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    The worlds most popular pistol is the Glock semi-automatic. Glock are Austrian made semi-automatic pistols, their more formal term is Glock Safe Action Pistols by the company. They are manufactured by Glock Ges.m.b.H, Deutsch-Wagram, Austria and are named after the company's founder, Gaston Glock. The Glock 17 was the companies first model, and all other future models stemmed from the basic design and function of this one.
The company of Glock was actually founded nearly 50 years ago in 1963. Before they manufactured pistols, the company initially made accessories for the Austrian army, such as entrenching tools, machine gun belts, field knives and other small auxiliary equipment.
Gaston Glock was actually an engineer first and foremost, having limited experience with firearms, their design, manufacture, technicalities and even the sales thereof. Gaston Glock did however have long, venerable and extensive experience in the use of thermal plastics and polymers and their advanced use in volatile areas.
Gaston Glock: born1929 - Aged 82 at time of writing.
Gaston Glock utilized his knowledge and produced the worlds first plastic, polymer framed handgun the Glock 17. This pistol also utilized ferrite nictrocarburizing as an anti corrosion treatment to the surfaces of the metal parts. Initially the Glock 17, as seen below, was received with doubts and a great amount of scepticism from the worlds shooters. Firearms and plastics are worlds apart and definitely should not even be said in the same sentence when discussing guns...however...
...the Glock 17 proved itself to be practically indestructible, very light, incredibly durable and was proved to have 100% reliability by all those who fired it. In the shooting fraternity, the word spread like wildfire and soon everyone wanted one. Glock pistols now actually command a very strong 60% of all handgun sales worldwide, especially in the USA where law enforcement officers, government agents in the CIA, FBI and NSA along with private detectives and other agencies swear by them. In actual fact, it would be hard to find someone in one of those categories who does not own a Glock.
One of the reasons why the Glock is such an outstanding pistol can be traced back to 1980 when the Austria Army put out tenders to arms manufactures for a totally new pistol, as they wanted to relinquish their old WWII pistol. So the Glock was built from the ground up to military specifications.
At that time the Austrian army were actually armed with the Walther P38, a semi-auto that was designed in 1938 for the German Army. An image of the Walther P38 is shown below.
CRITERIA 17 The Austrian Ministry of Defence stipulated 17 stringent criteria that the new pistol had to accommodate before it could be accepted for service by their military. I have re-produced those 17 criteria here to illustrate what the pistol had to achieve in order to pass. 1. The firearm has to be self loading. (semi-automatic not a revolver) 2. It must be chambered for the NATO 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. (Same as the Walther P38) 3. The magazine must not require any means of assistance for loading it. (Must be loaded by hand as standard) 4. The magazine capacity must also hold a minimum of 8 rounds. (The Glock exceeded this by more than double to 17 rounds magazine capacity) 5. All actions necessary to prepare the pistol for firing and any actions required after firing must be able to be done single handed. Either right or left hand. (The Glock is indeed ambidextrous) 6. The firearm must be absolutely secure against accidental discharge from shock and drops from a height of 2 meters onto a steel plate. (Steel poses maximum impact) 7. Disassembly of the main parts for maintenance and reassembling must be possible without the use of any tools. (This is standard as all guns are the same requiring no tools to field strip) 8. Maintenance and cleaning of the pistol must be accomplished without the use of tools. 9. The firearms construction may not exceed 58 individual parts. (Same as a Walther P38 but the Glock only has 34 parts) 10. Any gauges, measuring and precise testing devices must not be necessary for its long term maintenance. ( The Glock is practically maintenance free) 11. The manufacturer is required to provide the Austrian Ministry of Defence with a complete set of engineering drawings and exploded views. These must be supplied with all the relevant details for its production. 12. All components must be fully interchangeable between pistols. (Glocks are renowned for this) 13. No more than 20 malfunctions are permitted during the first 10,000 rounds fired, not even minor jams that can be cleared without the use of any tools. (The Glock had no malfunctions at all) 14. After firing 15,000 rounds of standard ammunition, the pistol will be inspected for wear. The pistol will then be used to fire an overpressure test cartridge generating 5,000 bar (72,518 psi) (the normal maximum operating pressure P-Max for the 9 mm NATO is rated at 2,520 bar (36,550 psi). The critical components must continue to function properly and be up to specifications. ( The Glock passed this with ease ) 15. When handled properly, under no circumstances may the user be endangered by case ejection. (The Glock has three fool proof automatic safety features) 16. The muzzle energy must be at least 441.5 joules when firing a 9mm S-round/P-08 Hirtenberger AG (The Glock exceeded this) 17. Any firearms scoring less than 70% of the total available points will not be considered for military use...and immediate disqualification will be the result. ( The Glock scored 100% ) HOW DID THE GLOCK SCORE 100% ?
