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Whatever else you can say about Glocks, and the gentlemen above is hardly at a loss for words on the subject, Gaston’s gun has “quintessence.” No, I’m not talking about a hypothetical form of dark energy physicists use to account for our accelerating universe. I mean the most perfect embodiment of something. Obviously, Glocks aren’t the perfect gun for everyone. Hand sizes and trigger preferences vary and Glocks don’t, much, even with the new interchangeable backstraps. But a Glock is a minimalistic meisterwerk. Like an Oreo cookie, you couldn’t improve the design by taking anything way or adding anything. Although God knows Glock (and Oreo) have done so, monkeying with their product’s quintessence in search of sales. Still, I understand the gun’s intrinsic appeal. Not to put too fine a point on it, Glock is Glock. Na-na-na-na.

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60 COMMENTS

  2. yes, glocks are quality stuff. they just don’t fit me right. i’ve used the 9,40, and 45 and without fail they’ve every one thrown brass into my face. not every shot, but it happens enough to be off putting. especially with the 45.

  3. Um, considering that Oreo has a billion flavors and the Glock has three additional generations of more perfecter guns, it seems that both Nabisco and Glock disagree with Robert’s assessment that the designs couldn’t be improved with additions or subtractions.

  4. Another Glock post so a another repeat comment. Glocks are like iPhones innovative, quality products. They are what the “cool” people have. The rest us losers will just have to walk in shame.

    • I guess that puts me at zero on the “cool” scale with a 3rd gen S&W compact and a plain old feature (aka dumb) phone.

    • Glocks are like iPhones Motorola DynaTACs innovative, quality products. They are what the “cool” people in the 1980s have.

      Fixed it for you.

  5. My former PD started issuing the Glock 17 9mm in 1980 – in 2000 they switched to the .40 caliber version. Although I don’t personaly care for a striker fired pistol, they seemed to work fine…EXCEPT…Some female officers had a problem with limp wristing which resulted in failures to feed and eject. i know it was a common problem because I was a firearms instructor and was present during all qualification sessions. (165 officers / about 10 females) The department now attempts to train this problem away, but for those who can’t master it, they still allow officers to carry a personal firearm…like in an-all-steel-not-polymer pistol. Although I had no problem with the Glock, I was thankful for that policy and continued to carry my 1911 before switching to the Sig P220.

    However…the fact of the matter is….polymer guns are more prone to malfunction due to limp wristing than steel guns. Another cruel fact of life. Bottom line, if the Glock works for ya…bang away. But like Clint Eastwood said in The Outlaw Josey Wales…” A man has to know his limitations.” And, those of his firearm.

    • It was Magnum Force. But The Outlaw Josey Wales was a great flick. My fav’rit line:

      Josey : When I get to likin’ someone, they ain’t around long.
      Lone Watie: I notice when you get to DIS-likin’ someone they ain’t around for long neither.

    • wrong. to paraphrase james yeager, glocks are like fat chicks and 1911s like supermodels. the fat chick will be with you in the worst of times, despite not being necessarily beautiful, and be reliable…even if you neglect her. a 1911 is fun to look at, show off to your friends, but if the going gets tough, there’s no guarantee she’ll be there. 😀

      • I always work with the assumption that any firearm used in a DGU will be confiscated and never seen again.

        Revolvers are like pornographic actresses…they bang every time. Err, go “bang” every time. 🙂

  7. Glocks are a funny thing…I said I’d never own one but then I jumped on a deal for a used one. Now I own a Gen 3 model 21, AKA “the pig”. Even with my XL sized hands, the grip feels like you’re grasping a 2×4. The thing is, it reliably and intuitively shoots exactly where I aim it. I’ve never had a FTF/FTE. Equipped with my insight light/laser combo it’s a formidable tool for home defense, that’s for sure. Although I don’t “love” it and it’s not really exciting – it’s like that good ‘ole tool in the garage you know will always work reliably and get the job done. Perhaps with all of the modifications available, I can make it a bit more exciting. 50 cal? 460 rowland? Hmmm. Anyhow, I can’t bring myself to sell it even though I rarely shoot it. Perhaps it’s the fact that it holds a good deal more .45 acp rounds than my favorite – the 1911.

    • I couldn’t agree with you more. The Glock is the Toyota Camry / Honda Accord of guns. Everybody has one, it’s reliable and does exactly what it’s designed to do better than most. They hold their value, and you can find an old one that’s been rode hard a put away wet that still gets the job done at a great price…..and they are just plain boring. Efficient and effective though.

