Glock Handguns, by A.L.

Glock is an Austrian gun producer. This company started in 1981 and already has reached the top in the gun-manufacturing world. It makes highly durable polymer framed pistols called Glocks. The idea of a Glock came to a man named Gaston Glock in 1963. During that year Gaston Glock began his professional journey with plastics and metals. In 1981, after 18 years of experimenting, Gaston Glock founded his company, Glock. In the years to come, this company would accomplish a large amount of engineering feats, which would ultimately redefine the modern pistol. Glock is a major name in the world of guns and continues to produce some of the most advanced pistols in the world.

One of the number one reasons Glock is considered one of the best pistols on the market is because of the pistols’ simplicity. Its simplicity has revolutionized the gun and pistol world. The Glock pistols are so simple that they have been universally adopted as one of the number one pistols used for training, largely because of the gun’s ease in operation and use. Its simplicity also allows for the gun to be considered an easy to care for gun, in maintenance and cleaning.
“GLOCK USA – Pistols & Handguns.” GLOCK “Safe Action”® Pistols. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. .

One of the major reasons Glock is considered one of the simplest pistols on the market is because of its low number of parts found in the pistols. The low number of parts found in the pistol also helps to contribute to its simple operation and makes the guns easy to care for. All of the Glock pistols contain a total number of 34 component parts. The only difference in the parts found within varying models is, simply, their size. There are no new parts added to different models nor are there any other parts taken away. The total number of parts found in the Glock is significantly lower than the number of parts found within other pistols on the market, such as modern, Colt 1911’s. These models can contain up to 53 component parts. Other pistols on the market can have up to 50 plus component parts, while the Glock only has a mere 34! This lower number greatly increases the pistols’ ease of operation. This lower number of parts also increases the pistols’ reliability. The pistol is so reliable that it rarely misfires or hardly ever malfunctions. Having a pistol like this, with a few number of parts, greatly decreases the chance of it breaking, malfunctioning, or not working properly. Another thing that is greatly affected by the pistols’ low number of parts is the cost to maintain them properly. The low number of parts means that there are less expensive parts to replace, if the pistol breaks. This allows for lower maintenance costs; thus, it adds to the benefit of owning a Glock pistol.
Another process or fact that proves the Glock pistols to be such simple pistols is their disassembly/reassembly process. Gaston Glock strove to make his line of pistols the best of the best, and he certainly did not let anyone down on the disassembly/reassembly process of the pistols. The Glocks’ simple design allows for them to be field striped and cleaned in literally seconds. A field strip is when a gun, specifically a pistol in this case, is disassembled. This process disassembles the gun to the point where the slide, which is the top part of the gun that chambers the next round, magazine, which is the part of the gun that holds the round in the pistol ready to be fired, barrel, which is the part of the gun that the bullet passes through when fired to expel the round, and the receiver, which is the lower section of the pistol where the handle, trigger, and the barrel mount are located, are completely detached from the pistol. This disassembly process is amazing because other pistols on the market take 10 plus minutes to field strip with tools, while the Glock can be field stripped without tools in seconds. The simple disassemble and reassemble process on the Glock’s also contributes to their easy fixes. It contributes to easier fixes because it lowers the amount of time it take to disassemble, fix and then reassembly the pistol. This lowers the amount of time it takes to completely fix the pistol, because of less complication during the process of fixing the pistol.

“GLOCK USA – Pistols & Handguns.” GLOCK “Safe Action”® Pistols. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. .

Shideler, Dan. Greatest Guns of Gun Digest. Iola: Fw Media, 2010. Print.

Ramage, Ken, ed. Handguns 2001. 13th ed. Iola: Krause Publications, 2000. Print.

Gaston Glock also wanted his line of pistols to be the best ergonomically designed pistols ever. He wanted to design a pistol that was simple, good-looking, and yet ergonomically designed to be able to fit the human hand like a glove. He strove to achieve this during his eighteen years of experimenting with different polymers and metals to make the perfect pistol. As he was experimenting he also tried out different pistol designs, looks, and ideas. Model after model he went through, trying to find the best design, until one day he came up with the design still being used today.
“GLOCK USA – Pistols & Handguns.” GLOCK “Safe Action”® Pistols. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. .