Gaston Glock was determined to fulfil the militaries wishes and win the contract so he gathered together a team of firearms experts from around Europe. These experts included police and military personnel as well as commercial civilian shooters from several gun clubs. They were all asked for their input in what criteria was needed in order to make the perfect handgun. Gaston Glock collated all of the information and just a few months afterwards he had a working prototype...the Glock 17, as seen below.
The Glock 17 utilized all of Gaston Glocks expertise and the pistol was made with polymers and thermal plastics. The pistols were of superior quality, rugged and ultra reliable but the best part being that the production costs were half that of an all steel pistol. Suffice to say that it passed all of the Austrian Ministry of Defences criteria and indeed all of the rugged tests and trails they put the pistol through. Consequently they adopted the pistol into service in 1982. The Glock did exceedingly well to win the tender as it was up against fantastic competition from the world best firearms manufactures such as Colt, Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Heckler & Kock, FN Herstal, Steyr and SIG.
Because the Glock was one of the most durable pistols ever tested, the Norwegian and Swedish military adopted it two years later. As word got out many police forces around the world also adopted the Glock.
It became very popular in the USA, one of the biggest users of firearms on the planet both in the military and in private commercial ownership. Consequently Glock has sold over ½ million pistols there alone. The Glock was also granted an exclusive NATO stock reference number, something that every arms manufacture in the world would love as it basically guarantees sales of firearms to the military for the next 50 years. In 1985 Glock successfully established itself in Smyrna, Georgia, USA and over the next few years the company expanded selling the model 17, model 17L, model 18 and model 19. Below is seen the Glock 17L chambered in 9x19mm caliber. The initial ' L ' actually stands for "Long " indicating that its the long slide version of the model 17. Although its pretty obvious when you see the gun yourself.
The 17L has a 6 inch barrel whereas the standard version has a 4½ inch barrel. There is also a cut out area on the top of the slide as shown in the image below, this is to help center the balance of the pistol and also reduce some of the extra weight that the longer slide gives the gun.
The longer sight plane of the Glock 17L can offer the steady shooter more accuracy over longer ranges and consequently the Glock 17L is a favorite pistol for shooting on the range at over 25 yards up to 50 yards. Glock was also the first company to offer a pistol chambered for the now very popular Smith & Wesson .40 caliber cartridge. The amusing thing is that Glock actually beat Smith & Wesson by selling guns in this caliber before they did themselves.
THE GLOCK IN SERVICE
The Glock is now standard issue to the police forces,
army and paramilitary organizations in the countries listed below...
Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil,
Canadian, Danish, Dutch, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Finland, France,
Germany, Georgia, Greece, Greenland, Honk Kong, Iceland, India,
Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Kosovo, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg,
Malaysia, Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan,
Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Scotland, Tasmania, Thailand, United Kingdom, USA,
Venezuela and Yemen. Of course other nations are still adopting
the Glock even as I type.
Many special forces and paramilitary units are also
equipped with Glock pistols including, Jagdkommando, GSG9, SAS, SBS,
GIGN, Delta Force, SWAT, S019 and even Israel's Mossad. So it
appears that Glock is the weapon of choice for almost everyone in a
uniform!
THE GLOCK 20
Out of the 40 different Glock semi-automatic pistols and
variants, I have chosen to highlight the 10mm caliber version known as
the Glock 20, as its inline with the majority of gun's in my firearms
section as it's a very powerful caliber, in fact its the most powerful
pistol that Glock company produce.
The Glock 20 fires a 10mm round that was initially
designed for the law enforcement community. The 10mm round that
the Glock fires can at 15 yards penetrate most things such as, vehicle
windshields, both car doors and several inches of wood.
The bullet
has energy retention to inflict maximum damage upon its exit from the
target and is suitable as a light, easy to carry back up gun on hunting
trips. If the coup d grace has to be administered to that
stricken animal, then the 10mm is best
suited for this purpose.
