Glock is a brand of
polymer
A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part")
is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...
-
framed,
short recoil
Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked breech, autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of the pr ...
-operated, locked-breech
semi-automatic pistol
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...
s designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer
Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered
Austrian military and
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
service by 1982 after it was the top performer in reliability and safety tests.
Glock pistols have become the company's most profitable line of products, and have been supplied to national armed forces, security agencies, and police forces in at least 48 countries.
Glocks are also popular firearms among civilians for recreational and
competition shooting
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...
, home- and self-defense, both in
concealed or
open carry
In the United States, open carry refers to the practice of visibly carrying a firearm in public places, as distinguished from concealed carry, where firearms cannot be seen by the casual observer. To "carry" in this context indicates that the fir ...
. In 2020, the Glock 19 was the best selling pistol on
GunBroker.
History
The company's founder, head engineer
Gaston Glock
Gaston Glock (born 19 July 1929) is an Austrian engineer and businessman who is the founder of the company Glock, who are best known for developing the Glock pistol in 1981.
Manufacturing
Glock began as a manufacturer of curtain rods in the 1960 ...
, had no experience with firearms design or manufacture at the time their first pistol, the Glock 17, was being
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
d. Glock had extensive experience in advanced synthetic
polymer
A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part")
is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...
s, which was instrumental in the company's design of the first commercially successful line of pistols with a polymer frame. Glock introduced
ferritic nitrocarburizing
Ferritic nitrocarburizing or FNC, also known by the proprietary names Tenifer, Tufftride and Melonite as well as ARCOR,Other trade names include Tuffride/ Tuffrider, QPQ, Sulfinuz, Sursulf, Meli 1, and Nitride, among others is a range of proprie ...
into the firearms industry as an anticorrosion surface treatment for metal gun parts.
Development
In 1980, the
Austrian Armed Forces
The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria.
The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...
announced that it would seek tenders for a new, modern duty pistol to replace their
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
–era
Walther P38
The Walther P38 (originally written Walther P.38) is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the costly Luger P08, ...
handguns.
[Kasler, Peter Alan: ''Glock: The New Wave in Combat Handguns''. Paladin Press, 1992. p. 2.] The Federal Ministry of Defence of Austria formulated a list of 17 criteria for the new generation service pistol, including requirements that it would be
self loading; fire the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
-standard
9×19mm Parabellum
The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge.
Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...
round; the magazines were not to require any means of assistance for loading; be secure against
accidental discharge
An unintentional discharge is the event of a firearm discharging (firing) at a time not intended by the user. An unintended discharge may be produced by an incompatibility between firearm design and usage, such as the phenomenon of cooking off a ...
from shock, strike, and drop from a height of onto a steel plate.
[Kasler, 2] After firing 15,000 rounds of standard ammunition, the pistol was to be inspected for wear. The pistol was to then be used to
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
an
overpressure test cartridge generating . The normal maximum operating pressure (P
max) for the 9 mm NATO is .
Glock became aware of the
Austrian Army
The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria.
The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of nati ...
's planned procurement, and in 1982, assembled a team of Europe's leading handgun experts from military, police, and civilian sport-shooting circles to define the most desirable characteristics in a combat pistol.
Within three months, Glock developed a working prototype that combined proven mechanisms and traits from previous pistol designs.
[Kasler, 4] In addition, the plan was to make extensive use of synthetic materials and modern manufacturing technologies, which led to the Glock 17 becoming a cost-effective candidate.
Several samples of the Glock 17 (so named because it was the 17th patent procured by the company) were submitted for assessment trials in early 1982, and after passing all of the exhaustive endurance and abuse tests, the Glock emerged as the winner.
The handgun was adopted into service with the Austrian military and police forces in 1982 as the P80 (''Pistole 80''),
with an initial order for 25,000 guns.
The Glock 17 outperformed eight different pistols from five other established manufacturers (
Heckler & Koch
Heckler & Koch GmbH (HK; ) is a German defense manufacturing company that manufactures handguns, rifles, submachine guns, and grenade launchers. The company is located in Oberndorf am Neckar in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, and also ...
of Germany offered their
P7M8,
P7M13, and
P9S,
SIG Sauer
Several brother companies that design and manufacture firearms use the brand name SIG Sauer . The original company, ''Schweizerische Waggon-Fabrik'' (SWF), later ''Schweizerische Industrie-Gesellschaft'' (SIG), went through several selloffs, ...
of Switzerland bid with their
P220
The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi-automatic pistol. Designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SIG Holding AG), and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde; it is currently manufactured by both ...
and
P226 models,
Beretta
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and militar ...
of Italy submitted their model
92SB-F,
FN Herstal
Fabrique Nationale Herstal (), trading as FN Herstal and often referred to as Fabrique Nationale or simply FN, is a leading firearms manufacturer based in Herstal, Belgium. It is currently the largest exporter of military small arms in Europe.
F ...
of Belgium proposed an updated variant of the
Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. ...
, and the Austrian
Steyr Mannlicher
Steyr Arms () is a firearms manufacturer based in Sankt Peter in der Au, Austria. Originally part of Steyr-Daimler-Puch, it became independent when the conglomerate was broken up in 1989. Prior to 1 January 2019, the company was named Steyr M ...
entered the competition with the
GB).
[Kasler, 6]
The results of the Austrian trials sparked a wave of interest in Western Europe and overseas, particularly in the United States, where a similar effort to select a service-wide replacement for the
M1911
The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for th ...
had been going on since the late 1970s (known as the
Joint Service Small Arms Program
The Joint Service Small Arms Program, abbreviated JSSAP, was created to coordinate weapon standardization between the various United States armed service branches.
First Project - XM9 Procurement
In 1962, the Air Force adopted the Smith ...
). In late 1983, the
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...
inquired about the Glock pistol and received four samples of the Glock 17 for unofficial evaluation.
[Kasler, 7] Glock was then invited to participate in the XM9 Personal Defense Pistol Trials, but declined because the DOD specifications would require extensive retooling of production equipment and providing 35 test samples in an unrealistic time frame.
In 1985, after joint Norwegian and Swedish trials from 1983 to 1985, the Glock 17 was accepted into service as the P80 in Norway, and in 1988 as the ''Pistol 88'' in Sweden, where it surpassed all prior NATO durability standards.
As a result, the Glock 17 became a standard NATO-classified sidearm and was granted a
NATO Stock Number
A NATO Stock Number, or National Stock Number (NSN) as it is known in the US, is a 13-digit numeric code used by the NATO military alliance, identifying all the 'standardized material items of supply' as they have been recognized by all member s ...
(1005-25-133-6775).
By 1992, some 350,000 pistols had been sold in more than 45 countries, including 250,000 in the United States alone.
Starting in 2013, the
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces, also known as His Majesty's Armed Forces, are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, s ...
began replacing the Browning Hi-Power pistol with the Glock 17 Gen 4, due to concerns about weight and the external safety of the Hi-Power. The British preferred the Glock 17 Gen 4 over the
Beretta Px4 Storm,
FN FNP
The FN FNP pistol is a series of semi-automatic, polymer- framed pistols manufactured in Columbia, South Carolina, by FNH USA, a division of Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. The handgun debuted in early 2006 and is variously chambered for the 9×1 ...
,
Heckler & Koch P30
The P30 is a polymer framed semi-automatic handgun by Heckler & Koch, available in 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W.
History
Early prototypes of the P30 were referred to as the P3000. The P30 is marketed by the manufacturer as a law enforcement s ...
, SIG Sauer P226,
Smith & Wesson M&P
The Smith & Wesson M&P (Military and Police) is a polymer- framed, short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistol introduced in the summer of 2005 by the American company Smith & Wesson. It uses a Browning-type locking system. Whil ...
, and
Steyr M9A1 of which 19 pistols each, all chambered in 9×19 mm Parabellum, were entered in the R9GSP trials.
The
French Armed Forces
The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces.
Franc ...
(FAF) in 2020 began replacing their
MAC Mle 1950
The MAC 50 (also known as MAC 1950, MAS 50 or PA modèle 1950) is a standard semi-automatic pistol of the French army and adopted in 1950. It replaced the previous series of French pistols, the Modèle 1935A & Modèle 1935S, and was produced be ...
and, to a lesser extent, their
PAMAS G1 pistols with Glock 17 Gen 5 models specifically made for the FAF.
The French preferred the Glock 17 Gen 5 over the
HS2000
The HS2000 (''Hrvatski Samokres'', ) is a series of semi-automatic pistols. Polymer-framed and striker-fired, the series is manufactured by HS Produkt (formerly I.M. Metal) in Karlovac, Croatia. In Europe, the pistols are marketed as the HS and ...
and
CZ P-10 offerings that also made it to the final selection phase.
Product evolution
Glock has updated its basic design several times throughout its production history.
First-generation models
![Glock 17 9mmPara 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Glock_17_9mmPara_002.jpg)
The first-generation (Gen 1) Glock pistols are most notably recognized by their smoother "pebble finish" grip and finger groove-less frames. The Gen 1 frame pattern and design was used by Glock from 1982 through 1988 and pre-dates the checkered grip patterns used in the second generation of Glock pistols. The first Glock 17s imported to the US were serialized with an alpha-numeric (two-letter prefix followed by three numbers) stamped into the slide, barrel, and a small metal plate inserted into the bottom side of the polymer frame. The first documented Glock 17s (by serial number) imported into the US were from the AF000 series in January 1986, followed by AH000, AK000, and AL000. These early Glock (Gen 1) pistols (serial number prefix AF through AM) were also manufactured with a barrel that had a smaller overall diameter and thinner bore walls, later known as "pencil barrels." These early Glock 17 "pencil barrel" pistols are considered rare and highly desirable by Glock collectors. The barrels were later redesigned with thicker bore walls and manufacturing continued to evolve and improve the design of Glock pistols.
