target audience, and more.
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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Specifications
You know about the Glock 19…Glock’s best-selling compact 9mm handgun, right?
Well the Glock 44 is nearly identical to to the G19 besides being .1 inches skinnier in width and of course lighter when loaded (G19 loaded is 30 oz).
- Width: 1.26 in
- Length: 7.28 in
- Height: 5.04 in
- Weight Loaded: 15.94 oz
- Capacity: 10 rounds
Here’s some other important features…
- Hybrid steel-polymer slide
- Front serrations
- Adjustable rear sights
- Load-assist magazine
- Glock Marksman Barrel
- Ambidextrous slide stop lever
- Reversible magazine catch
- Interchangeable backstraps
See the official Glock G44 product page.
Rating score
Background & Unveiling
Glock has been busy touting the G44 as “Legendary” and I was super excited to be one of the few media outlets to be invited to its unveiling in 2020.
Thoughts of a Glock carbine and maybe something crazy like a polymer lever action were going through my head.
When I found out it was a .22LR pistol…I thought “cool.”
Makes sense.
Glock never had a .22LR and they will likely sell a metric buttload for training and plinking once it is released.
People on the internet were less than enthusiastic…I think due to some overhyping.
Glock 44 Pros & Cons
Here’s a summary of the pros and cons.
+ Soft recoil
+ Affordable ammo – feeds .22LR
+ Almost the same dimensions to the Glock 19
+ Very lightweight – about 1lb loaded and 3/4 lb empty
– Didn’t run well with cheaper and older ammo. We had multiple misfeeds and stovepipes. This matches up with some other reviewer experiences.
Who Is It For?
Who were the happiest folks at the event?
The TRAINERS.
They knew Glock hit a homerun with a G19-sized .22LR handgun.
Now you can start young, new, old shooters on a lighter recoiling gun that’s almost the same as the most popular Glock model.
Full review of the Gen 5 Glock 19 from us.
And how about another huge audience? Plinkers who like saving money.
At release the MSRP is $430 but street price at the time of update (March 2022) is around $400.
Plus did I mention it takes affordable .22LR?
And because of its weight…some backpackers might like it as well.
Now let’s dive a little deeper…
Fit & Feel
First thing…this thing is light.
About 3/4 pound empty and 1 pound fully loaded. A G19 is almost 2 lb loaded.
The weight reduction is due to a 5-section hybrid polymer steel slide which is needed so that the blowback action of the .22LR has enough oomph to cycle.
But have no fear…the important bits are all metal on metal.
Weight aside…if you handed the G44 to me blindfolded I wouldn’t be able to tell it wasn’t a G19.
And because of that…it fits in all G19 holsters. There’s some ever-so-slight differences so you might need to adjust retention.
Check out some of our favorite G19 holsters here.
How about other stuff?
Trigger is the same.
You get backstraps to choose the right fit for your handsize.
Plus the same sights (for better or for worse) but with adjustable rear ones.
Breakdown is also the same.
If you can break down a normal Glock…you can breakdown the G44.
Magazines…this is where people flipped out.
Yup…that’s a 10 round magazine.
Glock chose the 10 round capacity for reliability since it’s nearly impossible to double-stack rimfire rounds.
No one seems to complain about other .22LR pistols being only 10 rounds…but I can understand the frustration of it living in a double-stack body.
It does come with a super-helpful load assist mechanism that will help out new shooters’ thumbs.
Hopefully a Glock 15-rounder comes out…or some other manufacturer steps up to the plate.
Now…let’s dig more into how does it shoot.
Recoil
If I had to choose one word for the Glock 44…it would be fun.
My first mag brought amazement.
First because of the lack of recoil.
And second because it really highlighted how much I was pushing the front muzzle down to compensate for rise.
Easy to plink a few hundred rounds at the range…while not breaking the bank.
Accuracy
Johnny had no problems with 50 yard targets.
And I was able to consistently bring it out to 100+ yards at the Glock event.
A Glock rep came up and congratulated me on hearing some different *ting* sounds from the far target.
Reliability
I’m moving reliability into its own category.
At the Glock event…the test pistols have been through almost 10,000 rounds.
However, we started to see some misfeeds and stovepipes at the end of the event.