Below are seen five approximate actual size 10mm
Auto rounds that the Glock 20 fires, moderate recoil with plenty of
punch is an adequate description.
The Clock 20 with its 10mm firepower is as stated, a
pistol with more than enough punch for that one shot knock down of even
the most biggest and aggressive opponents. Grizzly bear or
charging big cat...the Glock 20 offers practically unjammable
reliability...a must have if your life depends on it.
Below is a photo of a wild hog that was hunted and killed
with a single shot from a Glock 20. The wild hog died instantly
when the 10mm auto bullet impacted, penetrating its thick hide and
damaging internal organs. Click on image to read the forum blog
where I obtained the image and the credits for the photo itself.
Below is an appropriate YouTube video
where Youtubes famous firearms demonstrator Hickok45 gives a good narration about the Glock 20 with shooting
demonstration...
Specifically concerning the 10mm auto as a powerful
caliber, the FBI actually hand load their own cartridges for this pistol
saying that the original full factory ammunition are in fact way too
powerful and is in the same league as .357 Magnum for penetration and
knock down ability. So these cartridges were somewhat "tamed
" delivering less penetration with a lowered velocity but still offering
adequate knock down of the opponent.
NOTE: The Glock 22 and Glock 22C chambered for the
.40 S&W is almost the same caliber, measuring at 10.16 mm bullet
diameter and is favored by police patrol officers. The
FBI, CIA, NSA, Private Detectives and many undercover operatives
now also favor this caliber.
The Glock 20 can hold 15 x 10mm rounds in its magazine,
and with a round already in the breach the pistol has a 16 round
firepower capability.
Civilian shooters on the range and even out hunting have
actually commented that full factory ammunition is way better in all
ballistic qualities than both .45ACP and .357 Magnum.
Several shooters also suggested that the Glock 20 10mm auto was on par
to firing .41 Magnum and in many respects 10mm auto should have been
titled 10mm Magnum instead of its somewhat tame name of just
10mm auto.
THE GLOCK 29
Other variants of the Glock 20 also include the Glock 29
which is a subcompact and pistol designed for easy concealment.
The Glock 29 is actually 21mm shorter @172mm than
the Glock 20 @193mm and the barrel is 21mm shorter @96mm than the
Glock 20 @117mm.
It still offers the same reliability, ruggedness as its
bigger brother but is less conspicuous and is ideal for undercover work
in the most hostile of environments.
The Glock 29 is still chambered for the 10mm round and
hence still offers the same awesome firepower that the shooters life
could depend on. The only real differences are that it is a cut
down version with shorter barrel and shorter grip. The magazine
capacity consequently suffers and is reduced to 10 rounds.
However, 10 rounds of 10mm high power ammunition is more
than enough to tackle any four legged animal or two legged predator.
Hence The Glock 29 is more than suitable as a back up gun.
The Glock 29 does have an ace up
its sleeve though in that the normal Glock 20 magazine that holds 15
rounds, can still be used in this smaller pistol. Obviously it
would protrude from under the grip somewhat and the concealment factor
would be hindered.
THE GLOCK 20C
The Glock 20C is a unique Compensator
pistol in that their are two horizontal mag ports specially cut into the
barrel near the muzzle and also on the top of the slide as seen in the
close up image below.
These ports allow some of the burning gases to escape
before the bullet has actually left the barrel, and consequently the
recoil is reduced or compensated because of it. The pistol can
then be quickly aimed back on target after the shot is fired. The
magnificent high-speed photo below illustrates this superbly.
The ports are actually cut into a V configuration so that
the flash does not obscure the front sight of the pistol but comes out
at an angle as also seen in the above image.
Some of the bullets initial velocity would be effected by
a mag port compensator, as a portion of the blast is now going up and
not pushing the bullet along. With the big 10mm generating a
massive amount of energy anyway, it isn't deemed too much of an issue.
WHAT MAKES A GLOCK SO SPECIAL?
A Glock pistol is a low cost, high tech pistol with many
innovative features both in safety and fire control. As stated
earlier the durability of this gun is perhaps top of the shooters most
wanted criteria list.
The durability is even tougher now, as the slide and
barrel are treated to a high tech surface refinement to reduce friction
and increase the life of the barrel. The pistol is also coated in
Tenifer™, the latest anti-corrosion
treatment with anti-glare and extra metal hardness. Actually Glock
state a hardness of 64 HRC is achieved...that is almost as hard as
diamond!
