I am going to try to post a reply. This conversation has taken so many twists and turns it is like a police chase in East L.A..
I like Glocks. I will tell you why from a Gunsmith's opinionated perspective.
Glocks are built well. They are constructed from quality materials with a good attention to details. They fit the appropriate parts tight and the other parts loose. They rarely exhibit loose breech issues. They are headspaced correctly. They have well engineered extractors that fit properly and work well. The ejectors are very effective. The barrels and slides are appropriately hard to encourage long lasting durability. The trigger parts are engineered well with as few parts as possible. The metal parts are very rust resistant and require VERY little lubrication to work well. They are very consistently well built. Glock doesn't have much if any variance in quality. Unless they have been altered, Glocks all do the same thing, the same way and they do it very well.
Glock makes great magazines. They are simple to work on and easy to clean. They hold up much better than many competitors mags and tolerate a ridiculous amount of abuse.
Glocks are easy to work on. In the rare incident where one needs repair they can be fixed easily and very inexpensively. They respond well to the attention of an experienced gunsmith and can have superb triggers to satisfy the shooter with a critical trigger finger.
Glocks do have some shortcomings that I am not fond of....BUT the issues are MY dislikes and in no way make the gun any less of a weapon. They are things that I like to see changed because they make the gun nicer to shoot.
I am not fond of Glock's factory sights, guide rod, polygonal rifling or factory trigger action feel. The rifling issue is ONLY an issue if you want to shoot volumes of lead bullets. Otherwise it is a non issue. The factory barrel is accurate and LONG lasting.
Glocks designs and interchangeability of parts is pure genius. The ability for me to stock such a small supply of parts and yet service ALL the models is wonderful for the repair center.
Glock has very good customer service. My dealings with them regarding rare warranty issues has been VERY VERY good. I sent in a Glock 19 recently. It was one of the first 1000 of the model 19's (first Gen). After several thousands and thousands of rounds it finally developed a hairline crack in the polymer behind the locking block. It was sent in...and replaced. No questions asked. That gun was VERY used. And I do mean VERY used. It had more ammo through it than most people have ever seen in one place at one time. A wonderful testament to durability.
Glocks are good platforms to customize and can be made to fit every need in every way. The modular design lends itself to adding custom parts with a minimal degree of fuss. They are WELL supported by the aftermarket, equal to or exceeding the 10/22 rifle.
Glocks shoot well. They are accurate, reliable, long lived and dependable tools. It has been my experience that of all the guns I see at police ranges during training shoots and competitions, Glocks and Sigs fail the least. There are a number of OTHER brands that fail a LOT.
Regarding the firing mechanism: The in ability for a second striker hit is in no way a detractor to the Glock design. The striker hits with authority. Glocks reliability to fire is VERY good. Should you have a dud primer then a tap rack should be used. Shuck the dead round and load another. I cannot imagine that a person would ever sit there and repeatedly pull the trigger on a hammer fired gun trying to make a dead round pop. It didn't fire...get it out and move on. Use the same response to every fail to fire regardless if striker or hammer fired. Do you (during a gun fight) open your revolver and rotate the cylinder back to a dead round to hit it a dead primer again? No...of course not.
Do I own Glocks? Yes. I have owned many, customized them and sold many customs to drooling shooters that had to have them. I will own more in the future.
The local gun shop manager and I were having a discussion about manufacture quality. I posed the question to him: "IF you had to take any gun from your pistol case and step out in the street and get involved in a gun fight.....what would you choose?" Keep in mind you have never fired any of the guns in your case. You don't get to test fire it. You don't get to inspect it or clean / lube it. It just MUST run, feed perfectly and save your life. You don't know that they will or will not work. "What would you bet your butt on?" What gun would you bet that you can load from ammo on the shelf...and bet that it will run without fail? We talked about all the brands there...Which one's we have seen fail..based on what I have fixed in NEW guns...what NEW guns have issues right out of the box.... Which brands are consistently aces. After about an hour discussion it boiled down to Glock and SIG.
I will buy a new Glock in the future....and it will be .357 SIG caliber....a Model 32. It will be fit with a NY1 trigger, Ghost Rocket 3.5 connector, Stainless guide rod, Seattle slug, and Trijicon night sights.
Many purists have an issue with the poly frame, the wierd trigger that goes sproink, the NON 1911 frame angle, the NON hammer fired mechanism and the lack of "pretty" that the 1911 and other guns have. The cosmetic aspect of the Glock isn't an issue. The striker fired aspect isn't an issue. The trigger feel isn't an issue. The frame angle is less of an issue than most folks make it. If you are a skilled shooter and you shoot a LOT....you can make any pistol run and run well. The ergonomics of the Glock isn't a downfall of the design...it is often an excuse for someone to buy another gun they think they like better
.
In the end they are a good tool and are on a plain above much of it's competition. They are on a par with SIG. They are a far better design than the 1911 in MANY ways and fail far less often. That is a bitter pill for many to swallow....including me. I like the 1911 design and cosmetics but an equally priced 1911 just won't run as well or as long as a Glock from that same price point.
Cheers
Mac.
It feels like a brick to me. A plastic brick. To each their own I suppose. And I have XL hands.
.. They're fine guns, I sell MANY without complaints. BHP was a painful purchase for frugal me, but what a masterpiece!
