Glock Ges.m.b.H.Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung is a type of legal entityvery common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other Central European countries...
(trademarked as
GLOCK) is a weapons manufacturer headquartered in
Deutsch-WagramDeutsch-Wagram is a city in Austria in the federal state of Lower Austria. It lies 15 km northeast of Vienna and has a population of 6,808 as of the 2001 census.- History :...
,
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, named after its founder,
Gaston GlockGaston Glock is an Austrian engineer, and founder of the firearms company Glock. The Glock "safe-action" pistol is well regarded and has often been copied by other companies...
. While the company is best known for its line of
strikerA firing pin or striker is part of the firing mechanism used in a firearm or explosive device e.g. an M14 landmine or bomb fuze. Firing pins may take many forms, though the types used in landmines, bombs, grenade fuzes or other single-use devices generally have a sharpened point...
-fired
polymerA polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
-
framedIn firearms terminology, the receiver is the part of a firearm that houses the operating parts. The receiver usually contains the bolt carrier group, trigger group, and magazine port. In most handguns, the receiver, or frame, holds the magazine well or rotary magazine as well as the trigger mechanism...
pistolWhen distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
s, it also produces field
knivesA knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
,
entrenching toolAn entrenching tool or E-tool is a collapsible spade used by military forces for a variety of military purposes. Survivalists, freedivers, campers, hikers and other outdoors groups have found it to be indispensable in field use...
s and apparel.
Glock handguns are used by armed forces and law enforcement organizations worldwide, including a majority of U.S. law enforcement agencies. Glock handguns are also very popular with civilians for personal protection and practical shooting, and the company sponsors a competitive shooting team which travels worldwide. As of 2007, Glock produces
more than two dozen models of handgunsThe Glock pistol, sometimes referred to by the manufacturer as Glock "Safe Action" Pistol, is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Glock Ges.m.b.H., located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. The company's founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearm design or...
in seven different calibers.
Handguns
Glock handguns are common sidearms among law enforcement agencies and military organizations around the world. The popularity of Glock pistols can be attributed to a number of factors. They are very reliable, being able to function under extreme conditions and to fire a wide range of ammunition types (9mm, 10mm,
.40 S&WThe .40 S&W is a rimless pistol cartridge developed jointly by major American firearms manufacturers Winchester and Smith & Wesson. The .40 S&W was developed from the ground up as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the FBI's reduced velocity 10mm cartridge which could...
, .45ACP, .45GAP,
.357 SigThe .357 SIG pistol cartridge is the product of Swiss-German firearms manufacturer SIG-Sauer, in cooperation with the American ammunition manufacturer Federal Cartridge. While it is based on a .40 S&W case necked down to accept bullets, the .357 SIG brass is slightly longer...
,
.380 ACPThe .380 ACP pistol cartridge is a rimless, straight-walled pistol cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning. The cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case. It was introduced in 1908 by Colt, and has been a popular self-defense cartridge ever since...
). The simplicity of the Glock design contributes to this reliability, as it contains a relatively small number of components (nearly half as many as the typical handgun) making maintenance and repair easier.
The polymer frame makes them lighter than typical steel or aluminum-framed handguns, an attractive feature for police officers and civilians who carry firearms for extended periods of time. The trigger is the only operating element; all three pistol safeties are deactivated when the unique trigger is pulled, and automatically activated when it is released. Glock pistols have no manual safeties; the only external controls aside from the trigger itself are the slide release and magazine release. This adds to the simplicity of use and removes a potential source of error while operating the handgun under stress. It also provides excellent balance when the weapon is holding a full magazine.
Most of the steel components in a Glock pistol are treated with a
nitridingNitriding is a heat treating process that diffuses nitrogen into the surface of a metal to create a case hardened surface. It is predominantly used on steel, but also titanium, aluminum and molybdenum....
process called "Tenifer", which increases the surface hardness and makes the weapon resistant to corrosion and wear.
Though the
Heckler & Koch VP70The VP70 is a 9 mm, 18-round, double action only, semi-automatic/three-round burst capable polymer frame pistol manufactured by German arms firm Heckler & Koch GmbH...
was the first polymer-framed pistol and predates the Glock 17 by 12 years, the popularity of Glock pistols inspired other manufacturers to begin production of similar polymer-framed firearms, including the
Walther P99The Walther P99 is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting market as a replacement for the Walther P5 and the P88...
,
Smith & Wesson SigmaThe Sigma is Smith & Wesson's venture into using synthetic materials in gun construction, using high-strength polymer material for the frame.Created in 1994, it also incorporates a self-cocking or double-action only firing mechanism, so that the pistol can be fired without delay or preparation...
, HS2000 (Springfield Armory XD), Steyr M,
Taurus PT 24/7Introduced to the firearms market in 2004, the Taurus PT 24/7 is a semi-automatic pistol using the short type of recoil operation, and available in various models with double action only and double action/single action type trigger actions...
,
CaracalThe Caracal pistol is a series of semi-automatic pistols manufactured by Caracal International L.L.C. a subsidiary of Tawazun Holding from the United Arab Emirates. Newly arrived on a competitive market, the Caracal pistol series are the first pistols made in the United Arab Emirates.In 2007,...