Many of the first-generation Glocks were shipped and sold in the iconic "
Tupperware
Tupperware is an American home products line that includes preparation, storage, and serving products for the kitchen and home. In 1942, Earl Tupper developed his first bell-shaped container; the brand products were introduced to the public in 1 ...
" style plastic boxes. The earliest Glock boxes had ammunition storage compartments that allowed for 17 rounds of 9mm to be stored with the pistol. This box design was later changed by Glock to meet BATF import requirements and the ammunition storage compartments were removed.
Second-generation models
![Glock 17 2nd Gen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Glock_17_2nd_Gen.jpg)
A mid-life upgrade to the Glock pistols involved the addition of checkering on the front strap and trigger guard and checkering and serrations to the back strap. These versions, introduced in 1988, were informally referred to as "second-generation" models. To meet American
ATF
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...
regulations, a steel plate with a stamped serial number was embedded into the receiver in front of the trigger guard. In 1991, an integrated recoil spring assembly replaced the original two-piece recoil spring and tube design. The magazine was slightly modified, changing the floorplate and fitting th
followerspring with a resistance insert at its base.
Third-generation models
![Glock 17C cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Glock_17C_cropped.jpg)
In 1998, the frame was further modified with an accessory rail (called the "Universal Glock rail") similar to a
picatinny rail
The Picatinny rail ( or ), or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, 1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail (cancelled), is a military standard rail interface system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It was o ...
to allow the mounting of
laser sights
Many scientific, military, medical and commercial laser applications have been developed since the invention of the laser in 1958. The coherency, high monochromaticity, and ability to reach extremely high powers are all properties which allow ...
,
tactical light
A tactical light is a flashlight used in conjunction with a firearm to aid low-light target identification, allowing the marksman, law enforcement officer or soldier to simultaneously aim a weapon and illuminate the target. Tactical lights can ...
s, and other accessories. Thumb rests on both sides of the frame and finger grooves on the front strap were added. Glock pistols with these upgrades are informally referred to as (early) "third-generation" models. Later third-generation models additionally featured a modified extractor that serves as a
loaded chamber indicator
file:M16A2 Safety Closeup.jpg, Close-up shot of a safety of an M16 rifle, M16A2 rifle
In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling.
Safeties ca ...
, and the locking block was enlarged, along with the addition of an extra cross pin to aid the distribution of
bolt thrust Bolt thrust or breech pressure is a term used in internal ballistics and firearms (whether small arms or artillery) that describes the amount of rearward force exerted by the propellant gases on the bolt or breech of a firearm action or breech when ...
forces exerted by the locking block. This cross pin is known as the locking block pin and is located above the trigger pin.
The polymer frames of third-generation models can be black, flat dark earth, or
olive drab
Olive is a dark yellowish-green color, like that of unripe or green olives.
As a color word in the English language, it appears in late Middle English. Shaded toward gray, it becomes olive drab.
Variations
Olivine
Olivine is the typical ...
. Besides that, non-firing dummy pistols ("P" models) and non-firing dummy pistols with resetting triggers ("R" models) have a bright red frame, and Simunition-adapted practice pistols ("T" models) a bright blue frame for easy identification.
In 2009, the Glock 22 RTF2 (Rough Textured Frame 2) (chambered in
.40 S&W) was introduced. This pistol featured a new checkering texture around the grip and new scalloped (fish gill-shaped) serrations at the rear of the sides of the slide. Many of the existing models became available in the RTF2 version, including the 31, 32, 23, 21, and 19. Some of those did not have the fish gills.
Fourth-generation models
![GLOCK 17 Gen 4 Pistol MOD 45160305](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/GLOCK_17_Gen_4_Pistol_MOD_45160305.jpg)
At the 2010
SHOT Show
The SHOT Show , which is an acronym for "Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show", is an American annual trade show for the shooting sports, hunting, outdoor recreations and firearm manufacturing industries. The show is owned and sponsored by ...
, Glock presented the "fourth generation", now dubbed "Gen4" by Glock itself. Updates centered on ergonomics and the recoil spring assembly. The initial two fourth-generation models announced were the full-sized Glock 17 and Glock 22, chambered for the 9×19 mm Parabellum and .40 S&W cartridges, respectively. The pistols were displayed with a modified rough-textured frame, grip checkering, and interchangeable backstraps of different sizes. "Gen4" is rollmarked on the slide next to the model number to identify the fourth-generation pistols.
The basic grip size of the fourth-generation Glock pistols is slightly smaller compared to the previous design. A punch is provided to remove the standard trigger housing pin and replace it with the longer cross pin needed to mount the medium or large backstrap that will increase the trigger distance by or . With the medium backstrap installed, the grip size is identical to the third-generation pistols. The magazine release catches are enlarged and reversible for left-handed use. To use the exchangeable magazine release feature, fourth-generation Glock magazines have a notch cut on both sides of the magazine body. Earlier versions of the magazines will not lock into the Gen4 pistols if the user has moved the magazine release button to be operated by a left-handed user. Gen4 magazines will work in older models.
Mechanically, fourth-generation Glock pistols are fitted with a dual recoil spring assembly to help reduce perceived recoil and increase service life expectancy. Earlier subcompact Glock models such as the Glock 26 and Glock 30 have already used a dual recoil spring assembly that was carried over to the fourth-generation versions of those models. The slide and barrel shelf have been resized, and the front portion of the polymer frame has been widened and internally enlarged, to accommodate the dual recoil spring assembly. The trigger mechanism housing has also been modified to fit into the smaller-sized grip space.
The introduction of fourth-generation Glock pistols continued in July 2010 when the Glock 19 and Glock 23, the reduced size "compact" versions of the Glock 17 and Glock 22, became available for retail. In late 2010, Glock continued the introduction of fourth-generation models with the Glock 26 and Glock 27 "subcompact" variants.
In January 2013, more fourth-generation Glock pistols were introduced commercially during the annual SHOT Show, including the Glock 20 Generation 4 along with other fourth-generation Glock models.
=2011 recoil spring assembly exchange program
=
In September 2011, Glock announced a recoil spring exchange program in which the manufacturer voluntarily offers to exchange the recoil spring assemblies of its fourth-generation pistols (with the exception of the "subcompact" Glock 26 and Glock 27 models) sold before 22 July 2011 at no cost "to ensure our products perform up to GLOCK's stringent standards", according to the company.
M series
On 29 June 2016, the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) awarded a contract to Glock to provide new 9×19mm Parabellum chambered duty pistols. The solicitation specifications deviated from the specifications of Glock fourth-generation models.
In August 2016, the
Indianapolis Metro Police Department (IMPD) started training with a batch of Glock 17M pistols. The most obvious difference with the Glock third- and fourth-generation models on published images is the omission of finger grooves on the grip. In October of that year, the IMPD issued a 17M voluntary recall following failures encountered while dry firing the pistols during training. According to Major Riddle with the IMPD, "Glock is working to correct the problem and we hope to begin issuing the new
7Msas soon as December."
Fifth-generation models
In August 2017, Glock presented the "fifth generation" or "Gen 5". The revisions centered on ergonomics and improving reliability. Many parts of fifth-generation Glock pistols cannot be interchanged with those of the previous generations. The two fifth-generation models announced were the Glock 17 and Glock 19, chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum. Some conspicuous changes on the fifth-generation models are ambidextrous slide stop levers,
DLC surface finish for barrel and slide, a barrel featuring a revised style of polygonal rifling (called the "Glock Marksman Barrel" by Glock), a deeper recessed barrel crown, omission of the finger grooves on the grip, a flared magazine well, and a reintroduction of a half-moon-shaped cutout on the bottom front of the grip. The locking block pin located above the trigger pin that was introduced in the third generation is omitted. Many internal parts were less conspicuously revised. "Gen 5" is rollmarked on the slide next to the model number to identify the fifth-generation pistols. The "Gen 5" slide can feature front serrations (FS) to provide an additional tactile traction surface choice. The magazines were also revised for the fifth-generation models: the redesigned magazine floor plates feature a frontward protruding lip to offer grip for manual assisted extraction and the magazine follower became orange colored for easier visual identification.
Design details
Operating mechanism
The Glock 17 is a
short recoil
Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked breech, autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of the pr ...
–operated, locked-breech
semi-automatic pistol
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of repeating single-chamber handgun ( pistol) that automatically cycles its action to insert the subsequent cartridge into the chamber (self-loading), but requires manual actuation of the trigger to actuall ...
that uses a modified
Browning cam-lock system adapted from the Hi-Power pistol.
The firearm's locking mechanism uses a linkless, vertically tilting barrel with a rectangular breech that locks into the ejection port cut-out in the
slide
Slide or Slides may refer to:
Places
* Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998
* ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018
*''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...
