I've been Glocked!

[vanfunk]

Hello Folks,
Well, once again I have been lured in by fantastic plastic. I've been spending much more time outside - kayaking, woods-walking, mountain biking, fishing - that I'd begun to feel the need for an "appliance" weapon. I've been carrying my STAR PD with me for these jaunts, but despite it's diminutive size it just seems to feel bulkier than it really is. Plus, the blued slide doesn't offer the protection from the elements that I need. Thus, my thoughts have turned once again to that Austrian wundergun . I went by one of my favorite local haunts yesterday and handled a 2nd generation Glock 23 refurb. Same size as the STAR PD, 13 round capacity, nicely rounded corners, tenifer finish, .40 S&W power - just the ticket for the kind of carry I'm doing lately. There is something strangely appealing about a "soul-less" gun, one that is remarkable in the absence of feelings it generates. I'm not gonna "care" about this Glock the way I care about my pre-war Colts or my Garands, but I will respect it for its essential nature. Wow, deep thoughts . Anyway, I bought the Glock and promptly took it to the range, where I proceeded to plink away with it at detergent bottles 50 yards distant. I achieved a satisfactory rate of hits at that distance with UMC 165 gr. FMJ. It'll come with me next weekend on a "commando" fly fishing expedition, where I expect it to serve admirably.

It's funny, I'm not sure I really like Glocks, but this 23 sure does its duty well. I could see getting another one sometime soon.

vanfunk

 

[Ash]

While I do not wish to own a Glock, I am sure many agree with me that it is a reliable, if inelegant, sidearm.

Ash

 

[dhoomonyou]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Welcome.

 

[Onmilo]

Volkspistolen.
They aren't pretty but just about everybody can learn to use and shoot the Glock to a level of acceptable proficiency.

 

[Omni04]

congrats! Sometimes it is good to look past social stigmas, and buy the item that works, and works efficiently!


post some pics?

 

[Black Majik]

there is a beauty in a gun that just wont give up working.

I was watching "The Day After Tomorrow" and throughout the movie I was wondering what pistol I'd carry in the blistering cold.

Yep, Glock 23.

 

[Trisha]

I've seen some nice prices on those refurbs lately (AIM) - your satisfaction leads me to want to investigate them a little more, thanks!

 

[Onslaught]

I really don't like Glocks at all....

But I own 3

Two are for my wife... one is her bedside pistol, a Glock 19, and the other is her "traveling pistol", a Glock 26. We had an incident where she needed to get to her pistol last year, and since she doesn't shoot NEARLY enough to be intimately familiar with both and be able to switch back and forth in a crisis sitiuation, she got mixed up between the function of her house pistol and her travel pistol... So when the travel pistol was stolen, I took the opportunity to sell the house pistol and replace them all with pistols identical in form and function.

When I had a canoeing trip coming up, I wondered which of my pistols I'd take... First choice was the Walther P99... But while I was in my local shop, I saw some P99QA LEO trade-ins he had with RUST in LOTS of places both internal and external! I didn't want to do that so a safe queen like the P99, so I continued thinking. Kahr? NO. Smith? NO. What pistol do I own that I don't care if it gets wet, scratched, dinged, etc... Sadly, I kept thinking about my wife's Glock 19 Can't do that, so I just went out and bought a Glock 23 for myself.

Last time I went rafting, I took a USP Compact, but it was SO precious to me with it's $700 price tag that I carried it in a ziplock bag the whole trip. This time, I just put the Glock in a fanny pack holster and wore it... I canoed, swam, bogged (climbing a muddy bank) and did whatever, then when we were all done I just took it home, cleaned it well, changed the ammo out and smiled! Let it get scratched, dinged, dirty, whatever... It's not like I LIKE it... after all, it's JUST a GLOCK

 

[Lennyjoe]

Congrats on your purchase. I would of preferred a 20 or 29 but its little brother will work.

 

[atblis]

You accidentally shot yourself, or it blew up in your face?

Oh. You mean you bought one.

 

[iiibdsiil]

Now your going to hell, just like the rest of glock owners.

 

[Omni04]

if they do go to hell, they are taking their GLOCKs with them. And you know what? They will probably still shoot down there too!

