Kidding, kidding–I know virtually nothing about guns–but one thing I always see a ton of, when I go to gun forums (which I like to read, for some reason) is scores of people always going on about Glocks. Like, Glocks above all else. Seems like most people either love them or hate them and the majority, that I’ve seemed to see, looks like they love them.
What do you think about them, though? Would you say Glocks are among the best gun makes out there or even THE best, in your opinion? Or would you say they are overrated.
Because they’re either great or overrated, one or the other, but they’re certainly very popular from the three gun forums I regularly read at.
Edited to add: “I don’t like Glocks, because I am anti-gun/would never own/shoot one/etc” is not an option because this OPs premise already implies that you have an opinion about Glocks due to knowing about guns or having experience with them. In other words, please don’t turn this into a pro/anti gun debate. If you don’t like guns, there’s no need to answer the question at all.
I’ve only used one once, and I am not a regular gun user.
I found, in comparison to the 9mm Parabellum I shot on the same day, the Glock 10mm was lighter, easier to aim and in my (inexperienced) hands more accurate. And that is most likely due to the weight of the Glock.
If I was to purchase a weapon (which is pretty unlikely), it would be a Glock.
Got an actual cite?
Chuck Taylor has(had?) a long term test running and last I heard, it was over 300,000 rounds. Going by memory, he had one misfire(bad ammo) and two misfeeds(traced to a weakened magazine spring) around 30K rounds. He left it in mud, frozen in blocks of water, only cleaned it when it totally stopped working(generally around 10-15K rounds) and generally tried to make it fail.
The main external safety is between the ears. I’ve had a Glock for years and never had an AD.
I don’t personally own a gun but I was raised and am otherwise regularly around them. I’m not a fan of a Glock mostly because I just find them less comfortable to shoot than other weapons, so since I really only do some target shooting and don’t own a gun, I see them as overrated. That said, they do make solid carry weapons, particularly concealed because they’re generally lighter than comparable weapons of the same caliber, have no external hammer that can get snagged, and have fewer moving parts and are thus fairly reliable. My friends that DO regularly carry, open or concealed, are huge fans of Glocks.
I’ve shot Glocks but don’t own any. I don’t care for the grip angle at all. I do own and shoot several Springfield XD series pistols as well as other brands. Glocks are popular with law enforcement because they can buy them cheaply.
Was waiting to see how long it took to get this response. Bonus points for not using the usual “boogerhook/bang switch” reference.
If trigger discipline was sufficient to avoid a ND then safeties would have never been invented in the first place. There are lots of cases of “Glock Leg” to back me up on this one.
However, it’s also one more point of failure and getting lazy because the safety will save your bacon. What if you forget to put the safety back on? There have been cases of police re-holstering, safety off and finger on trigger. AD leg.
It’s also a point of failure in the stress of a confrontation. Point gun, pull trigger, fatal click.
Revolvers don’t have safeties. (couple of exceptions) Why are they so highly recommended to beginners?
I hardly ever go shooting but I do own a Glock. I have to say, I also don’t like the lack of a safety. Yes, if you shoot yourself in the leg or somehow otherwise pull the trigger by accident (the only way for a Glock to fire, I know), sure, it’s your fault, but if there’s a safety, that’s a lot less likely to happen.
I mean, that’s the point of a safety on every gun, right?
There is an aftermarket mod you can get for the Glock that adds a more typical safety to it.
They got a real boost from being a very common police-issue gun. They are good quality weapons, but they were the go-to cop gun primarily because of the really sweet purchasing deals that Glock offered police agencies. That is to say, they were chosen by many departments because they were the least expensive good quality choice, not because they were the best gun They got a further boost from being used in so many movies and TV shows.
I’ve owned two or three of them, but I don’t particularly care for them. There are other polymer-framed ultra-reliable automatic pistols that I prefer for various reasons. Beretta and H&K both have offerings I like better than Glocks.
As a Canadian I am not permitted to carry one for self defense (absent a credible threat and reams of paperwork and a not inconsiderable amount of luck and influence).
I shoot a CZ-75 SP01 Shadow for target practice and would happily shoot it in competition. It points naturally for me and the steel construction tames recoil and makes it a pleasant and accurate gun to shoot. The CZ-75 and variants are issued to police forces around the world. Its most common weakness is a tendency to break the slide stop pin, which needs to be replaced on a regular (multi-K rounds) interval.
That being said, I have shot a Glock pistol before (I don’t recall if it was a -19 or a -17), I found the trigger disconcerting (felt bendy), and it did not feel comfortable in the hand. In a critical self-defense situation and as a regular carry piece, I would unhesitatingly choose a Glock over the CZ. And yes I would also put in the time and energy for training and practice with it. The consistent trigger pull between first and followup shots*, the simple controls**, and the shear reliability (see posts above), are what matter in both a high stress situation and the lighter polymer frame would reduce discomfort in regular carry.
-DF
The CZ is a DA/SA pistol: You can carry a round in the chamber, hammer down, safety off. The first trigger pull is long and heavier as it cocks and then releases the hammer to fire the shot (Double Action - trigger cocks and then drops the hammer). The cycling of the slide resets the hammer to the cocked position ready for a second lighter trigger press to fire the second shot (Single Action - trigger just drops the hammer). The Glock is striker fired: Every press of the trigger first pulls the striker back and then releases it, every trigger press has the same feel to it.
**The CZ has an external safety, it can be carried “cocked and locked.” In this state, the external safety must be disengaged before the trigger will release the hammer. The Glock has no external safety aside from a small level on the trigger.
Glocks have fewer parts than their competitors which means that there are fewer things that can go wrong, and this also makes them easier to clean and maintain.
That’s funny - I was going to say that while I’ve shot Glocks, FNs, M1911A1s, and several other kinds of automatics, I really like my Ruger P95, because its rather fat grip fits my hand really well, while a lot of the rest feel way too skinny to me.
IMO, most of the automatics made by reputable manufacturers are essentially functionally equivalent- they’re all reliable, sturdy, reasonably accurate weapons. From there, it boils down to personal preference. But a Glock 17 isn’t going to super-duper outshine a CZ-75, or a Ruger SR9, or a HK VP9 or a FN FNS-9. You may prefer one of those for personal fit reasons, or looks, or something else entirely though.
I have several. I chose them for two main reasons:
They are popular and sometimes standard police weapons. If I ever have to use it this can defeat any argument that the weapon was overpowered or extra scary or some other BS that might be sold to a jury.
Lack of external safety - this makes operation simpler so if spouse who doesn’t shoot as regularly needs to use it there is less to remember. Pull the trigger and go bang. That’s it.
The only handgun I own is a 7 shot S&W .357 so I certainly wouldn’t say that Glocks are the king of handguns. I’m looking at buying a concealed carry pistol and I’m looking at the S&W m&p shield 9mm. So obviously I have a bit of a favorite brand that isn’t glock.
That said I have several friends that love Glocks and it’s hard to beat light weight and reliable. They are certainly a top brand but I think there are at least 3-5 equally good brands.
