Glock 26 Gen 5 Subcompact Pistol Review

The Glock 26 Gen 5 has been out for some time now, but after nearly a year of ownership, about 1,000 rounds down range, and some modifications I feel I have gotten to know the sub-compact pistol rather well. While this isn't my main squeeze when choosing a CCW, it does fill a role in between my ATEi Glock 19 and my TXT Custom Gunworks Glock 43. Even though it isn't the gun I generally go for, the baby Glock still holds a prominent place in my safe and is shot far more often than my Glock 43.

Since the Glock 26's introduction to the market in 1995, the sub-compact wonder nine has found its way into police holsters as a backup gun that takes the same mags as their duty gun, concealed carrier hands, and even some recreational shooters in states with magazine capacity laws. The ability to pack a small pistol that is almost as capable as a compact or full-size gun is something that most concealed carriers are constantly on the hunt for.

The introduction of the Glock 26 Gen 5 meant that all the improvements to the rest of the Glock line would be applied to the new pistol. What that translates to is that your dollar goes just a bit further when you buy a Gen 5 gun over the Gen 3 or 4 pistols. Unlike the rest of the Gen 5 lineup, the Glock 26 didn't get the flared magazine well since it would sort of ruin the concealability of the gun.

The crown jewel of the Gen 5 has to be Glock's new Marksman barrel, a welcome improvement over the older polygonal barrels of previous generations. While Glock hasn't released exactly how much better the Gen 5 barrel is, my testing with the Glock 19X, Glock 34 Gen 5, and the Glock 26 that we are reviewing here support the claim of accuracy improvement. As with any pistol, the level of accuracy the gun is capable of is wholly dependant on ammunition quality.