There are plenty of threads out there debating 9mm vs 45 or 1911 vs Glock and they invariable degenerate into a pissing contest in which the combatants sling dirt at their opponents choice. In reality, I couldn't give a rat's ass as why you like your gun better, but I thought, in the interest of brotherhood everywhere, I'd try to articulate the reasons why I, and many Glock owners, love their Glocks. Before I begin, I'd like to point out that by stating a particular reason as evidence of Glock greatness in no way means that it doesn't apply to other guns - perhaps it also applies to your favourite gun. In fact, if you think about it, the overwhelming majority of guns are far more alike than they are different so why wouldn't many of these apply to your favourite gun so no reason to get anyone's panties in a bunch.
So with no further delay, the following reasons (in no particular order or weighting, a mixture of fact and opinion and may or may not apply to every Glock owner, but they do to me) why I love my Glock.
- The gun is simple and inexpensive to maintain. I love the fact that I have bought parts for loonies for my G17. I love the fact that it doesn't take an advanced degree in engineering to understand how the parts work. I love the fact that it's simplicity allows me to venture into the realm of gunsmithing on that gun without that panic feeling that I will screw it up and render it a brick.
- The gun is light. There is no denying that polymer frames are incredibly light. I don't even notice it on my hip. One night at practice we spent several minutes firing weak-hand, unsupported, full mags, until empty (meaning no re-holstering between shots). I could have kissed Gaston Glock for making that gun so light.
- At the ranges for which handguns are most effective, it has all the stopping power I need. At my club, we are fans of Mozambique drills and shooting at moving targets - my targets don't die any slower that anyone elses. I have every confidence that my 9mm rds will do what I need them to do within the effective range of my G17. Outside of that range, I'll be running in the opposite direction (or at least to the closest handy long gun).
- No manual safety, de-cocker, or hammer. I own guns with all of these and cannot begin to express how much I love the fact that when I insert a mag and rack the slide my G17 is ready to rock. Anyone who has taken martial arts understands instinctual action and muscle memory. The absence of all that noise accelerates your ability to get to the point where you can operate the gun with less thought and that directly translates into faster and smoother. It goes without saying that external bits and pieces like this can be prone to catching on clothing so that is another reason why I like Glock's naked slide and frame
- DA only. I know that seems strange, but I like the consistency. SA-DA guns seem strange to me cause they are inconsistent. The trigger length of pull changes if cocked or not. I prefer the consistency every time.
- Function over form. A lot of guys point to how ugly the Glock is, but I just don't see it. Everything about the Glock is engineered to maximize on the function and operation of the gun and to me that is beautiful. I have seen guys look at a car engine and remark on its beauty. WTF? It's a car engine, not Cindy Crawford, but they are right. They see the beauty in the design and I am the same with my Glock. Walt Disney was fond of saying "put the money in the show". What he meant was spend your money on the important things (in his case, what his customers saw and experienced).
Gaston was the same - he focused on the importance of functionality and reliability and put nothing into pretty grips or fancy slides.
- Reliability. Born out of its simplicity, the Glock is incredibly reliable. I have fired thousands of rounds through my Glock and have experienced the following failures: failure to feed (my fault for limp wristing), failure to fire (my fault for not fully seating the primer on the reload) and failure to go into battery (I have had a handful of reloaded casings that swelled near the butt end). None of these failures can be attributed to design or function of the gun. I have never experienced a failure when the operator did everything right.
- Customization. This is an easy one and of course applies to most mass market guns. Any gun for which you can by a Zombie Hunter slide plate is cool (no, I don't have one, but they are kinda cool).
- Lefty friendly. I run a G17-3G which is not ambidextrous but I still find it easy to operate being a lefty. I think the auto safety / no hammer are the real distinctions here that make it friendly. I have purposely not gone to a fully ambi-gun because I live in a right-handed world and feel I need to be able to operate equipment as it comes in this case.
- Its popularity. I know that is really not a direct variable to the gun, but its popularity is something I love. They are everywhere, parts are everywhere, ammo is everywhere, recognized everywhere and other Glock owners are everywhere. I have no fear that the parts I want / need will become scarce and over-priced.
- Interchangeability. I have heard that something like 80%+ of Glock parts are interchangeable across models.
- I can mount it into a shoulder stock or carbine kit. Is there anything it can't do???
- It's based on the best of other designs. I have heard that Gaston sought input from existing gun manufacturers for design considerations and someone who knows guns better than I could probably easily point out the features found on a Glock that come from or were inspired by other guns. That just makes good sense to me - take the best of what is out there, add your own ideas and new materials and build a new and improved version. That's all Gaston really did.
- It's reasonably priced. $700 is fair for a pistol of this quality and performance. If I pay $1400 for another gun, what makes it 200% better? Is it twice as functional? Twice as reliable?
- I ignore the things that don't really matter. People debate grip angle, but I don't (my wrists are joints and I have full pitch control over them).
