You pull the trigger, it goes bang. Got it. But the days when Gaston’s mob produced the only mega-reliable polymer pistol are long gone. Guns like the Springfield XD, Smith & Wesson M&P (now M2.0) and Walther PPQ have matched GLOCK reliability and upped the ergonomic anti. They point more naturally. They’re contoured to provide a more comfortable, controllable grip. They’re snazzier! So . . .

Have GLOCK’s competitors improved on “perfection”? Are not-GLOCK GLOCKs turning blocky GLOCKs into a ballistic bauble from a bygone era? Or are GLOCKs the pistol equivalent of Michelangelo’s David: a perfectly wrought achievement that needs no additional alteration or embellishment, a design that will outlive us all?

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138 COMMENTS

  1. They won’t be part of a bygone era until they don’t work anymore. Their cost effective, reliable and something many of us have gotten used to and used for a long time now. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Preference is preference. Now there are more options for people who don’t prefer a glock. That’s good for everyone. For now I’ll keep my glock.

    • This right here!

      I need something that just-simply-works and works with a middle class budget. If I had money pissing out of my ears, I may get something ‘fancy’. Until then, I need a an “ugly tool” that goes bang. The grip is solid and comfortable, 9MM, pistol is low on the snap and kick, I don’t have to screw around getting it to feed properly when I need it NOW, like a B-rr-ta. Also combat accurate and new user friendly due to a lack of safety, If I get shot, some clueless person can pick up my pistol and have it work with a trigger squeeze, even if its the only thing they know how to do.

      They just work and on a budget, they aren’t going anywhere.

    • They’re about as obsolete as an AK-47/74.

      Which is not very.

      (Please note the proper use of they’re.)

    • They are the modern version of the saturday night special, except reliable. They aint going anywhere.

  2. I don’t think they are out dated. Just not the most advanced.
    They are not my cup of tea… just not comfortable for my hands. They work. They are reliable. Not pretty but they always work.

    • Agree. Glocks are accurate, reliable and feel like a greasy 2×4 in my hand…and they point waaay too high in my natural grip.

      With the myriad of handgun choices out there, find one that comfortably fits you, dedicate the time and ammo to becoming proficient with it and enjoy the camaraderie out on the Range.

    • “Not the most advanced” is a selling point in my book. Glocks are easy to trouble shoot and fix. Heck, any idiot can do a trigger swap or replace a firing pin, etc on a glock. Most “advanced” pistolas are a pain to do anything with. Working on my glock reminds me of working on a 1911; it’s working man simple and just works….. that being said, i hate glocks but still replaced my 1911 with a g35, because dependability, cost, capacity, and accuracy were undeniably improved with the swap.

  3. Are Glocks perfect? No, but there is an elegance and attractiveness to their simplicity of design and operation. I can pick up seemingly any Glock and look like a range pro. For me they point as natural as can be. They aren’t my favorite platform, but they are the platform I carry daily and place on my nightstand.

    • I like me my Glocks, but the “natural” pointing thing is a myth whether used for or against… what people call “natural” pointing is muscle memory from practice.

      People who don’t practice with Glocks always say they “point high” – if it were natural there’d be people that say they point low, left, right, etc.

      Sorry, pet peeve 🙂

      • Eric in Oregon,

        I watched a young woman (with almost no shooting experience but very good instinctive skill) compare a Glock 17 and a Ruger SR9. She would stand square, make a mental note of where a light switch was, close her eyes, and then quickly raise her hands and point each pistol at the light switch (as best she could with her eyes closed). She consistently aimed the Glock at the correct height of the light switch. And she consistently aimed the Ruger SR9 below the light switch.

        This exercise told me that the grip angle of the Glock corresponded to her “natural point of aim” and the grip angle of the Ruger SR9 did not correspond to her “natural point of aim”. If both handguns were more-or-less equally comfortable in her hand, why not go with the handgun that points “naturally” for her — and avoid having to train/learn muscle memory for a handgun that does not point “naturally”?

        • I’ll never dog a new shooter for picking a gun for the “wrong reason” – I know I’m being pedantic here. Anyway there’s plenty of time for training once they get the bug – good for her! 🙂

        • I’m not saying Glocks are “correct” or not but you don’t buy a golf club based on how you swing it with no training.

          I believe good form for shooting a pistol is leaning forward into the recoil, not standing bold upright. A gun that points when you stand bolt upright is going to point differently than when you lean forward. The Glock grip angle is better suited for leaning forward.

