The Aesthetics of GLOCKS: Butt Ugly or Martially Cool?

[Edgeofthewoods]

Heck I don't know I think that the Glock is a butt ugly, but an efficient tool that is able to take abuse and dish it out. My wife on the other hand thinks her G19 is "cute", My early 2nd gen G21 is well,.... ugly. The finish is worn, there are some scratches and dings in the slide and the front of the frame on the 2nd generations looks unfinished. But that same ugly beat up old pistol rides everyday on my right hip in either a Blade Tech or De Santis holster. I didn't buy a G21 for it's looks, I bought it for two reasons. 1 my wife told me to! Really ask Desertscout. I bought it from him!! 2 It works. Everytime rain sun or snow. I can vouch on the snow and mud. This past week I was working in the yard and trying out a "new inexpensive" holster and I dropped it in a muddy snow drift and it took about 10 minutes to find it in the mud/snow and slush. So I took a drive down the road and let loose 4 mags of 200 grain lead SWC. No missfeed, no hiccups nothing but bang 54 times. Ugly, Yup it looks like somthing an Austrian would build after seeing to much Lost in Space and having 14 to many schnapps, but damn it works and that is what counts.

BTW hey Desertscout I think that some steel wool and Red Devil would fix that fungus on those tan and brown Glocks!!!! (Just Kidding)

 

[glocktoberfest]

Glocks pretty ? na . but its the best hand gun I have . reliable , quick disassembly / cleaning ( I have a 1911 ) , carries great , hi cap mags , don't worry about finger prints / rust , what's not to love ? But I am a little bias .

 

[Eightball]

Personally, to me, the looks are irrelivant. Their ergonomics blows it for me. Heck, the Hi-Point carbine is on of the ugliest weapons ever, but is actually comfortable to shoulder.

 

[Old Dog]

"Martially cool?" I suppose Glocksters do feel compelled to find some sort of descriptive term to make the BPPs sound attractive.

Looks aside, Eightball has it pegged -- the ergonomics stink. But did I mention they're also butt-ugly?

 

[M2 Carbine]

Glocks have all the looks of a brick.

The first time I saw a Glock the first thing I thought was that can't really be a gun. The second thing was, that thing has got to be the ugliest gun I've ever seen.


A friend tried to give me his new G17 that was giving him problems. I refused it.
I told him I don't want that ugly thing in my gun safe.

 

[razorburn]

Can I have it?

 

[glocktoberfest]

I'll take it , PM me !

 

[yongxingfreesty]

looks better than a XD, steyr and keltec pistols for sure.

i love mine,

 

[.41Dave]

A Glock is like a well designed sewage pump. It's and efficient piece of machinery, and you are really glad it's there when the fecal matter starts to back up, but you don't particularly care to look at it much.

 

[HiroProX]

They're basic tools. They're ugly as it comes, but they do their job.

But I admit I actually like my P85 Mk2. Yes it's bulky and heavy, but it does everything I've asked of it and looks rather nice doing it.

 

[Pappy John]

"Pretty is, as pretty does."
or......
It doesn't matter what it looks like....it does matter how well it works.

 

[03Shadowbob]

butt ugly

IMHO, glocks look like slimmed down versions of Hi Points

 

[Cousin Mike]

LOL... All this talk about ugly Glocks, and a lot of you guys carry those infamously ugly pocket pistols. If you own any of the following:

-Hi Point (this goes double for you...)
-Springfield XD (you too... )
-any Taurus auto (except their 1911)
-Steyr
-Walther (except the PP, PPK & PPK/S)
-Ruger centerfire auto
-ANY S&W auto (especially that God-awful looking M&P )
-Kahr
-Kel-Tec (any pocket pistol, except Beretta or Colt)
-CZ-52 or 83
-Makarov
-EAA Witness


... then you are a 'convicted felon' in regard to good-looking pistols - and you have no right to comment on Glock's ugliness.

 

[McCall911]

Two sayings pop in my mind:

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"Beauty is as beauty does."

You notice that people who have something they know is really ugly use these sayings?

 

[Marshall]

BU.

 

[45auto]

As far as plastic pistols go, I think Glock is pretty "clean" looking. If it didn't have a rail, work on the grip and remove the square trigger guard and it might even be considered handsome...for pastic.

The opposite of that...is the XD.

 

[Baba Louie]

Bearing in mind the old maxim that "Form follows function", it is what it is... both butt ugly and martially cool. I guess. Austrian design teams of the 80's are not Italian designers (re: Beretta's of late). Certain Glock barrel lengths have better proportions than others to my mind.

Compared to a Jap Type 94 Nambu... now that's a homely little handgun... definitely aesthetically challenged.

But, there is a certain cachet about a Glock 17/18 w/ suppressor, 33 round magazine hanging down, an attached tactical stock that has a menacing dark beauty comparable to an Artillery Luger w/ (or w/out) stock or Mauser Broomhandle w/ (or w/out) stock.

Then again, some might say, within reason, when compared to a Colt SAA, the Colt 1911 has a definite brutal simplicity about it as well that borders on martial homeliness.

Beauty... eye of beholder... that sorta thing.

 

[JDGray]

The looks of the Glocks is growing on me! I used to not like them at all, but compared to the top heavy looking XDs, they look not so butt ugly. But they aint no 1911!

 

[PzGren]

This is interesting!

I always marvel at the nice photos of immaculate guns that people show off on the forums.
My favorite gun looks a bit like my hammer, it's practical and it shows its use.

I have a few nice blue guns that are in the safe, well oiled and preserved, but I have my guns to shoot them.

 

[Desertscout]

First the angle leaves me pointing skywards, second the non grippy checkering leaves it just shy of actually serving it's purpose. Finally the friggin finger grooves are horridly ugly

Agreed. We address all of the above issues here:Glocksmithing

 

[nyresq]

good looking, well far from it, but there are some pistols out there that score higher on the FUGLY scale.

but I do recognize that they are some of the most reliable out of the box guns on the market... I have a 27 and a 29, and wouldn't trade them for anything else for simple reliable carry guns.

 

[shaggycat]

Definately not attractive, but at the same time, I think in my subconcious I associate the look of the Glock with reliability and effectiveness. Because of that, I vote kind of cool.

Certainly not attractive, but I don't really care. However, they feel like bricks in my hand and because of that, I don't like them. I could care less how a guns design looks if my hands think it is ugly to hold.

 

[Jamie C.]

Yeah, Glocks are butt-ugly...

But then again, so's any handgun that's screwed up by having a rail put under it's "chin"...

Still, even most of those don't fall into the "Seriously Hideous" category that the Springfield XD and a few others do.


J.C.

 

[GEM]

A few years ago, a design magazine rated the Glock has having a well done appearance of brutal lethality.

 

[M2 Carbine]

razorburn
Can I have it?

Sorry he's still got it.

The last time I saw it the magazine would fall out when the gun was fired.

He put some more money in it and I think he leaves it in his car now.