People debate over the grip, but I don't (my hands can grip any pistol well enough to fire it). People debate over accuracy, I don't (a pistol is not a rifle, don't expect it to perform like one). Polymer melts (well so do I at those temperatures and a perfect material has yet to be invented). To me, these are minor points that are hardly worth discussing.
So where does that leave us? I love my Glock and I prefer it to other guns. You love whatever gun you love and prefer it to other guns. And "better" is a meaningless word. It's all good.
So with no further delay, the following reasons (in no particular order or weighting, a mixture of fact and opinion and may or may not apply to every Glock owner, but they do to me) why I love my Glock.
- The gun is simple and inexpensive to maintain. I love the fact that I have bought parts for loonies for my G17. I love the fact that it doesn't take an advanced degree in engineering to understand how the parts work. I love the fact that it's simplicity allows me to venture into the realm of gunsmithing on that gun without that panic feeling that I will screw it up and render it a brick.
- The gun is light. There is no denying that polymer frames are incredibly light. I don't even notice it on my hip. One night at practice we spent several minutes firing weak-hand, unsupported, full mags, until empty (meaning no re-holstering between shots). I could have kissed Gaston Glock for making that gun so light.
- At the ranges for which handguns are most effective, it has all the stopping power I need. At my club, we are fans of Mozambique drills and shooting at moving targets - my targets don't die any slower that anyone elses. I have every confidence that my 9mm rds will do what I need them to do within the effective range of my G17. Outside of that range, I'll be running in the opposite direction (or at least to the closest handy long gun).
- No manual safety, de-cocker, or hammer. I own guns with all of these and cannot begin to express how much I love the fact that when I insert a mag and rack the slide my G17 is ready to rock. Anyone who has taken martial arts understands instinctual action and muscle memory. The absence of all that noise accelerates your ability to get to the point where you can operate the gun with less thought and that directly translates into faster and smoother. It goes without saying that external bits and pieces like this can be prone to catching on clothing so that is another reason why I like Glock's naked slide and frame
- DA only. I know that seems strange, but I like the consistency. SA-DA guns seem strange to me cause they are inconsistent. The trigger length of pull changes if cocked or not. I prefer the consistency every time.
- Function over form. A lot of guys point to how ugly the Glock is, but I just don't see it. Everything about the Glock is engineered to maximize on the function and operation of the gun and to me that is beautiful. I have seen guys look at a car engine and remark on its beauty. WTF? It's a car engine, not Cindy Crawford, but they are right. They see the beauty in the design and I am the same with my Glock. Walt Disney was fond of saying "put the money in the show". What he meant was spend your money on the important things (in his case, what his customers saw and experienced).
Gaston was the same - he focused on the importance of functionality and reliability and put nothing into pretty grips or fancy slides.
- Reliability. Born out of its simplicity, the Glock is incredibly reliable. I have fired thousands of rounds through my Glock and have experienced the following failures: failure to feed (my fault for limp wristing), failure to fire (my fault for not fully seating the primer on the reload) and failure to go into battery (I have had a handful of reloaded casings that swelled near the butt end). None of these failures can be attributed to design or function of the gun. I have never experienced a failure when the operator did everything right.
- Customization. This is an easy one and of course applies to most mass market guns. Any gun for which you can by a Zombie Hunter slide plate is cool (no, I don't have one, but they are kinda cool).
- Lefty friendly. I run a G17-3G which is not ambidextrous but I still find it easy to operate being a lefty. I think the auto safety / no hammer are the real distinctions here that make it friendly. I have purposely not gone to a fully ambi-gun because I live in a right-handed world and feel I need to be able to operate equipment as it comes in this case.
- Its popularity. I know that is really not a direct variable to the gun, but its popularity is something I love. They are everywhere, parts are everywhere, ammo is everywhere, recognized everywhere and other Glock owners are everywhere. I have no fear that the parts I want / need will become scarce and over-priced.
- Interchangeability. I have heard that something like 80%+ of Glock parts are interchangeable across models.
- I can mount it into a shoulder stock or carbine kit. Is there anything it can't do???
- It's based on the best of other designs. I have heard that Gaston sought input from existing gun manufacturers for design considerations and someone who knows guns better than I could probably easily point out the features found on a Glock that come from or were inspired by other guns. That just makes good sense to me - take the best of what is out there, add your own ideas and new materials and build a new and improved version. That's all Gaston really did.
- It's reasonably priced. $700 is fair for a pistol of this quality and performance. If I pay $1400 for another gun, what makes it 200% better? Is it twice as functional? Twice as reliable?
- I ignore the things that don't really matter. People debate grip angle, but I don't (my wrists are joints and I have full pitch control over them).
People debate over the grip, but I don't (my hands can grip any pistol well enough to fire it). People debate over accuracy, I don't (a pistol is not a rifle, don't expect it to perform like one). Polymer melts (well so do I at those temperatures and a perfect material has yet to be invented). To me, these are minor points that are hardly worth discussing.
So where does that leave us? I love my Glock and I prefer it to other guns. You love whatever gun you love and prefer it to other guns. And "better" is a meaningless word. It's all good.