          Some beginners actually lean backwards, trying to get away from the gun. Should guns be made to point naturally for them or should they get schooled in form first?

        • jason. Quite the contray, golf clubs should absolutely be fitted for a new player before they start. Length, lie,, stiffness, grip size, swing weight all weigh in to match a players, physical make up, strength and flexability. Perhaps it’s not a good comparison to fitting a pistol, but I agree that any gun that naturally points better for the individual increases his/her ability to improve, same as fitted clubs.

      • If you had a gun where the barrel pointed up at a 45 degree angle, would most people say it pointed high? If so would you use the same argument to say that they were wrong, and it would only have a demonstrated goofy grip to barrel angle if people reported it pointed low, high, and everywhere? I am not sure I understand your argument here

    • Ladies and gentleman, I present to you the first person to ever say that GLOCKs possess elegance and attractiveness.

      • Ditto. And David is a sublime work of art, the Glock not so much. In fact, not so much at all.

      • So what makes them unattractive? I found the design to be functional… its also black and non-glinty which is nice.

      • as an engineer, I would describe it as elegant from a design perspective. But not attractive.

      • At least grab the entire statement to keep your quote in context. I didn’t call the gun it self elegant or attractive (though beauty is in the eye of the beholder), I said there is an elegance and attractiveness to its simplicity of design and operation. In the same way a 1911 is attractive for how all of its mechanicals work to make the gun go bang, a Glock is the opposite, so few parts involved to get the same end action.
        As attractive goes in appearance I present a 92/96/M9 series, or a 1911 or a CZ-75.

  4. Yes, Glocks are outdated. Not obsolete, like so many people claim 1911s and revolvers are. All three are outdated, none of them are obsolete. All three will still get the job done just fine, but there are better alternatives across the board. I’m going to stick with my outdated 1911s and revolvers because I like them and shoot them well, and many people will stick to their Glocks for the same reasons, but we’d all be lying to ourselves if we claim any of these platforms are the ne plus ultra of handguns.

    • ‘…but there are better alternatives across the board.’ – Define ‘better’. Seems pretty subjective to me. I could list a dozen or so reasons why revolvers are ‘better’ than semi-autos, but if firing off 18 rounds of a weaker cartridge as fast as possible is your primary goal you’ll never accept my reasons.

      • That, actually, is exactly my point. It is subjective. To the soldier or cop who’s liable to face multiple opponents in a single encounter the capacity and ease of reloading certainly makes the autoloader a better choice. To those with weak hands or poor recoil response, a 9mm is often a better choice than a .357. If the goal is ultimate deep concealment, an lcp hides better than any wheelgun. I could easily make the argument that my Coonan is better than your (or my) GP100 because it holds 7+1 rounds of .357 magnum, reloads faster, has a better trigger, and fires the same round with more force from a shorter barrel due to lack of cylinder gap. You could easily make the argument that your (or my) GP100 is better because it is more reliable than my Coonan, and you would be right. That’s why I said I will continue to carry my outdated guns, they are better choices for me.

        However, it is undeniable that there are completely reliable lighter weight guns that are easier to carry, easier to conceal, easier to shoot that carry more rounds in a proven self defense caliber. This is simply a fact, and, I feel, the overwhelming majority of gun owners would agree that that makes them “better” than our choices.

        It’s no different than the M1 Garand versus the M16/M4/AR15. The 10 pound, 8 round 30-06 is my preference, and I shoot it better, but the lightweight, high capacity, quick reloads and light recoil of the 5.56 is greatly preferred by most professional and private shooters.

        I don’t think anything can be proven to be objectively better across the board, except that function trumps malfunction, but it is hard to argue with the logic. I am happy to admit that I shoot what I shoot based entirely on personal preference, you should be, too.

        Here I thought I’d be arguing with Glock fanboys, not a fellow revolver enthusiast.

        • Haha! No argument, we’re in agreement. But there are significant advantages to a revolver that can be objectively measured (as well as disadvantages). One gripp of your Coonan should make one advantage glaringly obvious – the shape of a revolver’s gripp is not compromised by the need to feed a magazine of ammu nition through it (and inversely it’s not necessary to compromise the cartridge you feed a revolver due to the necessity of feeding it through the gripp). That’s one of the biggest reasons I like the GP 100s – their rubber grips with the wood side panels are the most comfortable grips I’ve ever used, and everyone I let hold or shoot one seems to agree, regardless of hand size. (The Hogues on the other hand are garbage.) A good comfortable gripp does wonders for both accuracy and recoil toleration.

