Marui Glock 17 GBB review

[Suburban]

There is far too little information available on this pistol, considering how well the manufacturer is known, and that the pistol has been available for a while. I haven't shot it much, and I don't have any pictures to show, yet, but I'll share some of what I know.

 

Background

I've been into airsoft for about 10 years or so, on and off. Somehow, I stumbled upon X-Ring Airsoft (currently at www.xringairsoft.com), shortly after my introduction to the internet. I scored a used Marui AUG Military for the then incredible price of $350. GBBs were rare, and a pretty unknown commodity, so for a long time the best pistol I could get my hands on was a Marui M9 springer. I've had a few other airsoft guns here and there that didn't work out, or that I had to sell to buy textbooks.

 

I've been shooting firearms for... 16 years, I think. For a few years I shot mostly twenty-two rifles, shot trap with shotguns, sometimes I'd go shoot Dad's SKS or Lee Enfield. Then the indoor pistol range opened up, and they had rental guns. I tried a little bit of everything, but I really liked the Glocks. They fit me, and I can reach all the controls properly. The triggers are descent, at least as far as defensive pistols go. They don't look so nice that I want to lock them up in a display cabinet, and never use them. I came to find out that they are nearly rust proof, and require very little maintenance, and are easy to detail strip and repair. About the only thing that ever goes wrong is that, once in a great while the trigger return spring breaks. Although I've been given other pistols, and inherited a bunch, almost all the pistols that I've ever bought were Glocks, and the Kahr almost counts as a Glock.

 

To bring us to the Marui Glock 17, I've gotten into action pistol shooting at the local gun club, and I wanted something to practice with, since neither club/range I am a member of allows drawing from a holster, shooting reactive targets, or moving and shooting, except when there's a match going on.

 

Realism

The trademark on the frame looks pretty much dead on. All the writing on the left side of the slide is a little too deep, and the font size is a little too small.

 

The slide is about 1mm too wide, and 1mm too tall. I can not get the pistol to fit in a molded Fobus holster. The pistol fits fine in a Crossbreed SuperTuck IWB holster that I had made for a G21. It will fit in both Glock Sport/Combat holster; loose enough to fall out of the large frame one, really tight in the small frame one.

 

I removed the mag catch, and tried the catch I pulled out of my real G17. Besides not working because the catch is held in differently, the Glock catch doesn't protrude from the left side of the frame. The Marui frame must be wider than the Glock frame. A Glock extended mag catch may work if you attacked it with a needle file set so that the Marui spring will hold it in.

 

The finish on the frame seems to be less shiny than the Glock frame, but my Glocks have been carried some, and have a few thousand rounds through them. The mold lines around the left thumb notch on the Marui frame are much more noticeable than the almost invisible line on the Glock frame.

 

There is a lanyard hole on the bottom of the backstrap. It doesn't sound like a real big deal, but most of the mag funnels and grip plugs are held in using that lanyard hole. Remembering that the frame is wider than it should be, finding a mag funnel that fits might be a problem.

 

I take it the serial number plate that serves as the safety is the same part that Marui uses in the G26. Besides the fact that the number plate on the G17 is different than the G26, the numbers are facing the wrong direction.

 

The Marui mag is slightly smaller than the Glock mags, and I couldn't get the Marui mag to lock into the Glock. The Marui mag fits tightly, the Glock magazines wobble a bit in the frame.

 

The finish of the Marui frame and slide release are not as shiny as the Glock parts.

 

The markings on the right side of the slide and barrel are like those on the Glock pistols sold everywhere but the U.S. I prefer it this way; I don't have any Glocks marked this way.

 

The pins that hold the trigger on the trigger bar, and the trigger safety in the trigger go all the way through the trigger. Although Glock doesn't do it this way, it will make it easier for gunsmiths to tune the trigger pull while retaining a functional trigger safety.

 

Speaking of the trigger, Marui has kind of made a single action pistol out of what is essentially a double action only pistol. The Marui's trigger is lighter and crisper than that of a real Glock. Between the hair trigger, and the lack of drop safeties, besides the trigger safety, it's probably not a bad thing that Marui added the serial number plate safety.

 

Except for the barrel, which has the worst seam lines, the Marui actually looks better than the real thing.

