Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Rabid Glock owners - Please explain???

Glocks are nice� but they are not all that special.

You can same the same about HK, Sig� and yes even my Gold Cup�
I have had it since 1978 and it would never occur to me to worry about a failure when needed.

Granted for the last few years I have shot my Sig almost exclusively so any firsthand experience is becoming limited.

My son�s duty weapon is also a Sig and he has never had a problem and the Sig is always one the best performers in the academy class or when he speaks with the Fire Arms instructors.

All that said, I know that all guns have �rabid� believers, including the Cult of the 1911.

I say; if a handgun will fire a .45 cal bullet accurately every time� that�s the ticket!

Let me state for the record that I have found Kevin to be one of the more fair minded posters on this site.

GB

Well you�re still teasing. There�s only one thing the Glock has that�s is actually patented (that I know of), and that�s the �trigger safety� or "Safe Action", is that what you�re referring to? If not, let me off the hook and just tell me already.

See, that�s how one ought to be. Hey, there�s probably no one more �loony� for Browning Hi Powers than I, but you�ll never hear me call them �perfection� or ascribe any such super-gun status, even though I have found a Hi Power to be more reliable than most any other pistol in the world (including a Glock), easier to hit with than most, very durable and of course it has one of the greatest military service records of any pistol ever made. It�s truly a great pistol. Still, it�s just a pistol and it has its share of flaws. When you hint that the Glock has flaws, there are those who get their nose all bent out of shape, like you just said their favorite daughter was ugly. I just don�t get that. If my personal sidearm has flaws (and they ALL do), I sure the hell want to know about them.

Thanks GB, that was very kind of you. And for the record, I really do like Glocks. One of these days I�m going to break down and buy a model 19 just like the one I setup for a friend. I got him an OD green frame 19 and installed (can�t remember the maker) fiber optic sights that also had tritium; pretty slick setup. He�s toting that in a Milt Sparks Versa Max II�hard to beat that combo.

I dont think hes attacking the gun, I think he's simply stating that Glock owners freak out at the slightest hint that you may say there gun is not the best.
While Im a huge Sig fan and dont care for Glocks that much, I dont start threads like "Why is the Sig simply the best gun ever made" and the like. Glock owners take it one step further and call everything else inferior to the Glock.

If I hear most widely used gun in LE as a testament of how godd Glock is, I laugh. Glock put together a good gun and a great price, its that simple, it has nothing to do with being better than the rest....its the cheapest. I wonder how many PD's would give up Glocks if money wasnt a concern.

Price point is part of the genius of Glock. When pressed to the wall, their design allows them to drop the price basically to a point where no one else can compete and still make money. Gaston did well, there�s no doubt about that. If price were no concern, I�m sure there would be less �Glock Shops� in American law enforcement; but then again, I�m sure that Glock would win their fair share even if price wasn�t an issue.

If someone told me that I could only have 1 handgun to last me the remainder of my life, I probably would go out and buy a Glock 17 or 19. I think they are that reliable and durable, and those would be the most important factors if given that limitation. I think a lot of other firearms are just as reliable but maybe not as durable. There also are some safety features (or lack thereof) that I strongly dislike about the Glock, and I do not shoot them as well as others, which are reasons why I do not carry them as long as I am not limited to a single handgun.

I shot a few IDPA matches in the late 90's. Glocks malfunctioned as much as anything else. I am sure the problems were mostly shooter error, but it was funny watching the Kool-Aid drinkers freak out when their perfect pistol malfed.

This is what really makes Glock different from all the rest;

I can take fifty (or a hundred, or two hundred, etc) Glock 21�s apart and separate the various parts into thirty something separate buckets. I can shake the buckets and re-assemble the various parts into 50 complete pistols again and 99.9999% of the time � every one of them will function just fine.

But the kicker to all that is this; I can do that with nothing for tools but a finishing nail and I can do it in low light conditions. But it gets better. With the exception of the major components (frame, slide & barrel) I can carry a complete maintenance parts kits in my pocket that will allow me to keep the run gun running virtually forever �. for less than $50.00!

From a logistical standpoint - ain't nothin even close to it on the same planet! (You'd think the military would be all over that .... but those reports about $640 toilet seats just spoils that I guess.)

To put that in some perspective � the wonderfully crisp 3 lb trigger on my 1911 may only last about 15k rounds or so and then it�s off to the gunsmith for a re-work that cost well over a hundred bucks! That doesn�t take into account the hassle and costs of shipping and doing without the gun for weeks at a time.

Is the Glock perfect? Hardly, but compared to some platforms I think it is practically perfect for it's designed purpose. But the bottom line is this - most people don't shoot well enough or often enough for any of this to matter. It's just fodder for another mindless argument. No offense to anyone intended.

All I know is that when I go handle a Glock at the store I start to get little specks of foam on my mouth. When the clerk asks for it back, I growl...




grrrrrrr

Now that was a good answer for why you like the Glock. Still doesn�t answer my original question as to why people become irrational about the Glock, but I enjoyed reading your answer and your perspective.

Yeah, military armorers would love a switch to the Glock�well, some of them. At the higher levels the armorers would probably hate the limitations of the plastic frame, but the average unit level armorers would essentially have the easiest job in the Army.

The VAST majority of Glocks I�ve encountered that had issues were those that had been messed with. This trigger, or trigger spring, or that �improvement� or whatever. I�ve been left with the impression that Gaston pretty much got it right the first time. If you don�t mess with a Glock, and maintain it well, then they�re pretty good machines. The remainder of guns that have had issues exhibited signs of poor maintenance (someone who obviously didn�t know how to read the manual), or used non spec ammunition (meaning, reloads that were poorly assembled). I�ve seen Glocks fall victim to the same things as most other pistols, taking them out of action. But I�ve also seen them go through hell and back with a smile just humming along.

