Why Is The Glock So Popular?

The Glock Pistol: Why So Popular?

Published: Sep 25, 2013

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This is such a popular pistol that for 25 years(2013 Numbers) it has been one of the best selling handguns in America.

Now this is the Model 17 and is what started the whole Glock revolution. It was designed in 1982, but entered U. S. markets in 1986. In fact, they just celebrated 25 years of Glock in the United States. It serves in 65 percent of all law enforcement agencies across the country. That’s over 2, 000 agencies and 150, 000 pistols.  That fact alone gives a lot of credibility.

In 1999, over 2 million Glocks were imported into the United States. Honestly, no one really knows how many Glocks have been sold, because Glock is a private company, and they haven’t released those numbers.

The Model 19 is Glock’s best selling model. But why is this such a popular pistol with so many different people?  It is smooth like butter.

You know, to be honest, the first time I bought a Glock it had to be back in 1987 and it was a model 17.  It was one of the first gens. When I first saw it, I thought man this is a blocky squared off looking pistol. I mean, I was used to the Berettas, Smith and Wesson and the Browning High Power.  This was a completely different design from anything I’d ever seen.   But once I picked it up, started looking over it, felt the weight and saw how simple it was, no external safeties coming off the side, the slide release, it peeked my interest.

This is an extended slide release, and look how close it rides to the frame. What that does is makes it really easy to draw and holster. It makes it really easy to manipulate. Once you pull the slide back, you just pull the trigger. Take your magazine out with your magazine release. Just a very simple gun.

I think that was a huge appeal to many people. They didn’t have to think. They could draw it, and if they needed to use it, they could. Of course, the other thing, which was a huge boost for Glock, was the light weight because of this polymer frame. A lot of people called it a plastic gun in the beginning.

Many were afraid people could slip through airports with this gun. There were all kind of crazy rumors going around. Of course, that obviously was not the case.

Another concern and criticism was, this polymer won’t last. It’s not durable enough. After many function and tolerance tests, that concern was eradicated as well. It wasn’t long and multiple law enforcement agencies started buying these handguns.

One endurance test was 100 rounds through the Glock pistol without any malfunctions. It was confirmed over and over.  Finally, after 100, 000 rounds, the magazine malfunctioned and that was only because it wouldn’t hold the slide back after the last round, but it still fed through the gun. It proved to be a good system.

The price on these has been very reasonable for the quality you’re getting. They’ve risen over the past couple of years, but for years Glocks were running in the 450 range. Now you’re looking at about 525 and up according to where you’re getting it and how the market’s going.

Another major thing was the magazine capacity.  It was 17 rounds. Your typical pistol at that time was about 14 to 15 rounds. So you had a 17 round magazine, super lightweight, a pistol that was fairly reasonable and very simple. That also led to a lot of the popularity. Not to mention the magazines run about 25.

And you know, that’s one of the things I like to have a number of magazines with my pistol. And a lot of times with some of the more premium brands, such as H& K and SIG, those magazines can be very expensive and sometimes difficult to locate. Then you bring in the 33 round magazine, Glock factory magazine, which is made for their model 18 full automatic, its a really cool option with flexibility.

Now with that said, you have your model 26, which is your subcompact 9mm. Same magazine fits in here as does in the 17. And then you have your 19, which is a compact version, and yet it feels like a full size handgun. I mean, you have the same caliber with different models that all manipulate the same, and to be honest with you, shoot pretty close to the same. And you can interchange these magazines. Another cool thing about the Glock magazines is there are a number of rifles, carbines, that are made to use Glock magazines.

Of course you have different calibers like this model 36 which is a 45 ACP. It holds six rounds and it’s an excellent concealed carry piece. But then you also have your model 30, which is larger. And then you have your model 21, which is a full size 45 ACP. And talking of big bore, there’s 10 millimeter Glock 20. And this gives me a lot of other options with the 10 millimeter cartridge and so on.

There are seven different calibers that Glock offers. And there are 38 different models. There’s a lot of different options with all the same design, a lot of the same feel, all the controls are the same. Once they started going with the Tenifer finish, which is a super hard finish on these slides, that really gave a lot of durability and kept these guns looking great longer.

Of course, another appeal is how easy it is to break down; pull the trigger, pull it back just about an eighth of an inch and drop these little tabs. Now of course there are other pistols that are this easy to break down now, but when these came out this was revolutionary and it still has a lot of appeal.

There are also a number of conversion kits where you can just change the barrel and the magazine and have a totally different caliber if the frames coincide like the 9mm and the 40. The 357 SIG all have the same frames. That’s just an easy option without having to go through all the paperwork with the different frames.

Now one thing to understand about all the different pistols that are out there is there are different people out there as well and each of these pistols sell by the thousands. You know, you’ve got your Beretta 92, I mean what a great selling pistol used by the U. S. military. I love this pistol, I love the accuracy, I love how refined it is, how smooth it feels.

The Browning Hi Power, such a classic pistol. Excellent. And, you know, many people just choose a pistol because of the way it feels, the way it shoots in their hand. I mean, you’ve got the 1911, which is massively popular, and this is a Springfield Champion, and it’s just a great shooting gun. I grew up learning how to shoot on 45 1911s.

Of course, you have your CZ, and your CZ pistols are just excellent. They’re extremely ergonomic, they’re classic, they’re beautiful. And so, while I’m speaking of Glock, I also totally enjoy all these different firearms, and I understand why people go to these other than the Glock. And there are a lot of reasons.

You know, a lot of people ask me, say, you know, why do you do such positive reviews on guns? Well, for one thing, I love guns. I love different type guns. And if I want to compare these two, I have certain preferences. But to me the same reason somebody went out and bought a Smith Wesson M& P because that was the gun of their choice That’s their opinion.

That’s their prejudice on what they like. It’s the way it feels in their hand. Their hands are different. They weigh different. They’re different sizes. Some are taller. Some are shorter.  Some just these appeal to others and so while millions of these are sold , it’s up to the person who’s buying the pistol and a lot of times it’s just straight up marketing.  And I think Glock does a fantastic job at marking their pistols.

I mean really, Glock perfection? All the different things that I’ve shown about the Glock pistol and what’s made it so popular has now been copied and mimicked by a lot of different companies. And that’s okay, because it gives us a lot of other choices to enjoy the things that made the Glock so popular.

It’s really up to the individual shooter what you feel. And I’ll tell you, like I tell everybody, when choosing a handgun, go to a gun shop, a well stocked gun shop, and put different pistols in your hand. Check the natural point of aim, and see what gun best suits you. Don’t go out and buy a Glock because it’s the most popular.

Go out and buy something that suits your personality. Again, there are different people, different hand sizes, different body shapes, different preferences and prejudices that lead to finding the right handgun for you. So, are there better pistols than the Glock out on the market? Sure there are. Are there pistols that are more refined, that are more accurate?  Of course there are. But for a medium priced handgun that just works and is really high quality, It’s just hard to beat the Glock.

You know, the Glock’s been called many things. It’s a block, it’s ugly, you know, beauty’s in the eyes of the beholder. But I’ll tell ya, the more I own and shoot Glock, the more beautiful it is.

Be strong, be of good courage, God bless America, long live the Republic.

By Don Porter