Glock 17 Gen 3

Braadford H.

Aug 15, 2011

Braadford H. on Glock 17 Gen 3

I bought a friend's 17, had extended mag release and night sights already on it. I added a crimson trace to it with the rear activated button. That is the set up, now the review. This is a great fire arm to start with as it is very easy to clean and take apart to get to the bits and pieces. It is a decent weight as it is not too heavy and it is not too light, and being 9mm filled up on ammo (to cali standards, 10 rounds for some reason) it is still fine weight enough for my 110 pound wife to handle. As far as accuracy, it was about perfect when I got it, it all comes to training with it. Sighting in the laser was a chore surprisingly. But once it was set it was easy enough to swap from laser to regular sights. I have fed through high grain and mid grain ammo as well as reloaded stuff and have only had one problem with the way it fed and that is at the range it would eject the last round, feed the next one but it would error in some way to where the slide would not fully reset and the trigger would not function- therefore I had to eject the mag and clear it and it would be fine. It did this after about 270 rounds at the range on my wife and She said she wasn't sure but she might have hit the mag release, this would account for it but it did it to me as well once but I know I hit the mag release with my finger by accident. Dumb move but easy to fix. Next I swapped out the spring for a "Fire Dragon Dual Action Buffer Spring" I got at a gun show and compensated barrel. This set up was interesting as they made it hard to work the manual slide action on the piston. It was almost impossible for me, let alone my wife to operate. I fired a few rounds and it was a noted difference in accuracy and recoil, not enough to justify the difficulty in action. I then swapped the barrel for the factory but kept the dragon spring. This was pretty nice. Recoil was reduced enough where speed shooting was more accurate and the misses was able to shoot more rounds than usual as she said it didnt hurt her hands as much. I have numerous other firearms, but as far as simplicity, ease of use, cleaning and accuracy I think that this weapon is the best for serious users as well as entry level. The ability to fire readily available and cheap ammunition coupled with stopping power (especially in hollow point, I use the Winston Ranger SXT, great stuff) it can't be beat for all around qualities. Cons I have are associated with after market items. ...more

Bryan V

Jun 05, 2019

it a Glock 17... you can't go wrong with it. also the desert color makes it very easy to have a white glove clean. I've never had an issue with it and it has never jammed. if you can still get your hands on one; buy it!

Morgan B

Mar 13, 2019

My go to home defense handgun. it goes bang every single time and is very comfortable to shoot. already have close to 4,000 rounds out of it without a single malfunction. love this gun and it will always stay with me

Charles S

Jan 23, 2019

Excellent pistol that solves the two major problems with the 3rd Gen Glock 17, grip texture and plastic sights. With the RTF2 grip and the metal sights this gun is as perfect as a Glock 17 can be. Highly recommended.

Chris G

Dec 08, 2018

After looking around the interwebs for the G17 RTF2 with curved slide serrations I was happy to find this model on Buds site for a good price. This is my second glock with RTF2 after buying a stripped G19 RTF2 frame and building my own custom flavor. This G17 gilly is by far my favorite version of the Glock, and I have a lot of different Glocks. All my gen3 pistols (G34,26,22) have talon grips for that extra traction. My gen4 guns (G17,19,43) offer more grip, but the G17 RTF is the perffect mix of size and grip. The gun does not move under recoil with target loads or plus p defense loads. I checked out the gen5 and don’t like them. I had hoped the gen5 might have gone back to the more aggresive frame style but after handling the gun and not liking the mag well with the notch cut out of it or the lack of finger grooves I decided the new models are not for me. I’m sure a G43 with RTF2 would shred clothes and skin as a ccw, but I’d buy it on day one. Buds was fast at shipping to my FFL and the gun arrived in less than a week. This is my third purchase after finding Buds on Hickok45 and have been happy with all my firearms. The website is easy to use and I have recommended Buds to family and friends. ...more

Adam W

Sep 26, 2018

What can I say? Good ol Glock reliability out the box, never had a problem with it and has several hundred rounds through her to date. Also definitely a better price at Buds than the competition, can%u2019t go wrong with a solid 9mm.

kong v

Sep 21, 2018

The glock 17 gen 3 has lots of potential. The gun is sturdy, solid and light weight. The ammo capacity is fun to shoot with. It's a overall fun gun to shoot.

Jesus C

Sep 11, 2018

Very pleased with the product. Delivery was quick and the pistol in great shape.

Rodney D

Sep 10, 2018

I've always wanted an FDE GEN 3 Glock 17 but since the Gen 4s came out they were very hard to find. I believe the Gen 3 9mm are better than the Gen 4s. Especially the stock triggers. Anyways when I saw the FDE Gen 17 and FDE 26 in Gen 3 were available I didn't hesitate and bought them both! I've always wanted this particular set of Glocks and I couldn't be happier. And to top it off the price was great! ...more

Jordan T

Jul 13, 2018

Glock runs true to form with the Gen3 G17s. Both magazines were immediately cycled several times and both gun and magazine operated flawlessly. The gun has a bit more recoil that its counterpart in the Springfield line, but nothing to distract from the function of the gun.