          From what I’ve seen in various reviews your Coonan should produce very similar velocities as a 5″ revolver. The cylinder gap loss is made up by the fact that the bullet travels an extra 1.6″ or so before exiting the barrel. The longer the barrel the more loss in a vented barrel.

    • The only things that are truly obsolete are gimmicky muzzleloaders and ancient things like Reichsrevolvers and C93s that don’t have factory ammo produced anymore.

      • I mostly agree, though one could make the argument that muzzle loaders aren’t completely obsolete simply because there are specific hunting seasons and areas where they are all you can use.

        • Yeah, but I’m talking about weird things like Springfields with the Maynard tape-priming system, turret guns, and revolving flintlocks.

    • My 1911 will shoot a laser. So will my SIG. Just set a laser out and I’ll shoot it for you. Heck, I have a Remington 870 that’ll blow the hell out of any laser you point it at…

  8. Guns are like cars. 99% personal preference. Carry what you like. The resulting confidence in your chosen weapon is a significant factor in your ability to defend yourself.

    • Wrong. Cars are not a preference or opinion. Performance, reliability, cost, and maintenance are MEASURABLE and not PREFERENCES, and how they should be analyzed. As a new gun owner, I deferred to the experts and popularity and bought a Glock 19.
      But, don’t tell me cars are a”preference”. Preferences are for poseurs.

  10. Glocks were never “it” for me as they don’t fit my hand. Lots of choices now as the other tactical tupperwares are just as reliable.

    I carried XDs for years and the Sig P320 now. Both fit my hand well

  11. David could have seriously used a loincloth.

    Nobody wants to see that, dude.

  12. I like my compact Ruger-brand Glock. Points naturally, comfortable and sticky grip, good legitimate Novak sights, nicely breaking trigger, and nominally ambidextrous (Slide release won’t close the slide on an empty mag from the release on the right hand of the gun, but it’ll load a round and close on an empty gun).

    Now, in the service pistol sizes, I don’t see why anyone would choose Glock over, for example, Walther PPQ, but that’s an entirely different subject.

    • Ruger American series has Glock beat hands down. I think people were brainwashed to buying a Glock. Times change, Glock hasn’t.

      • I don’t know about that. The Ruger is a boat anchor at over 30 oz.. Handled one at my local FFL and it felt like a heavy Walther PPQ. To each his own but I think your statement is a bit over the top.

        • What can I say- I shoot the heavier gun better.

          A better comparison is the width when compared to the Glock 26- the Ruger is a good 15% wider, which may make a difference in some circumstances.

          But what can I say, I like it better than the 2 and between the weight of gun, ammo, and holster, I can’t really tell the difference in weight during the day.

      • Please ellaborate how the Ruger American beats the Glock?

        Are there a lot of after market parts?
        Can I easily switch calibers?
        Are there multiple calibers to pick from? I carry 10mm.
        Are there any agencies rushing to switch to the Ruger American?

      • I think you might be a little off, I to have the American Ruger Pro 9mm, Its a bit heavy. I recently purchased a baby Glock for one of my BUG’s. I also use and my 19 as my EDC . When I am not carrying the 19 then I carry my XDM. Be safe out there, oh and they are all good guns and they are gorges too.

  13. Glocks are not outdated. They set the standard that many of the other polymer guns try to emulate. The advantages of the Glock are it’s ease of operation, reliable performance, natural pointing ability, and ease of maintenance. Some of the other polymer guns have developed some nice attributes (interchangeable grips for the front and side), but none come close to Glocks reliability. I still find the trigger on a S&W M&P to be “creepy” One negative to Glocks are not the guns themselves, but the company. They insist on putting on those funky plastic sights, and they are very slow to respond to the customers desires (interchangeable grips) unless it is a major military or federal law enforcement agency (G17M & G19M for example).

    • I can field strip all my Glocks in the dark and put it together in the dark. no levers and loose parts to finish the assembly. I still love Ruger and S&W. It doesn’t make any sense to bullshit anybody about their guns. Oh and they smell so good, hell yeah.

