I have a nice G26 Gen5 I bought but my Glock 19 is a gen4 and I just like the finger grooves. They hit me just perfect. Been pondering trading my gen5 in on a gen4 but I have heard good things about gen3. Is there anything that makes one better than the other?
I love my Gen 3. The finger grooves are not a big issue for me, but I am a fan of the older mag release. You can swap them out for different lengths, from different models of gun, to have the correct amount of extension. The parts are only a couple bucks and I have found if you put the .45 cal one in a 9mm Glock, it makes a wonderful target-style extended release, without digging into my side. The Gen 4 and 5 releases have proven to be problematic for me. When I am enveloping the gun with my hands, my gun hand middle finger can wrap around far enough to lay on top of those pivoting releases, and pressure from my left hand on top of that finger can actually drop a mag loose of the gun. (It is rare to fall completely out, since the G26 grip is small enough that my bottom fingers are still holding the mag in to some degree, but it is still concerning. On a Gen 4 G17, I've had it fall completely out). The sliding release of the Gen 3 corrects this, and I find that the .45 cal part ironically causes the release to stick out far enough that I can train my finger "around" it when gripping the gun.