R.I.P. Gaston Glock.

[Monocrom]

Passed away yesterday, Dec. 27th, 2023 at age 94.
You can probably tell by his last name, his significant impact upon the world of self-defense and police work thanks to his inventions.

 

[vicv]

Yes it's great he invented a plastic gun with no safety and a light trigger. Wouldn't call that a good impact. Besides the impact of bullets hitting people while they unholster their firearm

 

[ilikeguns40]

Yes it's great he invented a plastic gun with no safety and a light trigger. Wouldn't call that a good impact. Besides the impact of bullets hitting people while they unholster their firearm

Been carrying that "plastic" gun for over 15 years now with no issues on trigger safety or accidentally going off. Triggers actually aren't light and require a good amount of pull.

Bullets hitting people while they unholster is an individual issue, not a gun issue. My pistol never walked out of my holster and automatically shot someone.

The amount of lives he saved inventing one of the best guns in the world is fantastic. More and more sane people can rely on a reliable firearm to protect themselves with.

 

[vicv]

How is it one of the best guns ever invented? And how does making firearms save lives? Over another pistol? I can name many pistols better than the Glock. 1911, 92f, p226, cz 75 and 85, hi-power, the list goes on. I've shot Glocks before. Maybe not as much trigger time as you. But they have around a 5lb trigger stock. That's way too light when there's no safety. Revolvers and double actions have the heavy trigger. 1911s have safeties. The Glock has a trigger. That's it. It's a terrible design. And nothing will change that no matter how much you like it. They're reliable feeders because they have such an aggressive feed ramp they have a hard time running lead ammo. I know people like them. I have to wonder if it's just because they're cheap compared to a good pistol

 

[bykfixer]

Yes it's great he invented a plastic gun with no safety and a light trigger. Wouldn't call that a good impact. Besides the impact of bullets hitting people while they unholster their firearm

 

[ABTOMAT]

Almost every striker-fired pistol today is a Glock clone on some level. You don't have to like that type of gun but you can't ignore how influential it was. One thing I gotta mention, though, is that his main innovation was a partially cocked striker with a trigger safety. Glock didn't invent plastic striker fired pistols. That was HK as far as I know. I had an HK VP70z with the famous staple gun trigger. Glock improved on that.

I actually don't like Glocks for several reasons but for me it's more recognizing personal preference than turning it into a religious argument. My own preference runs towards DA/SA guns with no safeties and decockers, like Sig P220 or HK USP. Not why people say Glocks don't have safeties though--they have the trigger fin that prevents it from being fired accidentally unless something really gets stuck in the trigger guard.

 

[rwolfenstein]

It really makes you wonder on things, Gaston was the one holding up development on the magazines. He wanted all the magazines to have the polymer coating, but because of that it prevented higher capacity. It also prevented them from making a G43 sized double stack micro compact. I guess I wonder if Glock as a company will change or keep producing the same thing?

 

[Monocrom]

Yes it's great he invented a plastic gun with no safety and a light trigger. Wouldn't call that a good impact. Besides the impact of bullets hitting people while they unholster their firearm

High-end polymers are used in every facet of the world. Far from cheap plastic used on Glock pistols, and Glock bayonets. Speaking from experience. The pistols do have safeties. They are located on the face of the triggers. Many police departments insist that their standard-issue Glock pistols be equipped with the New York Plus trigger. 12 pound trigger-pulls. No where remotely light, for a trigger. That's 12 pounds each pull. Glocks literally mimic quality revolvers in how they are designed to be used.

Many instructors, myself included, prefer them since the learning curve for students is not steep at all. Plus, it takes far more repetition, training, and developing muscle memory to learn to snick off an external frame or slide mounted safety and flip it back on after use; than simply drawing a handgun from a holster with a heavy trigger-pull that needs deliberate squeezing of said trigger.

Negligent discharges while drawing from a holster have nothing to do with safeties. Everything to do with poor gun-handling. Keep your finger outside of the trigger-guard while drawing your gun from its holster is Basic gun-handling 101. The draw stroke from a holster needs to be properly practiced.

I believe at one point, Glock used to offer a 16 pound trigger-pull. Which is insane! Besides the New York Plus, there's the New York Trigger-pull (8 pounds, and best overall). Glocks used to come with a 5 pound trigger-pull which is still acceptable. A 3 pound one can be custom ordered from Glock. Not recommended. Too light. But proper training is what's needed to eliminate accidental discharges.

I will say training older students who are used to revolvers with long, heavy trigger pulls is easiest with Glock semi-autos than any other. Any competent gunsmith can swap out the standard 5 pounder with a New York trigger, or a New York Plus trigger very easily.

EDIT: Typo.

 

[ilikeguns40]

One thing. You mentioned 1911s, they are not more reliable than most pistols considering around 58 parts vs 34 on a Glock. More parts = more failure points. There are also many brands of the 1911 model. I once owned a Kimber CDP2 1911, paid around $1200 for it. It was junk, jammed every other mag and I sold it instantly. Just because you don't like the gun and think it sucks does not mean it's a bad pistol, that's just your personal preference. I've owned around 50 handguns in my days and only kept a few just because they never jammed and those are the Glock 23 and a Sig P229 SAS.

