Glock 41 Gen4: Always Ready to Compete

Hard-hitting .45 Auto and Minimal Recoil Make the Glock 41 Gen4 a Top Choice for Competitive Shooters

Over and over we circle back to the .45 Auto cartridge when we need to provide the maximum capability in a pistol. Some modern 9×19 and .40 cartridges provide close to the same delivered energy, but the .45 Auto bullet cannot be denied as the ultimate close-quarters fight-stopper and big-bore match winner. Enter the Glock 41 Gen4, chambered in .45 Auto. It’s increasingly being used to win action-shooting matches all over the world.

The Glock 41 Gen4 is perfectly sized to match the 13+1 rounds of .45 Auto it holds and accurately fires. However, longer and bigger does not mean heavier. The Glock 21 used the same frame and barrel mass as the Glock 20’s 10mm design. To make the Glock 41 Gen4, the Glock 21 frame and barrel were streamlined and lightened. Although the Glock 41 Gen4 has a longer barrel and slide, it weighs 2.3 ounces less than the Glock 21 Gen4. The G41 Gen4 fits easily into holsters made for the Glock 34 and Glock 35 pistols.

Design

The big-bore Glock 41 Gen4 has Glock’s innovative multiple backstrap system. It gives users a customizable grip right out of the box. The unique backstrap system provides near-custom matching of the shooter’s hand and desired trigger reach to each Gen4 pistol. The system provides five different grip options that come with every Glock Gen4. Every new Gen4 has four backstraps. Two with 2mm and 4mm backstraps and two others the same size but with extra-long beavertails.

Beavertail Backstraps

The longer beavertail backstraps provide increased coverage. It protects the web of large hands or the hands of shooters who prefer a high and tight purchase on the grip to reduce muzzle flip and maximize control. That kind of precise control helps to consistently shave tenths of seconds off of target reacquisition. As with all other Gen4 Glocks, the Glock 41 Gen4 has a dual recoil spring assembly for rapid follow-up shots.

Slide

Coated with Glock’s surface-hardening finish, the Glock 41 Gen4’s slide sports a 7.68-inch-long sight radius between the pistol’s white-dot front and white-outlined rear sights. The Glock 41 Gen4 features an accessory rail under the barrel. Its grips are covered with a wrap-around pattern that offers the shooter very positive control in any condition.

Safe Action System

Most importantly, the G41 Gen4 has Glock’s patented Safe Action system. This prevents the weapon from discharging unless the trigger is depressed. Once the trigger is released, the Safe Action automatically re-engages. It makes the pistol completely safe and incapable of discharging if dropped, hit, or abused.

The Glock 41 Gen4 is a “Practical/Tactical” .45 Auto pistol in the mold of the Glock 34 and Glock 35. The pistol’s size, accuracy, and reliability are making the G41 Gen4 more and more popular in the Custom Defensive Pistol (CDP) division of International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA) matches. The IDPA rules for CDP pistols specify that they must be .45 Auto pistols weighing no more than 43 ounces and sized to fit into an IDPA gun test box measuring 8.75 by 6 by 1.6 inches.

A Competitive Shooter’s Golden Ticket

I have attended many matches and have seen quite a few pistols experience stoppages and malfunctions after the match had started. But I have yet to see a Glock pistol fail to deliver when needed.

Deon Martin & His Glock 41 Gen4

Deon Martin participated in many different kinds of competitions with a wide variety of pistols before he chose the Glock 41 Gen4. Part of the exceptional handiness of the G41 Gen4 for Martin comes from the pistol’s interchangeable backstraps. Martin said, “I use the medium backstrap with the long beavertail because it allows me to keep my hands very aggressively high on the frame. If I didn’t have that extra-length beavertail I would get cut whenever I shoot.”

After shooting the nine stages with his Glock 41 Gen4, he discussed why he prefers using the .45 Auto (with a power factor of 167) even though it is a heavier bullet with a reputation for being tough to tame. Martin noted, “For over 105 years, the .45 Autos have ruled the roost with John Browning’s design. Glock has done that with the G41. Shooting the Glock 41 Gen4 is a lot like shooting the 9×19 Glock 34 Gen4. I don’t know how Glock did it, but the recoil is very similar, although there is a lot more impulse with the .45 Auto. I can hardly feel the difference between shooting the Glock 41 Gen4 and the Glock 34, or even the .40-caliber Glock 35. It just does not feel like you are shooting a .45 Auto!”

Randy Rogers on the Glock 41 Gen4

Lastly, another competitive shooter who likes the G41 Gen4 is South Florida’s Randy Rogers. Rogers has been a sworn deputy in Oklahoma and has competed in many different competitions. Rogers said he quickly noted how often Glock shooters were winning matches. He said, “I went to matches and saw what the winners who were posting the highest scores were using. Glock users were beating everybody. I chose Glock and retired the rest of my pistols.”

All in all, the G41 Gen4 is the solution to a 100-year-old problem of how to tame the .45 Auto. When experienced shooters are willing to use a Glock 41 Gen4 to win matches, that says it all.