Glock 44 Review: Is It Worth It?
Glock introduced their first rimfire pistol with the Glock 44 in 22lr. Was this a smart move for Glock? Is the G44 a good pistol? Below we go into depth into this hands-on gun review to see if this pistol is worth it.
I reviewed this gun a couple of years ago, but after shooting hundreds of rounds and getting more use out of it, my opinion has changed. So, let’s dive into my updated thoughts on the Glock 44 and see what’s different.
Glock 44 Specs
- Operating System Semi-auto Recoil Operated
- Caliber 22 LR
- Weight 12.6oz/16.4oz
- Capacity 10 rounds
- Barrel Length 4.02″
- Overall Length 7.28″
Glock 44 Background
Glock makes the most popular handguns in America – there are more Glock pistols in the market than from any other manufacturer. As a former special operations sniper and a Glock fan, I can attest to the reliability and versatility of these firearms. The Glock 19 (compact-sized 9mm Glock) is Glock’s most popular model because it’s just the right size and capacity balance between a gun to shoot at the range and for concealed carry.
As a testament to the popularity of Glocks, there are a mind-numbing amount of aftermarket parts for upgrades to Glocks. Multiple companies have even come out with 22 LR rimfire conversions for Glocks.
Why would someone want to have their Glock fire the diminutive 22-long rifle cartridge? Easy – shooting 22 long rifles is cheap, fun training, while also being easy to silence. This makes it the PERFECT pistol for teaching someone new how to shoot a gun.
The G44 is Glock’s first rimfire pistol. Why have they waited so long? One reason might have to do with the fact that it is very difficult to make a striker-fired rimfire pistol. That’s why almost every other rimfire pistol we know of, even if it’s a replica of a striker-fired centerfire gun, has been made with an internal hammer (except for the Taurus TX22 pistol).
Glock 44 (22LR) Features
1 22 LR Glock Marksman Barrel
A non-fixed barrel rimfire! Truly innovative.
2 Front Slide Serrations
Thankfully Glock is continuing this trend on their new pistols.
3 Polymer/Steel Hybrid Slide
To reduce weight for a rimfire but retain the durability of steel, Glock is using a unique design.
4 Glock 19 – Sized
This results in training familiarity with the most popular Glock pistol and holster compatibility.
5 10-Round Magazine
The G44 magazine comes with a easy-load tab and round count indicator.
Glock 44 Review – Our Take
Despite what many others think online, we think that this is a REALLY smart move for Glock and we’ll be purchasing one for ourselves.
Why do we think a plinking Glock is a great idea?
First, 22’s are a TON of fun to shoot. Second, when we teach a new shooter to shoot, we love to start with a rimfire to help them get used to shooting a firearm. And third, if we’re going to be using a 22 anyway (whether for plinking, training, etc.) why not have a 22 pistol that is the same size and has the same features as a full-sized firearm? You’ll be getting great practice and you can use the same holsters!
We also can’t pass by how affordable 22 ammunition is as well!
I really wish more manufacturers would follow this lead… we’re looking at you, Sig. By coming out with a 22 trainer, Glock is going to take back some serious market share. I’ve slowly migrated away from Glocks lately but this alone is really enticing me to go back – a Glock 22 trainer is AWESOME!
Striker Fired Rimfire Pistol
We mentioned above that it is very hard to make a striker-fired rimfire pistol. So hard, in fact, that we only know of one other, the Taurus TX-22.
Why is it so tough? If the striker-fired pistol is already fully cocked (like a Sig p365, Smith and Wesson M&P, or Springfield XD) then the recoil spring on the slide must be strong enough to pull the slide forward to feed the next round from the magazine and chamber it completely into the chamber AND be strong enough to pull the slide fully forward against the spring tension o fate striker which is being cocked.
Surely, a strong recoil/slide spring can be used but… then the spring is too strong for the weak 22 round to reliably cycle the gun.
The same problem exists with striker-fired guns that are partially cocked as you pull the trigger (Glocks)… if the striker spring is strong enough to fire the round, then it’s likely going to overpower the recoil spring that has to be light enough for the gun to cycle. It’s a balancing act.
This is why the rimfire Smith and Wesson M&P looks like the 9mm M&P from the outside (great for training familiarity and holster compatibility) but it is actually a hammer-fired 22 lr on the inside.
Glock can sometimes get picked on for their lack of innovation but, they make a pistol design that works very well (so why change anything) and we think that this striker-fired G44 is pretty darn innovative.
In fact, we’re blown away that Glock came out with features that most everyone else hasn’t been able to incorporate into a rimfire pistol thus far.