 

[vicv]

I agree the most important safety is you. But things can get stuck in the trigger guard. It just doesn't sit well with me.

A 12 pound trigger? That changes things. With that it would be a good pistol. That's a good heavy pull. But then I'd prefer a da/sa so I could have a lighter trigger in subsequent shots or when I pull back the hammer. That's why I don't like spurless or hammer less revolvers.

There is nothing wrong with high-grade polymers. My main issue is the trigger. Everyone keeps saying it does have a safety. I know it has three of them. But they're all disconnected when you squeeze the trigger. There should be some thing else that prevents you from pulling the trigger at all. Or a heavier pull. Which as mentioned some have.

It's not a religious thing. I don't really care. I'm in Canada we can't carry anyway. And I'm a revolver guy because they're more rad.

 

[vicv]

One thing. You mentioned 1911s, they are not more reliable than most pistols considering around 58 parts vs 34 on a Glock. More parts = more failure points. There are also many brands of the 1911 model. I once owned a Kimber CDP2 1911, paid around $1200 for it. It was junk, jammed every other mag and I sold it instantly. Just because you don't like the gun and think it sucks does not mean it's a bad pistol, that's just your personal preference. I've owned around 50 handguns in my days and only kept a few just because they never jammed and those are the Glock 23 and a Sig P229 SAS.

I hear ya the Kimbers are absolute junk. And for how expensive they are……

It's not personal preference though when it's unsafe. A pistol with no safety and a 5 lb trigger isn't safe. Especially not for carry. That's all

I have to disagree with you though on a reliability part. I'm not saying that that 1911s are more reliable than Glocks because they're not. But having less parts does not necessarily mean more reliable. A watch is more reliable than a glass hammer for instance

 

[Voider of Warranties]

RIP mein Freund. I do.

 

[ilikeguns40]

I hear ya the Kimbers are absolute junk. And for how expensive they are……

It's not personal preference though when it's unsafe. A pistol with no safety and a 5 lb trigger isn't safe. Especially not for carry. That's all

I have to disagree with you though on a reliability part. I'm not saying that that 1911s are more reliable than Glocks because they're not. But having less parts does not necessarily mean more reliable. A watch is more reliable than a glass hammer for instance

I get your point on safety, but when it comes down to it. There are no reports or incidents of the Glock safety or trigger pound pull causing a discharge. If it was a common thing then the design would've changed by now

If by chance there are instances then that individual is more than likely an idiot and should not be carrying a firearm

 

[vicv]

I get your point on safety, but when it comes down to it. There are no reports or incidents of the Glock safety or trigger pound pull causing a discharge. If it was a common thing then the design would've changed by now

If by chance there are instances then that individual is more than likely an idiot and should not be carrying a firearm

I know. I just don't like the hype I guess. My brother has one and swears by it. But I outshoot him with my 1911 and smiths and rugers.

 

[SCEMan]

I once owned a Kimber CDP2 1911, paid around $1200 for it. It was junk, jammed every other mag and I sold it instantly.

Why didn't you send it to Kimber for warranty repair/replacement? You must have lost some bucks reselling an expensive, unreliable firearm.

 

[SCEMan]

Many instructors, myself included, prefer them since the learning curve for students is not steep at all. Plus, it takes far more repetition, training, and developing muscle memory to learn to snick off an external frame or slide mounted safety and flip it back on after use; than simply drawing a handgun from a holster with a heavy trigger-pull that needs deliberate squeezing of said trigger.

Very true. As a young man, when I started out with 1911s, there was definite manual of arms for safe and proficient use. Repetition developed muscle memory to engage/disengage the thumb safety reflexively. Even now, many many years later, it's still ingrained in me. But you have to really work at it to master it. A lot of work if you're not serious & committed, but the payoff is that great trigger pull.

Negligent discharges while drawing from a holster have nothing to do with safeties. Everything to do with poor gun-handling.

IIRC; "Glock Leg Syndrome" is where the pistol owner shoots him/herself while reholstering their weapon. This was fairly common early on in PDs.

 

[alpg88]

The genius is in its simplicity. I can not think of a simpler gun, and as reliable. it is also lightweight. all those issues with unintended discharges are user errors, some people are not capable to handle one safely, but it is ok, there are other guns for them.

 

[alpg88]

A pistol with no safety and a 5 lb trigger isn't safe. Especially not for carry. That's all

it is safe, it has something no other triggers have, a wall. hundreds of thousands, of not millions carry it safely, so it is not a gun issue, it is a wrong hands issue. Notice you are the only one complaining about it.

 

[alpg88]

we have 2 threads on this topic, any chance mods can merge them?

 

[M@elstrom]

Regardless... I'd be happier with a Glock than nothing at all 😊