I�ve seen Glocks fail under a number of circumstances right alongside other high quality pistols. But I will admit, a Glock is EASY to get back into service once broke.

The beauty of the Glock is simplicity; buy it, load it, carry it; done. Don�t get tricky and try to customize a Glock, you�re just asking for headaches, and you�re defeating the greatest aspect of a Glock�it�s ready to go right out of the box.

It�s really a good pistol, some would say it�s even a great pistol. No doubt about it, Gaston Glock changed the game, and the Glock is the most significant advancement in defensive handguns since the Walther PP or the Browning Hi Power; it really was a game changer. I don�t think it�s best, but it sure the hell is good. There are some things about it that make my skin crawl, but I�ve carried one or two when the chips were down, and I didn�t exactly lose sleep because I was carrying a Glock.

The Glock Kool-Aid drinkers ARE irrational, and to have such faith in a mechanical thing isn�t healthy. For those who rationally consider the options and come up with the Glock as their choice, I can certainly respect that; more power to you.

Again, good answer 41.

Kevin do you carry a pistol everyday? When I say all day I am talking from the time you get dressed to time you go to bed.

My duty pistol has been bounced off cars,walls,pavement and who knows what else. It has been hung on fences, brush and stair rails while being holstered.

I don't believe a 1911 would ever take the abuse with out alot of upkeep.

Dink

All grab-assin' aside let�s get real here for a minute folks. All of us like various things for totally subjective reasons whether it�s cars, guns, girls or pizza. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? But some truths are not based on subjective criteria.

The hard reality is this; Gaston Glock wasn�t the first guy on the block with a polymer pistol (Heckler & Koch unsuccessfully stabbed at that almost 40 years ago with the VP70) � he was just the first one on the block to offer a polymer pistol with a LOT of practical features at a reasonable price. It�s called innovation � and everyone else has been playing 2nd fiddle.

I like the Smith & Wesson M&P and the Springfield XP�s, but neither would have EVER been conceived if it weren�t for Mr. Glock. Gaston�s design is the first real practical, innovative pistol design to come along in 100 years! You don�t have to like that fact for it to be true � it just is what it is.

As a side note, not all Glocks are equally reliable. We�ve all heard of Glocks �blowing up� and some models just aren�t as reliable as the �original� Model 17. I certainly don�t claim to be the last word on this, but I�ve personally witnessed two Glock �explosions� �. both were .40 caliber and both were ammunition related. All of the other�s I�m aware of but didn�t witness were also .40 caliber. The slim little Mod 36 has had lots of problems as have other early generation models.

Some years ago there was a rental gun at a range in southern CA that had over 700k documented rounds shot through it without major component failure. The gun still shot military spec groups at 25 yards.

Now if you don't like Glocks that's fine, but if that ain�t "reliable" in your world � and you can't provide me with a better example - you're gonna have to gimme some of whatever that is your smoking!

Kevin,
These kinds of arguments take place between the Harley Davidson riders and the Honda Wing Dingers. People are guilty of painting with a broad brush when it comes to generalizations about all Glocks or all Gold Wings, etc.
I have a Colt 1911 Series 70 Government Model that I brought with me to the NRA Law Enforcewment Gunsmith course at Trinidad Colorado a few years ago. I gave it a "duty weapon" tuneup and it is as reliable as the ammunition that is loaded into it.
At the same time I have been to bowling pin matches where amatuer gunsmiths have messed with their pistols trying to accurize them and loused them up pretty bad.
I feel the same way about my stock Harley Davidson motorcycle compared to one that was souped up by some shadetree mechanic.
Some mechanics are better than others, just like gunsmiths!
Any time somebody says always or never I get a little skeptical.
whelennut

Id love to see that....and the "documentation"

Just curious, could you fix those two guns with $50 in parts?

And how have you determined that other guns don't have parts interchangeability? And what are the extra parts beyond your $50 that other designs need other than springs and maybe a firing pin to keep running?

I'm not hearing anything that other guns don't do as well.

Well, we are nearly at the point of having a complete generation of veterans (30 yrs of service) who never served while the .45ACP and Colt was king.
Since the mid '80's, it has been the Beretta in 9MM.
So, comparisons between the M9 and Glocks are probably the most honest comparison we can discuss.
I think Glock's pricepoint and ease of operation when compared to the M9 makes it such a leader.
There are just so many more of them out there being used daily.
That says a lot.

I love Glocks,I love guns period,but I liked 'em better when they didn't cost like they do now.

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I kept waiting for the punch line.......................
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Boy you really told dumb ol Kevin!!!!!!
Prolly gonna cry hisself to sleep tonight!!!!!!!!!
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The Glock is a good gun.
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The small block Chevy is a good engine.
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Kevin;
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The more a person rants and rants, the more he is trying to convince HIMSELF he is made the right choise.
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Some people give reasons why they like Glocks. And make sense.
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Some rant.............
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You don't seem to rant that much Kevin. Are you a secure personand in the choises you make? Seem to be...........
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A person doesn't learn anything when they are talking.
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I'll try to finish reading this thread.

Ummm...Glocks go Bang until the magazine goes dry in my experience?

There is no function I value more in the handguns I have carried nearly every day on- and off-duty...since I got over my fear of fugly but functional in '95.