The frame and slide actually don’t seem that dirty for the number of rounds.
But the barrel feed ramp?
That bad boy had some stuck on carbon crud that started to break off. I think the created divots were the ones creating most of the stoppages for us.
As for ammo… we used exclusively Blazer .22LR.
But once Johnny got his hands on a test gun…
We had him running through some ancient Remington and Browning. And some Walmart Remington Thunderbolt and Winchester X.
The cheaper stuff from Walmart and the older ammo gave our test gun multiple stovepipes, misfeeds, and didn’t lock back the slide.
However, with hotter loaded new CCI Minimag (the good stuff)…the G44 ran flawlessly.
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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Based on our experiences…we’d recommend going with hotter ammo to make sure your G44 runs.
Check out some of our favorites in Best .22LR Ammo.
Glock said they tested over 120 brands of .22LR but maybe some of our batches were even more finicky than standard rimfire.
Here’s the official blurb from the G44 Owner’s Manual (download here).
The Glock 44 is designed to work with a variety of quality 22 l.r. ammunition that is manufactured to SAMMI and/or CIP specifications. GLOCK recognizes that some 22 l.r. ammunition offerings may not produce sufficient energy to fully cycle the slide. GLOCK also recognizes that the quality of 22 l.r. ammunition varies greatly between different types and brands. Therefore, it is recommended that you test fire several fully loaded magazines using your preferred ammunition to ensure optimum performance.
G44 Owner’s Manual
What Sets the Glock 44 Apart from Competitors?
The main thing is going to be its form factor that closely mimics the oh-so-popular Glock 19.
Perfect for training and plinking.
Capacity is where the G44 sputters a little bit…10 rounds is considered normal capacity for much older .22LR pistols and with an introduction in 2020 people were wanting more.
By the Numbers
Reliability: 3.75/5
With the cheap or under-powered stuff it’s a 3/5. With Mini-Mag or Blazer it’s a 4.5/5. Let’s split it in the middle.
Ergonomics: 4/5
Glocks have grown on me over the years. Controls are easy to index and the grip angle is solid.
Accuracy: 4.5/5
It’s not a match-grade pistol but it will put rounds where you want them. We’re pretty impressed with it hitting 100+ yards consistently with a non-fixed barrel like other .22LR pistols.
Customization: 4/5
There’s lots of stuff you can change on a Glock…especially when it’s nearly identical to a G19. Get ready for some Gucci G44s to hit Instagram.
Plus there’s also the option of a threaded barrel for around $150. It’s metric so you’ll need an adapter for your normal 1/2×28 threads.
But, it has a different locking block so you can’t alternate stuff with a G19…sorry!
Value: 4.5/5
There’s value at the street price of $400. Although I would have liked to see 3 magazines and a threaded barrel standard.
Overall: 4/5
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Glock 44 Gun Deals
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Accessories
This thing is nearly identical to the Glock 19, so obviously, there’s a ton you can do with it to personalize it and make it yours.
We do have some humble suggestions, though.
Lights
So, you’re probably not going to take on baddies with a .22 LR, but you can drill like you’re going to, and for that…you want a light! We like the Streamlight TLR-1 HL for its compact size and really, really bright beam.
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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Holster
Want to practice your draw and getting on target? Then you’re going to want a holster, as simple as that. You can use your Glock 19 holster, of course, but if you want to try something new, check out Hidden Hybrid Holsters!
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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Magazines
You literally can never have too many magazines. Fill the safe! Pile them on every surface imaginable! Suffocate underneath an avalanche of them as they topple onto you an– okay, so maybe you can have too many, but surely a few extra won’t hurt?
We’re going OEM with this one and recommending the Glock 44 .22LR 10-Round Factory Magazine!
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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Conclusion
The .22LR Glock 44 does what it is supposed to do. Shots on target, reliable with specific ammo, and comes in at a great value.
Plus it’s nearly identical to the Glock 19 which makes it the perfect training and plinking gun.
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Prices accurate at time of writing
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What do you think of the G44? Is it Legendary? Drop a review of the gun below. Check out our master list of Best Glocks and also Best .22LR Pistols.
