Gaston Glock's plastic pistol has to be one of the greatest handgun designs of all time and it ranks alongside John M. Browning's classic M1911-series pistols.  Browning, of course, was one of the most prolific and brilliant of small arms designers -- not less than 75 patented firearms designs from pistols though cannon that were commercial successes.  His lifetime achievement was over 16 million guns of all types produced, not to mention clones of his work.  (Michael T. Kalashnikov has eclipsed Browning in the total number of guns of his design made -- 70 to 80 million -- but no one has ever come close to Browning for the number of different designs he created, nor his success at selling them.)

 

Gaston Glock is a different guy.  He was not a "gun guy" at all.  Glock was an engineer who excelled in mechanical design and the integration of the latest improvements in technology into his creations.  He founded his company after WW2 to build sewing machines.  When the Austrian Army was looking for a new pistol in the mid-1970's Glock, who'd never built a firearm before, entered his simple, boxy-looking pistol with plastic parts in the competition.  It revolutionized the handgun world. 

 

Since the Austrian Army awarded Glock's company with the contract for his design in 1977, the Glock pistol has really taken off all over the world.  If immitation can be said the sincerest form of flattery, the Glock has spawned all matter of guns with polymer frames such as S&W's "Sigma" (not a very good clone), Springfield Armory's XD series of pistols (very good clones), and some others that don't immediately come to mind.  All Glock pistols, regardless of size, capacity, or caliber work exactly the same way as the very first Glock submitted for Army trials.  To be sure, there have been all sorts of cosmetic improvements added along the way (current Glocks are considered third generation versions of the basic design), but the Glock just does what it does best -- it WORKS every time, it's simple to use, it can take a beating and keep on shooting, and it is accurate right out of the box.  Those are pretty solid recommendations in anybody's book. 

 

 

I love the Glock.  I have a first generation Model 17 (9x19 NATO or 9mm Para) and a second generation Model 21 (.45 ACP).  This is one pistol that WORKS.

 

The only caution a prospective Glock owner should know is, like the revolver, there is NO manual safety for this pistol.  When your finger goes on the trigger, the anti-drop safety goes OFF and then it only takes 4-1/2 pounds of pressure to fire the pistol.  The pivoting piece of plastic on the trigger of the Glock (all Glocks have this feature) is an anti-drop safety to prevent an accidental discharge when dropped -- Glocks won't fire when dropped 12 feet onto concrete.

 

However, put your finger on the trigger, the anti-drop safety is removed and the pistol fires at 4-1/2 pounds' pressure; that's correct, 4-1/2 to 5-1/2 pounds.  The NYPD went to Glocks and had so many problems with near and actual accidental discharges that they had Glock make a new connector bar and spring that increases the trigger pull to between (8 and 12 pounds). [So much for NYPD training in firearms when it comes to pistols.]

 

The Glock is a striker-fired pistol.  That is, there is no hammer projecting from the back of the slide; all the guts are internal.  Here's a quick primer on operation beginning with the slide back, a fresh loaded magazine inserted, and slide stop pushed:

 

1.  The Glock's slide moves forward, stripping and chambering a round from the magazine under the force of the compressed recoil spring.

2.  As the slide closes and locks, the firing pin (or striker) is half-cocked.  That is, it is drawn back half way to its fully cocked position to fire.

3.  Finger pressure on the trigger cocks the firing pin all the way to the firing position (4-1/2 pounds).

4.  Once the Glock trigger gets the striker to the fully cocked position, the sear disengages and the firing pin goes forward to hit the primer and fire the pistol.

 

You can see from this description of the Glock's operation why it is a MUST to keep your finger OFF the trigger until you actually want to fire the Glock.  Once the slide goes forward to lock (loaded or unloaded), it only takes 4-1/2 pounds on the tigger to fire the pistol.  When handling a Glock the trigger finger is OUTSIDE the trigger guard at all times, except when actually shooting.

 

All new Glocks are what's called Generation 3 pistols and have these features:

1.  Finger rests and grooves on the grips and checkering on both front and backstrap of the frame.

2.  A key that can lock the pistol and make it impossible to fire (to protect stupid kids and adults) -- beginning in 2003.

3.  A revised and redesigned extractor.

4.  A redesigned frame ahead of the trigger guard (universal rail adapter) for accessories like flashlights and other sighting aids -- from 1998 onwards.

 

Glock makes various accessories for their pistol.  One nice feature that I added to my magazines is an "extender" floor plate.  This is wedge-shaped piece of plastic that extends the capacity of the standard Glock magazine by two rounds.  .