, FN Herstal FNP and
Ruger SR9The Ruger SR series are a line of semi-automatic pistols manufactured by Sturm, Ruger & Company. At thick through the grip, it is touted by Ruger as one of the thinnest double-stack pistols available. The SR series has been marketed as a backup/concealment weapon for law enforcement as well as for...
pistols. Glocks tend to be in the middle of the price range for quality pistols: generally less expensive than similar SIG Sauer
P226The SIG P226 is a full-sized, service-type pistol made by SIG Sauer. It is chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, .357 SIG, and .22 Long Rifle. It is essentially the same basic design of the SIG P220, but developed to use higher capacity, staggered-column magazines in place of the...
and
Heckler & Koch USPThe USP is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch GmbH of Oberndorf am Neckar as a replacement for the P7 series of handguns.-History:...
pistol models, but more expensive than
RugerSturm, Ruger & Company, Incorporated is a Southport, Connecticut-based firearm manufacturing company, better known by the shortened name Ruger. Sturm, Ruger produces bolt-action, semi-automatic, full-automatic, and single-shot rifles, shotguns, semi-automatic pistols, and single- and double-action...
or
TaurusForjas Taurus is a manufacturing conglomerate based in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Beginning as a tool and die manufacturer, the company now consists of divisions focusing on firearms, metals manufacturing, plastics, body armor, helmets, and civil construction.-History:Taurus produced its first...
models.
In addition to their semi-automatic handguns, Glock also produces a
select-fireA selective fire firearm has at least one semi–automatic and one automatic mode, which is activated by means of a selector which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective fire weapons utilize burst fire mechanisms to limit the maximum or total number of shots fired automatically in...
pistol, the Glock 18, which is able to be fired in either
semi-automaticA semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
or
fully automaticAn automatic firearm is a firearm that loads another round mechanically after the first round has been fired.The term can be used to refer to semi-automatic firearms, which fire one shot per single pull of the trigger , or fully automatic firearms, which will continue to load and fire ammunition...
mode. This model is generally available only to law enforcement or military organizations.
Knives
Glock currently manufactures two models of knives, the
Feldmesser 78 (Field Knife 78) and the
Feldmesser 81 (Survival Knife 81).
The Field Knife 78 is a classic type knife, with a 165 mm (6.5 in) blade and 290 mm (11.4 in) overall length. The Survival Knife 81 has the same overall dimensions with an additional saw on the back of the blade. The Field Knife 78 weighs 206 g (7.3 oz) and the Survival Knife 81 weighs 202 g (7.1 oz).
The grips and sheaths are made of polymer and are available in three colors: olive drab, sand, and black.
Entrenching tool
Glock also produces an
entrenching toolAn entrenching tool or E-tool is a collapsible spade used by military forces for a variety of military purposes. Survivalists, freedivers, campers, hikers and other outdoors groups have found it to be indispensable in field use...
, the
Feldspaten (field spade).
The Feldspaten features a hardened metal spade blade that can be locked in 3 positions for digging, shoveling, and chopping, and a telescopic handle made out of
fiberglassGlass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
-reinforced
nylonNylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
containing a 175 mm (6.9 in) long hardened metal sawblade.
The entrenching tool weighs 650 g (22.9 oz) and fully extended is 630 mm (24.8 in) long. The spade and handle can be collapsed and shortened for easy transport and storage into a 260 mm × 150 mm × 60 mm (10 in × 6 in × in) package.
The entrenching tool is supplied with a nylon storage/transport pouch that can be attached to a belt or backpack.
Subsidiaries
Glock current international subsidiaries are:
- Glock America N.V. (Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
)
- Glock, Inc. (U.S.A.)
- Glock (H.K.) Ltd. (Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
)
- Glock Middle East FZE (United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
)
Gallery
File:Glock 17.JPG|Glock 17
File:Evers Glock 18C.PNG|Outline of the Glock automatic pistol 18C
File:MarineCorpsGlock18.jpg|Photo of Glock 18C in use by Marine Corps
File:Glock 19 01.jpg|Glock 19 on a showcase stand
File:Glock19-5.jpg|Glock 19 field stripped for cleaning or inspection
File:Glock19-4.jpg|Front view of the Glock 19
File:Glock 20.jpg|Third generation Glock 20 10mm Auto
File:Glock 21 01.jpg|Glock 21 shown on a showcase stand
File:Glock 22 .40cal.JPG| Glock G22 .40 cal with a M6 tactical laser-light combo. Shown with additional 28 round magazines
File:Glock Model 23 with tactical light and laser sight..jpg|Glock Model 23 with tactical light and laser sight
File:Glock23.jpg|Glock 23 with magazine shown
File:PB140009.JPG|Glock 26 field stripped
File:Glock 30-JH01.jpg|Glock 30 with fiber optic sights, magazine extension and handle plug
File:Glock 30 (.45 ACP) Muzzle Flash.jpg|Night firing to catch muzzle flashMuzzle blast is the term used to describe the release of high temperature, high pressure gases expelled from the muzzle of a firearm when it is discharged. Muzzle flash is the term used to describe the visible light of the muzzle blast. The blast and flash are caused by the combustion products of...
File:Glock34 with gtl22.jpg|Glock 34 with a GTL 22 attachment
Literature
- Boatman, Robert H. Living With Glocks : The Complete Guide to the New Standard in Combat Handguns . Paladin Press, Boulder. 2002. ISBN 1-58160-340-1.
- Kasler, Peter Alan. Glock : The New Wave In Combat Handguns. Paladin Press, Boulder. 1992. ISBN 0-87364-649-5.
- Sweeney, Patrick. The Gun Digest Book of the Glock: A Comprehensive Review : Design, History, Use. Krause Publications, Iola. 2003. ISBN 0-87349-558-6.
- Sweeney, Patrick. The Gun Digest Book of the Glock, 2nd edition Gun Digest Books, Iola. 2008. ISBN 0-89689-642-0.
- Taylor, Robin. The Glock In Competition, 2nd edition. Taylor Press, Bellingham. 2005. ISBN 0-9662517-4-1.
External links