. During the recoil stroke, the barrel moves rearward initially locked together with the slide about until the bullet leaves the barrel and chamber pressure drops to a safe level. A ramped lug extension at the base of the barrel then interacts with a tapered locking block integrated into the frame, forcing the barrel down and unlocking it from the slide. This camming action terminates the barrel's movement while the slide continues back under recoil, extracting and ejecting the spent cartridge casing. The slide's uninterrupted rearward movement and counter-recoil cycle are characteristic of the Browning system.
[Kokalis, Peter: ''Weapons Tests and Evaluations: The Best of Soldier of Fortune'', page 320. Paladin Press, 2001.]
Glock pistols incorporate a number of features intended to enhance reliability in adverse conditions, such as utilizing advanced metal coatings, "stub" slide guides instead of true frame rails, and an unusual cocking mechanism wherein the trigger is partially responsible for cocking the striker. By relying partially on force from the shooter's trigger finger to cock the striker, a Glock effectively reduces the load on the recoil spring as the slide moves forward into battery, whereas almost all other striker-fired pistols on the market rely fully on the recoil spring to cock the striker. This design gives the recoil spring fewer tasks as the action cycles, helping to ensure that sufficient energy is available to strip a new round from the magazine and achieve full battery even when the breech, chamber, and/or magazine are heavily fouled. For these and other reasons, Glock pistols are commonly considered to be some of the most reliable striker-fired, semi-automatic handguns available, with some independent testing even showing a Glock taking a lead over a
SIG Sauer P320
The SIG Sauer P320 is a modular semi-automatic pistol made by SIG Sauer, Inc., SIG Sauer's American branch. It is a further development of the SIG Sauer P250, utilizing a striker-fired mechanism in lieu of a double action only hammer system. Th ...
in a wet/dry reliability test, even though the latter was selected as the winner of the U.S. Army's
MHS competition.
Features
![Glock 30-JH02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Glock_30-JH02.jpg)
The slide features a spring-loaded claw
extractor, and the stamped
sheet metal
Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes.
Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...
ejector is pinned to the trigger mechanism housing. Pistols after 2002 have a reshaped extractor that serves as a loaded chamber indicator. When a cartridge is present in the chamber, a tactile metal edge protrudes slightly out immediately behind the ejection port on the right side of the slide. The
striker firing mechanism has a spring-loaded
firing pin
A firing pin or striker is a part of the firing mechanism of a firearm that impacts the primer in the base of a cartridge and causes it to fire. In firearms terminology, a striker is a particular type of firing pin where a compressed spring ...
that is cocked in two stages that the firing pin spring powers. The factory-standard firing pin spring is rated at , but by using a modified firing pin spring, it can be increased to or to .
When the pistol is charged, the firing pin is in the half-cock position. As the trigger is pulled, the firing pin is then fully cocked. At the end of its travel, the trigger bar is tilted downward by the connector, releasing the firing pin to fire the cartridge. The connector resets the trigger bar so that the firing pin will be captured in half-cock at the end of the firing cycle. This is known as a
preset trigger mechanism, referred to as the "Safe action" trigger by the manufacturer. The connector ensures the pistol can only fire semiautomatically.
The factory-standard, two-stage trigger has a trigger travel of and is rated at , but by using a modified connector, it can be increased to or lowered to . In response to a request made by American law enforcement agencies for a two-stage trigger with increased trigger pull, Glock introduced the NY1 (New York) trigger module, which features a flat spring in a plastic housing that replaces the trigger bar's standard coil spring. This trigger modification is available in two versions: NY1 and NY2 that are rated at to and to , respectively, which require about to of force to disengage the safeties and another to in the second stage to fire a shot.
The Glock's frame, magazine body, and several other components are made from a high-strength nylon-based
polymer
A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part")
is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...
invented by Gaston Glock, called Polymer 2.
[Kasler, 136] This plastic was specially formulated to provide increased durability and is more resilient than
carbon steel
Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states:
* no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...
and most
steel alloys. Polymer 2 is resistant to shock,
caustic liquids, and temperature extremes where traditional steel/alloy frames would warp and become brittle.
The
injection-molded
Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for ...
frame contains four hardened steel guide rails for the slide: two at the rear of the frame, and the remaining pair above and in front of the trigger guard. The trigger guard itself is squared off at the front and checkered. The grip has an angle of 109° and a nonslip,
stippled surface on the sides and both the front and rear straps. The frame houses the locking block, which is an
investment casting
Investment casting is an industrial process based on lost-wax casting, one of the oldest known metal-forming techniques. The term "lost-wax casting" can also refer to modern investment casting processes.
Investment casting has been used in var ...
that engages a 45° camming surface on the barrel's lower camming lug. It is retained in the frame by a steel axis pin that holds the trigger and slide catch. The trigger housing is held to the frame by means of a polymer pin. A spring-loaded sheet-metal pressing serves as the slide catch, which is secured from unintentional manipulation by a raised guard molded into the frame. Because of its polymer construction, there were initially fears that Glock pistols would be invisible to airport
X-ray machine
An X-ray machine is any machine that involves X-rays. It may consist of an X-ray generator and an X-ray detector.
Examples include:
*Machines for medical projectional radiography
*Machines for computed tomography
*Backscatter X-ray machines, used ...
s, making them easy to
illegally import into the United States. In actuality, 84% of the gun's weight is from steel, and Polymer 2 is visible to X-ray machines. The myth's prevalence is believed to be connected to a scene that perpetuated the myth in ''
Die Hard 2
''Die Hard 2'' (also known by its tagline ''Die Harder'')The film's onscreen title is ''Die Hard 2'', as also given at the initial home-video release'official website The film's original advertising used "Die Harder" as a tagline, and many rele ...
'', which released a few years after the Glock was invented. In 1988, the
Undetectable Firearms Act
The United States Undetectable Firearms Act of 1988 makes it illegal to manufacture, import, sell, ship, deliver, possess, transfer, or receive any firearm that is not as detectable by walk-through metal detection as a security exemplar containi ...
was passed in the United States, banning the manufacture or import of any gun that could pass undetected through a
metal detector
A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...
.
The Glock pistol has a relatively low slide profile, which holds the barrel axis close to the shooter's hand and makes the pistol more comfortable to fire by reducing
muzzle rise
Muzzle rise, muzzle flip or muzzle climb refers to the tendency of a firearm's or airgun's muzzle (front end of the barrel) to rise up after firing. It more specifically refers to the seemingly unpredictable "jump" of the firearm's muzzle, cause ...
and allows for faster aim recovery in rapid firing sequences.
The rectangular slide is
milled from a single block of ordnance-grade steel using
CNC
Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a p ...
machinery.
[Kokalis, 321] The barrel and slide undergo two hardening processes prior to treatment with a proprietary
nitriding
Nitriding is a heat treating process that diffuses nitrogen into the surface of a metal to create a case-hardened surface. These processes are most commonly used on low-alloy steels. They are also used on titanium, aluminium and molybdenum.
T ...
process called
Tenifer
Ferritic nitrocarburizing or FNC, also known by the proprietary names Tenifer, Tufftride and Melonite as well as ARCOR,Other trade names include Tuffride/ Tuffrider, QPQ, Sulfinuz, Sursulf, Meli 1, and Nitride, among others is a range of proprie ...
. The Tenifer treatment is applied in a nitrate bath.
The Tenifer finish is between in thickness, and is characterized by extreme resistance to wear and corrosion; it penetrates the metal, and treated parts have similar properties even below the surface to a certain depth.
[Kasler, 137]
The Tenifer process produces a matte gray-colored, nonglare surface with a 64
Rockwell C hardness rating and a 99% resistance to salt water corrosion (which meets or exceeds
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
specifications),
making the Glock particularly suitable for individuals carrying the pistol
concealed as the highly chloride-resistant finish allows the pistol to better endure the effects of perspiration.
Glock steel parts using the Tenifer treatment are more corrosion resistant than analogous gun parts having other finishes or treatments, including
Teflon
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. It is one of the best-known and widely applied PFAS. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by Chemou ...
,
bluing,
hard chrome plating, or phosphates.
During 2010, Glock switched from the salt bath nitriding Tenifer process to a not exactly disclosed
gas nitriding process. After applying the nitriding process, a black
Parkerized
Phosphate conversion coating is a chemical treatment applied to steel parts that creates a thin adhering layer of iron, zinc, or manganese phosphates, to achieve corrosion resistance, lubrication, or as a foundation for subsequent coatings or pai ...
decorative surface finish is applied. The underlying nitriding treatment will remain, protecting these parts even if the decorative surface finish were to wear off.
A current production Glock 17 consists of 34 parts.
For maintenance, the pistol disassembles into five main groups: the barrel, slide, frame, magazine, and recoil-spring assembly. The firearm is designed for the
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
-standard 9×19mm Parabellum
pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
cartridge
Cartridge may refer to:
Objects
* Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition
* ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device
* Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators
Other uses
* Cartridge (surname), a ...
, but can use high-power (increased pressure) +P ammunition with either full-metal-jacket or jacketed hollow-point projectiles.
Barrel
The hammer-forged barrel has a female type
polygonal rifling
Polygonal rifling ( ) is a type of gun barrel rifling where the traditional sharp-edged "lands and grooves" are replaced by less pronounced "hills and valleys", so the barrel bore has a polygonal (usually hexagonal or octagonal) cross-sectional p ...
with a right-hand twist. The stabilization of the round is not by conventional
rifling
In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the pro ...