  14. Has the 1911 become outdated due to when it first came out? Nope. Glock’s will always be in style.

    • The 1911 has absolutely become outdated. As the full-size combat pistol it was designed to be, the 1911 is woefully outdated. It’s obviously still relevant, but at the same time woefully outdated. Sort of like how we use extremely secure 70s/80s computer tech to secure our land based nuclear arsenal.

      • Sort of like how we use extremely secure 70s/80s computer tech to secure our land based nuclear arsenal.

        At this point 70s/80s computer tech is probably the most secure platform in existence. For one thing, it is infinitely more simple than today’s computers. Simpler is more reliable. Much more importantly, it is going to be extremely difficult for hackers to find functional 40 year old computers to hack that system. (And even harder to find someone who is versed in the operating systems and computer programming languages of that day!)

  15. Plenty of much better guns than glock. The term ‘glock perfection’ surely had to made up as joke; I view them as one of the least perfect hand guns to own, IMO. Was pleased that they not chosen as our new military sidearm, what a mistake that would have been.

  16. Buying a pistol is such a personal choice. Reliability, ergonomics, cost, caliber, and looks are all considerations. I shot Glock, XD, S&W, Sig before I chose a Walter PPQ. Nothing wrong with any of them just really liked everything about the PPQ. Started with the 9mm, then bought the 45. If they make one in 357 Sig with a red dot sight I’ll HAVE to buy that too….hint, hint.

  17. It would be hard to think of a Glock as being outdated insofar as the civilian market is concerned. I own and carry a 19 everyday and I get that Glocks aren’t for everyone. Some of the reasons are superficial (looks ugly) and some are more practical (grip angle) but I’ve never heard anyone complain about Glocks being too outdated. If we’re considering Glocks as being possibly outdated, well wouldn’t that mean Shield, XD, PPS etc are all outdated?

  18. Reliability and durability. What more do you want. I’m sure there are better but I noticed how clearly GLOCKlike my lowly Taurus 111G2 is… externally and internally (except for the thumb safety). Could GLOCK file patent infringement? Taurus is far from the only one…

    • Patents expire after 20 years in the U.S. (probably the only market where it would be worth pursuing such a suit). Glock hasn’t really innovated much since the original Glock 17 in 1982. Everything they’ve made since then has more or less been a variation on the same concepts and mechanisms, so I doubt they have a whole lot of patents remaining (if any at all).

    • You can buy parts to make a complete non-Glock Glock from Lone Wolf Distributors, including an 80% lower with no 4473 or FFL required.

  19. They are gonna be around for a long, long time, at least until Progressives like Dianne Feinstein outlaw ’em.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzDO86iSKWU

    They are hands-down one of the most corrosion resistant semi-autos available, and that makes them very popular choices in steam-baths like Florida…

  21. Glocks are designed to be reliable, shootable enough but also cheap to manufacture. I would be that Glocks are among the cheapest semi-auto pistols on the market to produce, yet still fetch a premium when it comes to plastic-framed guns.

    IMO, Glock should drop the price by $50 to $100 and they’ll be the best deal in pistols.

    • Whatever man. Haters are just as irrelevant as fanboys. Either side of that equation is the same – no matter what is said they only have one response. Haters gonna hate, and fanboys are gonna be fanboys. Both are useless in a discussion.

  23. GLOCKs have that 2nd Amendment “but”.

    They’re “perfection” but they point funny, and but, they need a better-feeling trigger, and but, they are ugly, and but. . .

    You coulda bought a Beretta 92 or 96.

  24. No other make compact double stack 10mm (glock 29) right ?
    To bad boberg make no 10mm and double stacks

    • Boberg is gone, company went belly up. I am planning to buy the Bond Arms version if they ever get around to releasing the damn thing.

  25. I don’t think even the Colt SAA is without application. For my purposes a Registered Magnum is just fine. 1911 fine. Glock fine. Etc.

  26. “They point more naturally.”
    For some people.

    “They’re contoured to provide a more comfortable, controllable grip.”
    For some people.

    “They’re snazzier!”
    Which is important, for people buying toys instead of tools.

    It still comes down to personal preference. Competition is a good thing.

  27. Glocks are not so much outdated as dated, the ergonomics triggers sights, grips etc. have all been improved by others they still work but you need to be a fanboy to believe that they are still the best.

