Why it matters: Glock's Gen 6 pistols reached stores in January with a reworked frame, and the Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 is a long-running competitor at a similar price. In a new Classic Firearms comparison, two hosts with years on earlier Glocks reach opposite verdicts, and the Gen 6 trigger sits at the center of the split.
Classic Firearms has published a head-to-head video putting the Glock Gen 6 against the Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 in two size classes: a Glock 19 Gen 6 against an M&P 2.0 Compact, and a Glock 17 Gen 6 against a full-size M&P 2.0, all chambered in 9mm. Hosts Jason and Eliza shoot each pair back to back on an outdoor range, then each names a winner in both classes. They disagree in both, and close the video calling themselves "a house divided."
The hosts say the Glock 19 in the video is not a fresh sample: it is the same pistol they describe being thrown off a hill in Idaho during an earlier shoot with the Garand Thumb channel.
Glock Gen 6 ergonomics against the M&P 2.0 grip
Eliza walks through the Gen 6 changes on camera: an extended beavertail, an undercut beneath the trigger guard, a thumb shelf for the support hand, more aggressive grip texture, a reshaped palm swell, and deeper front slide serrations. "All the things that we used to send our Glocks off to have done, they now just give to us that way," she says. The list matches Glock's launch material, which describes an enlarged beavertail, textured thumb rests on both sides, an enhanced trigger-guard undercut, the new RTF6 grip texture and deeper serrations.
The hosts point out that Smith & Wesson has offered aggressive grip texture on the M&P for years, and that the pistol ships with four interchangeable palm swell inserts, which the company's product listings confirm. Both pistols in each pair are optics-ready. On the debit side, one host says their fingers slip on the M&P's rear slide serrations and notes that the frame has no thumb shelf for the support hand; the same host says they prefer the M&P's hinged trigger for its break.
Glock 19 Gen 6 vs M&P 2.0 Compact
Jason picks the M&P 2.0 Compact, on ergonomics. He says it is easier for him to grab, and that although the back of the grip feels thicker, the texture keeps it in his hand.
Eliza picks the Glock 19 Gen 6. She says the extended beavertail gives her "positive purchase" where she wants it and that the Glock's recoil impulse feels softer to her, while the M&P felt "a little bit clunkier." She is explicit about her own starting point: she has the most time on Glocks and less on the M&P, says more experience with the Smith & Wesson might change her answer, and adds that the two grips are hard to switch between.
Glock 17 Gen 6 recoil system and the trigger complaint
In the full-size class, Eliza picks the Glock 17 and says the gap was wider than with the compacts: the 17's recoil impulse felt "so much smoother" to her than the full-size M&P's, which she says she had a harder time controlling. She also says the Gen 6 17's grip feels thicker than the Gen 5 version she is used to, and that she preferred the older one on that point.
During the full-size M&P string, the shooter reports one stoppage the hosts call the strangest they have seen: the slide locked back with no visible obstruction and the round not fed forward. One host wonders on camera whether grip pressure on one side caused it; the video does not settle the question.
“Both hosts liked the Gen 6 frame and both noticed the Gen 6 trigger; they weighed those two things differently.”
J.D. Whitfield, The ReticleJason, who says he has carried a Glock 17 professionally and as his everyday pistol, praises the Gen 6 frame. He says the thumb rest gives his support hand an anchor point, and that the Gen 6 now does most of what he had done to his own 17 by hand, including the extended beavertail, stippling and serrations. He also argues the Gen 6 G17 is "not a true 17": in his account it uses the G19's recoil system, and he says the single guide rod, which he likens to the Gen 3 era, makes the recoil impulse feel different. Published reviews confirm that both the G17 and G19 Gen 6 use a single recoil spring on a one-piece guide rod; the claim that the G17 shares the G19's assembly outright is Jason's.
The trigger decides it for him. "This is the worst generation Glock trigger I think they've ever made," he says, calling it spongy, with enough pre-travel that he found himself slowing at the last moment to take a precise shot. He qualifies the point — "I'm just a sample size of one" — and allows that in a defensive setting "a trigger is a trigger." Eliza, whose own Glocks are Gen 5, says the Gen 6 trigger felt noticeably different to her as well. Jason gives the full-size edge to the M&P, and when Eliza asks whether any Glock would beat it for him, he answers: "Anything but a Gen 6."
Published measurements put numbers to the complaint without settling it. The outlet all4shooters, testing a G17 and G19 Gen 6 in April, recorded about 5 millimeters of pre-travel and a pull weight of 1,969 grams, roughly 4.3 pounds, before a further 2 millimeters to the break, and noted that the polymer blade's flex can read as a less rigid feel.
Glock Gen 6 and M&P 2.0 prices
The hosts place the two families in similar price territory. Jason gives the Glock's MSRP as about $725 with street prices around $600, and the M&P's MSRP as about $699 with street prices a little over $500. Glock's published MSRP for the Gen 6 is $745.
For buyers who cannot decide, Eliza's advice is to find a range with a rental counter and shoot both: "you kind of have to feel for yourself." The video closes by asking viewers for their pick and floats a CZ-versus-Walther comparison as a possible next episode.
For context
- Glock's Gen 6 G17, G19 and G45 reached stores around January 20, 2026, at a $745 MSRP.
- The Gen 6 returns to a single recoil spring on a one-piece guide rod, the arrangement Glock used in Gen 3, after the dual-spring assemblies of Gen 4 and Gen 5.
- Smith & Wesson's M&P M2.0 pistols use a hinged trigger and ship with four interchangeable palm swell inserts.
- Classic Firearms is a firearms retailer that also runs the YouTube channel.