      • Exactly – like my mom’s 18 year old Corolla, it just keeps working despite all the abuse. Down the road I’d like to get into some more interesting handguns, but for now the G26 and G21 have me well covered for carry, home defense and range.

  8. As soon as they build one that actually fits my hand, then I will keep one for more than a year (tried a 21 and a 19).

    The problem are the bumps on the front of the grip. They line up perfectly with my fingers, not between them.

    And, no, I am not going to just “file them off”. To me a gun needs to work for me straight out of the box.

  9. Glock transcends like or dislike. It’s the gun the entire industry is trying to copy – and usually failing badly. It is the standard. It is the question every other gun maker is trying to answer. Any serious shooter should be proficient with Glocks, if only to understand the context of the modern handgun market.

    • Transcends? Tell you what. In 2073 we will celebrate the bicentenial of the Colt Single Action Army. Then in 2111 we will be celebrating the bicentenial of the 1911. Glock will just be an historical footnote.

      • I must disagree….and I’m no Glock fanboy. They are undeniably a big turning-point in firearms development. Or at the very least, the design that wound up in many, many holsters.

        • Glocks are utilitarian. They do their job, wear out and get thrown away. Think of it as a consumable self-defense item. Someday some other design will become the next greatest thing and Glocks will fade from favor. On the other hand I can’t imagine I true gun fan who wouldn’t want a Colt SAA or M1911 in their collection whether they would consider it for personal defense or not.

        • Whether they are utilitarian, or throw-away has nothing to do with whether they are of historical importance. Instead of thinking of them that way, ill instead think of them as what they are. The most prolific example of the modern fighting pistol. Period.

        • throw away? what are you talking about?

          a glock can be refurbished easier than a 1911. as long as there is abundant spare parts, ammunition, and even mediocre shooters, a glock can be maintained near indefinitely.

  10. I have smallish hands for a guy but our old G22 fits fine, and my wife (the pit bull standoff from the other day) has never had an issue firing it. Can’t say the same for all other guns.

  11. I’ve shot a couple Glocks, I’m proficient with them, I can strip and clean them, but I don’t own one (yet), because I simply don’t like them. I don’t know why, I can’t quantify it, it’s just how it is. I’ll probably own one eventually, but not for a while, as there’s currently a line at the window where they distribute my disposable income.

  13. I do hate the fanboyism that permeates everything from computers to guns to cars. The different uses and users for guns (computers, cars, shampoo) defy the reduction potential to make a “best overall” argument.

    Glocks are nice, particularly the G36 for my tastes. Though the other manufacturers have good ideas too. While it likely doesn’t make too much difference, I at least conceptually like that the slide rails on the lower frames are beefier on the Springfield XD and the Smith & Wesson M&P. The Glock trigger pull is a little short for my personal comfort for a gun without some other form of safety and I really do not feel comfortable re-holstering it IWB without taking the holster out, putting the gun in it, and then putting the holstered gun back in. I like the XD grip safety. None of the triggers on the big three popular plastic fantastics (Glock, XD, M&P) compare for bullseye purpose to the single action trigger pull on a S&W or similar quality revolver or even an entry level 1911. It’s ok though, I feel all of these pieces have different optimal purposes. The obvious and most fun solution is to own and practice with all kinds of (quality) handguns.

  14. Glock is what they are mainly due to aggressive marketing led by a certain Karl Walter.

  15. Full disclosure: I’m mostly a revolver guy. I have, though, either owned or shot most brands of semiauto pistols in all calibers.

    For my money, the Glock pistol is the most reliable one I’ve shot. It’s homely, to be sure, but it’s a dead-bang combat pistol. I’m sure I’m well over 10K rounds with only one or two stovepipes, which were probably shooter’s (my) error. I routinely use a Model 17 for action shooting competitions and for a carry semiauto, I favor the Model 26, and I even had a manual safety added to one of them. (The fellow I used was recommended by Mas Ayoob in one of his books and I found him very professional, quick and courteous. Visit http://www.tarnhelm.com/ for a look at the Glock safety and other items.)

    Last, for me the add-on manual safety was a personal choice for me and the way I carry IWB. After several hundred live fire practice draw/shoot drills, I work the safety off as fast as anyone carrying a 1911. Please don’t waste electrons spewing about my ignorance of Glock-Safe features or my wussiness for installing a manual safety. It is about freedom of choice, remember.

  16. Glock is #1

    They do everything well. They can be used in any shooting discipline.

    Where are you guys getting that they are “disposable”? The Glock is probably the toughest handgun on the market. And will outlast any 1911 or Sig.

    All the haters simply have too much emotion or nostalgia wrapped up in their choices. Move onward I say! Get a Glock and stop trying to make a silk purse from a cow’s lips.

