I have a glock 19 gen5, had a glock 17 gen5 and own a glock 20 gen4. I have also shot plenty of rounds through the 19 gen 4 but on rental guns.
I prefer the Trigger on my gen 5 much more to the gen 4's. The glocks, for me, arent like CZ or 1911 where part of the fun is personalizing.
Its very much a durable tool and not much more so I dont want to buy a gun that is up near $600 and have to buy a trigger kit to be happy with it. I believe I read that the newer trigger uses a compression spring rather than an extending spring but I am no glock armorer. All I can say is the trigger on the gen 5 has a lot less of the sloppy pick up and I much prefer it to the gen 4. I dont need a lighter trigger just one that lets me know whats going on.
I only recently acquired the 20 gen 4 and I am having to kind of relearn the trigger.
I hated the finger grooves on the 19. YMMV. If you look at a 17 and 19 next to each other they include the same amount of grip bumps but the 17 grip is a fair bit longer. So all they did was compress the space between bumps on the 19. I hated it and it never felt right. I much prefer the 19 without the bumps. I dont have large hands but meaty fingers.
I am sure its the slightly better trigger and not the new barrel but I was able to regularly shot head shots on a target at 25 yds with the gen 5 17.
The cut out in front on the gen5 19 was annoying. I bought some pierce baseplates that dont add any extra rounds nor do they stick out any further on the bottom but they fill the cutout and project forward just a touch making it feel like a pinky hook. Best upgrade ever under $20
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pearce-Grip-PG-FML-PGFML-For-GLOCK-Compact-Full-Size-Grip-Enhancer-NEW/252105585445?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649It locks the gun in your hand and I can run off a mag with virtually no muzzle rise.
As a holster maker .. I much prefer the beveled slide at the front. The hard square edges pre gen 5 are not as nice when reholstering.
There are enough little differences in feel and shootability for me that if a G20 were available in a gen 5 I would have gotten it over the gen 4. Its a nice gun and how can you hate 10mm but my gen 5's just are a touch nicer. Enough nicer that I would spend a few extra bucks to get one.
I dont know how that wee tiny ambi slide lock could impact anyone but I have seem some people do weird stuff. I dont even notice its there. Considering many of the gen5's can be had from the factory with nice night sights and I dont feel the need to drop $150 on a trigger upgrade I say its a bargain.
Its still an ugly plastic 2x4 though ...
