Controversy is one word you could use to describe the launch of the Glock 44. Glock’s first foray into 22 LR did not go well. The reaction was a mix of people fiercely defending Glock and others ripping the Glock 44 to shreds. It was one of Glock’s first pistols in recent times to be received poorly. As with every new thing hyped beyond belief, opinions were heated, and being level-headed wasn’t really on the table at the time. But now that the smoke has cleared, let’s take another look at the now-infamous Glock 44.

The G44 looks like basically any other Glock. It’s the same size as your run-of-the-mill G19 except it feels considerably lighter. I’d be concerned if a 22 LR was heavier than a 9mm handgun. If you’re familiar with Glocks, you’ll already know what to do with a G44 since the functionality is identical.

Now, onto the elephant in the room: reliability. And the actual truth is that it’s a mixed bag. The G44 can run flawlessly at times and with certain ammunition. You have to do things a certain way like loading the mag and dropping the slide to make sure it functions correctly. Even still, the Glock 44 is a picky eater. It can eat up Remington Gold no problem, but I really started running into problems with Federal ammo. I had only one magazine of Federal that was malfunction-free. That’s not a slight against Federal either; my Taurus 22 ran it just fine. Reliability is where you’ll be running into issues with the Glock 44.

Something that isn’t an issue is the recoil. It’s extremely flat-shooting. I typically expect that from 22 LR. I don’t think I’ve ever shot a 22 that had a notable kick. Still, the G44 is a soft shooting firearm and that makes it a good bit of fun to take out on the range.

Mag capacity is kind of lacking at only 10 rounds, but honestly, for 22s I don’t tend to care about it as much. This is mostly because my 22 firearms are strictly for varmint shooting and range fun. It’d be nicer for a larger magazine, but it’s not really make-or-break for me.

In all other aspects, it functions and feels like a Glock, even down to the trigger. I don’t reckon I have any really strong feelings about the Glock 44. It’s kind of cool to have around and it completes my Glock collection, but other than that it’s one of those guns that you just pick up for fun. There are better options out there, but this isn’t a bad buy as long as you take care of it, operate it correctly, and feed it ammo that it likes.

Richard Douglas writes on firearms, defense, and security issues. He is the founder and editor of Scopes Field, and a columnist at The National Interest, 1945, Daily Caller, and other publications.

Image: Reddit