, using lands and grooves, but rather through a polygonal profile consisting of a series of six or eight interconnected noncircular segments (only the
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
and
.45 GAP
The .45 GAP (Glock Auto Pistol) or .45 Glock (11.43×19mm) is a pistol cartridge designed by Ernest Durham, an engineer with CCI/Speer, at the request of firearms manufacturer Glock to provide a cartridge that would equal the power of the ...
have octagonal polygonal rifling). Each depressed segment within the interior of the barrel is the equivalent of a groove in a conventional barrel. Thus, the interior of the barrel consists of smooth arcs of steel rather than sharply defined slots.
Instead of using a traditional
broaching machine to cut the rifling into the bore, the hammer forging process involves beating a slowly rotating
mandrel
A mandrel, mandril, or arbor is a gently tapered cylinder against which material can be forged or shaped (e.g., a ring mandrel - also called a triblet - used by jewelers to increase the diameter of a wedding ring), or a flanged or tapered or ...
through the bore to obtain the
hexagon
In geometry, a hexagon (from Ancient Greek, Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple polygon, simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°.
Regular hexa ...
al or
octagon
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...
al shape.
[Kasler, 138] As a result, the barrel's thickness in the area of each groove is not compromised as with conventional square-cut barrels. This has the advantage of providing a better gas seal behind the projectile as the bore has a slightly smaller diameter, which translates into more efficient use of the combustion gases trapped behind the bullet,
slightly greater (consistency in) muzzle velocities, and increased accuracy and ease of maintenance.
The newer lines of Glock pistols—i.e. Gen5, G42/43—are equipped with the ''Glock Marksmanship Barrel'', or GMB. While older barrels were somewhat difficult to identify a bullet as coming from a particular barrel with high enough reliability for evidentiary use, the newer GMB ones are designed differently. A study by Stephen Christen and Hans Rudolf Jordi, published by ''Forensic Science International'' in February 2019, shows that the new GMB barrels leave more identifiably unique markings on the fired projectile. These marks were more easily identified than previous pistol barrel markings, and were sufficient for reliably tying a bullet to a particular barrel. The study used a comparison microscope and an ABIS (Evofinder).
Safety
Glock pistols lack a traditional on-off
safety
Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk.
Meanings
There are ...
lever, which Glock markets as an advantage, especially to police departments, as the user is able to fire immediately without separately manipulating a safety.
Instead, the pistols are designed with three independent safety mechanisms to prevent accidental discharge. The system, designated "Safe Action" by Glock, consists of an external
integrated trigger safety and two automatic internal safeties: a firing pin safety and a drop safety. The external safety is a small inner lever contained in the trigger. Pressing the lever activates the trigger bar and sheet metal connector. The firing pin safety is a solid hardened steel pin that, in the secured state, blocks the firing pin channel (disabling the firing pin in its longitudinal axis). It is pushed upward to release the firing pin for firing only when the trigger is actuated and the safety is pushed up through the backward movement of the trigger bar. The drop safety guides the trigger bar in a ramp that is released only when direct rearward pressure is applied to the trigger. The three safety mechanisms are automatically disengaged one after the other when the trigger is squeezed, and are automatically reactivated when the trigger is released.
In 2003, Glock announced the Internal Locking System (ILS) safety feature named Glock Safety Lock. The ILS is a manually activated lock located in the back of the pistol's grip. It is cylindrical in design and, according to Glock, each key is unique. When activated, the lock causes a tab to protrude from the rear of the grip, giving both a visual and tactile indication as to whether the lock is engaged or not. When activated, the ILS renders the Glock unfireable, as well as making it impossible to disassemble. When disengaged, the ILS adds no further safety mechanisms to the Glock pistol. The ILS is available as an option on most Glock pistols. Glock pistols cannot be retrofitted to accommodate the ILS. The lock must be factory-built in Austria and shipped as a special order.
Feeding
![Glock 17 magazine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Glock_17_magazine.JPG)
The Glock 17 feeds from staggered-column or double stack
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
s that have a 17-round capacity (which can be extended to 19 with an optional floor plate) or optional 24 or 33-round
high-capacity magazine
A high-capacity magazine (or large-capacity magazine) is a magazine capable of holding more than the usual number of rounds of ammunition for a particular firearm.
A magazine may also be defined as high-capacity in a legal sense, based on the nu ...
s. For jurisdictions which restrict magazine capacity to 10 rounds, Glock offers single-stack, 10-round magazines. The magazines are made of steel and are overmolded with plastic. A steel spring drives a plasti
follower After the last cartridge has been fired, the slide remains open on the slide stop. The slide stop release lever is located on the left side of the frame directly beneath the slide and can be manipulated by the thumb of the right-handed shooter.
Glock magazines are interchangeable between models of the same caliber, meaning that a compact or subcompact pistol will accept magazines designed for the larger pistols chambered for the same round. However, magazines designed for compact and subcompact models will not function in larger pistols because they are not tall enough to reach the slide and magazine release. For example, the subcompact Glock 26 will accept magazines from both the full-size Glock 17 and the compact Glock 19, but the Glock 17 will not accept magazines from the smaller Glock 19 or the Glock 26. The magazines for the Glock 36, the Glock 42, the Glock 43, and the Glock 44 are all unique; they cannot use magazines intended for another model, nor can their magazines be used in other models.
Sights
![Glock 17 9mmPara 004](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Glock_17_9mmPara_004.jpg)
The first Glock pistols sent to the United States in 1985 failed to meet the BATF import "points" requirement, requiring Glock to quickly develop an
adjustable rear sight which allowed for the pistols to be imported and sold commercially in 1986. It is believed that Glock designed and created this adjustable rear sight over a weekend in order to meet the ATF's importation requirements, and so it was dubbed the "weekend" sight. These first-generation adjustable rear sights extended past the slide and were susceptible to breaking. Even on later models, the front sight can easily become misshapen from friction against the holster, leading to replacements with metal sights, or
tritium illuminated night sights.
More commonly today, the Glock 17 has a fixed polymer combat-type
sighting arrangement that consists of a ramped front sight and a notched rear sight with white contrast elements painted on for increased acquisition speed – a white dot on the front post and a rectangular border on the rear notch. Some newer rear sights can be adjusted for windage (on certain models due to the windage sights not coming as factory default), as it has a degree of lateral movement in the dovetail it is mounted in. Three other factory rear sight configurations are available in addition to the standard height sight: a lower impact sight, and two higher impact versions – and .
[Kokalis, 322]
Accessories
The Glock pistol accessories available from the factory include several devices for tactical illumination, such as a series of front rail-mounted "Glock tactical lights" featuring a white tactical light and an optional visible laser sight. An alternate version of the tactical light using an invisible
infrared
Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
light and laser sight is available, designed to be used with an infrared
night vision device
A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...
. Another lighting accessory is an adapter to mount a flashlight onto the bottom of a magazine.
Polymer holsters in various configurations and matching magazine pouches are available. In addition, Glock produces optional triggers, recoil springs, slide stops, magazine release levers, and maritime spring cups. Maritime spring cups are designed to allow the pistol to be fired immediately after being submerged in water. They feature additional openings that allow liquids to flow and escape around them, offering enhanced reliability when water has penetrated into the firing pin assembly channel.
Magazine floor plates (or +2 baseplates), which expand the capacity of the standard magazines by two rounds, are available for models chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum, .45 GAP, .40 S&W,
.357 SIG
The .357 SIG (designated as the 357 Sig by the SAAMI and 357 SIG by the C.I.P. or 9×22mm in unofficial metric notation) is a bottlenecked rimless centerfire handgun cartridge developed by the Swiss- German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, ...
, and
.380 ACP
The .380 ACP (9×17mm) ( Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pisto ...
cartridges. In addition to the standard nonadjustable polymer sight line, three alternative sight lines are offered by Glock. These consist of steel, adjustable, and self-illuminating
tritium
Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus o ...
night rear sights and factory steel and self-illuminating tritium contrast pointer steel front sights.
Glock Switch
A Glock Switch is an aftermarket accessory which depresses the firearm's sear allowing fully automatic fire. They are illegal in the United States.
Commemorative, anniversary, engraved, and other rare Glocks
Glock began producing limited edition and commemorative Glocks in 1991. Glock later produced a series of anniversary models to celebrate business milestones and in honor of 20, 25, and 30 years of US sales. Additionally, many law enforcement agencies had the department name, logo, or badges engraved on the slides of issued duty weapons.
Variants
Following the introduction of the Glock 17, numerous variants and versions have been offered. Variants that differ in caliber, frame, and slide length are identified by different model numbers with the exception of the Glock 17L, 19X, and 43X.
Glock pistols are made in five form factors, all modeled after the original full-sized Glock 17. "Standard" models are designed as full-sized duty firearms with a large magazine capacity. "Compact" models are slightly smaller with reduced magazine capacity and lighter weight while maintaining a usable grip length. "
Subcompact
Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications.
According to the U.S. Environmental Prote ...