 

Shooting

I'm shooting the pistol with propane (green gas) and a Guarder "enhanced" spring and guide rod. The Marui guide rod is metal, BTW, and it can be disassembled to change out the spring. There really isn't much difference between the Guarder set-up and the Marui.

 

The recoil is really nothing to write home about, sort of a compromise between hard recoil for realism and really soft recoil for fast shooting.

 

I was shooting a couple inches to the left at about 5 yards, but I seem to have that fixed. The rear sight is what holds the blow-back mechanism in, and it doesn't move much side-to-side.

 

I've noticed that out of every group on paper, there's usually a few (maybe 1 out of 5) that drops low. I haven't really set the hop-up yet, and I've been using cheap ammo. I need to do more testing.

 

Loading the magazine is not exactly convenient. I didn't get a loader with the pistol, I guess Marui doesn't sell one with the Glocks. The BBs need to be pushed through the magazine lips, and the magazine follower doesn't lock at the bottom for loading without fighting spring pressure.

 

As I said, I haven't shot it very much yet.

 

Misc. Thoughts

When you combine plastic mag catches with metal magazines, or vice versa, you get problems. In the case of the Marui Glock, you have a plastic mag release (like the real Glocks), but the magazine has a metal body (real Glock mags are plastic coated). The metal mag body WILL wear the mag release to the point that you either get a leak between the rubber seal on the mag and the gas inlet on the slide, or you will start to get feeding problems, or both.

 

Overall

I probably wouldn't call this the greatest GBB available. The fact that it won't fit in many Glock 17 holsters really bothers me. If you're not wedded to the Glock platform, I'd probably tell you to pick the Western Arms 1911 or 2011 of your choice if you want the best.

 

Is the Marui better than the KSC/KWA Glocks? Both have their good points. I'd probably call it a draw. KSC has the better magazine design, but Marui has better hop-up. Marui is more consistant shot-to-shot, but KSC fits in more holsters. . . I think you get the idea.

 

Links

Marui Glock 17 Vs KSC Glock 17 (metal slide) Review at Defcon Airsoft

http://www.defconairsoft.co.uk/reviews/ksc...17vsmarui17.htm

 

FarEast’s Marui Glock 17 Review on Arnie’s Airsoft Forum

http://www.arniesairsoft.co.uk/forums/inde...ui+glock+review

[Sale]

Good and informative review, even though there was no pics. It's nice to get insight from someone who's got comparison instead of a single POV from the airsoft world.

 

On the real deal, which part exactly do you mean with the trigger return spring? The trigger is pushed (returned) forward by the mainspring (firing pin spring), and normally it would be back. If you mean the spring in the firing mechanism, it actually pulls the trigger bar back and to the rear.

 

I fitted a real California Competition Works magwell on my TM Glock frame and it fit just fine, so at least the lower part of the frame is correct size compared to the real gun. The lanyard hole also lined up with the attachment screw. Later I took it off because I actually bought the mag well for my real Glock 19, but it would also fit the TM G17.

 

Regarding the single action nature of TM and KSC Glocks, I would agree that a light SA trigger would necessitate a manual safety. But the potential damage resulting from an AD is neglible: You wear goggles anyways when you're shooting and the worst other injury you can get is a red mark on the skin for a couple of days. In other words, I don't like the sliding serial number plate and I don't use it.

 

Loading the magazine is easy, if you pull the follower all the way down and insert the BBs from the wide part of the slot near the bottom of the magazine. You appreciate the tight magazine lips when you botch a magazine change and get the side of the magazine well between the mag lips... On a lot of airsoft pistols this effectively causes the magazine to "ejaculate".

 

I haven't found the mag catch to wear just yet. I practice practical shooting with this thing, which means that during the few months that I've had the pistol, I've done several thousands of magazine changes. No signs of wear just yet.

 

Overall I agree about the comparison with the real one as well as the KSC models. Some airsoft pistols are actually less shiny than the real ones! The TM doesn't fit in many holsters and that's the major PITA with this pistol. But the hop-up and consistency (which make the pistol very accurate) are important points to me, so I just dremeled the frame until it fit in the BHI SERPA I'm using.

 

Cheers,

Sale

Edited June 8, 2007 by Sale

[Suburban]

Yeah, I meant the tension spring that pulls the trigger back. Oops.

 

I'll give the alternate loading method a try.

 

I'll post a few pics later tonight. They didn't quite come out as I had hoped.