  28. I have a G21, 19, 30S, 23, 26 & 27 among my guns. I can’t say enough positive about them. They always work, are easy to maintain and there’s plenty of after-market support. I’m not bad-mouthing any brand but I just can’t think of any other maker whose products are so consistently good.

  29. I don’t think any gun is ever obsolete (except a musket by todays standards) . If it was a quality firearm when it was designed, it is still a quality firearm. Are there better, sure but that doesn’t mean they are outdated. Do I feel glocks are outdated? not really since there are still copies being designed and made every year, much like the 1911 are not outdated for the same reason. Old design, yes / outdated, no. Is the AK outdated? yeah it probably is, but is still used worldwide, and many new firearms are based on its original design. I once owned a 1895 Chilean Mauser, and it was a damn nice bolt action rifle, and other than it was a small ring Mauser, it is just as good as the newer bolt action rifles (many based on the original Mauser design).

  30. They are certainly a serviceable weapon, but I wouldn’t pay a premium price for one based on features save their aftermarket. My XD has a better trigger and grip angle, my SD9 costs a lot less, My S&W 66es certainly trump it in a lot of ways but if you look at what a Glock offers compared to the competition they’re largely a commodity.

    Now then if you want cheap and plentiful big mags and compatibility with a ton of the aftermarket AR-15 lowers it’s certainly a good way to go; You even get a pretty decent gun out of the deal!

  31. I dunno, did the Corolla become obsolete once Honda put out the Accord?

    A few extra bells & whistles isn’t enough to banish competing products to the dust bin of history. Glocks are good at what they do, several other guns on the market can match or slightly surpass it, and we have plenty of choices as to which works best for us.

    Besides, I now have two of them in my collection. I was on the fence between the G43 and a Ruger LC9S Pro, but a friend was selling his 43 with 3 mags for $250; no way in hell I was turning that down.

    • At that price, I’d suspect that my friend was looking to get rid of a murder weapon…

      If there are no suspicious mounds in your friend’s back yard, you got a hell of a deal.

      • Nah, he’s good people. He’s a professional musician, so money gets a little tight sometimes and he needed the dough to put toward an FN. I’m selling him an 870 for the same price later to make it up.

    • Yeah. I’m pretty sure Farago writes the click-bait cutlines for the ads on his site.

      I could be wrong but probably not.

  33. The more pertinent question is “are Glock’s obsolete?”.

    If new technological innovations surpass those of a particular pistol, it becomes obsolete.

    Obsolescence doesn’t mean ineffective. A model 10 Smith is obsolete on many levels but can still effective.

    The Model 10 and other double-action, swing-out cylinder revolvers made the single action Colt obsolete.

    Even so, many have used the Colt Model P and it’s many brevettes to good effect in self-defense and law enforcement.

    It is worth noting that Glock was not the first poly-framed, striker-fired pistol. It was the HK VP70.

    Striker-fired pistols had been around for 7 or 8 decades (Baby Browning, Savage 1907). The VP70 used the trigger to cock and fire the striker. Glocks are pre-cocked by slide movement. The VP-70 was also capable of 3-round burst fire.

    Other pistols like the SW99 and P99 from Walther used both technologies allowing the pistol to be fired from a pre-cocked striker or in double-action mode where pulling the trigger cocked and fired the striker.

    So really – Glock only adapted a portion of the existing technology and built their marketing stategy around it. There were and are, more technologically advanced designs. They just weren’t marketed as well.

    Maybe Glock started out as obsolete. They still work well.

  34. I would ask the millions of owners, and millions of people who will become owners. And ask all of the other counter-terrorism, swat, militaries around the world that question.

    • Good lord, no! The only people who will jump through more hoops than a Glock owner, to justify their carry gun is the best are 1911 guys like myself.

      • I wasn’t claiming superiority over anything, just answering the question. Same can be said for 1911’s, revolvers, lever actions, bolt actions, etc, for old “antiquated” designs.

        • No worries, I was just making a joke. In my initial response I stated that Glocks, 1911s, and revolvers are all outdated, but not in any fashion obsolete. I prefer an outdated platform (1911) because I shoot better with it. Many people feel the same about Glocks, and that is great. It doesn’t change the fact that neither platform is “current or modern,” which is the definition of “outdated.”

  35. The XD and M&P aren’t in the same ballpark as glock when it comes to reliability or in the M&P’s case, trigger quality. After 30 years, no manufacturer has matched Glock or set a new bar for size and weight efficiency in a modern high capacity pistol.