" models are designed for easier carry and being lighter and shorter, are intended to be used with two fingers on the grip below the trigger guard and lack an accessory rail like the larger, after generation two, Glock models. The .45 ACP and
10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...
models have bigger, wider slides and are slightly larger than the smaller-chambered pistols and are available in the subcompact models Glock 29 (10mm Auto) and Glock 30 (.45 ACP). Glock produces five models of single-stack "Slimline" subcompact pistols, the Glock 36 in .45 ACP, the Glock 42 in .380 ACP, and the Glock 43, 43x, and 48 in 9×19mm. The 43x and the 48 have longer grips that allow for a full three-finger hold and a 10-round capacity. "Competition" versions have longer barrels and slides, adjustable sights, an extended slide and magazine release.
Beginning in 2007, Glock introduced several "Short Frame" models designated by the suffix "SF". The short frame was originally designed to compete in the now cancelled U.S. military
Joint Combat Pistol
The Joint Combat Pistol was the name for a former US program for a new military sidearm to replace the M9 Pistol, extant from late 2005 to early 2006. The program was started in 2005 and run by USSOCOM. It is the result of a merger of two earlier ...
trials for a new .45 ACP pistol to replace the
M9 pistol
The Beretta M9, officially the Pistol, Semiautomatic, 9mm, M9, is the designation for the Beretta 92FS semi-automatic pistol used by the United States Armed Forces. The M9 was adopted by the United States military as their service pistol in 1985 ...
. Glock's entry featured an optional ambidextrous magazine release and
MIL-STD-1913 rail along with a reduction in the size of the backstrap. The Glock 21SF is currently available in three versions: one with a Picatinny rail and ambidextrous magazine release and two with a Universal Glock rail available with or without the ambidextrous magazine release. Current 10mm and .45 ACP Glock magazines are manufactured with ambidextrous magazine release cutouts. As of January 2009, the Glock 20, 21, 29, and 30 were offered in short-framed variations. These models incorporate a reduction in trigger reach, and full-sized models feature a reduction in heel depth, which corresponds to an overall reduction in length for those models.
9×19mm Parabellum
* Glock 17: The Glock 17 is the original 9×19mm Parabellum model, with a standard magazine capacity of 17 rounds, introduced in 1982. Several modified versions of the Glock 17 have been introduced:
** Glock 17L: Introduced in 1988, the 17L incorporates a longer slide and extended barrel. Initially, the Glock 17L had three holes in the top of the barrel and a corresponding slot in the slide; however, later production pistols lack the holes in the barrel. The Glock 17L is manufactured in limited quantities.
** Glock 17C: Introduced in 1996, the 17C incorporates slots cut in the barrel and slide to
compensate for recoil. Many other Glock pistols now come with this option, all with a "C" suffix on the slide.
** Glock 17MB: The 17MB is a version with ambidextrous magazine catch. This model, along with the other MB variants, was no longer available upon the introduction of the fourth-generation models, which have a reversible magazine catch.
** Glock 17M: Introduced in 2016, the 17M was created in response to an FBI solicitation for a new full-size 9mm pistol. Differences from the Generation 4 model include removal of the finger grooves, ambidextrous slide lock, rounded slide nose profile, flared magazine well with new magazine baseplates, and a tougher finish on metal components. The Glock 17M also abandons the polygonal rifling of previous models for conventional rifling. , the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
, the
South Carolina Highway Patrol
The South Carolina Highway Patrol is the highway patrol agency for South Carolina, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state except for federal or military installations. The Highway Patrol was created in 1930 and is an organization with a ran ...
and the
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorpo ...
have adopted the pistol as standard.
** Glock P80: Introduced in 2020, the P80 was commissioned by United States firearms distributor Lipsey's to create an exclusive commemorative Glock model, the Pistole 80. The P80 is a throwback to the original Glock 17 Gen 1 type pistol chambered in 9×19mm with original Gen 1 frame and stippling and Gen 2 / Gen 3 internals.
* Glock 18: The Glock 18 is a
selective-fire
Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire we ...
variant of the Glock 17, developed at the request of the Austrian
counter-terrorist
Counterterrorism (also spelled counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, incorporates the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, business, and intelligence agencies use to combat or el ...
unit
EKO Cobra
EKO Cobra (german: Einsatzkommando Cobra; "Task Force Cobra") is the police tactical unit of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. EKO Cobra is not part of the Austrian Federal Police, but instead is directly under the control of the ...
, and as a way to internally test Glock components under high strain conditions. Originally produced in 1986, this
machine pistol
A machine pistol is an autoloading pistol capable of fully automatic fire. The term can also be used to describe a stockless handgun-style submachine gun. The term is a calque of ''Maschinenpistole'', the German word for submachine guns. Machine ...
–class firearm has a lever-type fire-control selector switch, installed on the serrated portion of the rear left side of the slide. With the selector lever in the bottom position, the pistol fires
fully automatically, and with the selector lever in the top position, the pistol fires semi-automatically. The firearm is typically used with an extended 33-round-capacity magazine, although other magazines from the Glock 17 can be used, with available capacities of 10, 17, 19 or 24 rounds. Unlike all its other pistols, it is only offered to military, law enforcement, and government organizations.
Early Glock 18 models were ported to reduce
muzzle rise
Muzzle rise, muzzle flip or muzzle climb refers to the tendency of a firearm's or airgun's muzzle (front end of the barrel) to rise up after firing. It more specifically refers to the seemingly unpredictable "jump" of the firearm's muzzle, cause ...
during automatic fire. A very early design introduced a longer ported barrel which was soon discarded as it would not fit in a holster. Another compensated variant was produced, known as the Glock 18C. It has a keyhole opening cut into the forward portion of the slide, similar to the opening on the Glock long-slide models, although the Glock 18 has a standard-length slide. The keyhole opening provides an area to allow the four, progressively larger (from back to front) compensator cuts machined into the barrel to vent the propellant gases upwards, affording more control over the rapid-firing machine pistol.
** Glock 18C: The compensator cuts start about halfway back on the top of the barrel. The two rear cuts are narrower than the two front cuts. The slide is hollowed, or dished-out, in a rectangular pattern between the rear of the ejection port and the rear sight. The rate of fire in fully automatic mode is around 1,100–1,200 rounds per minute. Most of the other characteristics are equivalent to the Glock 17, although the slide, frame, and certain fire-control parts of the Glock 18 are not interchangeable with other Glock models.
* Glock 19: The Glock 19 is effectively a reduced-size Glock 17, called the "Compact" by the manufacturer. It was first produced in 1988, primarily for military and law enforcement. The Glock 19's barrel and pistol grip are shorter by about than the Glock 17, and it uses a magazine with a standard capacity of 15 rounds. The pistol is compatible with factory magazines from the Glock 17 and Glock 18, giving the Glock 19 available capacities of: 17 rounds (standard magazine with +2 extension), 10, 17, and 19 (standard Glock 17 magazine with +2), 24 and 26 (standard magazine with +2 extension) and the 31 (standard Glock 18 magazine with +2 removed) and 33 rounds of the Glock 18. To preserve the operational reliability of the short recoil system, the mass of the slide remains the same as in the Glock 17 from which it is derived. With the exception of the slide, frame, barrel, locking block, recoil spring, guide rod, and slide lock spring, all of the other components are interchangeable between the models 17 and 19. The Glock 19 Gen 4 MOS (Modular Optic System) has also been used by Special Operations Forces as the MK27 MOD 2.
![Glock 19X](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Glock_19X.svg)
** Glock 19X: The 19X is the civilian version of Glock's entry to the
XM17 Modular Handgun System competition
The XM17 Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition was a United States Army and United States Air Force competition for a new service pistol. The Modular Handgun System was solicited by a Request for Proposals in September 2015 and is anticipated ...
for the
US Military
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...
. It features a Glock 19 slide with a Glock 17 frame in coyote color instead of the regular Glock black color. The frame includes a lanyard loop and a front lip in the magazine which purpose is to make changing magazines with gloves on easier, but this means the new Gen 5 17-round magazines cannot be used in the Glock 19X because the front lip will block the extended magazine floor plates from locking into the 19X's magazine well. This can be remedied by switching to a Gen 4–style magazine floor plate or with a factory +2 extension. The 19X comes standard with night sights and includes one 17-round magazine and two 19-round magazines, all in coyote color. The Glock 19X has proven to be one of Glock's best selling pistols, with over 100,000 sold within 6 months of the 19X first being released.
** Glock 19M: Introduced in 2016, the 19M was created in response to an FBI solicitation for a new compact 9mm pistol. Differences from the Generation 4 model include removal of the finger grooves, ambidextrous slide lock, rounded slide nose profile, flared magazine well with new magazine baseplates, and a tougher finish on metal components. The Glock 19M also abandons the polygonal rifling of previous models for conventional rifling. The US Marine Corps fielded the Glock 19M, designated as the M007, to CID (Criminal Investigation Division) and Marine One personnel.
** Glock 19 Canadian: The limit for Restricted Class firearms in Canada is a 105mm barrel, so, due to its 102mm barrel, the standard Glock 19 is too short to be legal. Starting in 2017, a market specific Glock 19 has been sold in Canada with a 106mm barrel and a distinctive laser-engraved hollow maple leaf on the right side of the slide.
![Glock 26 (6971790359)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Glock_26_%286971790359%29.jpg)
* Glock 26: The Glock 26 is a 9×19mm "
subcompact
Subcompact car is a North American classification for cars smaller than a compact car. It is broadly equivalent to the B-segment (Europe), supermini (Great Britain) or A0-class (China) classifications.
According to the U.S. Environmental Prote ...
