Glock's line of handguns has quickly become one of the most recognizable and widely-used lines of combat handguns in recent history. The Glock 17 brought the practice of polymer frames to the world at large, and it's proved itself to be a reliable and accurate weapon. Since it is used so widely, there have been a number of training versions of the Glock 17. In this case, we're looking at an airsoft version made by Ho-Feng.

Appearance

This "training" airsoft is so called because the frame is made of bright red plastic, giving an immediate visual cue that it's not a real firearm. In other respects, it's basically an everyday spring-powered airsoft pistol. Overall, appearances are good. This airsoft is modeled after an "older" Glock 17 - the non-railframe version. The proofmarks have been slightly altered to show this airsoft's true manufacturer. The texture and shape of the frame are good, and the finish on the slide is a nice matte black. The front sight has a white dot on it for quicker aiming, though it would be useful to add a bit of white to the rear sight as well. The magazine looks decent (just like those on the Ho-Feng Sigs I've reviewed), though it's not quite up to Marui's level. The only thing that stands out on this model's appearance is that the front of the slide doesn't come all the way to the front of the frame; it's recessed by a fraction of an inch. It's not a big deal, but it is noticeable.

Function

Now that I've had some time to get used to a Glock, the 17 handles fine for me, although the older models such as this one still feel a little blocky. I personally prefer the railframe version; the grip feels better contoured to fit my hand. The magazine loads up like the other Ho-Feng airsofts: you pull the magazine follower down on the front of the mag body, and then push BBs in one at a time from the top until you reach this magazine's capacity of 15 rounds. The magazine goes in smoothly and stays in place well, though there is a bit of rattle to the gun coming from some unknown location. Since this is a heavy-weight model, it's got a weight not only in the magazine, but in the butt of the grip as well. It adds a more solid feel to this airsoft, but the balance is way off from a real Glock. This Glock has a working slide stop, just like previous Ho-Feng airsofts we've had, though now it seems more reliable and less prone to locking open by itself before the magazine is empty. The only hitch I've had so far is that every once in a while, the slide will lock closed and then you can't cock the pistol again. After looking it over, it turned out that the front edge of the ejection port was sitting right at the front edge of the barrel's breech block, and the two would lock together. After beveling the bottom edge of the front of the ejection port, it seems to work fine again. I think you could probably get away with trimming either the slide or the breech block, but the slide is easier to work on.

Accuracy

This Ho-Feng airsoft seemed a little under-powered; it seemed pretty well tuned for .12g ammo but it still shot an inch or two low at seven yards. The group size was nothing to brag about, but it was consistent enough for most indoor uses. With .2g ammo, the point of impact was at the bottom edge of the paper at seven yards. When the point of aim was corrected to the top edge of the paper, the BBs grouped as you can see on the target below: a few inches below the aiming point, tighter than the .12g BBs, but spread from left to right. If I get the chance, I may run a test at longer ranges with .12g BBs, though I suspect the results would be predictable - larger groups centered increasingly lower on the paper. It would be interesting to see how far away it will still break the paper with the light weight ammo.

Overall Impressions

The HFC Glock 17 training gun is a great addition to the spring gun community. It's fairly solid, it's reasonably accurate, and the working slide stop is a nice feature. This airsoft would make a decent gun for a spring tournament, it would be a fine backup, and it's definitely useful for its intended purpose: training. Now if only they would come out with a railframe springer...