    In any case, Glocks will be relevant for as long as cartridge firing pistols continue to exist….

    • You’re obviously unfamiliar with the Walther PPQ. It’s the best valued polymer auto-loading (full-size)pistol available today. Glock(still stuck in the 80s/90s) is dated technology being re-branded as new. The ergos on Glocks blow. Dollar to dollar, the PPQ is a much better pistol.

      Consider yourself informed now.

  36. As a 1911 fanboy how cam I call a Glock outdated? Are there better alternarives? Yes, but a Glock will kill you just as dead.

  37. Yeah that’s pretty much example my point against Glocks. They are STILL claimed by their fanatics to be ‘perfection’ when it’s just one example of a good and reliable polymer handgun amount many other options.

    Plus let’s also not forget that Glock its on it’s 4th revision. And it’ll probably go into another few before the line eventually does get replaced by something better. So Glock isn’t going away soon, but like any gun it’ll change eventually.

  38. imo not only are they not outdated but only “recently” have other companies risen to their standard (at least in terms of what they offer)

  41. “Well Smitty, you know some things get meaner as they get older. ”
    No. Not obsolete.

  43. I, for one, won’t be buying a double-stack Glock any time soon. I HATE finger grooves, but the ones on Glocks are particularly bad. They don’t line up with my shmedium-sized hands at all, which ruins the shooting experience for me.

    Other companies do the polymer, striker-fired thing just as reliably, without being uncomfortable for those of us who don’t have operator-sized hands.

    • I have the same issue with the finger grooves, the smallest grip size on the gen 4 felt a little better, but old Gaston would be wise to offer a version without, judging by how many amateur and professional grip jobs I’ve seen that cut them off all together.

  44. While there are many striker-fired guns, I’m not aware of any that use an identical fire control system as the glock. The Glock doesn’t have a conventional sear. The connector pushes back on a tab sticking up on the firing pin until it finally slips off the top, releasing the firing pin.

    The thing I like about Glock is that, although pre-loaded, the firing pin spring doesn’t have enough energy to detonate a primer unless pulled back further with the trigger. There is nothing mechanically that could slip. Other striker fired pistols, I believe, have the firing pin in a state where it has ample energy to set off the primer, only held back by a sear. While they may have other systems to prevent firing without pulling the trigger, they are also susceptible to failure. I think it’s better to not have the energy in the firing pin spring to start with.

    • Which is why the Glock has such a crappy trigger. I believe that the XD type are the only striker fired pistols that have a fully cocked striker which is why Springfields have o e of the best triggeers. And I am not aware of any striker fired gun just “going off.”

  46. Obsolete? Absolutely not. Far from the best, farther from the worst. The PPQ is absolutely my favorite striker fired wonder nine, but if the apocalypse were inevitable, I’d want my glock 19.

    • A lot of truth just spoken. When SHTF day happens, there is a awful lot of Glocks out there. Which part you will need, hmmm don’t know. No failures in 25 years.

  47. I would say no, but Glock seems dedicated to make their guns less reliable as time goes on. The 9mm Gen 3s of the early 2000s after 3 pins became standard on all frames and before glock started messing with parts, the LCI on the extractor being the first, were possibly the closest we ever came to true Glock perfection.

    However, it seems the G19 still stands alone as the most compact 15rd 9mm polymer gun out there. The G20/G21 series also still stand above much of the competition in their respective calibers.

  48. Glocks go out the same day the Toyota Corollas and Miller lite do. If it works, and is cost effective people will buy it. Having several military contracts and a good ad campaign help too.

  49. I used to own all kinds of guns. Then I almost got robbed by carloads, literally, of people, one night. First thing I did was sell off everything and now own nothing but Glocks, and NO single stacks for me, you’re kidding yourself. 1/8 of an inch don’t mean a thing when your life is on the line. Glock 19 and 26 carried daily now, thank you. Ugly as hell, boring as hell, but guns are tools, same as a screwdriver or a hammer. I am over looks, function is the ONLY thing that matters. I will never be without a Glock again. I have loved them and hated them over the years, but when you come close to losing your life, you learn to love the boring reliability, interchangeability of mags, etc.

