Buy Glock G44-22LR Online
Introduction
Pure GLOCK! New caliber! The innovative design of the GLOCK G44 Compact Semi-Auto Pistol is GLOCK’s first hybrid steel-polymer slide chambered for the .22-cal. round. This gives it a naturally low recoil for total control and easier follow-up shots. With its compact design and backstrap adaptability, it’s perfect for almost any hand size. The G44 comes equipped with the GLOCK Marksman Barrel (GMB) for top-notch accuracy and repeatable precision. The Safe Action® system boasts 3 automatic independently-operating safeties that provide consistent trigger pulls. Adjustable rear sights. Includes two 10-round magazines.
Converting the Glock design to operate with the diminutive .22 LR required some operational changes. First, even though the barrel isn’t attached to the frame as with most rimfire semi-automatics, it doesn’t unlock on firing. There is no cam under the barrel to pull the barrel down out of the battery. There is a double-captured recoil spring, but the barrel doesn’t tilt upon firing. There isn’t enough energy in the .22 LR round to accomplish this. In fact, the weight of a standard Glock slide is substantially too heavy to allow semi-automatic operation.
To lighten the slide, Glock designed it to be a hybrid combination of steel and polymer. The slide rails and breech face are steel, mated to a polymer upper component that provides the grip surfaces, houses the ejector, and provides mounting areas for the sights. It looks and feels like a steel slide, but is much lighter. The light slide allows for a stronger recoil spring than many .22 LRs, reducing chambering issues commonly found on .22 LR rimfire pistols. The slide-racking effort is similar to many center-fire pistols.
All aspects of the operation are pure Glock. The magazine slide release and trigger are pure Glock. Accuracy is certainly adequate for training, about the same as the other rimfire replica pistols, and that impressed me as a bit of an accomplishment since this is a mass-produced .22 LR that doesn’t have a fixed barrel. The magazine drops freely, the slide release is easy to activate, even with an empty magazine and there are four different grip adapters to allow a good fit to any hand. I found the smallest one most comfortable.
Sights are the familiar white outlined U-notch rear and white-dot front. The rear sight is adjustable for both elevation and windage, but the elevation adjustment is somewhat unusual. Both adjustment screws are on the right side of the sight. The windage adjustment is a conventional screw, but the elevation adjustment is a cam that lifts the sight in the housing. Half a rotation provides all the elevation change available and a full rotation puts the rear sight back where it was.
On the subject of the rear-sight elevation adjustment—it wasn’t enough for me to center the group. With the rear sight all the way down, my test gunshot was about 3 inches high at 10 yards. I shot a composite group of 60 shots from three ammo manufacturers and it shot all three brands high. I knew a couple of good shooters who shot the G44 and both related the same issue. The solution for one was to change to a taller front sight. Accuracy is on par with similarly priced rimfire trainers in spite of the barrel not being fixed to the frame.
The magazine is remarkably easy to load, with a double-sided button to allow compression of the spring. There’s a five and 10-round mark on the side with an arrow to aid in the count. From what I’ve been told the 10-round magazine limit isn’t an effort to allow sales in locations with capacity limits, but rather one of reliability.
There is certainly room in the magazine and the follower has a riser to limit capacity, but reliability suffered with a 12-round capacity. At the beginning of the test, loading the last round in the magazine required a bit of attention. If not properly inserted, it angled down and caused a malfunction if the slide was dropped from the locked position. Whether I learned some unconscious technique or the magazines loosened up, I don’t know, but after a few hundred rounds the issue disappeared.
Glock G44 -.22LR Specifications
- Handedness: Ambidextrous
- Action: Striker Fired
- Product weight: 16.64 ounces
- Product Type: Pistol
- Manual Safety: No
- Product Length (in.): 6.85
- Activity: Recreational Shooting
- Magazine capacity: 10
- Barrel length (in.): 4.02
- Caliber: .22 LR
- Rifle Ammo Type: Rimfire
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