Tag Archives: Glock 19X

Springfield Armory Goes 19X, But Better

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Springfield Armory and Croatian firearms maker HS Produkt have been working together in the polymer-framed striker-fired handgun space for a quarter century, first on the divisive XD series, then the well-liked Hellcat, and, since 2023, the modular Echelon. We’ve reviewed the full-sized 4.5F, the 4.0C Compact, and the 4.0C Comp since then and have found few issues to complain about.

They run.

Going beyond that, Springfield has had some notable success with the Echelon on the LE market, as witnessed by the December 2024 adoption by the St. Louis County Police Department—with nearly 1,000 officers—as the agency’s duty pistol in a $2.1 million contract, adding some fire to the company’s smoke about the new pistol’s reliability and performance. There have been other significant LE contract awards as well.

Now, the newest addition to Springfield’s Echelon catalog is the 4.0FC. It is the same length and general specs as the Echelon 4.0C, save for the fact that the grip is more full-sized, which bumps the height up just 0.385 inches while providing better ergos and a higher magazine capacity (17+1 rounds flush fit and 20+ extended fit vs 15+1 and 18+1). It is also an ounce heavier.

Springfield Armory 4.0FC with Vortex Defender ST
The new Springfield Armory Echelon 4.0FC. Note the Compact length slide assembly with a Full-sized grip frame that uses a shorter dust cover to match the slide without an odd underbite. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Springfield Armory 4.0FC with Vortex Defender ST
The pistol uses a 4-inch barrel, which gives it an overall length of 7.25 inches. Its longer grip allows it to use a 17+1 round flush fit or a 20+1 round extended magazine. 
Springfield Armory 4.0FC with Vortex Defender ST
Note how it stacks up to the G19X, which is fundamentally just a peanut butter G45. The specs are remarkably close to each other. Of note, the G19X and G45 have won numerous LE/mil contracts over the past several years. 
Springfield Armory 4.0FC with Vortex Defender ST
Also see how the new Echelon 4.0FC compares to a 15+1 shot Hellcat Pro micro 9, a cousin to the pistol. The Echelon, slightly larger, has a better optics mounting system and superior ergonomics, not to mention a higher magazine capacity. Note the pistols share the same style of the U-Notch rear sight system and grip texture. 

The rest of the review is in my column at Guns.com.

G19X Rolling Past the 5K Mark

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My G19X along with the well-used Boker Burnley Kwaiken and Streamlight MicroStream I tote no matter what along with a Snag Mag. The Glock is wearing an EC custom IWB holster.

While writing a piece on my experiences with the Glock G19X for an upcoming publication, I got to doing bullet math on my personal “Coyote Crossover.” I first picked it up in late 2017 for T&E and over a three-month period ran 2,000 rounds through it– without documented issue number one.

Since then, I have alternated it and my S&W M&P M2.0 Compact and 642 J-frame as training and EDC guns. I can now report that the Glock has surpassed the 5,000 rounds fired mark and is going strong.

The number of jams? Zip other than one caused by a fouled magazine, which wasn’t the gun’s fault.

I’ve cleaned it in the neighborhood of a half-dozen times and only plan to replace the recoil spring as it is a recommended item to swap out every 5K or so.

At the 10K mark, I will post an update and plan to change out the other lesser springs (trigger spring, slide stop spring, magazine catch spring, striker spring, and spring cups) just because that is how I roll.

Of note, I have a cop buddy who has carried his same Gen 3 Glock 19 every day since 2004– it’s his only gun– and has put somewhere on the order of 50,000 rounds downrange with no giant issues, only stopping to replace springs here and there. Does he trust it? Did I mention that he has used it across three departments in the past 15 years?

Photo bomb, equis edition

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You never know who is going to crash a photography session. Trying to get some shots of my G19X after a year of use for an upcoming publication and this strange looking puppy dog edged in.

Her name is Reno and she is a sweetheart…

Of course, *no horses were hurt in the production of this post.

Glock blows through 100K G19X’s in just six months

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My well-used (going on 4K rounds) G19X, along with my long-carried Tops Rocky Mountain Spike, the latter of which has long had its markings worn off…(Photo: Chris Eger)

When Glock dropped their “crossover” coyote-framed G19X onto the commercial market late last year, a lot of people went apeshit. Some complained that the concept, which blended a shortened Gen 5 G17 frame with a G19 tophalf and added some decent upgrades (like steel night sights and tweaked internals) should have instead done exactly the opposite to even mocked up a G26/G19 blend.

I have had one since the beginning– a T&E gun that I put 2,000 rounds through and really dug. In fact, I liked it so much that I bought it from Smyrna at the end of the eval period and I carry it often.

I’m apparently not the only one, as Glock announced last week that they have delivered over 100,000 of the pistols to the hungry market– proving that it wasn’t the clown shoes of modern handgun offerings that detractors said it would be.

“The Glock 19X has helped reinvigorate the polymer pistol market. Its demand and popularity has exceeded our expectations” said Flint Virgets, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Lipsey’s, the nation’s leading wholesale firearms distributor last week.

My thoughts on fooling around with the Glock 19X for three months…

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So in December 2017, Glock snuck me an early production model of the 19X “crossover” to test and evaluate. Now, after carrying it around the house and about town, at SHOT Show and in weather that ranged from snow and ice to desert and saltwater marsh, taking time out to fire 2,000 mixed rounds in six range sessions and not cleaning it, I have to say, it has rather grown on me over the past few months.

The full review in my column at Guns.com.

For those who always wanted a Glock 19…with just a little…more

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Sure, 15 pieces of flair are the minimum but don’t you want to go 17, or 18, or even 19 or 20 when it comes to 9mm without giving up your slide length?

That’s where the new Glock 19X (eXtended capacity?) comes in.

It’s been hush-hush for awhile, but the basic concept is that it is a Gen 5 G19 upper with a modified Gen 5 G17 frame and some tweaked internals, which gives you a “1917” (1719?) concept of a Glock 19 with a full-sized grip and bump in mag capacity. It is also in a factory Coyote finish, comes with night sights, and lots of other neat-o add-ons like extended mags.

[Of course, I would prefer a G19 Frame with G26 grip and a G17 slide, which would give more sight radius while allowing better concealability while maintaining the ability to add a laser/light, and you could always use extended mags if you want more capacity, but hey, at least they have something to work on for 2019!]

I’ve been shooting it for the past couple weeks and have to say that I find it kinda groovy in a Colt Commander kind of way. Be sure to check out the first look piece over at Guns.com on it, and stay tuned for an in-depth review after I get a couple thou parabellums through it.