Testing the Glock 19 BB gun: Part One

Glock 19 BB gun.

This report covers:

Noticed the BB gun
How Glock-y is it?
Same size
Magazine and CO2
Sights
Blowback?
Power
Summary

Today we start looking at the Glock 19 BB gun. This report series came about in an odd way. First reader Ian McKee wrote about his experiences shooting a Glock 19 clone firearm that he bought for less than $200. That prompted me to buy one for myself.

I lubricated my pistol with SLIP 2000 EWL and was about to make a video of Glock disassembly an easy way when I discovered the SLIP 2000 had loosened up my pistol and the easy disassembly method no longer worked. Fortunately the normal disassembly now works fine. So instead of making a video I took the pistol to the range and shot it in the report that’s linked above.

Noticed the BB gun

All this association with the Glock 19 brought the BB gun to my attention and I thought a review would be nice, so here we are. When the gun arrived and I removed it from its blister pack I noticed something for the first time. This is a real Glock!

Glock has licensed the gun. From the right rear of the slide.

For many years Glock refused to license any airgun lookalike. I never found anyone who knew exactly why they refused; they just did. There have been Glock-ish looking airguns but none have been real Glocks until now.

When I saw this writing on the side of the test pistol I was surprised. It’s the genuine article! This marks the end of an era and it also means that no Glock collection can be complete without one of these BB pistols.

How Glock-y is it?

The licensing begs the question—is this a real Glock? From a trademark and licensing standpoint it is. But how Glock-y is it really? Well, for starters it feels right when you hold it. The pistol weighs 1 pound 7.5 ounces/ 666.21g unloaded and with the magazine in. In terms of weight and balance feels a lot like my Glock 19 clone or my Glock 36.

Same size

The BB pistol fits my Glock 19 holster perfectly, so the size is right, too.

Magazine and CO2

The BB magazine is a stick type that inserts in the bottom front of the mag well. The Pyramyd AIR description says the mag holds 16 BBs, and I’ll check that when I shoot it.

I was flummoxed when it came to where the CO2 cartridge goes. I looked for a button to depress and found nothing. But behind the base of the magazine the backstrap has a cutout for the insertion of a finger or thumb. Pull the backstrap away from the grip and voila, it comes off exposing the CO2 compartment.

With the backstrap off we see where the CO2 cartridge goes. Notice that the Allen wrench for piercing the CO2 cartridges is in the backstrap.

Sights

Remember that I had great difficulty seeing the sights on the clone? Well this BB pistol has a white outlined rear sight notch that makes all the difference. That’s what the Glock firearm has.

The white outline on the rear sight of the Glock BB pistol makes the sights easy to see and to be more precise.

The slide is not cut for aftermarket optics. So it will be the open sights or nothing.

Blowback?

This pistol does not feature a blowback slide and the trigger, while very much in the Glock style with a central safety blade, always remains extended. Obviously the pistol is only cocked by gas pressure.

Power

The description rates the pistol at 410 f.p.s. which is brisk for a BB gun. Because of the way the magazine feeds I think we can test it with H&N Smart Shot lead BBs too, which will broaden the test parameters—especially when it comes to accuracy.

Summary

I’m looking forward to this test series because this BB gun is realistic enough for good sidearm training. I sure hope it’s accurate!

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