Gaston Glock, dead at 94
I know there are a lot of folks in the world, including me, who like guns. Nice guns. Blued steel, walnut, maybe some tasteful engraving? Can even stretch to stainless steel, possibly some al-u-minium for lightness, in extreme cases chrome plating. But unless it’s part of an otherwise notable rifle like an AR, NO PLASTIC.
Then there was a fellow who changed that for many. Gaston Glock basically set the firearms world on its ear by designing a pistol for submission to the Austrian Army, and the rest, as they say, was history.
Polymer frame – anathema. But it worked. 17 round capacity of 9mm – three more than the best you could get from the Browning HiPower, the reigning champ of 9mm combat handguns with over 50 of the world’s militaries relying on it. (Note – Glock series numbers are one-up by introduction, and the Glock-17 was his 17th patent. The capacity happening with the model number is just coincidence.
Glock, a reclusive engineer, founded the company in 1963 in Deutsch-Wagram, near Vienna. It has since expanded around the world, including a U.S. subsidiary founded in 1985.
Glock handguns are used by police and some countries’ military forces, as well as private customers. The weapon was significantly lighter, cheaper and more reliable than the models available when it was created.
Personally, not a fan but I have to admire how the company has grown to be a world leader in a relatively short time. And the darn guns reliably shoot. Every time there is a viable round in the chamber. And that is the cardinal rule of a gun you rely on for your life: it has to be reliable. It has to work, every time you pull the trigger. And pretty much, Glocks do. May not have as good a trigger as a 1911, true. But millions of shooters have found them good enough.
Tupperware guns… call ’em what you want. But you have to admire the man behind them. Gaston Glock basically set gun manufacturing on a new path, and pretty much every gun firm makes a polymer-frame high-cap 9mm.
He ultimately deserves to be ranked alongside Samuel Colt, Eli Whitney, John Mahnon Marlin, John Browning, Mikhail Kalashnikov and Bill Ruger.
Thank you Mr. Glock. RIP
I will agree with you that they fire every time a round is in the chamber and someone puts their finger in the trigger well… even when they are just trying to draw or replace the gun in a holster! Of course that is not the guns fault, and it should not be held accountable for working exactly as it is supposed to, its the user who negligently discharged it!
Though I am not a fan either (weird grip angle)
Rest in Peace Gaston, your legacy will live on.
Not a plastic fan, BUTTTT My Glock-17 Longslide is a tack driver.
Mine too, it’s my first choice as a snake gun.
Glock 19 for the win.
You forgot Eugene Stoner…just sayin’
So noted and amended in my thoughts.
When my wife first got into shooting, she was “into” Glocks. I think she just liked the sound of the name…anyway, we bought her a police trade in Gen 3 Glock 19 at a gun show at a very low price.
It had some holster wear on the finish, but otherwise was in perfect condition (probably only been fired once a year for requals).
Fast forward ten years and she’s now laid claim to a Sig, leaving the Glock 19 to me. I’ve never really been a Glock fan, but I’m not one to let things go to waste so I started playing with it. I got a threaded barrel and put a compensator on it (wanna get a suppressor but haven’t done that yet), got an RMR cut slide and put a vortex venom dot sight on it. Put a ramped magazine well on it for quicker reloads and that’s now the gun I use for bowling pin and steel matches.
The thing is, as much as I dislike the trigger and as little as I care for the aesthetics of the gun, it just freaking works. It makes holes where I’m pointing it and it goes “bang” every time I pull the trigger.
I don’t have an emotional connection to it like I do my 1911, it doesn’t have the sleek, sexy lines of my Sig, and it isn’t as concealable as my LC9, but it has found its place for me and it fits that role well.
Oh…and I know I’m getting old when the first thing I thought when I saw the picture at the top of the post was “someone need to teach her to keep her booger hooks off the bang switches”.
I had to back to the top and look again.
Guns? What guns?
There they are.
You’re right.
Missed that me own self! Must’ve been the belly button distraction. Or something?
Rest easy, Good Sir! I’m sure that you have much to discuss with HMS JMB (HBHN) when you meet up with him
“He ultimately deserves to be ranked alongside Samuel Colt, Eli Whitney, John Mahnon Marlin, John Browning, Mikhail Kalashnikov and Bill Ruger”
You left out J.C. Higgins.
Kelgren…innovative but I suspect in the long run the jury is still out. Tried to put in people either with multiple solid designs or folks who fundamentally changed the industry. Like “the best”, personal opinions will play a part.
“He ultimately deserves to be ranked alongside Samuel Colt, Eli Whitney, John Mahnon Marlin, John Browning, Mikhail Kalashnikov and Bill Ruger”
You left out George Kellgren.
RIP, Mister Glock.
As well as David Marshall “Carbine” Williams and John Garand.
Paul Mauser, James Paris Lee
Was not a fan of Glocks until I had to carry one for the sheriff’s office. Now I won’t carry anything else. Reliable and accurate. I love them.
Amen.
