Spoiler alert: Glock makes a lot of handguns. I have no idea how many different models they’ve come out with, but considering their numbering system has them in the 40s now and they’re onto Gen 5, you’ve easily got somewhere between 100 and 200 different models of Glock handguns out in the wild at this point.
As such, we obviously can’t cover every single model and give you a firm count of each one’s magazine capacities. What I’ll do here in this article is cover some rough numbers to give an idea and also give exact numbers for five of Glock’s most popular models.
How Many Bullets Does the Average Glock Hold?
The average Glock magazine that ships with new full-size handguns will be 15-round capacity. If you order a sub-compact Glock like the G26, it ships with a 10-round magazine by default. That said, you can order Glock magazines up to a 33-round capacity that will work with various models.
Any time you’re buying an additional magazine for your Glock, you’ll want to double-check to make sure that it’s compatible with your model. This is because not all models accept the same types of glock factory magazines. The glock magazines that are most likely to be cross-compatible are the 9x19mm double stack magazine.
Single-stacks and mags that are designed for other calibers are much more likely to be specific to a single model.
How Many Bullets Do the Top 5 Glocks Hold: A Breakdown
In this section, we’re going to look more closely at some of the most commonly used Glocks and how many bullets each type Glock holds. Let’s dive right in:
Glock 19
The Glock 19 is a hugely popular model that stays large enough to give you plenty of magazine capacities but is a little smaller than a full-size handgun. This means that it’s a little easier to conceal. It’s also manageable and comfortable to shoot. It comes standard with a 15-round magazine, so its total ammo capacity from the factory is 15+1, if you want to carry with one in the chamber.
You can get up to 33-round magazines for the Glock 19 as well.
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Glock 26
The Glock 26 is the original “baby Glock” and still a very popular option. It accepts the same glock magazines as the Glock 19, but comes with a 10-round magazine standard. As a sub-compact handgun, it’s designed to work with the 10-round magazine. If you use a higher capacity magazine with the G26, it will stick out below the pistol grip, which is important to be aware of. It has a standard capacity magazine of 10+1, but it will work with up to 33-round magazines just like the 19.
Go through our review for night sights and a holster for your Glock 26.
Glock 17
I’m not sure if the G17 is actually the original Glock, but that’s how I’ve always considered it. It’s a full-size handgun, which comes with benefits in terms of accuracy, recoil, and handling. The drawback is, of course, that it’s heavier and much harder to conceal.
Capacity-wise, it’s identical to the Glock 17. It comes standard with a 15-round magazine and can accept all the way up to 33 rounds. If you want to slap 33-rounds Glock magazine onto a factory-standard Glock model, the G17 is probably the best choice, even though the magazine will still stick out pretty far.
Read our review for best holster for glock 17 or G17
Glock 43
The Glock 43 is different from all the other handguns on this list. It still shoots 9x19mm ammunition, but it uses a different, single-stack magazine that is not cross-compatible with the other models. The standard magazine has only a 6-round capacity, and even though you can buy additional magazines, they are all only 6 rounds.
This means that you can’t get more than 6+1 standard magazine capacity out of a Glock 43. For the most part, this isn’t a huge problem because the role of the G43 is to be the ultra-concealable handgun to just help you survive in an unexpected life-threatening scenario. Extra magazines are thin and light and fairly easy to bring along with you if you’re worried about having enough ammo.
If you are planning on making a habit of carrying the Glock 43, I’d recommend keeping a spare magazine in your car at minimum, and possibly on your person.
Glock 21
The Glock 21 is also a different beast from the rest of the Glocks here, as well as almost all the models that Glock produces. Instead of the 9mm round that the majority of Glocks favor, the Glock 21 was the first model of Glock to come chambered in .45 Auto. The .45 is a more powerful round magazine with a lot more stopping power than the 9mm.
The trade-off is that you can’t carry as many rounds and the ammo tends to be more expensive. The G21 comes with a standard magazine capacity of only 13 even though it’s similar in size to the Glock 17. It’s worth noting that Glock also does not make higher magazine capacity for the 21, so 13+1 is all you’re ever going to get.
How Reliable Is the Glock?
Reliability is the thing that glock pistol is most well-known for in the industry. Compared to many other handgun manufacturers, Glock makes pistols that are both affordable and incredibly reliable.
I’m a bit ashamed to admit that I once went two years and approximately 300 rounds of ammo without cleaning my Glock 43 and never once had a malfunction.
While that’s not a recommendation to try such a thing yourself, it speaks to the quality of Glock pistols!
When Glock first hit the scene, most folks were highly skeptical of a handgun made mostly of polymer, except the slide. Glock pistol was popular wisdom that a polymer handgun wouldn’t last very long and fall apart at the first sign of trouble. Over the years Glock has proven most of those people wrong and even converted a fair number.
Glock is the gun you buy when all you want is a gun that will always shoot when you want it to and never when you don’t. The Glock is also the most affordable choice to get that guarantee.
Other handgun makes and models are also reliable, of course, but they tend to cost a lot more money. They have benefits to them, but again, if all you want is a basic gun that will always work as intended, it’s hard to go wrong with a Glock.
That’s not to say that glock pistols will never misfire, have a failure to feed, or experience some other kind of malfunction. It’s also not to say that Glock triggers are wonderful (they’re not) and that you’ll never need to replace the factory iron sights that came with your Glock, because you probably will.
Every gun you buy needs to be properly maintained and even then, issues can occur. Glocks, though, as a general rule, are going to be among the most reliable handguns you can buy, even among higher price-points.
FAQs
The last I heard, the FBI was issuing Glock 19M’s to new agents. I don’t know if that’s changed, but the ‘M’ version of the 19 was made specifically for the FBI and is essentially the same as the regular 19 but with night sights and a different mag release.
If you’re talking about the stopping power of each round, the Glock 21 is probably up there, if not in the top slot. If you’re talking about how quickly you can get rounds out, then something like the Glock 18 in full auto would take the cake.
Of course you can; you can melt just about anything. Polymer has a lower melting point than steel, so a Glock will melt much sooner than most all-metal handguns. It will still take temperatures upwards of 300 degrees Fahrenheit to melt it, though, which is why the slide and barrel are all metal.
Conclusion
The average Glock will hold ~15 rounds, 15+1 if you want to get specific. Some of the smaller Glocks like the 26 and the 43 will have lower standard capacity, but you can also get more than double the magazine capacity with some models if you buy the 33-round magazine that Glock manufactures.
If you are interested in information about a specific model from Glock that I didn’t discuss in this article, you can always just hop on to Glock’s website and find the model you’re looking for there. Glock is good about putting all the tech specs of each model on their website, and they sort it by generation as well, so it’s easy to make sure you’re looking at the right model.