Polymer and Steel Slide
Along with potential spring issues on a rimfire semi-auto pistol, there comes an issue with slide mass.
If you didn’t know, most centerfire semi-auto pistols have a locking function that locks the action while the pistol is fired and which must be unlocked prior to extraction or ejection. Rimfire pistols, on the other hand, are typically direct blowback (spring tension and slide mass only) and don’t have a locking mechanism because the diminutive 22 LR is too weak to unlock an action.
This is why 22 pistols have very light slides. To get a light slide, many manufacturers use junk metal, zinc, aluminum, or something other than steel. Of course, this reduces the pistol’s durability but a steel slide would just be too heavy.
Glock took their patented design of a polymer/steel hybrid slide that they use in their simmunition guns and brought it to this pistol – another innovative idea!
Barrel
The barrel on the Glock 44 is fairly novel in that it isn’t fixed to the receiver like most 22 pistols and instead is installed in the slide effectively like its full-powered counterpart.
Besides being accurate and reliable, there’s one feature that we want to see on all 22 LR firearm barrels: THREADS TO MOUNT A SILENCER!
Glock kinda’ missed the mark here.
The Glock 44 does not come with a threaded barrel, however, Glock does sell a Glock 44 threaded barrel as an upgrade. However, the threads aren’t 1/2×28 (by FAR the most popular thread rate for 22 silencers). Instead, you’ll have to use an adapter from Glock to convert AND extend their M9x75 threaded barrel (what were they thinking???).
Glock should offer a 1/2×28 threaded barrel option from the factory so that it can actually be used without an adapter. I get that M9x75 might be popular in Europe, but where is their target market for this pistol?
Trigger
The trigger feels like…well…a Glock. This is great news for us (and bad news for others).
Some people just hate Glocks. If you’re one of them, this isn’t for you because the Glock 44 is exceptionally Glock-like.
However, for the rest of us that can appreciate Glocks, this is great news because getting a trigger to feel like an actual Glock is GREAT for training!
Speaking of the trigger pull, I find the one on the Glock 44 to be slightly lighter than other models I’ve handled. It’s around 5.8 pounds, which is a noticeable difference when you’re familiar with the feel of various Glock triggers.
When I took it to the range, I was impressed by how it maintained that familiar Glock reset and the overall effort required to discharge the firearm. My friends agreed, noting that it felt very similar to other Glock models they’ve shot.
Accuracy
We tested the accuracy of the G44 with three different brands of 22 long rifle ammo: Remington Bulk Ammo, Federal Bulk Ammo, and CCI Mini-Mag 22 LR.
I shot a group of five shots for each brand of ammo standing off-hand at 10 yards. Not the most scientific method, but I’m a big believer in finding out what a gun actually does do vs. what it could/should do.
The average group size I shot was 1.39 inches and the best group I shot was with Remington Bulk ammo and it measured 0.77 inches.
Here are the stats on our Glock 44 accuracy results:
| Spec | Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | 10 yds | 10 yds | 10 yds |
| Position | Standing | Standing | Standing |
| Handgun | Glock 44 | Glock 44 | Glock 44 |
| Ammo | Federal Bulk | Remington Bulk | CCI Mini Mag |
| Shots Fired | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Group Size (In.) | 1.64" | 0.77" | 1.75" |
| Group Size (MOA) | 15.69 | 7.34 | 16.68 |
Reliability
Our first experience with the Glock 44 was when we shot it at the SHOT Show 2020 media day. From our experience, we can tell you that the Glock 44 ran GREAT! We fired it as fast as we could in a timed challenge and we watched MANY people shoot the Glock 44 without fail. The number of rounds fired through these guns (even by mid-day) was staggering and they were still going strong whereas plenty of guns from other manufacturers were already failing (and the Glock 44 was one of the most popular firearms there).
However, once we finally purchased one for ourselves and took it to the range, we started noticing some troubles.
The first few magazines full of Remington bulk ammo ran great! Everything we had experienced at SHOT was being reproduced at the range – this little plinker was a fun gun.
However, after that, we started having repeatable issues with feeding the first round out of the magazine. For the next 20-30 magazines we shot with various ammo, the top round nose-dived into the front of the magazine and therefore caused a failure to feed more than 50% of the time.
Oh no! The gun that we claimed was reliable was anything but. It appeared that either the magazine spring was too weak or that the angle of the follower was not correct – the top round of a fully-loaded magazine “sagged” a bit and was not firmly held against the feed lips. We could manually lift the round into position, but sometimes the force of the slide trying to feed the round would cause it to nose-dive again.
