GLOCKS would easily be one of the most preferred side arm of airsoft enthusiasts, as it is in the world of real steel where some of the most elite forces in the world are issued Glocks as primary or secondary weapon. I’d rather not delve into the real steel info as I want to start crackin’ on with the subject at hand. This is all about the two newest and exciting ACM Glock 17 GBBs out in the market today. One is made by ARMY Armament, known for their R85 AEG (their version of the British L85) and the other one is made by Meister, a newcomer in the field of ACM airsoft.

For reference as I compare these two Glocks further in this article, I will refer to the model names as follows: R17 for the ARMY Armament version and G17 for the Meister’s version. As we all probably know by now, the most common reason why an enthusiast will go down the path of ACM products is the price. That’s why we call it cheapsoft. One does not usually buy ACM products for quality and reliability, however, the vigorous ACM market have recently produced higher quality ones that has impressed a lot of enthusiasts all over the world. Now the BIG question is: will these ACM versions of the Glock 17 GBB be up to the task? Would they make it to our Serpa holsters or will they end up as wall hangers or worse be dumped in the bin? Let’s see…

I did use the word “exciting” to describe these two Glock 17s. It is because these are the first two ACM GBB Glock 17s ever produced. And what a delight, they both come with trades!, a feature that is now becoming quite common with newer ACM products. With no previous ACM Glock 17 GBB ever produced before, I find it interesting to make a comparison of the two pistols with the intention of determining which one would be most recommendable.

So let’s get down to the nitty-gritty… WHICH IS THE BETTER ACM GLOCK 17? The R17 or the G17? Read on…

First let’s talk about the price, it wouldn’t be such a surprise anymore to find that these pistols are cheap. Basing on RSOV’s price, excluding shipment costs- the R17 costs cheaper @ £27.99 and the G17 is £39.99. Not bad eh? That’s cheapsoft for you. My newbie friend asked me, “what if they break easily?”, “what if you get a lemon unit?” …  my answer to him was, “what if they don’t break easily, what if they are actually recommendable”? aha! Now that’s the catch… I mean for such cheap GBB pistols, how can you say no? I know about the “lemon unit” possibility as I myself have bought one or two… maybe three, but then most of my ACM weapons and gears are dependable. So it did not really take me long to click on that “purchase” tab.

PACKAGING

Not much can be said here. They are both packaged in brown boxes with company logos printed on it. To note, the R17 box says it’s third generation (hmmmm…. Maybe they already have reached perfection?). The G17 as per RSOV’s description is second generation.

Inside these boxes, the pistols are secured in soft cut out foam. You will also find the manual (possibly TM based), the magazine and some Bbs.

LOOK, WEIGHT and FEEL

The R17 and the G17 are pretty much the same, we thought maybe, they came from one factory and released under different companies. But that was just a theory.

The R17 feels smooth and lighter whereas the G17 is rough and a bit on the heavy side. Grips feel the same for both pistols and they did not give me any annoying wobbles or creaks when shaken. At this point I can safely say that these pistols are SOLID.

One most obvious difference between these two pistols is the slide. The R17’s finish is a smooth and black whilst the G17 have a black matte finish. Looking at the trades, the R17 has shallow engraved white markings and the G17 has deeper engraved markings, not painted. Easily, we thought the G17 looks more realistic than its counterpart. To quote Optimus Prime “the R17 is a sissy looking Glock”… I didn’t totally agree but I must admit the trades and overall appearance of the G17 makes it a winner over the R17 in this aspect.

The SLIDES

Looking at the front end of these pistols (hopefully not during skirmish) it still is very apparent that the R17 “shines” and the outer barrel is somewhat loose coming out of the slide. The reverse can be said about the G17’s business end.

Pulling the slide back is smooth and easy on the R17 whilst in the G17, it is slightly stiff and rough. With these pistols, releasing the slides on empty magazines will activate the slide stop mechanism, therefore leaving you with an open bolt so you can see the empty magazine lip. Deactivating the slide lock by pushing it down with your thumb will return the slide forward – if your magazine is loaded and inserted at the magazine well at this time that means you have just cocked your pistol and it’s now hot and ready to ROCK and ROLL! One thing I have noticed at this stage is the impressive return of the G17’s slide. The force I felt and the sound it made after I released the slide generated a satisfying smile on my face… prompting me to say “lets get it ON!!”

The SIGHTS

I’m not really fussy when it comes to pistol sights, I normally just point and shoot towards the tangos and I have my share of hits. In other words I don’t really use my pistol sights. But I have to mention this, the G17’s sights are luminous…. Yeah! It glows in the dark! As compared to the R17s white dotted front sight and a white lined U shaped rear sight, I mean if you really use your sights… the G17 gives you a tactical advantage and confidence that your BB will find its way to your target.

TRIGGER

Some people disregard the importance of the trigger pull action. Personally, I prefer my weapons to be positively reactive to every squeeze of the trigger. These pistols did not disappoint. They both react quickly and smoothly to every squeeze of the trigger with no nagging or distracting sensations.

MAGAZINE RELEASE

Some reviews will not even mention this but I have to do it this time. Only because the mag-release mechanism of the G17 is shoddy. There is a noticeable snag when you push it and sometimes it does not even return arrrghhh! So, I thought maybe a bit of silicon will solve this problem out but it didn’t. Quite the opposite on the R17 as the whole action works fluidly, the mag will just fall off once you push the mag release. I must also mention that the mag well of the G17 is very tight making mag changes very difficult… and annoying.

The MAGAZINES

As expected, both magazines have the same dimensions. The G17 magazine with it’s matte finish and full trades has got the winner look. But sadly, that ends there. After a few charges, it started to leak gas. That, and that very tight fit into the G17’s mag well just doesn’t make my day. The R17’s magazine isn’t perfect too, it makes hissing sound after being charged with gas but surprisingly held a mag-full of gas ‘till the next day. I can live with that.

THE INTERNALS

Looking at the internals of these pistols makes me conclude that the themes “matte” and “smooth” applies to the insides too. The R17’s internals are smooth, shiny and well lubed. All things opposite can be said about the G17’s internals. Surprisingly enough, the G17’s blowback is impressively stronger than the R17’s. Most of the parts are of the same dimensions therefore theoretically interchangeable. The G17’s recoil spring is slightly stiffer than the R17’s which could account for that awesome slide return.

TEST FIRE

The accuracy for these pistols are quite remarkable. At twenty five to thirty feet, we are hitting alphas. At this distance, hitting the centre mass of your target is a sure thing. The strong blowback of the G17 makes you want to keep on squeezing that trigger until the last BB. After a good 20 magazines fired, the G17 started to show some problems. First the slide got stuck caused by one of the internal parts twisting and preventing the slide to move. We think that this is the consequence of a strong blowback. When we were finally able to release the slide, the pistol can only fire single shots and the slide keeps on locking.  I say, this incident just killed the G17. Meanwhile the R17 keeps on rockin’ and rollin’ hitting the target time and time again. This story reminds me of the story of the rabbit and the turtle… doesn’t it?