The story of modern military sidearms never fails to mention the brand of Glock with a lot of respect. Once upon a time, in the mid-eighties, Austria welcomed a very strange project – Gaston Glock, then better known as the man who makes plastic curtain rods, decided to enter the world of firearms. The Austrian Ministry of Defense was calling for a new type of pistol: lighter, simpler, and of a better quality than the one that soldiers were using. In dealing with this situation, the inexperienced firearm maker, Glock, got to work with no more than five to re-conceptualize the service sidearm from scratch.
The big success was the injection-molded polymer frame, a daring gamble back then when practically every pistol was still made of steel. The new frame not only lightened the gun, but it also altered the way the gun ate up and handled the blow, and was resistant even to harsh treatment. Most importantly, to bear with the lost weight, Glock utilized an innovative design that worked perfectly to the outfit’s total reliability, longevity, and minimum problems in field maintenance and thus gave the soldiers a weapon they could easily handle, take care of it without much trouble, and were almost certain of its performance.
At the same time, the introduction of the Safe Action System, in no way less important, formed the basis of the present Glock concept. In contrast to traditional manual safeties, Glock equipped three internal, automatic safety mechanisms which operate in synergy, only releasing the pistol’s security when the trigger is pulled. The outcome was a pistol faster to deploy and more secure, while still being able to pass a very harsh drop test, which other designs had failed. Consequently, what margin Glock provided was not just a firearm meeting military criteria, but an entirely new standard in simplicity and longevity was set.
The prototypes, which were first presented to the Austrian military in 1982, underwent the hardest tests imaginable. In the trials, the pistols were dunked in water, frozen, thrown into mud, dropped from heights, and run over with a truck. Every time, it was Glock’s gun that made it through. It was taken into service with the name P80 and was renamed the Glock 17, reflecting the 17-round magazine shortly thereafter. Thereafter, Austria placed more than 25,000 orders between 1982 and 1984, thus rapidly spreading the gun’s reputation all over Europe.
Shortly thereafter, Norway and Sweden decided to adopt the Glock 17 as their standard sidearm, just like Austria. The handgun soon became famous for its toughness and reliability; as a result, many police and military forces across the world started to show interest in it. Later on, Glock changed its attention to the US and went on to set up a branch in Georgia, and began talking to the law enforcement agencies. In 1986, the small police department of Colby, Kansas, became the first in the U.S. to issue Glock pistols. From there, adoption spread rapidly across the country.
The strategy was perfected with every new generation of Glock. The first generation was the one with the simplest concept: a full-sized, striker-fired pistol with a clean design. The second generation was characterized by the addition of better grip texture for enhanced handling.
By 1998, the third generation announced the features of finger grooves, a thumb rest, and an accessory rail for lights and lasers -features that were divisive but gained a substantial user base. The fourth generation of 2009 came with the additional features of interchangeable backstraps and a dual recoil spring system, thus providing more comfort and adaptability.
By 2017, the fifth generation had made great strides. Finger grooves were removed, a flared magazine well facilitated faster reloads, and the ambidextrous controls made the pistol more left-hand friendly. Additionally, the Glock Marksman Barrel also enhanced the accuracy of the pistol with better rifling and a precision crown. Nevertheless, the handgun forever maintained its main characteristics that were straightforward, reliable, and usable in any situation.
It may sound a little outrageous, “Perfection” being the motto of the company, but as we have already seen in the previous paragraphs, it is proven time and time again, through the years and in the field. More than 23 million Glock pistols had been sold worldwide by the end of 2023, a self-explanatory number.
Glock’s impact is not limited only to the army. Cops in every corner of the planet use them daily, and recreational shooters have often vouched for the no-nonsense design, toughness, and the never-ending aftermarket support of the brand. Every single model of Glock is either the duty-sized Glock 17, the versatile Glock 19, or the slim Glock 43 designed for concealed carry, which all have the same DNA: reliable, tough, and made with the same philosophy that started it all.
The world of firearms was turned upside down by Gaston Glock’s company, which came from making curtain rods in Austria. What he made was not just a pistol but a revolution that changed the expectations of military, police, and civilian shooters in relation to sidearms.