As far as the rest of the magazine went, we had very few issues (no more than I’d expect with any other 22lr semi-auto pistol). I did notice, however, that the slide of the G44 operates… softly. It does not cycle nor close with authority and I can see this being an issue.
We left the range that day bummed because we wanted the Glock 44 to be a success. Without cleaning the pistol, we returned to the range to test it some more, and, to our surprise, the Glock 44 ran great.
Sure, there are still occasional rimfire pistol issues: we had one stove pipe fail to eject and one fail to fire (which could have been the ammo) for the whole range session. That’s pretty good in my book.
Apparently, the magazines need to be “broken in?” Perhaps the plastic feed lips are causing too much drag when they’re new so that the slide pushing on the base of the round makes the bullet tip down instead of having the cartridge slide?
We’re not sure why it works better now but there was a noticeable period wherein there was a problem with magazine-induced malfunctions for a couple of hundred rounds that seem to have resolved itself.
G44 Pros and Cons
- Same size as the G19
- Steel slide components for durability
- Feel as regular Glocks
- Awesome training/practice pistol
- Failure to feed from top round for a “break-in” period
- Reports of firing out of battery from others
Report Card | ||
Shootability | For us, this was awesome to shoot (but, we enjoy shooting Glocks). But, Glock really missed the mark with their option for a threaded barrel. | A- |
Reliability | We HATE using other’s reviews to bias our review (see above) but even though the Glock 44 is running great for us now, it clearly seems to have issues for others and there was clearly a bad patch with thtis gun for us. | B- |
Ergonomics | It has Gen 5 Glock ergonomics. If you like those, you’ll love this. If not, well, then you won’t. We liked it! | A |
Accuracy | For what it was, a 22 lr Glock, it was accurate enough. However, it’s not near as accurate as something like a Ruger 22/45. | A- |
Value | As a trainer/teaching aid for a Glock 19, the Glock 44 is awesome! However, as a strictly 22 plinking pistol, you may like other options more. | B |
Our Grade
B+
Reviewed by Ryan Cleckner
Reader’s Grade
A-
Based on 42 Reviews
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Glock 44 Gun Deals
Glock 44 Review – FAQs
Are there aftermarket sights available for the Glock 44?
Yes, there is a wide range of aftermarket Glock sights available, including options for both front and rear sights. These sights can enhance visibility and accuracy for shooters looking to customize their Glock 44.
Are there adjustable rear sights available for the Glock 44?
Yes, there are adjustable rear sight options available for the Glock 44, allowing you to fine-tune your sight picture for specific shooting conditions or preferences.
Can the firing pin be replaced in a Glock 44?
Yes, the firing pin in a Glock 44 can be replaced if it becomes damaged or worn. However, it’s important for you to follow proper disassembly and reassembly procedures to ensure the firearm functions safely and reliably after replacement.
Can the Glock 44 be used for concealed carry?
While the Glock 44 offers a similar size and capacity balance to the Glock 19, its chambering in .22 LR may not be considered ideal for self-defense purposes by some. However, it could serve as a training tool for concealed carry permit holders to practice marksmanship and firearm handling skills.
Is the Glock 44 compatible with Glock 19 holsters?
Yes, the Glock 44 shares a similar size and shape to the Glock 19, making it compatible with many Glock 19 holsters. This allows you to utilize your existing holsters for carrying or range use.
Glock 44 Ammo
Glock 44 Starter Pack
So, you’re planning on picking up a Glock 44? If so, you’re going to need more than just the gun to make it safely go bang. You’re going to need proper protections, extra mags, and something to clean it with at the end of a long day at the range. Here are our recommendations:
- Gun Cleaning Kit: Otis All Caliber Elite Range Box on Amazon or build your own personalized cleaning kit with premium components.
- Shooting Glasses: All it takes is one piece of rogue hot brass, and you’ll learn the importance of shooting glasses. But not all glasses are built the same. See our recommendations for the Best Shooting Glasses.
- Hearing Protection: Firing a gun without wearing proper ear protection can be very dangerous and detrimental to your hearing. Find out the best hearing protection for you in our full-length review.
- Storage: Check out our article on the Best Biometric Gun Safes
- Targets – If you’re wanting a great resource for shooting practice or zeroing your optics on your optics rifle or pistol, download our FREE Sighting in Targets below.
Glock 44 Upgrades and Accessories
There are many options available to accessorize the Glock 44. However, if we had to choose only a few options… Here are our picks.
Glock 44 Accessories
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| Check Amazon | |
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| Check Price | |
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| Check Amazon |
How to Care for Your Glock 44 22LR
Glocks are generally regarded as one of–if not, THE–most reliable handguns available on the market.