 

[Marshall]

Congrats on your new gun! Enjoy!

 

[Pistol Toter]

They are the ugliest gun that I have ever layed eyes on. They are Butt Ugly! They are plastic! They rattle like a baby rattle! There is crack between the slide and the frame that you drive a tractor trailer through. Why in Gods name would you ever want that cheap piece of junk. :banghead: I will never have one of those 3rd rate pieces of JUNK.

That is what I thought and said until about six months ago!

I fired my instructors 9mm. I did not much care for it. Then he handed me his 10mm. Oh man I gotta have one of these!! Well about 2months ago I bought a new model 21. I carry it nearly every day. That is one of the finest shooting machines I have ever had the pleasure of holding. I am in love with it and the mepro lite sights are well; if Marcel Leddbetter had had one Jerry Clowers would not have been hit in the backside. But you know I still stay they are UGLY..... From the Mountains of Eastern Tennessee, Pistol Toter

 

[Joey101]

"You accidentally shot yourself, or it blew up in your face?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh. You mean you bought one."

Hilarious!

Took the words right out of my mouth!

Seriously I would forget the .40 S&W and go with something that doesn't go KaBoom!

You can sitck with Glock, but of course I am going to recommend an Srpingfield Armory XD. Theirs .40's don't go KaBoom!

 

[vanfunk]

Thanks for all the replies, folks.

You know, I've owned a number of Glocks before - a G21, 2 G17's, a G19 - and sold them all because they just didn't "stir" me. In re-evaluating the whole Glock thing, I've discovered that I was wrong all along in my expectations. It is exactly the kind of minimaist, utilitarian ethos of the gun that is its greatest strength and achievement. I'd always thought of all firearms as something more than the sum of their parts, evocative of great (or tragic) moments in history, or of fine examples of the gunmaking art. This Glock 23, for some reason, has dismantled that affection. Folks often talk about their guns as "tools", but I'd never really felt that way until this little G23 flipped the switch. I've now put 500 trouble-free rounds through it in the last 2 days, and the Glock really only does a couple of things: it reliably puts rounds on target with reasonable accuracy. Nothing more, nothing less.

I still don't like it, and it's not "perfect" by any means, but it's damn good at the things it does.

vanfunk

 

[Rockstar]

A Glock was good enough for Carlos Hathcock; it'll serve you well. The only reason we haven't heard of XD's KBing is that only 12 have been sold, so far, world-wide.

 

[denfoote]

 

[10-Ring]

Yeah, as hard as I try, I can't get rid of Glocks from my collection. I've gone through 40's, 45's & a few 9's over the years. Now, I've got a 19 to help appease the Glock poly-gods.

 

[GunAdmirer]

Beautiful it is not. Well designed and contoured? Yes.

The thing I like about Glocks is that they are so reliable. I've never had any problems with the 4 different 9mm models I have ownedD.

When I recently decided to start shooting in local matches, I considered every option and went back to a Glock 17. It is simple, fires every time and needs little cleaning. It can handle the high round counts. The trigger feels the same every time.

 

[Steelharp]

It is exactly the kind of minimaist, utilitarian ethos of the gun that is its greatest strength and achievement.

Never has it been stated more succinctly or better. That's why I, a died in the wool Colt 1911 guy, carry my G17 everywhere, every day. It is, indeed, a "Volkspistolen."

 

[turbonatr]

Actually, Tenifer isn't a "finish", it's a metal treatment process. The finish on Glock pistols is just a black phosphate.

 

[Texshooter]

Rock, where did the info on Carlos come from? Interesting

As for XDs, they are a fine pistol that fit the hand better, and shoot more accurately than Glocks. The slide does not have as good a finish, but then I like to maintain my weapons.

 

[Texas Gunman]

Im a new Glock17 owner,never thought I'd owned a plastic handgun.

But,have to admit,like my new glock better than my 1911s,started to get the H&K,but for some reason or another went for the glock.

TG

 

[Steelharp]

As for XDs, they are a fine pistol that fit the hand better, and shoot more accurately than Glocks.

I won't argue that it must fit your hand better; it certainly didn't fit mine. And the higher bore axis made it less accurate, for me.