The FBI for more than a decade has issued choice of Glock 22 (shown) or Glock 23 to new agents.

By Massad Ayoob

The Glock pistol has profoundly changed the handgun industry, creating a new generation of polymer-frame pistols, not to mention semiautomatics with uniform trigger pulls from the first shot, but usually without manual safety devices. Exquisitely light and ergonomic, easy to handle and easy to shoot well, the Glock pistols have boldly carved their own very large niche in the history of handgunning.

Pedigree

The Glock has been well received by the experts. “All in all, this Glock 17 has to be rated the number-one military handgun today,” says Timothy Mullin. “It is rapidly stripped, efficient to manufacture, low in cost, holds 17 rounds, has light recoil, and has an ideal safety system. The more you shoot it, the more you like it.”

Author’s factory cutaway G17 shows signature Glock trigger safety and standard firing pin spring… intentional pull of the trigger will depress trigger safety, and pull will move trigger bar ... ...simultaneously pushing firing pin safety out of the way of the partially pre-cocked striker.

In the second edition of the Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery, Chuck Karwan wrote, “Though the Glock is technically a double-action-only pistol…the trigger pull does not feel like that of a double-action. For some agencies and people – including yours truly – that is the charm of the Glock. It offers the simplicity advantage of a DAO system with a crisp, easy-to-control sear release that feels like a good single-action trigger pull."

When Chuck Taylor wrote the fourth edition of that title, he commented, “The Glock is perhaps the only truly revolutionary pistol design to surface since the first two decades of this century and reflects great engineering skill. It’s simple, easy to disassemble and maintain, accurate and rugged almost beyond belief. In fact, I’ve been trying to wear one out for over five years without success. So far, my Model 17 9mm has ingested more than 125,000 rounds of full-power ammunition and is still going strong. During the course of the test, the gun has been presented from a holster over 500,000 times, speed and tactical reloaded in excess of 100,000 times, and carried all over the world in virtually every natural environment possible. Yet it has continued to function without so much as a hiccup. In my experience, no other handgun – even the legendary Colt M1911 .45 ACP – can approach, much less duplicate or exceed, this performance.”

Taylor concludes, “The plain facts indicate the Glock is quite safe and easy to shoot, and needs little to achieve its maximum potential. It’s also tough, accurate, and utterly dependable. In my opinion, this is the best combat pistol in the world today and well worth your consideration.”

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THIS SOCIAL NETWORK AND GET FREE ACCESS TO DIGITAL ISSUES OF TACTICAL GEAR MAGAZINE »

More than the experts, however, threw in their lot with the Pre-eminent Polymer Pistol.

The rank and file went to the gun in a big way. It is issued by more police departments than any other, overwhelmingly leading in sales to law enforcement agencies with a market share claimed to be over 70%.

In 1990, the FBI said that it would not approve the Glock because its short, easy trigger pull for the first shot was incompatible with their training.

A decade later, the Bureau was issuing a new Glock .40 to every recruit and authorizing a broad array of Glocks for purchase by in-service agents.

The Glock may be the most publicly controversial pistol of our time. It tends to inspire either love or hate, with little ground in between, and most assuredly, not everyone loves the Glock.

Traditionalists who cleave to blue steel and checkered walnut consider the Glock anathema. Aesthetes find it ugly. Yet the Glock has inspired truly awesome levels of brand loyalty.

Next page »

---

Recommended resources to learn more about the Glock:

The Gun Digest Book of the Glock, 2nd Edition

Glock Disassembly & Reassembly DVD

Standard Catalog of Firearms Glock Pricing Download (PDF)



Get FREE DIGITAL Issues of Tactical Gear Magazine When You Join this Network!

---

Need A Good Reason to Join this Network?

Members Can Download the Handbook of Standard Reticle Patterns by Manufacturer, Compiled by D. Andrew Kopas

This handy 82-page reference contains diagrams of tactical reticles from all the major optics manufacturers. D. Andrew Kopas shares the digital handbook with members of tacticalgearmag.com and scout/snipers in all branches of the armed forces, police marksmanship units and civilian long-distance shooting disciplines.

Join Tactical Gear Now to Get Your FREE Reticle Handbook »