However, the Glock 44 does NOT share the same design or internal operation as other Glocks. Rimfire semi-auto firearms are notoriously finicky if not maintained well and 22 LR ammo is filthy (especially bulk ammo).
You are going to need to clean and maintain your Glock 44. This is an excellent video showing you exactly how to break down this gun, so you can clean, lubricate, and put it back together safely.
Glock 44 Important Links And Manuals
There are many Glock models out there. So, I have compiled some more info on the G44, take some time to check it out:
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About Ryan Cleckner
Ryan is a former special operations sniper (1/75 Ranger) and current firearms attorney, firearms industry executive, university lecturer, and bestselling author of the Long Range Shooting Handbook.
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I’ve had my G44 for about 3 years now. If I use high velocity ity ammo the reliability has been 100%. However standard velocity by Norma, Aguila and Remington subsonic neither has enough energy to cycle the slide. I use primarily Federal auto match, Federal Punchand Remington Golden bullets and I normally go through 200 rounds per session with zero malfunctions.
The way it was designed makes It a great carry and training pistol. In my opinion, the purchase was worth it without any doubt. I’m very satisfied.
This Tuesday I received my G44. I am from Germany. Here the Glock 44 comes in either option threaded and unthreaded barrel. I ve bought the threaded barrel version to kill pests in trap.
All tests, subsonic Aguila, Federal American Eagle HV, CCI stinger, Magtech Bulk Standard Velocity were fired w/o issues. When doing straight thru.. however if I to slow trigger pull (let it break by surprise) this seems sometimes to light striker punch.
Subsonic Aguila is ejected properly however slide doesn’t stay open sometimes after last round fired. Vertical round I had once with American Eagle but only if mag is full. One less than maximum, (9 rounds loaded) no issues so far.
The behaviour with suppressor I cannot test as our authorities rarely grant permission on Handguns and rimfire firearms of any size. Centerfire rifle suppressors are ok for hunting.
To me, it fulfills its intended use, perhaps some cleaning, and a few more rounds of different makes to be tested. 150 rounds initial, 2 fails Vertical due to full mag, 2 times slide not open after last round fired with subsonic. 1 round not fired in first attempt.
Glock 44 is good to shoot specially for new gun owners. It is a viable self-defense option for experienced shooters.
I just bought the Glock 44 .22Lr pistol and I did have stovepipe every 5 rounds. I was using Remington bulk ammo. I cleaned the gun only this time, I put WD40 on the slide rails. Using the same ammo, I didn’t have one hang-up after shooting 15 clips ! Problem solved. I did but a speed loader from Amazon which made it alot easier.
I hope this helps
Finally shot my g44 glock after 6 months of having it and I even had three other magazines already loaded up for that long of time and I did not have any trouble shooting any type of round through mine
I just recently receive my ne Glock 44 .22lr do i need to adjust my rear sight?
Purchased this Glock in .22 and Glock did bad on this one . I have over 50 years selling , shooting , firearms . Every other round was a failure to fire , stove pipe, and casings got jammed in the slide and bent many of the .22 casings on different ammo . The only ammo that I finally found that would work 80% or more in a full magazine was the cci mini mag . I have been in the gun industry since 1968 . I can not believe Glock would release this gun without warning people that only CCI mini mag will work in this firearm .
Great article, but I have had a completely different experience with my G44. I bought mine specifically to train with, as I carry a Glock. Didn’t expect much, but WOW what a great surprise! Mine loves 36 grain and 40 grain. After 500 rounds, I have yet to have even one hiccup for failure to anything. I have run CCI, Blazer Federal, and Armscor.
Great reliability, and way more fun to shoot than it should be. It is not as accurate as my Buck Marks, or Ruger Mark III, but more accurate than my Ruger SR22 or S&W MP22. Yes, I have a few 22’s, I am a fan boy, I get it. I try to keep a pair plus a spare with me for any competition, and I can’t wait to bring this G44 to a Steele Challenge or local bowling pin competition. I am finding that I enjoy shooting it way beyond just “training” like I thought. I think I will now be putting my MP22 up for sale…
One thought on reliability, my G44 was born in May of 2020. I called Glock, and they officially did not say anything, but I get the feeling that the first run of these might have been the run with some problem children. They may have tightened up some tolerances or something after the first run? Just an unsubstantiated personal thought… Mine seems to run great with anything I feed it.
Since this is a rimfire pistol, what are the dry fire limitations?
It has to be dry fire for takedown, and they recommend at least 2 dry fires after installation – reassembly test and reset test.
I see no limitations. My striker has not contacted the chamber’s edge at all.