  50. I don’t think they’re “outdated” but I do think their value relative to their price has gone down. With the boom of pistol development I think the quality and features you get on an out-of-the-box Glock are very overpriced. I own a Glock 19 and a P320c–if I were to attempt to make my Glock “feel” as good as my P320c I’d have to pay $200-$300 more on the pistol, and that’s just for an aftermarket trigger, non-illuminated 3-dot sights, and an aftermarket grip mod since I dislike the hump on the grip. If I had to do it over again, I’d only have picked up the Glock if it was nearer to Canik prices.

    Value is subjective, of course, but for me the Glock feels like the Model T car–it started it all and most cars afterwards stand on that giant’s shoulders, but it’s falling behind because the owners refuse to innovate. I don’t think Glocks will be obsolete until the AK is obsolete, but I definitely don’t think it’s the “best” option anymore. It’s a good one, but not the best, imo.

  51. In a bygone era, I once perused this site for 2A related news hard to find elsewhere. Now it’s full of click bait and pointless articles along the lines of caliber wars and which gun is best. There isn’t, there never will be, there is no such thing as perfect, as any reasonably intelligent individual already knows. If I wan’ted to read opinions and flame wars there are plenty of forums to satisfy.

  52. The biggest missed point, here, is how one defines ‘obsolete.’
    A polymer-framed, striker-fired, hesitation-locked-breech/dropping barrel semi-automatic/self-loading pistol using a non-integral, replaceable-box, grip-frame-inserted magazine loaded with fixed metallic ammunition, equipped with a ‘two-trigger-safety/cam-operated-plunger striker safety interlock/connector’ mechanism is ‘state of the art’ in handgun design; There is no operating system or design style to replace or surpass it currently, nor anything on the horizon that is superior to render the system obsolete or even obsolescent.
    Anything in addition, beyond this basic design standard, is ‘extra’ or ‘a matter of taste’ or mere ergonomic ‘fit’ issues that vary from person to person, not signs of an advancement in technology or anything radical enough to render an earlier design obsolescent. ‘More’ is not necessarily ‘better’ or ‘more modern.’
    For example, a grip safety is uncommon in handgun design, and in any case dates at least back to the 1880s with the first S&W ‘New Departure’ enclosed-hammer DA revolvers; It’s certainly not modern, nor have most manufacturers accepted it as standard, which makes it rather a dead end in handgun design evolution.
    External safeties on handguns are likewise not a modern invention, and date to the era of ‘doglock’ pistols (1700ish); Putting one on a semi-auto pistol dates at least to 1893. It could be said that putting one on a handgun with an ultramodern ‘half-cocked’ striker mechanism (dating back to 1907 and the Steyr) and the ‘two-trigger/cam & plunger safety’ of a modern polymer pistol is a retrograde step, sending us back at least to the turn of the 20th Century and not the 21st.
    From a manufacturing and design standpoint, the MOST ‘obsolete’ pistol designs are those made of milled and machined high-grade steel, that require careful fitting on primary assembly using files, abrasives, and stones, have a complicated exposed-hammer multi-component lock design, whether SA only, DA only, or DA/SA, held together with driven pins, and that rely on separate and distinct automatic and non-automatic safety devices mounted both internally and externally to function.
    It all depends on what the meaning of ‘obsolete’ is.

    • The question was “outdated,” not “obsolete.” Though the words can be, and are often used as, synonyms, the article implies that the standard usage of outdated as being “not modern or current” was the one intended. No one would claim that Glocks are “no longer useful or relevant ” (obsolete) just as no one can rightfully claim that 1911s and revolvers are obsolete. That is how I read it, anyway. By that definition, Glocks are absolutely not current or modern, having changed only very slightly since their debut. So, too my preferred platforms of the 1911 and the revolver. Outdated, absolutely, obsolete, absolutely not.

  53. Lhstr, Love the Glocks, no ugly safetys in my way, I just pull it, aim and squeeze, bang. My Ruger American does the same thing. The Ruger is heavier than my Glock, but the Ruger points much better with a good trigger. My Glock Is lighter so I carry it more than the Ruger. They are both true killers. Hmmmm, maybe I should get a couple more for backups?

  55. GLOCK is a good basic gun.
    The Honda Civic of firearms.

    Biut you are right, other brands have surpassed them in performance.
    I don’t know many people outside the military that have fired a pistol to destruction.
    So let’s talk about reliability and ergonomics.

    Honor Defense, S&W2.0, Ruger, Coonan and others are all American firearms that are better ergonomically and just as reliable. All of them are also more advanced in design.

