The Basics of Glocks: Pistol Guide

Glocks: Pistol Guide

A History of Glock Handguns

When Gaston Glock introduced his first handgun made with a polymer frame, the Glock 17, in 1982, it was met with skepticism by gun owners and non-gun owners alike. However, today, Glock models are some of the most popular handguns on the market due to their accuracy, light weight, and reliability. Since the Glock 17, there are now over 50 new types of Glocks and Glock pistols garner the same kind of name recognition as famous companies like Colt or Smith & Wesson.

Basics of Glocks

Glocks are polymer-framed, semi-automatic, short-recoil operated, locked-breech, striker-fired handguns, with the rimfire G44 being the only exception as it is a blowback-operated pistol. Glocks come in tons of different calibers and the different types of Glocks come in a variety of different sizes. Glocks were the first extremely successful and popular polymer firearms and were designed to fill a need of the Austrian army. Fast-forward to today and a Glock handgun is the firearm of choice of 65% of US law enforcement. The strides that Glocks have made in the world of handguns are meteoric and the result of a quality product.

Basic Guidelines of Glocks

  1. If you own a Glock model, do not use it to shoot plain lead bullets no matter what model it is. This is highly advised against by the company and may result in a voided warranty.
  2. Just like any other polymer handgun, Glocks must be fired with a firm grip and a locked wrist to ensure that it functions properly. Since polymer flexes ever so slightly when it is fired, a loose grip can aggravate this effect.
  3. If money is tight, the newest generation of Glocks is not necessary and the older Glock pistols will serve most shooters perfectly well.
  4. Glock refers to their pistols as the Glock Safe Action Pistol in reference to the three built-in independent safety devices. These are:
  • Trigger safety
  • Firing pin safety
  • The drop safety

Now you have all the basics of Glocks down pat. The history and features of Glock handguns are part of the DNA of a firearm manufacturer that has taken a stronghold over the world of handguns and doesn’t appear to be fading in popularity anytime soon.

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