So far the Glock 44 has been 100% for me. It is not as accurate as many .22 LR pistols. It seems like it is better to use as a trainer for other Glock pistols. I never expected great bullseye target accuracy from Glocks as they are combat pistols. I carried Glocks as service pistols and they were excellent in that role. The M44 when shot on a combat course responds like a 9mm Glock with the obvious lower recoil and lower cost to shoot.
The only complaint is that .22 LR ammo has been hit and miss. When it is available, it is often sold in limited quantities, therefore limiting practice. But it is better than non-existent or triple priced 9mm ammo. I think Glock should have offered it in a trimmer M48 frame size pistol.
Love the New Glock 22 I purchased mine yesterday and oh boy it feels like I 9 I love everything about it
Picked up a Glock 44 today, was a little concerned after reading mixed reviews. .A quick cleaning, did a function test with CCI mini mag, Federal auto match and Geco semi-auto. No problems. Didn’t try with standard velocity, save that for revolver & bolt rifle
Next will zero for 25 yard accuracy. Max for USPSA, minimum for bullseye pistol..
I love my Glock 44! I had quite a few misfires when I first used it, but then I found out why. I watched a few videos of people trying all kinds of brands of ammo and noticed some were better than others, but the real problem was the velocity of the ammo. This gun likes 1250 or better. I bought Remington 1280 hollow points and Winchester 1300, and had NO misfires at all! ????????
Great to know – thank you
I think your review was on target. I’m not a big Glock fan I have owned a couple and I have a G19 which I grab for a quick trip, with inside the waist band. My favorite carry is a Micro 9 I love how it shoots and it’s weight. When a buddy came by with a G44 and said pick it up I couldn’t believe it, the G44 should be the GSL44 Glock Super Lite. It performed like you said, put about 150 rounds through it without a flaw. I’m now a Glock fan, the G44 is going, fishing, kayaking, probably deer hunting, and for sure scouting. I love lite guns its going to make a great companion to my Tikka Superlite and my office back pack and checking fence and and….,,,,,,,,,
That’s awesome! We’re glad to hear that it’s working well for you. Update us if you have any issues.
Don’t know where or how you go the notion that the threaded barrel kit’s threads do not extend past the muzzle end of the slide??? I have one and it does extend past so the thread protector screws on also. The M9 thread is common in Europe and the 1/2″ thread adapter is necessary to convert to ASE threads of US suppressors.
I now know which reviewers can be trusted and who cannot. I was researching the G44 last night on YouTube. MAC channel, Honest outlaw and many others. The reliability of the G44 is terrible! It is finicky on ammo, you have to load the magazine a special way, the sights cause the firearm to shoot way high. You gave a totally unreliable weapon an A rating. I am glad I didn’t only read your review and rushed out to buy one because I would have been really upset. So far you and the American Rifleman have shown your dishonesty. I will know in the future not to put any credence to your reviews in the future. This gun is a perfect one to read reviews on because it will allow me to find unbiased reviewers so I won’t have to waste my time in the future.
Thank you for leaving this comment – we want to give the honest truth (and we want to receive it, too). This was not meant to be posted as a review – I made this article only as an announcement of the pistol and its features and I was unaware that it was modified into a review format.
With the switchover to the new site, many posts were modified to include certain sections, like the report card feature, and some “extra info” text was filled in by some of our staff writers. Apparently, this Glock 44 announcement was turned into a review format with information that I had not vetted.
In the edit history, I’ve already found that the title of this article was changed from “[BREAKING] Glock Announces it’s Newest Pistol” to “Glock 44 a 22lr Pistol Review: Is it Worth It” – therefore changing my announcement only into a review. I apologize and am tracking down how this happened so that I can ensure that it won’t happen again. As an example of this being a draft that wasn’t ready to be published as a review, note that the report card section has all the same text for each section (and it doesn’t make sense). Thank you again. If you look at our actual reviews, you’ll see that we are brutally honest with our experiences.
My only hands-on experience with this pistol (as of today) has been at SHOT show where it performed GREAT for many shooters. Please understand that a firearm may get a great or horrible review by us based on OUR experience alone. We will mention problems others have found if it’s significant (in this case it clearly is) but that will NOT change our grade nor review. Why? If we were merely copying what everyone else experienced, we wouldn’t be reviewing it ourselves. So, some guns will work great for us and not others and the other way around, we’ve given horrible grades for guns that others have loved – that doesn’t mean that we’ll give a good grade to a gun that clearly doesn’t work properly for us just because others liked it.
Again, thank you for this comment. I look forward to you keeping me on my toes and helping make GunUniversity great.
I updated the article to clearly be a review. I am leaving this comment and these two replies because I think accountability is important.