Glock also use ultra tough polymers, these polymers are
similar to carbon fiber and Kevlar in that they are resistant to heavy
loads and stress, making them stronger than steel but nearly 90%
lighter.
The Glock also uses smooth hexagonal rifling as opposed
to the usual land, pitch and groove cut rifling. Land, pitch and
groove is shown on the left whilst hexagonal is shown on the right of
the image below.
This is not a new technology but rather a historic one,
as in the past centuries all gun barrels were hexagonal. They were
of this configuration as they basically didn't have the tools to machine
land, pitch and groove rifling.
Glock has returned to this as they state that it forms a
better seal around the bullet hence delivering higher velocity and that
it also reduces bullet deformation, hence more accuracy. Hexagonal
rifling is also apparently easier to clean and offers longer life to the
barrel. However, there is some controversy whether lead bullets
should be used as Glock only promote full metal jacket bullets for use
in their guns.
Glock also state that their barrels have no edges or
corners on them but are all rounded of to a smooth finish, this is
purported to prohibit the build up of residue and keep the barrel
cleaner.
GLOCKS SAFE ACTION SYSTEM 100% FOOL PROOF SAFETY
With the safety aspect in mind I was impressed whilst
researching all the relevant information on this gun. The safety
mechanism - all three of them - is ingenious in that the safety catch
automatically switches on when the finger is not on the trigger and
automatically comes off when the finger is put on the trigger.
The first safety catch is a trigger safety, where an
external lever inside the trigger itself blocks the triggers operation
until its fully depressed. The protruding safety lever can be seen
in the close up photo below
The second safety feature is the firing pin safety.
A spring loaded pin blocks the firing pins movement until the trigger is
pulled, effectively releasing it to fire the pistol.
The third safety feature is the drop safety mechanism. An
extension bar actually locks the firing pin in place, the only way to
release it to deliberately pull the trigger. These super well
thought out automatic safety catches ensure that the pistol will only
fire when the shooter absolutely intends to do so.
Overall I was impressed enough to make a webpage about
this pistol as a tribute to the marvels of modern Glock engineering,
metallurgy and indeed poly carbon composites. If I was a police
patrol officer or a soldier in Afghanistan I would want the peace of
mind that a Glock offers and pack a Glock 20 or a Glock 22.
URBAN LEGENDS OR URBAN FAIRY STORIES
Despite what we have seen in Hollywood movies, Glock or
any other firearms company have never manufactured a totally plastic,
porcelain or ceramic pistol. Neither have they manufactured a
pistol that is unable to be detected by X-ray machines and metal
detectors in airports...its total Hollywood fantasy. The polymer,
and thermal plastic that is used in the Glock is only to construct the
frame and grip with some other parts. The barrel, slide and other
working parts are all true blue hardened solid cold hammered steel.
Apparently some ignorant journalist for the
Washington Post in 1985 who knew nothing about guns, heard of
the polymer/plastic Glock and then made up the story, adding bits here
and there to boost his readership...the myths spread.
Possibly the worst portrayal of this myth was purported
by Bruce Willis in the
I don't envisage that there will ever be a firearm that
is made from 100% polymer as the barrel and breach undergo fantastic
forces when a bullet is fired. Sometimes this is measured in tons
per square inch. Also the barrel has to be fantastically hard, as
the bullet of any firearm is actually larger than the diameter of the
barrels bore so that it is squeezed out under enormous pressure.
It is under this enormous pressure that the bullet gets its velocity and
power, plastics, polymers, poly carbon fiber, Kevlar etc are not up to
it and never will be.
THE FUTURE OF GLOCK
The Glock pistol will be with armies, police forces and
civilian shooters for many decades to come. What enforces this
statement and is the Glocks lifeline is that the pistol is available in
40 different versions, catering for all the popular semi-auto calibers
which are 9x19mm, .40S&W, 10mm, .357SIG, .45ACP, .45GAP and .380ACP
Created August 3rd 2011. Update
February 22nd 2012 |
movie Die Hard 2. His character John Maclean was explaining to
the airport boss how terrorists can easily smuggle porcelain and plastic
guns through airport security. I exonerate Bruce Willis for this
though as he was only an actor reading his lines from a script. I
actually like all the Die Hard movies as they are great
entertainment full of action and great fight scenes.
