Glock's Gen V Was a Stopgap—Gen 6 Is the Real Upgrade

Glock's Gen 5 has been around long enough to feel settled, and the Gen 6 is drawing attention for its ergonomic overhaul. In between sits the Gen V, a gun most shooters haven't heard much about and, according to Military Arms Channel, one Glock doesn't seem all that interested in selling.

Snapshot

In this video, Military Arms Channel lays out what separates the Gen 5, Gen V, and Gen 6, arguing the Gen V was a short-lived response to lawsuits over illegally converted Glocks rather than a genuine product push. The channel walks through the internal changes meant to frustrate conversion switches and notes the Gen 6 arrived soon after with most of the same fixes plus real ergonomic upgrades.

Key points

• Same shell, different guts: the Gen V keeps the Gen 5's exterior and accessory compatibility, but the trigger, striker, striker channel, and rear striker plate are redesigned and not interchangeable with older generations.
• Chamber gets a step: Military Arms Channel points out the Gen V introduces a stepped, bottlenecked chamber for a tighter gas seal, which the host says is cited as adding roughly 50 feet per second of velocity.
• Anti-switch intent: a new ramp behind the striker and narrower striker channel are described as deliberate attempts to make illegal auto-sear conversions harder to install, though the video notes workarounds have already surfaced.
• Gen 6 overshadows it fast: the Gen 6 inherited the Gen V's internal fixes, ditched the double nested recoil springs for an older-style single spring, and added a bigger beavertail, reshaped grip, and improved trigger.
• Market reaction: the host says distributor stock shows Gen V pistols sitting unsold while Gen 6 models move, suggesting buyers skipped straight past the transitional model.

Quick take

Military Arms Channel treats the Gen V less as a flagship and more as a legal checkbox Glock needed to tick, and the sales data he cites backs that read. If the price is right, he says it's still a perfectly good shooter and maybe a future collectible, but anyone chasing the real upgrade should be looking at the Gen 6 instead.

Watch the full video: Military Arms Channel