This particular Glock has sights mechanically centered in the slide, but many Glocks do shoot slightly left. This is my target from a while back after shooting the FBI Bullseye Course, which is shot at 15 and 25 yards.
I’d like to start by apologizing for the slow rate of articles as of late. Many real life events are conspiring to keep some of our authors and me from the keyboard.
This latest topic was born from a recent email I received from a couple readers asking about whether or not Glocks shoot left, and if it is something about which he should be concerned. While I would not describe myself as a Glock guru, though it is currently my preferred sidearm for work and play, I have seen a few of them on the range over the years, and have spoken with some knowledgeable individuals. Here is my take on the issue, for whatever it is worth.
There are a couple prevailing theories as to why Glocks seem to shoot a little left. The first is that the guns are simply built that way, either due to some kind of design anomaly (feature) or tolerance stack. Another on is that the Glock’s grip angle, pivoting trigger shoe, the characteristics of the trigger mechanism and length of pull, tend to cause the right handed shooter to push shots left. There are additional factors, such as the front sight not being set in the slot very well. Honestly, the amount the pistol actually shoots left (when it does) has not inspired me to research or test much further to see what the actual cause may be. Perhaps locking a bunch of different Glocks one at a time into Ransom Rests might work, but since I don’t have easy access to one, this is somewhat moot.
All of the sights I’ve installed start out installed in the mechanical center of the slide. The 10-8 Performance front sight tabs are slightly oversized and are either an interference fit or require just a tiny bit of filing to get it into the slide. I like this as it ensures it doesn’t twist and will stay put. A few minutes with a hammer, punch, a flat piece of G10 stock and a caliper ensure the rear sight is centered. A few of my pistols shoot just fine with the sight centered in the slide, but some of them do need some adjustment, typically by drifting the sight a little bit to the right. Any sight adjustment is usually quite minor and around .010″ or less. Most of the time, the typical shooter has a profound lack of trigger control that masks whatever left shooting tendencies the pistol may have.
Regardless of the reason why the Glocks tend to shoot left, the effect is fairly minimal and a minor sight adjustment typically takes care of it. Regardless of the pistol you shoot, be sure you sight it in at a reasonable distance (I prefer 20 or 25 yards) with your preferred defensive and training ammunition. Better to be surprised that your pistol doesn’t shoot point of aim on the flat range rather than when it actually counts.
I’ve noticed it more with Gen4 guns than with Gen3, at least with Gen4s running the bare frame and no grip adapters. I recently started shooting a Gen4 regularly in IDPA and IPSC and I noticed that if I just draw and point, the gun is aimed a little to the left. With a Gen3, or using the Medium grip adapter on the Gen4, the gun points true for me.
Obviously people have different hand sizes, and it probably doesn’t help that I carried and shot the heck out of a Gen3 for over seven years, but it was a minor revelation to me seeing what a difference it made in how the gun pointed, going from the Gen3 to a bare Gen4.
LAV also recently talked about this on his FB page
Hmm, I guess now I know why I got two emails on this subject on the same day. I’m sure Larry has a solid explanation for this phenomenon. I should go on his page and check it out.
Interesting article. I don’t have this issue with my carry Glock 26 but I find myself shooting left with my service size HK VP9. As a long time revolver shooter I always figured it was just me.
Which is why it is always a good idea to shoot and confirm your sights at distance. Thanks for reading!
I would swear it has something to do with the barrel. I swapped my stock barrel for an after market one and my groups jumped to the right but like an inch at 10 yards. But that just may be my gun as well.
My first G17 started shooting way left when I first had night sights installed in 1991. The only solution was to crank the rear way over to the right. Same with a G19 I acquired a year later. This was not a problem with the Glocks in 40 and 45 ACP I’ve had since. I now have a Gen 4 .26 with aftermarket sights that shoots point of aim with the sights centered. I now mostly shoot M&Ps and have noticed I have a tendency to aim slightly left when presenting the pistol on target. Using the largest grip insert, which I hate, seems to minimize the issue. That may have been a problem for me with the Gen 1-3 Glocks also, but I never noticed. My ole Gen 1 17 now wears a set of aftermarket sights without tritium, and shooting left has not been so much of an issue .