" variant designed for
concealed carry
Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pre ...
and was introduced in 1995, mainly for the civilian market. It has also been acquired by the US military and designated MK 26.
It features a smaller frame compared to the Glock 19, with a pistol grip that supports only two fingers, a shorter barrel and slide, and a double-stack magazine with a standard capacity of 10 rounds. A factory magazine with a +2 extension gives a capacity of 12 rounds. In addition, factory magazines from the Glock 17, Glock 18, and Glock 19, with capacities of 15, 17, 19, 24, 31 and 33 rounds, will function in the Glock 26. More than simply a "shortened" Glock 19, design of the subcompact Glock 26 required extensive rework of the frame, locking block, and spring assembly that features a dual recoil spring.
** Glock 26 for
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
(CBP): This Glock is a Generation 5 Glock for the CBP that incorporates a flared magazine well with an extended, longer grip than that of the usual Gen 5 Glock 26. Moreover, the magazine well is flat across and has no bump as the Glock 25 Gen 5 or the G19X. In addition, it offers a Longer 11-round magazine.
* Glock 34: The Glock 34 is a competition version of the Glock 17. It is similar to its predecessor, the Glock 17L, but with a slightly shorter slide and barrel, to meet the maximum size requirements for many sanctioned action pistol sporting events. It was developed and produced in 1998, and compared to the Glock 17, features a longer barrel and slide. It has an extended magazine release, extended slide stop lever, trigger pull, and an adjustable rear sight. The sides at the front of the slide are slanted instead of squared. Further, the top of the slide and parts of its inside are milled out, creating a conspicuous hole at the top designed to reduce front-end muzzle weight to better balance the pistol and reduce the overall weight of the slide.
* Glock 43: The Glock 43 is a "slimline" version of the subcompact Glock 26 that features an ultracompact slide and frame. The Glock 43 is the first Glock pistol to be manufactured with a single-stack 9×19mm Parabellum magazine, having a standard capacity of six rounds and being unique to the model. Unlike other subcompact Glock pistols, the Glock 43 cannot use factory magazines from its larger relatives due to its single-stack magazine design. It also does not allow the removal of the backplate grip as is possible on the 4th gen Glocks.
** Glock 43X: The 43X is similar to the 43 except it has a longer and thicker grip for an increased magazine capacity of 10 rounds. The grip of the Glock 43X is comparable to the 48 and can be interchanged. Glock 43X magazines do not fit into the Glock 43, or vice versa. The 43X also features front slide serrations, a built-in extended beaver tail, a reversible magazine catch (similar to Gen 5 models), GMB rifling (again similar to Gen 5 models), and a two-tone finish (silver slide/black receiver). In the E.U. the 43X comes with a rail.
* Glock 45: The Glock 45 is a black colored version of the Glock 19X that incorporates Gen5 features catered for police use. The Glock 45 features a Glock 17 grip with a Glock 19 slide with front slide serrations. Unlike the Glock 19X, the Glock 45 features a flared magazine well like on the Gen 5 Glocks, but without the half moon cut at the front of the magazine well. The Gen 5 17-round magazines will work in the Glock 45, because unlike the 19X, the Glock 45 does not have the front lip on the magazine well that blocks the Gen 5 17-round magazine's extended floor plate from locking into the magazine well. The Glock 45 also deletes the lanyard loop found at the back of the grip on the 19X and comes standard with plastic sights instead of the night sights standard on the 19x.
* Glock 46: The Glock 46 is a "compact" version like the Glock 19. This model has a ''rotating barrel breech lock'' system. It had been designed as option to bid for a service pistol, with law enforcement agencies in Germany at state and federal level in mind. The differing breech lock system makes it possible to disassemble the firearm without the need to press the trigger, but only with no projectile chambered. Also, enhanced drop-safety is a must – the model complies with the specifications in the German ''technical guideline'' (Technische Richtlinie "Pistole") for service pistols. Police in
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of
and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...
chose the ''Glock 46 TR'' among three competitors and are to receive up to 8,600 new pistols until 2021 for over 6,400 officers, replacing their ageing ''Pistole 6'' (P6), a
SIG Sauer P225
The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi-automatic pistol. Designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SIG Holding AG), and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde; it is currently manufactured by both ...
variant. The state of Saxony-Anhalt is the first introducing a pistol made by Glock as standard issue sidearm into its force.
* Glock 47: The Glock 47 is a full-sized MOS version created for
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilit ...
that has full parts compatibility with a Glock 19, meaning a G47 slide can be put on a G19 frame to give the G19 a longer slide, barrel, and sight radius, or a G19 slide can be put on a G47 frame to create a pistol the functions like a Glock 45. The G47 also comes with magazines that have an extra extended base plate. G47 and G19 Gen5/MOS/MOD1/FS have modularity between both pistols. This means that the complete upper (Slide and Barrel) from G47 can be mounted on the G19 Frame and the complete upper (Slide and Barrel) from G19 can be mounted on G47 frame.
* Glock 48: The Glock 48 is a "slimline" version similar to the subcompact Glock 43 and 43X. All components of the Glock 48 are identical to the Glock 43X except the slide and barrel which are longer. The slides for the Glock 43, Glock 43X, and Glock 48 are functional on any of those three frames. The G48 features a 4.17-inch-long barrel, front slide serrations, a built-in extended beaver tail, a reversible magazine catch (similar to Gen 5 models), GMB rifling (again similar to Gen 5 models), a two-tone finish (silver slide/black receiver), and a magazine capacity of 10 rounds.
In the E.U. Glock offers the 48 and the 43X with a rail.
9×21mm
![Glock 17 (9x21mm)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Glock_17_%289x21mm%29.jpg)
* The
9×21mm
The 9×21mm pistol cartridge (also known as the 9×21mm IMI, 9mm IMI, 9x21mm Italian, or 9mm Italian) was designed by Jager (Loano, Italy), then adopted and commercialised by Israel Military Industries for those jurisdictions where military servi ...
pistol cartridge was adopted and commercialized by
Israel Military Industries
, former_name = Israel Military Industries
, type = State-owned enterprise
, industry = Arms industry
, fate = Acquired by Elbit Systems
, successor = Elbit Systems Land
, founded =
, founder =
, defunct =
, hq_location_city = Ramat ...
for those markets (such as in Italy, and Mexico) where military service cartridges like the 9×19mm Parabellum, are banned by law for civilian use. Glock produces the Model 17, and other models, chambered in 9×21mm for these markets; however, Glock does not export or produce the 9×21mm pistols for the United States commercial market. This makes any 9×21mm Glock model a unique and highly desirable item for US firearm collectors. A limited number of 9×21mm Glocks have been imported to the US and are mostly held by collectors and gun enthusiasts.
10mm Auto
![GLOCK 29 10mm](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/GLOCK_29_10mm.jpg)
* Glock 20: The Glock 20, introduced in 1991, was developed for the then-growing law enforcement and security forces market for the
10mm Auto
The 10mm Auto (10×25mm, official C.I.P. nomenclature: 10 mm Auto, official SAAMI nomenclature: 10mm Automatic) is a semi-automatic pistol cartridge introduced in 1983. Its design was adopted and later produced by ammunition manufacturer ...
. The pistol handles both full-power and reduced "FBI" loads that have reduced muzzle velocity. Due to the longer cartridge and higher pressures, the pistol is slightly larger than the Glock 17, having a roughly greater width and greater length. Though many small parts interchange with the Glock 17, with a close to 50% parts commonality, the major assemblies are scaled-up and do not interchange. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 20 is 15 rounds. In 2009, Glock announced they would offer a barrel as a drop-in option.
** Glock 20SF: The 20SF is a version of the Glock 20 that uses the Short Frame (SF) which is based on the standard G20 frame (same width), but reduces the trigger reach from the back of the grip by and the heel of the pistol is shortened by so the trigger can be reached and operated better by users with relatively small hands.
* Glock 29: The Glock 29 is a 10mm Auto equivalent of the subcompact Glock 26 introduced in 1997 along with the Glock 30 (.45 ACP). The pistol features a barrel and a standard magazine capacity of 10 rounds. Like other subcompact Glock pistols, the Glock 29 functions with the factory magazines from its related full-size model, giving an optional capacity of 15 rounds.
** Glock 29SF: The 29SF version of the Glock 29 uses the SF which is based on the standard G29 frame (same width), but reduces the trigger reach from the back of the grip by .
* Glock 40: The Glock 40, introduced in 2015, is a 10mm Auto equivalent of the long-slide Glock 17L. The Glock 40 is only made with the "Gen4" frame and "MOS" (Modular Optic System) configuration.
.45 ACP
![Glock 36](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Glock_36.JPG)
Glock pistols chambered for the
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
(and the
.45 GAP
The .45 GAP (Glock Auto Pistol) or .45 Glock (11.43×19mm) is a pistol cartridge designed by Ernest Durham, an engineer with CCI/Speer, at the request of firearms manufacturer Glock to provide a cartridge that would equal the power of the ...
) feature
octagon
In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon.
A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...
al
polygonal rifling
Polygonal rifling ( ) is a type of gun barrel rifling where the traditional sharp-edged "lands and grooves" are replaced by less pronounced "hills and valleys", so the barrel bore has a polygonal (usually hexagonal or octagonal) cross-sectional p ...
rather than the hexagonal-shaped bores used for models in most other chamberings.