Rating score
45 Leave a Reply
Yeah, that’s patronizing. Heaven forbid we go back to 1953. I mean, back then you could hardly find a drag queen when you needed one. I know multiple women who need a gun just like this because they can’t load mags and they can’t handle recoil. Almost like Glock knows what they’re doing.
I absolutely luv my 44. I shot it at the range several times before I bought it. Cant go wrong with almost any glock and the 44 makes sense currently due to the continuing price gouging of most centerfire ammo. I've shot about 500 rounds so far. Also used OEM mags and the 18 round ProMag mag(it can reliably cycle and shoot about 15 rounds)
Learned the hard way about making sure that you use the right ammo in 22 guns. Shot lead, copper and polymer ammo. Here's my good and bad ammo list in the 44
Good ammo
Aguila Interceptor
Aguila Super Extra High Velocity
Aguila Super Extra Standard Velocity
Aguila Super Extra Hollow Point
Aguila Pistol Match
CCI Mini Mag
CCI Clean-22 Subsonic
CCI Blazer
CCI Stinger
Remington Thunderbolt
SK Rifle Match
SK High Velocity Match
ELEY High Velocity Hollow Point
ELEY Match
Browning BPR
Federal Copper Plated Hollow Point 36 Grain Red Box
Bad Ammo
Norma TAC-22
Federal Gold Medal Target
Lapua Pistol OSP
My 44 hasn't been very good. It does cycle 40 grain high-speed Blazer and Mini Mag pretty good. But 36 gr. HP and 38 gr. HP from CCI and Federal respectively gave lots of malfunctions. I could feel the difference in recoil. The light loads were distinctly less powerful than the Blazer. That surprised me, as I always viewed Blazer as being typical "bulk" ammo. Naturally, ammo is in short supply and I can't find Blazer. I am disappointed in how well the 44 shoots. It is not a good plinking gun, it is a better trainer for "combat-style" shooting. I am going to replace it with a Ruger Mark IV Standard 6". Except, there is a gun shortage as well, and I can't find one to buy.
Hello, you can make follower modification and obtain a +2 mag and modifiy the extension and get +3 or 5 that depends of your extension. So at the end you can have 15 or 17 rounds magazine.
Great comprehensive review by the way!
It’s funny how most of the negative opinions are posted by those without any first hand experience with the firearm. Great purchase in my opinion. 2,000 rounds of mostly bulk pack 36 grain ($.04 per round) through mine and only 5 stove pipes, all of which were in the first five rounds of a box of Federal HV Match ammo which all felt weak. Pretty good in my opinion. Way more reliable than my TX 22 (which has been a good purchase also). Holster compatibility with my G19 is a plus for .22 competition and range work in general. If you like Glocks you will like this firearm, if you don’t you probably won’t.
So far I don’t get the complaints about the 44. I had to grind down and then polish the feed ramp on my son’s GSG firefly (same as the Sig Mosquito) three different times to get it to cycle correctly and it’s still quite picky. Today we shot 100 rounds of Federal 40gr standard velocity, 200 thunderbolt 36gr hollow points, and then 300 CCI mini mags. The 44 ran these without hiccups and this makes range day 3 with the thing and now 1,900 down range. As a disclaimer I watched MANY videos and read many reviews before purchasing, so I’ve always loaded the magazines in our 44 the “right way” and the only thing we’ve had happen thus far are two failures for slide to lock to the rear after 10th round (this was the weaker thunderbolt stuff). My son likes shooting my 19 more than the firefly and I personally feel like I have my 19 in my hands when I fire the 44. With the 44 I can throw hundreds of rounds down range at a fraction of the cost. 10 round mag, ok fine, my favorite 1911 holds 7 rounds. This thing is super accurate too, and ours shot point of aim out of the box.
You mean like two reviews on the MAC channel, Honest outlaw and multiple others. They videotaped the scores of failures. I like Glocks fine, wouldn’t pay 400.00 for this particular hunk of junk. The Taurus 22 is worlds more reliable, less expensive, holds 16 rounds in the magazine and comes with a Threaded barrel . You Glock fan boys will steer people wrong because your childish bias will not let you tell the truth. Very disappointing to say the least.
Suck it down.