    • I think when people use disposable they’re not using it disparagingly. They mean that Glocks are relatively inexpensive and reasonably replaceable. That is, they’re not a thousand dollar Sig or an Ed Brown race gun. I carry an XD(M), and someone once described theirs as disposable, simply because if they were ever involved in a DGU and the XD(M) was seized as evidence, they could afford to do without it for a while, and if it somehow was never returned, well, no harm, they could just go to the nearest gun shop and pick up another just like it.

    • Agreed. Disposable? I don’t get that either…

      BTW, what can you make from cow’s lips?

    • None of this means that glocks aren’t great guns, but to disprove an absolutist statement of the form “a thing does everything well” one only needs to find one example of something the thing doesn’t do well. Bullseye shooting is one of these things for Glocks. It’s got nothing to do with nostalgia, it is purely technical. People have been trying to figure out ways to accurize glocks for bullseye but there are a few problems which present themselves. First being that there isn’t really a non-rebuild-the-slide way to achieve the barrel to slide fitment you need for a standard “bullseye adequate” 1.5″ inch group from a ransom rest at 50 yards. Frame to slide fitment is also hard to change. To the credit to those trying to make glocks bullseye guns, they have found ways to refine the trigger pull to make it good enough. You can also get barrels with closer chamber tolerances which of course helps. I suppose you could build a new lower frame for the glock with beefier rails which could be spread and lapped, and modify the slide to accept a barrel bushing which could be matched to the barrel and replaced as needed, but at that point you’ve really got a different gun in your hands and it wouldn’t do everything else you could ever want to do with a handgun well. It would be as ammo, lube, and cleanliness sensitive as any other bullseye gun. It would be pretty cool though.

    • Then in Gen 2 they got more perfecter. Gen 3 made them super duper more perfecter. And now with Gen 4 they’re double dog super duper more perfecter.

  18. Actually, Trader Joe’s stores have been selling a superior Oreo for years. Instead of sugared lard as filling, they use a smooth chocolate mousse. The quality of the cookie cracker is better too. Once you taste one, Oreos are definitively second rate. TJs calls them “Joe-Joes” cookies.

    Wait, what were we talking about…?

    • Oreo improved the Oreo when the doubled the filling with Double Stuff. Glock improved the 17 when they doubled the filling and made it full auto with the 33 round Glock 18. Then they improved the 1911 with the…Glock 21!

      For the record, I’ve been hit in the head with a few spent cases from my Glock 21, but it is the only semi I’ve had that has never ever failed to feed, eject, or fire.

      • Riiiiight. The only way to improve the 1911 is to somehow add more mag capacity (without increasing the frame/grip size). I can shoot my 1911 way better than my glock 21. For a full sized pistol, you can’t beat the ergos of a 1911 IMO. (flame on!) 😉

  19. I started with Glocks. My first pistol was a Gen 2 G19. Still have it. Got three of them now (added Gen 3 G23 and G27). I carry a G27. They just do the job. And, they do it well. Priced right and hold their value.

    But, I’ve expanded my shooting horizons a little. I’m now feeding an FNH fetish. I also got a couple of revolvers (S&W 642 and Chiappa Rhino). Long guns, too.

    Variety is the spice!

    • Yeah, I had a few also, tilli lost them in that tragic deep sea boating accident. Fortunately, I came out of it unscathed.

  21. I’m definitely not a Glock fan, but it’s hard to take advice from someone who thinks it’s cool to wear a GI Bulldog shirt while creating a video. That is the UGLY-est shirt ever!

  22. I like Glocks, despite the fact that the stock is about as big around as an imported mortadella. The plastic gun was an important advance in pistol tech.

    Glock fanboys seem to believe that Gaston Glock invented the handgun. He didn’t. But I give him huge props for out-uglying the Nambu Model 14. I didn’t think it would be possible, but good old GG did it.

    • he didn’t invent the handgun, but he invented a polymer, self-loading, simple, inexpensive, and utterly reliable handgun with a consistent trigger pull. It was far ahead of competition in the 80s-90s.

      Even after S&W copied it, I still dont like their M&P.

      • The first polymer, self loading, simple, inexpensive, and reliable pistol would be the HK VP70 made a decade or so before Glock was around.

        Glock simply made it popular.

        • It definitely was far ahead of its time, it was definitely the first, though it was quite large. I never understood why the VP70 never obtained popularity…

  23. The thing I hate about the Glock is the people that cannot just accept that other people don’t like it.

    I don’t go around lying about the Glock.

    So stop lying about the XD and XDm, get over it, some people don’t like the Glock.