Octagonal rifling provides a better gas seal in relatively large diameter rifled bores, since an octagon resembles a
circle
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...
more closely than a hexagon.
* Glock 21: The Glock 21 is a .45 ACP version of the Glock 20 designed primarily for the American market. Compared to the Glock 20 chambered in 10mm Auto, the slide of the Glock 21 is lighter to compensate for the lower-energy .45 ACP cartridge. The standard Glock 21 magazine is of the single-position-feed, staggered-column type with a capacity of 13 rounds.
** Glock 21SF: The 21SF is a version of the Glock 21 that uses a Short Frame lower which is based on the standard G21 frame (same width), but reduces trigger reach from the back of the grip by , and the heel of the pistol is shortened by so the trigger can be reached and operated better by users with smaller hands.
* Glock 30: The Glock 30 is a .45 ACP version of the subcompact Glock 29, with a standard magazine capacity of 10 rounds. The factory magazine from the Glock 21, with a capacity of 13 rounds, will function in the Glock 30.
** Glock 30SF: The 30SF is a version of the Glock 30 that uses a Short Frame lower which is based on the standard G30 frame (same width), but reduces trigger reach from the back of the grip by . The G30SF accepts the same double-stack .45ACP magazines as the G30 and G21.
** Glock 30S: The 30S is a version of the Glock 30 that features a thin slide (same slide as the G36), a Short Frame lower, and a double stack magazine. Like the G30, G30S magazines holds 10 rounds.
* Glock 36: The Glock 36 is a "slimline" version of the subcompact Glock 30 that features an ultracompact slide and frame and is chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The Glock 36 is the first Glock pistol to be manufactured with a single-stack magazine, having a standard capacity of six rounds and being unique to the model. The Glock 36 cannot use factory magazines from its larger relatives due to its single-stack magazine design.
* Glock 41: The Glock 41 is a competition version of the Glock 21, much like what the G34 is in relation to the G17; it features a 5.3-inch barrel and an elongated slide. The Glock 41 is only made with the "Gen4" frame.
.40 S&W
![Glock35Right](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Glock35Right.jpg)
* Glock 22: The Glock 22 is a
.40 S&W version of the full-sized Glock 17 introduced in 1990. The pistol uses a modified slide, frame, and barrel to account for the differences in size and power of the .40 S&W cartridge. The standard magazine capacity is 15 rounds. The Glock Model 22 is favored and used by multiple law enforcement agencies around the world, including the
Baltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Dating back to 1784, the BPD, consisting of 2,935 employees in 2020, is organized into nine districts covering of land and of waterway ...
,
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...
,
Miami Police Department,
Maryland State Police
The Maryland State Police (MSP), officially the Maryland Department of State Police (MDSP), is the official state police force of the U.S. state of Maryland. The Maryland State Police is headquartered at 1201 Reisterstown Road in the Pikesville ...
,
Overland Park Police Department,
Kansas City Police Department
The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) is the principal law enforcement agency serving Kansas City, Missouri. Jackson County 16th Circuit Court Circuit Court Judge Jen Phillips swore in Stacey Graves as the 46th chief of police of the KCPD on ...
,
Missouri State Highway Patrol
The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) is the highway patrol agency for Missouri and has jurisdiction all across the state. It is a division of the Missouri Department of Public Safety. Colonel Eric T. Olson has been serving as the 24th supe ...
, and
Alaska State Troopers
The Alaska State Troopers, officially the Division of Alaska State Troopers (AST), is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is a division of the Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS). The Alaska State Troopers is a full- ...
in the United States; the
NSW Police Force
The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...
,
Queensland Police Service
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...
and the
Northern Territory Police Force
The Northern Territory Police Force is the police body that has legal jurisdiction over the Northern Territory of Australia. This police service has 1,537 police members (as at 31 July 2019) made up of 79 senior sergeants, 228 sergeants, 839 con ...
in Australia; the
Edmonton Police Service
The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is the municipal police force for the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The current chief of the EPS is Dale McFee.
The service has three deputy chiefs two sworn members and a civilian member. Chad Tawfik is r ...
,
Calgary Police Service
Calgary Police Service (CPS) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Mont ...
,
Alberta Sheriffs Branch
The Alberta Sheriffs Branch is a provincial law enforcement agency overseen by the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Services of the province of Alberta, Canada. Under the authority of the ''Peace Officer Act'', Alberta Sheriffs are provin ...
,
Winnipeg Police Service
The Winnipeg Police Service is the police force of the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
History
When Winnipeg became a city, in 1873, an election was held to select the city's new mayor and aldermen. Those appointed decided to hire city o ...
,
Toronto Police Service
The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...
,
Ottawa Police Service
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS; French: ''Service de police d'Ottawa'') is a municipal police force in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OPS serves an area of 2,790 square kilometres and 1,017,449 (2021 census) people alongside several other police f ...
, and
British Columbia Sheriff Service in Canada; and the
National Bureau of Investigation (Philippines)
The National Bureau of Investigation ( fil, Pambansang Kawanihan ng Pagsisiyasat, abbreviated as NBI) is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Justice, responsible for handling and solving major high-profile cases that ...
, among others.
* Glock 23: The Glock 23 is a .40 S&W version of the compact Glock 19. It is dimensionally identical to the Glock 19, but is slightly heavier and uses a modified slide, frame, .40 S&W barrel, and a standard magazine capacity of 13 rounds. The factory 15-round magazine from the larger Glock 22 will function in the Glock 23.
* Glock 24: The Glock 24 is a .40 S&W long-slide variant of the Glock 22, similar in concept to the Glock 17L. Additionally, a compensated, ported-barrel version designated the 24C was also produced. The Glock 24 was introduced in 1994 and officially dropped from the company's regular product lineup upon the release of the Glock 34 and 35.
* Glock 27: The Glock 27 is a .40 S&W version of the subcompact Glock 26, with a standard magazine capacity of 9 rounds. The factory magazines from the larger Glock 22 and 23 will function in the Glock 27, increasing capacity to 13 or 15 rounds. Spacers are available that fit on these larger-capacity magazines themselves; they have the effect of "extending" the magazine well of the pistol, thereby improving the ergonomic feel of the pistol when the longer magazines are inserted.
* Glock 35: The Glock 35 is a .40 S&W version of the competition Glock 34. The Glock Model 35 was the service pistol for the
Kentucky State Police, but by the summer of 2017, they had reverted from the Glock 35 back to 9mm weapons because of penetration improvements in the 9mm bullets, noting some officers had never been able to make the switch from 9mm to .40 S&W in the first place due to their struggles in mastering the higher caliber.
As is typical of pistols chambered in .40 S&W, each of the standard Glock models (22, 23, and 27) may be easily converted to the corresponding
.357 SIG
The .357 SIG (designated as the 357 Sig by the SAAMI and 357 SIG by the C.I.P. or 9×22mm in unofficial metric notation) is a bottlenecked rimless centerfire handgun cartridge developed by the Swiss- German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, ...
chambering (Glock 31, 32, and 33, respectively) simply by replacing the barrel. No other parts need to be replaced, as the .40 S&W magazines will feed the .357 SIG rounds.
.380 ACP
The first two
.380 ACP
The .380 ACP (9×17mm) ( Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Moses Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pisto ...
models are primarily intended for markets that prohibit civilian ownership of firearms chambered in military calibers such as 9×19mm Parabellum. Despite this, they are legally prohibited from being sold to civilians in the United States due to being manufactured in Austria and not meeting the import restrictions based on their caliber. They are also prohibited from ownership in Canada due to not meeting minimum barrel length requirements for handguns.
Due to the relatively low
bolt thrust Bolt thrust or breech pressure is a term used in internal ballistics and firearms (whether small arms or artillery) that describes the amount of rearward force exerted by the propellant gases on the bolt or breech of a firearm action or breech when ...
of the .380 ACP cartridge, the locked-breech design of the Glock 19 and Glock 26 was minimally modified for the Glock 25 and Glock 28 to implement unlocked breech operation. It operates via
straight blowback of the slide. This required modification of the locking surfaces on the barrel, as well as a redesign of the former locking block. Unusual for a blowback design, the barrel is not fixed to the frame. It moves rearward in recoil until it is tilted below the slide, similar to the standard locked-breech system. The reduced size and mass of the Glock 42 required return to the Glock-standard locked-breech design.
* Glock 25: The Glock 25 , introduced in 1995, is a blowback derivative of the compact ( barrel) Glock 19. The magazine capacity is 15 rounds. Standard fixed sight elevation is 6.9 mm, unlike the 6.5 mm elevation used for the 9×19mm models.
* Glock 28: The Glock 28 , introduced in 1997, is a blowback derivative of the subcompact ( barrel) Glock 26. The standard magazine capacity is 10 rounds, but the 15-round Glock 25 magazine will function in the Glock 28. Standard fixed-sight elevation is 6.9 mm, unlike the 6.5 mm elevation used for the 9×19mm Parabellum models.
* Glock 42: The Glock 42 , introduced in 2014, is an all-new locked-breech "slimline" ( barrel) design. The single-stack magazine is unique to this model, with a capacity of six rounds. It is Glock's smallest model ever made and is manufactured in the US, which unlike the Glock 25 and 28, allows it to be sold in that market.