One of the great things about the Glocks’ ergonomical design is its grip design on the line of pistols. The Glock pistols grips are placed at a natural angle for the human hand, and have a natural feel to them that makes their design iconic. The grips on the Glocks’ allow for instinctive pointing and faster acquisition of the picture in front of you, which gives the shooter an advantage when clearing closed in and tight spaces. The grip design on the pistols makes it so much easier to handle and operate even when the shooter is placed under extreme stress in the heat of the moment. The design of the grips also allow for the gun to sit lower in the shooter’s hand. This design gives the shooter more of a sense of confidence and also lowers the amount of area of the gun’s profile sticking out. Having this design lowers the chance of the gun to be turned on its owner, if someone tries to grab or knock the gun away from you. Overall, the grip is so well designed and so well thought out, that it makes the gun easier to use and handle. Another great thing about the Glocks’ amazing ergonomical design is that is a hammerless design. While most pistols on the market use a hammer in their design the Glock does not. A hammer is what most pistols use to set off the round in the pistol’s chamber. A gun’s hammer is basically an external part on the gun that acts like a lever, and, when the trigger is pulled, it drops, hits a firing pin, and then sets off the round in the chamber. This design using a hammer in pistols to set of the rounds has been used for years and years but with one downfall to it. The downfall to this design is that it increases the chance of the gun being snagged on the shooter’s clothes or any other object when being drawn from the waist or its holster. If a shooter is confronted with a situation where he/she needs to draw their pistol fast, but the hammer on the pistol gets snagged, it can result in death for the shooter. The design of a pistol using a hammer or not using one can ultimately result in the death or survival of a shooter; however, Gaston Glock designed his line of pistols that would not use a hammer but only a firing pin. He designed his pistols to have an internal firing pin to set off the round in the pistol’s chamber instead of an external hammer and firing pin. This ergonomical design works the same as the hammer does and is just as reliable. This design lowers the chance of the gun being caught on the clothes when being drawn, from the waist or its holster.

“GLOCK USA – Pistols & Handguns.” GLOCK “Safe Action”® Pistols. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. .

-Suermondt, Jan, ed. Illusstrated Guide to Handguns. Kent: Grange, 2004. Print.

Another advantage of the ergonomical design of Glock is its modular back strap system. The Glocks’ grip design is at the perfect angel for every hand, but since hand sizes vary from person to person, Glock designed its amazing back strap system to fix this problem. This system allows for different back straps (the back part of the grip) to be modified to fit hand sizes from extra small to extra large. The back straps are simple to install by taking out the magazine back strap, and then reinstalling the one that fits best. By adding the correct backstrap to the pistol’s grip,- it will fill the space between the shooter’s palm and the grip; therefore, this gives the shooter a finer grasp on the pistol, and protects the shooter reducing the chance of the gun being turned on him/her. The other design feat of the Glock is its rough textured frame. This design enhances your grip on the pistol and is located on the frame as well as the back straps. This design reduces the chance of the gun slipping out of your hand when it becomes wet, which will give the shooter yet another advantage when firing the pistol.

“GLOCK USA – Pistols & Handguns.” GLOCK “Safe Action”® Pistols. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. .

The final major thing that makes Glock pistols such revolutionary guns is their engineering. The Glock pistols are an engineering feat that can function better than most other pistols on the market today. Even though the company is only 32 years old it produces some of the best-engineered pistols ever.

Glock is also recognized for its engineering of the breakthrough polymer frame. Its frame is made out of a matte black, highly reinforced, super strong polymer. The matte black color of the frame minimizes light reflection, which is an advantage in certain circumstances, as well the polymer material used on the frame is highly resistant to lubricants, color stable, corrosion free, absorbs recoil, and is highly resistant to different climatic conditions. The polymer pistol weighs significantly less than other pistols on the market. The average Glock weighs about twenty ounces while other pistols weigh 35 or more ounces. Durability is the other engineering breakthrough on the Glock. They are so durable that they have been adopted by approximately 65% of U.S. law enforcement. Glock combines high quality advanced engineering, precision manufacturing, and strict quality control to produce some of the most durable pistols on the market. What also contributes to the pistols durability is the use of the lightweight polymer. As described earlier, a Glock’s polymer frame is super strong and will not rust. The polymer frame is so strong that sometimes it is called a “diamond” frame because of how hard and durable it is. Even under some of the world’s harshest conditions they will hardly ever misfire of malfunction. Glock pistols are so durable that they can be firing underwater in salt water and function fine, and the only thing you have to replace later is a ten-dollar firing pin. They can even be soaked in mud for thirty minutes, dipped in water to clean, and fire and still operate fine. Overall Glock is considered one of the most durable pistols.

“GLOCK USA – Pistols & Handguns.” GLOCK “Safe Action”® Pistols. N.p.n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. .

The Glock pistol is a simple, well-designed and engineered pistol. Gaston Glock was a genius in the gun-engineering world and his pistols have paved the way for the modern pistols to come. He has created a worldwide sensation known as Glock. The company today lives up to Mr. Glocks expectations by producing the highly technological pistols that have changed the world.

Bibliography/works cited

“GLOCK USA – Pistols & Handguns.” GLOCK “Safe Action”® Pistols. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2013. .

Shideler, Dan. Greatest Guns of Gun Digest. Iola: Fw Media, 2010. Print.

Ramage, Ken, ed. Handguns 2001. 13th ed. Iola: Krause Publications, 2000. Print.

-Suermondt, Jan, ed. Illusstrated Guide to Handguns. Kent: Grange, 2004. Print.