Have you wondered what the new Glock 47 is and why Glock has discontinued making the Glock 17 MOS? It may sound surprising, but Glock has actually discontinued many of its handgun models.
To some, Glock handguns all look the same. The caliber, barrel, and grip length may change, but the overall design remains consistent. Even though they appear similar, each model has unique features. Even small changes to a part require significant factory work.
Glock produces many models, so it makes sense that the company would streamline production and retire less popular models. One way Glock is streamlining production is by designing parts to work across multiple models. The Glock 47 is a good example. As we discuss this Glock 17 MOS replacement, you’ll see that the 47 MOS shares much in common with the Glock 19.
Let’s take a quick look at the Glock 47 and how it differs from the Glock 17 MOS.
Glock 47 MOS
The Glock 47 MOS is the same size overall as the Glock 17. In fact, it looks like the same gun, except for a small modification at the front, bottom portion of the slide that acts as a spacer for the recoil spring.
This isn’t new, as they did the same thing with the Glock 48 model. You can take a Glock 48 slide and replace it with a shorter Glock 43 slide. With this combination, you have a 43X.
The spacer allows a shorter spring to be used in a longer slide. In the case of the Glock 47, it uses the same recoil spring assembly as the Glock 19.
The second biggest difference with the 47 MOS is the frame. You’re basically getting a Glock 45 frame with an extended slide and a Glock 17 barrel.
Using a Glock 19 spring and G45 frame streamlines parts production while providing more modularity. A Glock 48 MOS slide on a Glock 19 frame is the equivalent of a Glock 49 model. And likewise, a Glock 19 slide on a Glock 47 MOS frame is the equivalent of a Glock 45.
Two Glocks = four variations
I know it can get confusing when someone rattles off model numbers (like I did above), so here is a visual explanation using the Glock 19 and Glock 47 MOS.
In the photo below are the factory models of the Glock 19 and Glock 47 MOS. By swapping the slides on each handgun, you can make two other functional variants.
Glock 49 MOS: Use the Glock 19 frame with the Glock 47 MOS slide (pictured below).
To make a Glock 45, use the Glock 47 MOS frame with the Glock 19 slide. Of course, an optics plate will depend on whether the Glock 19 slide was an MOS version.
The only visible difference you have when combining slides and frames is that the model number on the side of the gun will be wrong.
Does the Glock 47 MOS shoot differently than the Glock 17 MOS?
Because the recoil spring is slightly shorter in the Glock 47 MOS, it makes you wonder if the recoil is worse. My first thought was yes, it would have to be a little snappier than the longer Glock 17 spring.
I’ve carried a Glock 17 on duty for more than a decade, so I thought it would be pretty easy to tell the difference. The first time I fired the Glock 47, I thought I could tell a small difference in the felt recoil. However, I decided to try a small experiment and trick myself.
A friend of mine helped me out by loading up both guns and handing me one or the other without telling me which. As soon as he placed a gun in my hands, I would fire it and tell him which one I thought it was. To make a long story short, I had no idea.
AmmoToGo.com provided some 9mm 124 grain MAXX Tech FMJ ammo for this review, so a big thanks to them. I wanted a little heavier bullet to see how the recoil would be when comparing the two guns.
I don’t know if the double recoil spring improves the recoil enough that the length doesn’t matter as much, or if it’s just the weight of the longer slide and barrel. But after shooting the Glock 47 MOS multiple times on the range, I don’t think most people would ever notice any difference.
So why make a Glock 17 non-MOS handgun?
If you can use a Glock 19 spring in a Glock 17-length slide, why keep the Glock 17 around? The only answer I could find from Glock is that the 17 is what they call a “legacy model.”
So, if you want a plain-Jane Glock that doesn’t have an optics plate, you can still get one. But if you want a Glock 17 MOS (modular optics system), you will need to purchase the Glock 47.
Should you buy the Glock 47 MOS or the standard Glock 17?
In my opinion, go with the Glock 47 MOS. Unless you want a Glock 17 because it’s the iconic first model, the 47 MOS provides more options. Not just because it has an MOS plate, but because you can swap the slide and frame around with other models.
If you want the ability to use different configurations (barrel vs grip length), this makes it possible. Just pick up the Glock 19 MOS and Glock 47 MOS. As I mentioned above, you can use parts from these two guns to make two other configurations of handguns.
If you are a collector, I would find a Glock 17 MOS, as they will be disappearing very soon. For more information on discontinued Glock handguns, check out Bucky Lawson’s article “Glock Discontinues 35 Models” on Breach Bang Clear.
