Anyone else dislike Glocks and then change their mind?
I disliked on spec plastic guns, then decided to give a Glock a try about a month ago. I respect the gun much more now. I was never a Glock "hater" or "basher" - they just never appealed to me, so I was neutral on them. Here is my story I posted previously elsewhere:
I wanted to know what the iconic "buzz" was about Glocks; in 35 years of pistol shooting I had never even touched one. I traded a 1911 frame and some yankee dollars for a Glock 23 to check it out. I also had a few hundred rounds of .40 lying around from when I had a 1911 in that caliber, but currently no gun to shoot it in. It was a 2n Generation, which was I think the best of the grips. I sampled some at a gun show the next weekend, but I did not actually fire the gen 1, 3 or 4's, though - just handled them.
I took it straight from the exchange and to a range. I warmed up with some revolvers and 1911s since I hadn't shot in a little while and didn't want to bias myself by going at it cold. My impressions were
1) Despite numerous carping I had heard, the trigger was fine. Yes, it has a slightly different feel but it was not an impediment to accurate shooting. The striker-type "safe action" was fine in my opinion -and I have some sweet triggers on a few guns, so it's not like I don't know a good trigger from a bad one.
2) The gun was very easy to shoot accurately once I realized the three-dot sights required a "hold over" instead of a six-o'clock sight picture. At first I was was printing low at ranges from 25 to 50 feet, but fixed that with a hold-over picture.
3) The pistol came with four magazines. All of them worked flawlessly with full or partial loadings, and the gun ran like a champ with LSWC, ball, and HP ammo, factory and reloads. I had brought a wide collection of ammo to really test it - and it didn't hiccup.
4) The grip was a bit annoying, and the trigger safety needed to be reshaped a little. At full depression it leaves a little bit of the edge of the safety proud of the trigger and it projects a thin metal edge just enough to bite into your finger a bit. A very annoying and amatuerish feature, but easy to fix with a dremel, a hot oven and some cold blue. Perhaps later model Glocks corrected this; as I mentioned this was a Gen. 2.
I left very impressed with the gun. Of the guns I had on hand, the only gun I could easily shoot more accurately was a 1942 S&W Victory .38 Special (this included two 1911's and even a highly-regarded S&W 27-2, also). The WWII and earlier S&W "long action" revolvers are amazingly smooth, more than compensating for the generally poor fixed-sight picture they give on the non-target models. But then as I handled the Glock overnight, detail stripped it, and considered potentially carrying it, I then cooled to it. It was just too clunky, really, for it's size. A 9mm or .40 should be more size efficient. Even though this was a smaller model (the 19/23 are the more compact ones) and light, it is still darn bulky. The slide is pretty cheaply cast steel and not forged, with poor final finish to the steel surface. The grip was obviously not designed for a human hand but rather some pre-hensile primate, perhaps. You can shoot well with it, but it's oddly shaped and not ergonomic. I decided that I would continue to carry my S&W 19 instead. of this Glock 23 - largely because of ease of concealment, but also on some of the above listed "quality" factors that make the S&W more aesthetically and functionally appealing.
If I were choosing a weapon for an army or a law agency, I would definitely consider the Glock - it is accurate, reliable, simple, and cheap to make. They may not be cheap to buy for the consumer, but it is quite clear the unit cost of these pistols is no very high. As a large purchaser, presumably I would be getting a very heavily discounted price from the poor guy buying retail. If I could have only one gun and needed to trow it in a truck or boat or similar, this would be a great candidate - perhaps the best.
But choosing a gun as a civilian for it's pleasure to shoot, and appearance, it really leaves me cold. I have a number of other pistols, and this one was just the least interesting of any of them. I traded the gun away a short time later. But it was very educational experience and definitely made me respect the Glock as a piece of engineering and utility.