Glock Generations 1 through 4

This is a topic that often comes up on Al Gore's internet, so I'll share some information on the different "Generations"...



Note that the Generation 1 has no checkering on the front and back-straps of the frame.

-Generation 1 was all G17s, with a small handful of G19s right before the generation change to Gen 2 in 1988.

-In Gen 2, the checkering on the frames was introduced.

-Then the Gen 3 introduced, in addition to the checkering on the front and back-straps, finger-grooves and the "Glock Rail" were added to the frame. Also a Gen 3, the RTF2 was released and had a different/fine texturing to the frame. The RTF2 also had the "Fish-gill" slide serrations. The RTF2 was short lived, however, because many owners complained that the frame texturing was too abrasive, and many people disliked the "fish-gill" aesthetics.

- Now in the 4th Generation, the frame has again seen change in the form of a less abrasive texturing, a larger magazine release, as well as interchangeable back-straps to change the frame dimensions to the users preference. Also in the Gen 4, the famed "Tenifer" treatment to the steel components was dropped in favor of a less environmentally hazardous means of nitration. It should also be noted that the Gen 4 slide assembly is not interchangeable with previous Generation frames and vice-versa.