    Keep your GLOCK, listen to your 8-track and talk on your Blackberry flip phone.

  56. Have several but I used to have more. Really digging my Sig P250 (true DAO with restrike capability). Hear great things about the Sig P320 and the new Smith 2.0 pistols. I still don’t have a Glcok Gen 4 with the high extended beaver tail back strap and I’m pretty sure I want one. Glock needs to come out with a DAO/restrike mechanism and or other different feature set guns or they will continue to lose market share.

  57. I drank of the fountain of glock for the same reason I am so interested in ars. They are the most well supported guns you can buy. And no I don’t mean customer service. I mean there are many companies providing literally every part on either gun. I could swap out anything for aftermarket. I could buy several 80% lower options for my glock now, even.

    The other thing I like in guns is simplicity. I used to love my mosin just because if anything went wrong I knew exactly where to look for the problem There just wasn’t much in there. Same with my glock. The only simpler handgun I know of is the makarov.

  58. The Glock 19 is the only gun I have trained with. It’s my EDC.
    I have no issue with the grip size or angle, the two most mentioned complaints.
    The grip size is not much thicker than a double stack 9mm magazine with the extra room placed in a flared backstrap. Fits nicely in the palm so I don’t understand the complaint about bad ergonomics.
    “Glocks don’t point naturally” is only a result of having not trained with a Glock. I’ve never seen anyone give the actual measurement of the grip angle compared to other guns. Do all guns but Glocks have the same grip angle?

    • Most modern guns have a 1911 esque grip angle, about 18 degrees, Glocks and Ruger “Mark” pistols except the 22/45 variants have a Luger esque grip angle, about 22 degrees. This causes people who have only trained with the former to naturally point high with the latter. This was never my issue with Glocks. You say it fits your hand well, and that is great, I have large palms with comparatively short fingers, and have never found a gun that was less comfortable and less controllable for my hand type. It is all pretty subjective.

  59. No more than Budwieser Beer or Honda Accords. People buy all 3, but most would say they are boring, ugly or whine about quality.

  60. Lhstr, I just really don’t get it. I love my Glocks 19 26 22 & 17. They all shoot great, my Ruger’s do to. Now I using my FN 5.7 which is really light with on hell of a great trigger pull. I guess I like great guns and not Saturday specials. Oh well everyone gotta get over themselfs, I love and hate at the sametime!!!
    p.s. Oh and I like the ugly safety on my FN, Oh well, the placement is really good!

  61. Oh, he brave man to blaspheme the village gods.

    I have two Glocks. Had three, and will soon only have one. Can’t bring myself to part with that 10 mm beast no matter how bad the trigger. If I had to blast my way out of a biker bar, those 15 rounds of serious, full power hurt could give me a fighting chance.

    Glocks do go bang almost every time, they’re simple, light, and easy to care for. But, that trigger. That’s the deal breaker for me. If you suck at pistol shooting like I do, and really like (need?) light, crisp, high-end triggers, and all they entail, Glocks just won’t do. Yeah, I got the enhanced triggers but they still suck. Long, spongy, terrible reset. Some people can shoot lights out with them at full speed, but I can’t hit squat. It’s probably just me, but, hey, you get what works for you,

    And, the pistols themselves are blocky. Got a Sig P938 for concealed carry and couldn’t be happier. So my fat little little baby Glock is going bye-bye ASAP. Looking at the excellent Walther PPQ in leu of my already gone Glock 19. Now that PPQ, THATS the plastic, high-cap, striker fired gun for me. 4 pound, crisp trigger, super short, precise reset, and svelte design throughout. Yeah, baby.

    Glocks are still good guns. But as the OP suggested, there are now just so many other good choices that suit many of us much better.

  62. they aren’t obsolete
    They have the largest aftermarket support
    They have minimal amount of parts and can be broken down with just a punch
    They have the best magazines in my opinion
    They have a very low bore axis
    And they are super reliable

    • Also Glocks will interchange with there magazines. Buy like a Ruger SR it has a different magazine than the American.

  63. How can a Glock be outdated when all current modern pistols basically have the same internals and work exactly the same? There is still no evolutionary pistol design that outdates the Glock design. Having a different grip angle and outer design does not make a pistol modern. Its like saying a 1980 Mustang engine with a 2017 body is a modern car.

  64. All I can say is guns are beautiful and they smell really great when there dirty, just can’t help myself.

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