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Why I Bought a Glock

I’m not a Glock guy. I’ve never been a believer in Glock perfection. Over the years, I’ve shot quite a few Gen 2 and Gen 3 Glocks in various calibers, and while they all worked and shot great, I was never a fan of the grip angle or the ergonomics. For me, there were just better options – the Smith & Wesson M&P for example. So why did I buy a Gen 4 Glock 19?

Gen 4 Bugs

The initial, and most important, reason I bought a Glock was that I wanted to see if Glock has finally gotten the Gen 4 bugs worked out. Talking to people about the Gen 4 problems has been interesting. Some claim there never was a problem, others insist that the problems were resolved with the voluntary Glock recall, and still others claim the problems are still there.

I’ve followed the Gen 4 Glock 17 Endurance Test by ToddG pretty closely, and the gun did really well after the initial problems were resolved, but the reports of problems have persisted. I realize that a sample size of one will do little to prove or disprove the Gen 4 reliability, but it’s another data point which is never a bad thing.

Gen 4 Ergonomics

The second reason is the Gen 4 ergonomics. As mentioned, all of my Glock experience was with the Gen 2 and Gen 3 models, so I wanted to see if the “improved ergonomics” of the Gen 4 really were improved. To a much lesser extent, I also wanted to test a Grip Force Adapter to see how it affects the grip angle and slide bite problems that Glock is notorious for.

Cool Kids Club

The third reason I bought a Glock is also the least important (or is it the most important? I can’t remember which). The cool kids all run Glock, and the really cool kids run a Glock 19. At least that’s what Ebbs told me.

All joking aside, the Glock 19 is one of the most popular handguns in the world. And I thought it high time I attempted to find out what all the fuss was about.

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12 Responses to Why I Bought a Glock

  1. Jason July 10, 2012 at 7:56 am #

    Well you’ve had a glock for a week now right? Have u changed your mind about glock perfection?

  2. Gun Noob July 10, 2012 at 9:14 am #

    The “Noob Tests” that I run guns through for my site are pretty crazy (especially the limp wrist test). I couldn’t get my pre-recall Gen4 to mess up at all. Again, one gun does not a test sample make. I think, however, that for a company that has built its reputation on reliability in their firearms, it’s safe to give them the benefit of the doubt. In most cases, I would blame user error but considering my own testing, I’m not entirely willing to. Contradict myself much? Keep reading…

    I’ve said a lot of times that, with the massive number of guns and ammo that are churned out on a daily basis, even if a fraction of a percent of those is going to have a problem it’s going to be a noticeable number. Now, the best and worst thing about the internet is that a small number of people can make a pretty hefty stink. For some reason, they also have the ability to find each other quickly and raise their stinky voices even more.

    In reading through forum posts about the problems, I see many that don’t seem to understand that even the most well made gun will have problems with bad ammo on occasion. Others refuse to admit that, yes a gun can be a lemon and that’s what the warranty is for. I remember seeing one particularly vocal individual say, and I quote, “There is no reason that every gun coming out of their shoudln’t work. Warrantys are just their way of being lazy. I’m selling this junk and getting an M&P.” (spelling and grammar errors included)

    I copied this into a word document when I saw it originally because his dismissal of warranties as companies being lazy amused me. It doesn’t matter how good your QA is for the line, a defective pistol is going to slip through. Like cars and computers, most problems aren’t going to show themselves until things have gotten warmed up a bit. If they tested each gun to the point that most problems would show, they’d never be able to sell a gun as new. A warranty is there to say “sorry, dude, we messed up there. Let us fix that for you.”

    Yeah, sending a gun out and waiting a bit might be a little inconvenient but in the end you have a working gun.

    • Jason July 10, 2012 at 1:48 pm #

      That all makes sense, but I gotta say, I don’t get your point.

  3. Ira G July 10, 2012 at 9:32 am #

    way back in 86when I rented my first Glock, it shot perfect.. now after owning almost a dozen Glocks over the years and having shot close to 10k in rounds through my G26(My EDC) , I can honestly say not a single gun has ever failed in the slightest way.. to me No other gun I have owned or know about can come close to the reliability of the Glock. Many friends have Gen4’s and not one has had an issue so I do not know how big the issues were and if the internet played a part in making it worse then it may have been.

  4. Rodger July 10, 2012 at 10:25 am #

    I have had about 5 different Glocks during the past years. I love them, but have sold all but 1 because they just did not fit my small hand at the grip. I now have a Glock 19 gen4 which I will keep forever. Fits perfect, shoots great. Never had a single problem with the 800 rounds that have gone through it. Thank you Glock for making them more ergonomic for us. Glock does listen.

    • Brandon July 10, 2012 at 10:28 am #

      Now if they would just make that single stack we’ve been asking for haha.

  5. Dr. L. July 10, 2012 at 10:36 am #

    I bought my Glock in the aftermath of 9/11. (And dreamed I killed BinLaden with it.) It’s never failed me once. Even after running it dirty and idle for a several year period.

    Welcome to Glock perfection.

    • Brandon July 10, 2012 at 10:46 am #

      LOL – thanks! I’m going to work on a Glock Perfection post that I think you’ll enjoy. 🙂

  6. Mike Smith July 10, 2012 at 12:56 pm #

    Great Post!
    Also if you own a glock you can get pretty much any holster or accessory you want. Not the case with other weapons.

    • Brandon July 10, 2012 at 12:58 pm #

      Thanks Mike. You gotta love the accessory market for Glock.

  7. Steve July 10, 2012 at 8:53 pm #

    I had a G27 when they first came out and it was a jamm-0-matic. Sent to Glock once and was still problematic. After trying a multitude of Colt and other 1911s, Sigs, XDs, M&P, and HK pistols I always gravitated back to the darkside of Glocks. I have had many and have settled on 9mm and .45ACP calibers and now have a Glock and a S&W J-Frame snubbie.

    I love it that I can have a custom Comp-Tac MTAC holster produced and delivered in about a week and have access to many off the shelf accessories.

    Glocks warranty and technical service are also excellent.

  8. Rodger July 12, 2012 at 8:15 am #

    I am with you Steve, I want to hate the Glock so bad, but I still keep coming back to the reliable and ugly Glock. But they are really beautiful in their own way. Kinda like a wife after several years.