Truth. The SO I worked for issued the G21 for uniform patrol and when I went to Intell, I was able to acquire a G23 for concealed carry. I STILL carry that G23 today whenever I go anywhere.
Carried 2 on me for many years in a metro department. Solid and reliable. I don’t want anything else. Shooting a Glock is like putting on an old pair of tennis shoes. Familiar, broken in, and can operate it without thinking.
First exposure to a Glock was when the Dept changed the weapon policy and semi’s were authorized. Of the 3 choices that were allowed for carry the Glock was the cheapest. That was my overriding reason for my choice. After I got it and did qualifications it really grew on me. To date I have had 4 of them. Due to options now available, with one frame I can shoot 22LR, 9mm and 40, just by changing either the barrel (9 / 40) or by changing the slide and barrel (22).
I like the brand but they suffer from one thing. They lack flexibility in the factory to make innovations to the product. Things like better sights and a better trigger as well as going to a more popular optic mount system that you can get from other brands. Perhaps now changes will start. So far all they have done is minor tweaks and swap assemblies like leggo blocks to make (new) models.
They were definitely a big step forward in weapon design and the gun world is a better place for it.
I remember when the glocks hit the US and what a reaction from the anti gun peeps plus the “plastic”?????? gun peeps like myself. Working for Brink’s and we had good old steel Colts and S&W wheel gun .38’s.
I recall as a teen reading Jack Anderson’s column in USA Today about how ‘easy’ it was to sneak the Glock past metal detectors. Knowing next to nothing about firearms, I stupidly believed it until I actually handled a G17 not long after that, and just laughed at the idea. Except those porcelain Glock 7’s made in Germany, of course.
I also remember about peeps talking about bringing the plastic gun through the airport metal detectors. Forgot about that.
As described in Die Hard 2…
Glock designed exactly one gun. He was no Eugene Stoner or John Browning, but it is one hell of a gun. The impact on the pistol shooting world can’t be overstated.
RIP, Herr Glock.
Not a firearm I personally like although I am not fully polymer-adverse. But as David said:
He done good.
RIP… Fitting that he waited until just after Christmas, considering his design first became well known thanks to a timeless sequel to a Christmas-themed series: Die Hard 2 – Internet Movie Firearms Database – Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games (imfdb.org) The German-made porcelain Glock 7 cost more than any of us make in a month and didn’t show up on airport metal detectors. I was in the shoes of many here up until a couple of years ago, as a bona fide Never-Glocker. I kept a G23 for a friend who lived in the barracks in 2004, and never liked the grip angle and lack of manual safety. A couple of years ago I decided to impulse buy a G17. At the time, I was thinking of becoming a cop, and a majority of departments carry the G17 or G19, so why not get some trigger time in? The Gen 5 has been refined just enough to keep the Glock in competition with newer designs. After buying that G17, I realized that I should have done some research. I worked for PEO Soldier, in a Project Management Office adjacent to Soldier Lethality, which helped to select the SIG P320 over the Glock 19X and its other competitors. Wanting the full Gen 5 design overhaul, I bought a G45 MOS and put an optic on it; the 19X is simply the Army XM17 trial gun with the safety removed, still mostly Gen 3. Next up is probably a G43x. Gaston Glock is known for one design. It’s a well-made, reliable, and timeless design that has proven adaptable to many different calibers and sizes. You can buy a G40, and the overall operation and function will be the same as a tiny G42 that is used for EDC: Glock G42 vs Glock G40 Gen4 MOS size comparison | Handgun Hero. Other companies continuously innovate, coming up with “New for 2024” designs. Glock innovated once in the early ’80s, causing most other companies to respond to his design (S&W even being accused of copying the Glock for its early Sigma series… Read more »
Oh, and maybe as a tribute to Gaston and his legacy, I’ll buy one of the reproduction Glock 7s…
We got some of the G17 Classics in earlier this year. I think we’ve sold a few, but it took a while to move the first one. As a leftie, with G17 Gen 5, I don’t need one, but the looks of the pistol match up with those I first saw in movies like the aforementioned Die Hard 2.
So many guns to buy… Glocks, SIGs, FNs, maybe that used Browning X-Bolt with ATN scope…
I got my first (and only gun due to myself always remaining poor) after I got out of the Navy. It’s a Glock 19 Gen 4 and got it because I wanted a semi as opposed to the .357 revolvers my then employer Dunbar Armored. Ruhe in Frieden, Herr Glock.
*had
I’m calling it now, if his wife inherited the company, she is going to sell it and just spend it all on her damn horses.
Actually, the largest capacity 9 mm pistol at the time was the Steyr GB with 18 rounds. But very few were produced after Steyr failed to get any major military contracts.
I don’t mind them. Not a bad sidearm.
David, stop it with the hott gulrz.
Come on, man…
…
(don’t you dare stop!)
I carried his guns on my hip on duty and in a vest holster for 16 years. Reliable and simple to operate. They worked when you needed them too. RIP, sir.