Got to have more than 10 round mag before I will consider. Love Glocks but if anybody can do a double stack Glock wil do it. How about a 20 round in the weapon no hang downies
What Marko said. I'm loving my TX 22. Shoots anything I've fed it. And who can argue with 16+1, AND a stock threaded barrel, with the adapter included?
Bought my G44 for GSSF Matches. Has already brought my scores up to 480. I run a Dead Air Mask on my suppressor barrel. It's more accurate than the stock barrel that shot a bit to the right. Blazers are the best cheaper ammo. Have run Fed HP's very well also and WW T-22 with the suppressor. Great pistol for it's purpose....training.
I have the glock 44 with the glock threaded barrel. The pistol performs excellent as intended. Works with quality ammo no different than my S&W41 or ruger 22-45. Accuracy is quite good. No need for any different sights with suppressor as it does not obstruct the factory sights at all. I use a gem tech suppressor. It is an excellent. 22 pistol. Not a match pistol by any means but fun to shoot. I'm an old rifle and pistol/revolver match shooter and yes I shoot all calibers and own almost all. Nothing more fun than shooting a suppressed .22! This is a very fine pistol from glock!
No need for a .22LR. Get a Ruger if you want that ammo. I use nothing SMALLER than a 9MM (Glock 43X). Most of my wheel guns are pistols are from 40 cal to 50 cal. JHP 9mm works generally if you live 10 feet from a neighbor. And it has barely enough stopping power on the street. I carry my SW 686P with seven rounds, my Glock 21 Gen 5, and a Wilson Combat 1911.
If you are in a jam, and I hope you never have to face such an event and can evade any trouble, a 9mm is the minimum caliber. If you just want to shoot 22's, get a Ruger Mark IV. .22LR is a round for boys and girls learning to shoot. But if funds are tight, this isn't a bad idea if $$ PREVENTS you from shooting.
The Taurus TX22 is cheaper, has handled a variety of different quality ammo for me and has a 16 round mag.
I get the train for cheaper selling point being a G19 replica and .22lr, but that loses some appeal if you can’t use cheap ammo.
More of a novelty item than a great firearm?
It is not a novelty. Junk .22 ammo can have velocities of 750 to 1250 in the same box. Why not step up to quality ammo for a couple of cents per round.
I was really looking forward to the G44 performing flawlessly with all types of ammo but apparently that is not the case. This is just another finicky 22lr pistol i will not be purchasing. Midway USA is taking orders for the threaded barrel at $190. No thanks, Glock!
Additionally, at least 3 companies make fully functional 22 cal conversion kits for Glock mid size and full size frames, for half the price of this gun. Just get one of those?
Precisely my question...G44 or 22lr conversion?
But the conversion kits are not "half' the price. AA is 299$ and the tactical version is 330$. Street price of this G44 is going to around 360$.
What, no threaded barrel? Half the fun of shooting a 22 pistol is plinking with a supressor. Huge oversight in my opinion. The Sig Mosquito (and the GSG variants) all come with threaded barrels, and are cheaper. I do not see a bright future for this one...
They are selling. I know I bought one. I couldn't care less about a suppressor.
Make one the same size as a model 42 and I'll be interested. Double stack magazine please, if Taurus and Kel Tec can do it Glock can do it too.
As the article says, this one was made for trainers. Maybe the next Glock .22 will be useful to the ordinary handgun owner.
Ok, so its a 22lr, cool! I can see that it would fit the other Glocks as for use/training. I personally would have like to see a 22mag version.
It is very hard to make a .22 magnum pistol. That is not the target market for this .22 LR plinker. The .22 magnum, as fine of a cartridge as it is, is not for plinking.
Seems to me that if you're a G19 kinda person, the G44 would be a MUST HAVE!! Even though I have a Ruger SR22, and absolutely love it, I could easily consider adding a G44 to my safe.
Threaded barrel available?
I don't what to think about it yet, something to ponder on but more companies need 22lr because we need to get more newbies out there to convert to the gun way or we will not have guns to shoot. Any one of us that don't think we need to recruit more people to our side is just lying to their self, because right now we are losing to the bad guys or darkside or what ever you want to call them. We need to convert more people as fast as they are or you will not have guns to shoot. I personally have had guns since i was young i could not stand to not have any but we are losing to those sob's on capitol hill that are " doing for our own good" ( BS ) so we need to use this to bring more people to our side.