.357 SIG
![Glock33 big](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Glock33_big.jpg)
* Glock 31: The Glock 31 is a
.357 SIG
The .357 SIG (designated as the 357 Sig by the SAAMI and 357 SIG by the C.I.P. or 9×22mm in unofficial metric notation) is a bottlenecked rimless centerfire handgun cartridge developed by the Swiss- German firearms manufacturer SIG Sauer, ...
variant of the full-sized Glock 22. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 31 is 15 rounds.
* Glock 32: The Glock 32 is a .357 SIG variant of the compact Glock 23. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 32 is 13 rounds.
* Glock 33: The Glock 33 is a .357 SIG variant of the subcompact Glock 27. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 33 is 9 rounds.
As is typical of pistols chambered in .357 SIG, each of the standard Glock models (31, 32, and 33) may be easily converted to the corresponding .40 S&W chambering (Glock 22, 23, and 27, respectively) simply by replacing the barrel. No other parts need to be replaced, as the .357 SIG magazines will feed the .40 S&W round.
.45 GAP
Glock pistols chambered for the .45 GAP (and the .45 ACP) feature octagonal polygonal rifling rather than the hexagonal-shaped bores used for models in most other chamberings.
Octagonal rifling provides a better gas seal in relatively large diameter rifled bores, since an octagon will have shorter sides and shallower angles than a hexagon.
* Glock 37: The Glock 37 is a .45 GAP version of the Glock 17. It uses a wider, beveled slide, larger barrel, and different magazine, but is otherwise similar to the Glock 17. The Glock 37 first appeared in 2003. It was designed to offer ballistic performance comparable with the .45 ACP in the frame size of the Glock 17. The concern with the size of the Glock 20/21 has been addressed by the Glock 36, 21SF, and 30SF, all of which featured reduced-size frames. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 37 is 10 rounds.
* Glock 38: The Glock 38 is a .45 GAP version of the compact Glock 19. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 38 is 8 rounds.
* Glock 39: The Glock 39 is a .45 GAP version of the subcompact Glock 26. The standard magazine capacity of the Glock 39 is 6 rounds.
.22 LR
* Glock 44: The Glock 44 is a
.22 LR
The .22 Long Rifle or simply .22 LR or 22 (metric designation: 5.6×15mmR) is a long-established variety of .22 caliber rimfire ammunition originating from the United States. It is used in a wide range of rifles, pistols, revolvers, smooth ...
(Long Rifle) rimfire model based on the Glock 19. While the Glock 44 is similar in size as the Glock 19, the Glock 44 has a magazine capacity of 10 rounds and uses a simple blow-back mechanism instead of a locked breech mechanism used on nearly all other Glock pistols. In addition, the Glock 44 is lighter than the G19, weighing in at just 12 ounces, and it retains Glock's popular polygonal rifling, which has been tested by Glock to work with lead .22 bullets. It uses a steel/polymer composite slide due to the lower slide weight needed for blowback.
Production in other countries
![Iraqi Police fire Glock 9mm handguns](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Iraqi_Police_fire_Glock_9mm_handguns.jpg)
Aside from the original Austrian company, Glock pistols are manufactured by the Glock Inc. subsidiary division located in the United States. Those batches are identical compared to the Austrian-made ones, but they are marked as "USA", instead of "AUSTRIA", on the slide. Glock 17 pistols are being assembled locally at army workshops of
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
to fulfill the needs of the national military services and law enforcement organizations.
The
205th Armory
The Armaments Bureau () is the affiliated authority of the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China.
History
With the National Defense Law and revised Organization Law of the Ministry of National Defense went into effect on 1 M ...
in Taiwan produces a copy of the Glock 19, named the T97 pistol. The Taiwan-made Glocks were made to replace the
Smith & Wesson Model 5906
The Smith & Wesson 5906 is a pistol manufactured starting in 1988 by Smith & Wesson.
Design
The 5906 is a full-sized, double/single-action (DA/SA), staggered-column magazine, 9×19mm pistol. Its construction is all stainless steel. The 5906 is ...
used by the
Taiwan police, but it ultimately did not enter service. Turkish company Akdal Arms produces a pistol named the
Ghost TR01
The Ghost TR01 is a compact semi-automatic pistol designed by Akdal Arms of Turkey. It was designed as a pistol for security and law enforcement personnel rather than the military market. The TR01 is very much like the Glock 17 and shares many ...
, which is heavily influenced by Glock pistols in its design.
Russian firms such as Skat,
ORSIS
ORSIS (russian: ОРСИС, from ОРужейные СИСтемы, "Weapon Systems") is the trading name of Promtechnologies Group based in Moscow, Russia. Specialising in the manufacture of centrefire rifles designed for a variety of military an ...
, and
Izhmash
JSC Kalashnikov Concern (), known until 2013 as the Izhevsk Machine-Building Plant (), is a Russian defense manufacturing concern and joint-stock company headquartered in the city of Izhevsk in the Republic of Udmurtia as well as the capital c ...
assemble three models of Glock pistols locally: the Glock 17, 34, and 35.
Clones
Third party frames and slides for Glock pistols began to appear in the early 2000s. This has led to "Glock" becoming a generic term encompassing pistols not made by Glock Ges.m.b.H. especially as expiring patents allowed for complete Glock clones to be made. As of 2019 a large number of American companies produced Glock clones.
There are three sidearms made by Iranian
DIO's Shahid Kaveh Industry Complex which they call Ra'ad (has a safety selector, possibly an unlicensed copy of Glock 17), Glock 19 and Kaveh-17 (probably an improved Ra'ad, a variant of Glock 17S), which all of them are unlicensed clones of Glock pistols. It is not known if they could make their way to
Iranian military
The Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces, are the combined military forces of Iran, comprising the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (''Arteš''), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (''Sepâh'') and the Law Enforcement Force (Police).
Iran ...
and replace the Browning Hi-Power, M1911 and SIG P226 pistols and they were possibly some prototypes and have never gone on mass production.
The
Tatmadaw
Tatmadaw (, , ) is the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Myanmar Army, the Myanmar Navy and the Myanmar Air Force. Auxiliary services include th ...
of
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
have adopted a clone of the Glock 17 known as the MA5 MK II, which was first reported in 2018.
They're currently being manufactured and adopted for Myanmar's special forces units.
In 2017, it was reported that
Norinco
China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, doing business internationally as Norinco Group (North Industries Corporation), and known within China as China Ordnance Industries Group Corporation Limited (), is a Chinese state-owned defense ...
was able to make a clone of the Glock 17 known as the NP-7 (or NP7). The pistol was subcontracted to Hunan Ordnance Industry Group through the Hunan Ordnance and Light Weapons Research Institute. Its features appear to be influenced by the fourth gen Glock 17.
The NP7 is being marketed for export sales.
Unlicensed Glock clones are made in Pakistan's Khyber region, which were first reported in 2018.
Users
Criminal use
Glock pistols have been used in mass shootings including the
1991 Luby's shooting, the 2007
Virginia Tech shooting
The Virginia Tech shooting was a spree shooting that occurred on April 16, 2007, comprising two attacks on the campus of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. Seung-Hui Cho, an u ...
, the
2011 Tucson shooting
On January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in the Tucson metropolitan area. Six people were killed, including feder ...
, the
2012 Aurora shooting, the 2012
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting
The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...
, the 2015
Charleston church shooting
On June 17, 2015, a mass shooting occurred in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine African Americans were killed during a Bible study at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Among those people who were killed was the senior past ...
, the 2016
Orlando nightclub shooting
On , 2016, Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old man, killed 49 people and wounded 53 more in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Orlando Police officers shot and killed him after a three-hour standoff.
In a 9- ...
, and the
2022 NYC subway shooting. Experts on
gun control
Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians.
Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
,
mass shooting
There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...
s, and defense training have cited factors such as reliability, ease of use, and commonness. The criminal use of these weapons has led to calls for increased gun control in the United States. This common usage, however, has been described by
Paul M. Barrett to be a result of Glock's overall popularity and market presence in the US and that "this level of violence isn’t necessarily tied to a particular
to a brand". In the late 80s, gun control advocates had similarly focused on Glock pistols because of their magazine capacity (compared to six shot
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
s), but also their "futuristic, distinct appearance". They were singled out for restriction by some jurisdictions and were branded the "hijacker's special" based on the false assumption that they could bypass
airport metal detectors because of their polymer frame. This was refuted in Congressional hearings by the
ATF
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...
,
FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
, and other organizations responsible for airline security, which proved embarrassing for the bans' advocates and provided significant publicity for Glock.
In April 2022, Ilene Steur, a survivor of the 2022 NYC subway attack, sued Glock and its Austrian parent company for compensation for her physical injuries and emotional pain.
See also
*
Glock entrenching tool
*
Glock knife
Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...
* ''
Glock: The Rise of America's Gun''
References
Further reading
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External links
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Glock Collectors AssociationGlock Charts at Teracube.net - models, specifications and dimensions
{{Authority control
9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols
9mm Parabellum submachine guns
10mm Auto semi-automatic pistols
.357 SIG semi-automatic pistols
.380 ACP semi-automatic pistols
.40 S&W semi-automatic pistols
.45 ACP semi-automatic pistols
.45 GAP semi-automatic pistols
.22 LR pistols
Machine pistols
Police weapons
Semi-automatic pistols of Austria
Simple blowback firearms
Short recoil firearms
Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1982
Post–Cold War weapons of Myanmar