 

... and thanks for the PM about the slide.

Edited June 8, 2007 by Suburban

[Suburban]

 

 

 

 

[/img]

 

The lighting wasn't good enough, I'll take more ASAP.

Edited June 8, 2007 by Suburban

[Wege]

either way.... good reading. I do now wish I had got the G17 instead of the 1911A1.. purely so I can recall what it was like against my KSC G3 (version 2) G17.. (you know.. the one that feels right, and has the markings in the right places.. )

[4dEFCON]

Hi Suburban,

 

Nice review, your link is broken back to my comparison review though (noticed the 404 errors on our logs)... it's:

 

Marui Vs KSC Glock 17

[Suburban]

Hi Suburban,

 

Nice review, your link is broken back to my comparison review though (noticed the 404 errors on our logs)... it's:

 

Marui Vs KSC Glock 17

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Likewise. I've got your review saved to my hard drive. I've read it a few times trying to decide which one to buy.

 

Is there some way I can edit the origional post? There's no edit button at the bottom.

[evilliboba]

The edit button goes away after 2 hours.

[4dEFCON]

I'm glad someone actually reads them and finds them useful! Marui all the way for me. The KSC was just too inconsistant on our tests...

 

I'm just finishing the Marui USP .40 S&W AEP review, that'll be online within the next 24hrs - that's quite a good bit of kit too.

 

Likewise.  I've got your review saved to my hard drive.  I've read it a few times trying to decide which one to buy.

 

Is there some way I can edit the origional post?  There's no edit button at the bottom.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[Suburban]

I've shot the pistol quite a bit this weekend. Besides the slide not closing all the way when I push the slide release lever, it hasn't missed a beat. Slide goes into battery just fine if I pull the slide back a bit from slidelock.

 

 

 

Glock mag is a new one. Marui mag is a fairly close replica of the older Glock mags.

 

 

[Psychosis]

Sale, what exactly did you have to dremel/modify/etc. to make the Glock fit the SERPA?

Edited June 20, 2007 by Psychosis

[Sale]

Psy: Underneath the frame next to the serial number plate. All the way from the trigger guard to the front. Put some coloured marker on the part and rub the gun in and out from the holster with some force to see where you need to remove material.

 

-Sale

[mike77]

How is the glock after some use, and skirmished with

[Suburban]

The Marui Glock is still chugging away happily. I had underestimated how important a good hop-up mechanism is; this pistol has a noticeably greater range than what I was used to.

 

The plastic of the frame must be a bit soft though, because it's showing a lot of holster wear. In some spots the matte finish is completely worn off. I have been using the Glock holster for the G21 which it fits pretty well in, and the holster material is softish, more like vinyl than ABS. Oh well, I guess there's not much to stop me from sanding the frame to get it to fit proper G17 holsters anymore.

[Psychosis]

Well, on airsoft-news.eu at the moment it seems that Guarder is releasing a "realistic" frame, which could be the key to better fit in real steel holsters.

[sacairsoftsn00py]

Re-upping the thread with regard to an upgrade part for the TM G17.

 

Bought a Shooters Design Cast Metal Slide/ Outer Barrel for the G17. The Blowback chamber slides in place nicely. There is however a lot of play on the slide/frame. While this does not affect overall function, it will surely affect the accuracy of the TM G17 some. Also, the slide sits back about 1mm (or less)so it looks like the slide isn't all the way forward. Again, this does not affect the function of the gun.

 

One thing to note is that the inner barrel floats around inside the stock TM plastic outer barrel for the TM G17. The SD metal outer barrel however is cast so the outer barrel holds the inner barrel more securely in place.

 

Another thing to note is that after installation, I noticed that the loading nozzle catches on the top part of the "arch" where its supposed to move out from. That particular area needs to be sanded down by about 1mm...IMO its an easy mod with a dremel and a sanding drum.

 

You'll find that you'll need to use an enhanced recoil spring guide kit as the metal slide is heavier than stock.

 

Other than the arch needing to be sanded down, nothing else is absolutely needed. I did decide to polish the inside part of the slide some for smoother action. This is not entirely necessary as the contact points will naturally wear down from use.

 

Retail Price for the slide is $48 from HK. IMO, its on the high side for what you're getting but is certainly affordable. With the ease of installation required, I would say that its worth getting for those who need a replacement slide/outer barrel and is on a budget.