The Glock Model 17 was successfully introduced in 1983 by Gaston Glock, engineer and founder of Glock Ges. m.b.H. located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria.
Mr. Glock's company was established in 1963 and had previously manufactured a variety of commercial appliances, including police and military related products, i.e., bayonets and entrenching tools.
Prior to 1983, Glock applied for a bid to provide 25,000 handguns for the Austrian army. Having never before designed or manufactured a firearm, Glock assembled a brilliant team of gun designers and experts from around the world to design a new handgun for evaluation and testing by the Austria army.
Many other major firearm's manufacturers had also bid on the same contract to provide 25,000 9mm semi-automatic combat handguns.
The bid required that all competing handguns pass an initial screening process. Thereafter, the remaining qualified handguns would be rigorously tested.
The prototype handgun submitted by Glock not only passed the initial screenings, but typical Glock-style, exceeded the rigorous test requirements that followed.
The Glock Model 17, a simple but innovative handgun, not only represented the most exciting and successful idea in handgun history, but soon developed a trendsetting design that included a limited number of components (initially only 32), a new safe-action system with soft recoil, and low weight through the use of space-age polymers that are stronger than steel and 14% its weight. The Glock pistol frame can withstand extremely high and low temperatures without structural damage.
Needless to say, the 9mm Glock Model 17 pistol was selected as the official handgun of the Austrian army. Soon after, the armies of India, Jordan, Thailand, Norway and the Philippines purchased the Glock Model 17. The Glock Model 17 was selected as the official handgun for NATO forces in Europe.
The model number "17" was not the first Glock. The Glock Model 17 was the 17th version of the Glock pistol that won acceptance by the Austrian army. Many people mistakely think the handgun was so named because the magazine holds 17 rounds of ammunition.
1986 saw the establishment of Glock, Inc. in the Smyrna, Georgia (USA) and the introduction of the Glock pistol into the United States (Glock recently celebrated its tenth anniversary in the U.S.).
Unofficially, to-date, between 60-70% of all law enforcement officers in the United States carry Glock pistols as their duty weapon. Since 1986, Glock pistols have been widely adopted by law enforcement agencies around the world, and especially in the United States.
Yes. The media, namely the press, attacked what they called the "plastic" Glock because they wanted to believe that it could escape detection by airport screening equipment and couldn't be seen. Others in the media attacked it saying that it was the handgun most preferred by terrorists. Soon, the Democratic Congress added to the confusion and tried to enact several unsuccessful Bills to totally ban the importation of all "plastic" handguns, including Glock pistols, into the U.S.
However, before the Glock 17 could be sold, it had to be approved for importation into the United States by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF). Glock quickly made the few required changes (mostly additions) to the Glock 17 and the rest is history.
Glockmania struck law enforcement and the rest of the country followed almost immediately. Armed with a tremendous amount of publicity and controversy surrounding the Glock pistol, Glock, Inc.'s law enforcement sales team, headed by then Robert Gates, were very successful at selling Glocks to law enforcement.
The publicity and purchases by law enforcement agencies, helped electrify the public's imagination and instantly created an aura of mystique along with undreamed of sales figures.
Having withstood all the bad press and more, Glock is now the fastest selling handgun in the U.S. and the duty weapon most preferred by U.S. law enforcement.
Glock has created a total of twelve models of Glock handguns, including the 17, 17L, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 and their most recent pair of subcompacts, Glock Models 26 and 27 (See our "Feature Story" on the - Future Glocks).
Star-studded movies such as "True Lies," "Clear and Present Danger," "Blown Away," Rising Sun," "Fugitive," "On Deadly Ground," and "Diehard III" used Glock and have enhanced Glock's image and prestige throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world.
It is our belief that the term "Glockster" was first coined in 1990 by Susan Lewis, Managing Editor of GlockWorld Magazine, formerly Glockster Pistol Magazine.
"kB!" is shorthand for kaBOOM!, a destructive explosion inside a firearm due to metal fatigue and excessive barrel pressure, usually caused by high or over pressure loads. which is the written representation of what happens when one has a catastrophic explosive event in one's firearm, or, for the purposes of this FAQ, one's Glock.
The use of lead bullets in Glock pistols is the major contributing factor to Glock kB. Firing lead bullets in Glock pistols can cause excessive leading in the barrels, and, in many cases, result in extreme barrel pressures accompanied by barrel fatigue.
Glock specifically advises the use of "only high quality commercially manufactured ammunition, in excellent condition and in the caliber of your Glock pistol." Glock further states that, "The use of reloaded ammunition will void the warranty, due to the fact that there is no way to verify the standards (SAAMI/NATO) adhered to because reloads or poor quality ammunition sometimes do not need specification (SAAMI/NATO), exceed limits and could be unsafe."
Your Glock requires only three drops of oil. With your index finger, take one drop of oil and rub the slide rails back and forth. Take another drop of oil and lubricate where the trigger bar and the connector join. The last drop goes on the barrel and where it rubs against the slide.
The G18 is a fully automatic, medium frame 9X19 standard G17 with a selector switch. The G18 is only available to certain military units and law enforcement agencies, usually outside of the U.S.
Knives, Standard Austrian Web Belts, Entrenching Tool, Flashlight Mount, Glock Sight Adjustment Tool,
The best type of ammunition for your Glock is very subjective and personal. However, depending on the type of use you have in mind, i.e., target, defense or police, Glock recommends using "only high quality commercially manufactured ammunition, in excellent condition and in the caliber of your Glock pistol" and that usually means ammunition manufactured to SAAMI/NATO specs.
Tenifer is a metal treatment given to the exterior of all Glock pistols. The tenifer treatment is rated with a hardness of 69 as compared to a diamond whose hardness is rated at 70.
The G25 is a compact version of the G19 rechambered for .380 ammunition. It is available only in countries where the civilian are restricted from owning the same caliber weapon as their military and law enforcement.
When fully assembled, the Glock is one of the few pistols on the market specifically designed to be dry-fired. How else would you be able to field-strip your Glock? Remember, Glocks must be unloaded first and the trigger must be release to the rear first.
Glock produces four different trigger pulls: the 3.5 lb., usually for competition shooting, the 5 lb., which is considered the normal trigger, the 8 lb., and the 10 lb. trigger, usually referred to as the "New York Trigger."
GSSF stands for Glock Sports Shooting Foundation. The overall intent is to promote the use of Glock pistols in commpetition and to encourage the sport of safe shooting.
Glock makes five different caliber of handguns: 9mm, 10mm, .40 S&W, .380 ACP and the .45 ACP. However, the .380 ACP/G25 is not available in the U.S.
Presently, Glock makes five different size handgun frames: competition (G17L/24 - 9mm/.40 S&W), large (G20/21 - 10mm/.45 ACP), medium (G17/18/22 - 9mm/9mm/.40 S&W), compact (G19/23/25/29/30 - 9mm/.40 S&W/.380 ACP/10mm/.45 ACP respectively) and subcompact (G26/27 - 9mm/.40 S&W).
No. Even though Glock has a reputation as the "Plastic" gun, steel makes up about 80% of its bulk and, therefore, cannot escape airport x-ray equipment.