You probably know the story: mr. Gaston Glock established company, named after himself in order to supply the Austrian army with knifes, training hand grenades, and entrenching tools. Everything else is a legend: Austrian army was searching for new hand gun and Glock was invited to submit his proposal. Enter Glock 17, polymer framed, hi capacity pistol.
Result is one of the most recognisable pistols of the last 30 years (how many completely new models can you name?). It is wildly popular with LEOs, militaries, civilian shooters and thugs worldwide.
This is first version of the Meister Glock17; second version already available. Replica of Glock 17 is currently only product of Meister, which is apparently based in Hong Kong and not mainland China.
First impression – usual boxy shape of Glock 17. Ergonomics of Glock 17 is hot debate topic, as there is no consensus about its virtues. Anyhow, replica looks like Glock 17 should look. Until we tried to fit it in original Fobus holster. Sadly, dimensions are off – replica is too wide to be stored in original Fobus holster (KSC Glock 17 fits like a glove).
Finish of metal parts (slide) is dull and sufficiently scratch resistant (usual holstering and unholstering won’t damage finish beyond usual wear and tear). Details (markings) are deep and well pronounced. However, slide serrations are very shallow.
Sights are plastic and aren’t simply inserted in (as with KSC Glock 17, for instance). They are copy of Trijicon NiteSites with three dots. Dots are white painted.
Frame is nicely made, chequering at the right places and it is on par with KSC Glock 17 and much better than KWA Glocks. It does not slip if hands are dirty and sweaty.
I imagine that availability of replica with full Glock markings is going to be a strong selling point. It gets better- there is no visible mention of Meister on either frame or slide. Markings on the frame include Glock logo, number of patent (bunch of numbers) and lettering MADE IN AUSTRIA/GLOCK INC. SMYRNA, GA. Slide has Glock logo with number 17 AUSTRIA 9X19.
Slide and outer barrel have matching (non- individual) serial number.
Magazine is metal (we are talking about gas blow back replica, after all). Capacity of magazine is (double stacked) 24 BBs. Construction of the magazine can prove itself problematic. Namely, magazine has plastic lips which are quite susceptible to damage. Together with relatively stiff spring this means that lips can be easily broken off, making magazine useless.
And now a feature I’m bit ambivalent about- gas valve is not fully covered with sliding plate. Plate has hole in it, which greatly shortens time needed for recharging a magazine, but offers ample opportunity to damage the valve.
Also, I’m bit sceptic about choice of materials for magazine release button- it is plastic. Magazine is not drop free- you have to physically pull it out of magazine well. This probably means that down the road release catch will wear out as there is slight scratching noise when you pull magazine out.
As with all Glocks, there is no manual safety lever, which is one of the most important Glock features. All you need is to insert (loaded) magazine, rack the slide, aim and start shooting.
First impression after racking the slide back is that movement is very smooth and crisp. However, first order of action is lubing the friction surface as our replica arrived completely dry.
Field strip works like the real one and therefore as simple as possible: remove magazine, flip ambidextrous take down levers (located above the trigger) and move slide forward. This is it.
Recoil spring guide is plastic (as real one). Also, procedure of removing the recoil spring guide closely mimics the real one. Sadly, this is where realism in taking the replica apart ends. Outer barrel cannot be removed unless gas mechanism is taken apart, which is again a rather unfortunate feature of Meister Glock 17.
Outer barrel is plastic, which I profoundly dislike. Since replica requires high power gasses and I suspect that constant battery of metal slide against plastic barrel isn’t exactly beneficial to the long service life of a replica. However, our usual 2000 BBs were fired without a hitch.
HopUp is adjustable via adjustment dial, which can be accessed when slide replica is taken apart. Such adjustment was already seen on NBB TM MK23. Such adjustment has positives (it can be precisely adjusted, setting does not reset itself) and negatives (every small adjustment requires taking replica apart, which may be time consuming). HopUp works as intended, but adjustment dial is ungodly stiff.
With weaker Japanese green gas exit speeds were extremely low ( below 50 m/s with .20 g BBs) and slide did lock itself in the back position upon emptying the magazine. Taiwanese green gas gives much better result as exit speeds are around 82 m/s. Kick is very nice and comparable with KSC/KWA replica Glocks.
Trigger is somewhat stiff, but still gives a pretty good idea when the replica will fire. There is no apparent (and very annoying) cool down effect. Replica is sturdy, reliable, inexpensive companion on the field.
What to say? This is copy of Tokyo Marui’s Glock 17, which is one tough replica. Meister replicated its features well and this is certainly a viable choice for a side arm. Price is right, magazines are available and what is more- Meister is constantly upgrading their product.
Test item provided by Rsov