    • Me too…what about weirdo’s like me who has and likes both Glock’s AND an XD’s! Oh the sacrilege! 😉

  24. WOW- all the to and fro back and forth over the reliability or lack thereof of the Glocks. At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference. Some people like imports, some don’t. Some like polymer pistols, others don’t. Some like striker fired pistols, others would not be caught dead (sic) with them. the fact remains that the Glock brought us a new form of pistol. I recall when Glocks first came onto my scene-I was a 22 year old security officer working in New York City. EVERYONE-myself included, had something disparaging to say, yet not a single person who was yelping then had actually held or fired one. They all based their ideas on”guns are not meant to be plastic”. Many years later I actually trained In my current state of Florida with a Glock 17. I will admit it did not fit my hand well, It was and remains in my opinion ugly as hell, yet I was able to appreciate the difference in weight,found it to be amazingly reliable, and decided that I should attempt to overcome my aversion to polymer and strikers. I would rent 2 pistols as opposed to just one each time I went to the range, and one day to my absolute amazement, I was intrigued by a polymer pistol I was putting up against my buddy’s Beretta. That gun in MY case was the fullsize RUGER SR-9. Today that pistol is the one I use for work. It is a service size pistol that just impressed me in a way that no other had before then. Full 17+1 capacity, an empty weight comparable to the glock, a Glocklike safe trigger, and a much narrower adjustable grip that worked for me. So you see even a guy who lambasted plastic BEFORE he knew, was able to find an American built polymer that worked for him. That being said for my work pistol, my personal offduty carry is a metal hammer gun. I have been able to have the best of both worlds.

    • I like aluminum alloy frames. Almost as strong as steel, almost as light as polymer. The best of both worlds. Which is the main reason I’m currently a SIG fanboy.

    • I used to be a hardcore 1911 lover back in the late 80s, early 90s. nothing could be better in my opinion. I had a seething hatred for polymer handguns because I also believed that plastic hand no place on a firearm. Then a friend, who had a Gen I Glock 17, let me shoot his. Going against my opinion that the 9mm was junk and plasticy guns even more so, I was immediately impressed with it. Then I bought a HK USP and was sold on polymer frames.

      Im with Pantera. I like Ruger’s polymer frame pistols and believe they are vastly underrated. For a first time 9mm buy, i would recommend a Ruger because they are reliable, inexpensive (even compared to Glock), and accurate.

  25. After reading everything here, I will leave you all with this. Glock pistols are like the AK of the handgun world. They are loose fitting and relatively cheap, but I can’t seem to make mine not work. I have never abused another self loading firearm like I do my G17. Steel case ammo, don’t clean it like I should, hardly ever lube it, still works EVERY SINGLE TIME. I bought it off a range during the post Obama election rush (crappy time to turn 21). The firing pin spring was broken, about 10% shorter than stock, and it had been fired 30k+ plus times with reloaded rounds, and it still fired fine that day (I promptly replaced the spring, though). Moral of the story, I’m sold. I don’t care how ugly it is, it is for saving my life #1, and I don’t need some finicky gun that has to be perfectly lubed or cleaned at all times.

  26. I’ve carried a Glock 21 until I retired from my rural copper mining town’s PD even after the last chief started issuing .40 caliber Glocks to the officers. I was the firearms instructor for my last ten or so years and afte reading the previous comments was reminded of something I’d noticed on the range with some of our female officers and even some dispatchers who wanted to shoot, too. Even though the 21 does have a chunky grip even for me, I found that it, unlike the experience of some others, was an extremely difficult gun to make malfunction by limp wristing. I know my data base was very small but we could demonstrate that the gun could be fired upside down using the little finger to pull the trigger or just resting on the thumb and index finger while loosely setting in the hand and would still fire, eject,and feed without a problem. This really surprised the dispatchers who expected the gun to fly out of the shooter’s hand. Now, to be honest, all of this was with the .45 caliber 21; I have seen a very few officers using the .40 caliber Model 22 get a malfunction due to limpwristing. I have to agree with “Napoleon”, while I’ve had a case or two bounce off my cap, I’ve never had a failure to feed, eject or fire with my personal 21. One thing that I’m planning on doing is taking it to Robar and having a grip reduction done which, I believe, would solve most peoples’ major complaint against the 21. On the other hand, ugly can’t be changed but it sure can grow on you.

  27. Sooo, Glock took something that wasn’t broken…broke it, then they put it back together(sort of), only using plastic where prohibitively expensive metal once was, thereby creating a HANDgun that is extremely limited in the ways one can adjust the gun to HAND! Is that about it?

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