It's my understanding the "port" in front of the rear sight is the mounting point between the polymer slide and the steel rail lowers. Is there any chance the slide can be milled to accept an RMR? Would the RMR screw into polymer or steel?
Assuming it's viable to mill the slide to accept an RMR, would you please consider testing the G44 with CCI Mini-Mag and a Trijicon RM44 (without an RMR). An RM44 weighs 33 grams. An RMR weighs 34 grams. The RM44 would simply replace the G44 rear sight. This should give a good approximation of the impact of an RMR on G44 reliability. Of course, you'd be testing without any rear sight, however, the goal is to evaluate cycling. If you're willing to mill your G44 slide to accept an RMR for the sake of testing, better yet ... go for it!
Compared to Ruger SR22?
I did a polymer 80% Gen 3 G19 frame, went to the Glock Store, and purchased an Advantage Arms Inc. 22 cal. Upper and it slid on top perfect! I ran all types of Ammo through it, just about 500 rounds later, one failure to feed! I like Glocks, have numerous Glocks, would I buy a G44, nope! What’s with the metric suppressor threads? Sounds like they are going to come out with there very own suppressor, imagine that!! The fore mentioned set up will give you cheap shooting with Glock grip feeling! The down side is I had to wait about 4 weeks for the upper, they are selling as fast as they can manufacture! It is great to have choices!
“Reliable with specific ammo”... That made me laugh! Not including a properly threaded barrel (1/2x28) is a total fail. So $360 for the gun, plus $150 for a threaded barrel, then have to buy a metric thread adapter! $510+ so i can attach my suppressors. Meh! Not for me. Almost every other .22 on the market comes with a threaded barrel, or offers a model with one. Not to mention the rugers and s&w/m&p that i have shot are reliable with most ammo. I love my glocks (17,23,43) and the g44 will fill a niche for people that have a g19/g23 and want a .22 trainer in the same form.
I got no use for this, not sure what the people at Glock were thinking. I'm with a lot of other people in wishing it was a carbine.
What are you thinking? It is a pistol from a pistol company. There are enough PCCs available that you should have no trouble finding a good Ruger. A Ruger that takes Glock magazines.
"The worlds first legendary 22lr pistol?" is the name of the youtube video, but I think you know the answer.
It is not new, it is not legendary, it is incredibly boring.
If the gun has normal rimfire reliability issues, there is no reason for a ten round mag. Kel-Tec just released a 33 round QUAD STACK 22lr pistol. Saying that "it's nearly impossible to double stack 22lr" is just plain FALSE.
Ruger and Kel-Tec and Taurus have been making nice rimfire guns, Glock gave us no reason to give a crap about this latest release. There is no optics mount or threaded barrel or extended magazine or any feature that makes rimfire fun. This gun is only for ultra poor people who can not feed their G19.
Please please please no one buy this gun. Get the new Ruger LCP2 in 22lr, it's a sexy beast.
Agree!
Rather have a 617 than this
I bet the old lady would like this and I think it would be very fun and also a great way to get her or the boys to transition into a glock 19.
Sooooo, the TX 22 has been out for a year now, and has no problem with getting .22LR to stack reliably in its 16 round magazine and kel-tec had no problem shoehorning 33 rounds in.... I mean that's kinda Bush League of Glock. Also, in this day and age not providing a threaded barrel as standard is seriously underestimating your audience. I get it, not everyone can afford owns a suppressor, but it would be nice to fantasize at least. Glock always seems to miss the boat.... (I'm looking at you Glock 43, Sig 365 is laughing at you.)
3 years of r&d was a waste of money for a 22. Glock really hasn't done anything revolutionary or improved in 30 years. It's great on the stripping and cleaning aspect, but not much else.
PCC or bust.
Buy a Ruger that takes Glock magazines.
Maybe as a critter or snake gun on a hike or backpacking. Can't think of another practical use for me. I won't buy one just cuz it's a fun gun to plink tin cans.
Meh... but I know I’ll buy one anyway.
It seems expensive for what it is compared to the M&P or TX22. But it is a Glock so......
Just one word... Meh