Glock Ges.m.b.H. - Wikipedia

Austrian light weapons manufacturer

Glock Ges.m.b.H. (trademarked as GLOCK) is a light weapons manufacturer headquartered in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria, named after its founder, Gaston Glock. The company makes popular polymer-framed pistols, but also produces field knives, entrenching tools, various horse related products, and apparel.

Glock handguns are used by armed forces and law enforcement organizations worldwide, including most law enforcement agencies in the United States.[3] Glock handguns are popular in some countries for personal protection and practical shooting. The company sponsors a competitive shooting team that travels worldwide.[4] As of 2014, Glock produced over two dozen models of handguns in three sizes and seven calibers.[5][6][7]

Products

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Handguns

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Glock handguns are common sidearms among law enforcement agencies and military organizations around the world, and are also popular weapons for home defense, and concealed/open carry. They are reputed to be highly reliable, able to function under extreme conditions and available in a wide range of ammunition types (9mm, 10mm, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, .45 GAP, .357 SIG, .380 ACP, and .22 LR). Third-party conversion kits for .400 Corbon, .40 Super, and .50 GI are also available. The simplicity of the Glock design as well as its simple operation contributes to its reliability, as it contains a relatively small number of components (nearly half as many as the typical handgun, each one interchangeable requiring no hand-fitting) making maintenance and repair easier and less costly. In December 2019, Glock introduced their first production-model .22-caliber pistol, the Glock 44.[7]

The polymer frame makes them lighter than typical steel or aluminum-framed handguns, an attractive feature for police officers and citizens who carry firearms for extended periods of time. The trigger is the only operating element; all three safeties are deactivated when the trigger is pulled, and automatically activated when it is released. Glock pistols have no manual safeties like other brands' external safety, often in the form of a lever or button. The only external controls aside from the trigger are the slide stop lever, the magazine catch, and the slide lock for disassembly.[8] This adds to the simplicity of use and removes a potential source of error while operating the handgun under stress. Most of the steel components in a Glock pistol are treated with a nitriding process called Tenifer,[9] which hardens the surface and makes the pistol resistant to corrosion and wear.

Though the Heckler & Koch VP70 was the first polymer-framed pistol and predated 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 P99, Smith & Wesson Sigma, HS2000 (Springfield Armory XD), Steyr M, Taurus PT 24/7, Caracal, FN Herstal FNP and Ruger SR9 pistols.

In addition to their semi-automatic handguns, Glock also produces a select-fire pistol, the Glock 18, which has both semi-automatic and fully automatic mode. This model is generally available only to law enforcement or military organizations and the details of its production are obscure. Conversion kits for other Glocks to be fired in fully automatic mode exist, but they are third-party, and they are specifically marked as Title 2 devices by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives – restricting their purchase and possession to ATF 3 licensed dealers in the US.[10]

Knives

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Glock manufactures two knife models, the Feldmesser 78 (Field Knife 78) and the Feldmesser 81 (Survival Knife 81).

The Field Knife 78 is a classic type with a 165 mm (6.5 in) blade and 290 mm (11 in) overall length. The Survival Knife 81 has the same overall dimensions with a 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.[11] In 2016 Glock introduced a grey-colored Field Knife 81 and planned to discontinue Field Knife 78 in colors other than black.[12]

Entrenching tool

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Glock also produces an entrenching tool, the Feldspaten (field spade).

The Feldspaten has a hardened metal spade blade that can be locked in three positions for digging, shoveling, and chopping, and a telescopic handle made out of fiberglass-reinforced nylon containing a 175 mm (6.9 in) long hardened metal sawblade.

The entrenching tool weighs 650 g (23 oz) and fully extended is 630 mm (25 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 × 2+1⁄2 in) package.[13]

The entrenching tool is supplied with a nylon storage/transport pouch that can be attached to a belt or backpack.

Subsidiaries

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Glock international subsidiaries are:

• Glock America N.V. (Uruguay)
• Glock, Inc. (United States)
• Glock (H.K.) Ltd. (Hong Kong)
• Glock Middle East FZE (United Arab Emirates)
• Glock do Brasil S.A. (Brazil)

Embezzlement

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Glock has been the target of multiple embezzlement schemes involving high-ranking officers of the company or others closely related to the company. In 1999, Charles Ewert attempted to murder Gaston Glock after Glock asked for a meeting regarding an accusation of embezzlement. Ewert was convicted of attempted murder along with an accomplice for his involvement.[14]

In April 2012, Paul Jannuzzo, the former CEO of US subsidiary Glock, Inc., was convicted of racketeering regarding his involvement in an embezzlement scheme against the company.[15]

Investigation of embezzlement cases exposed questionable financial dealings and a complicated ownership structure hidden behind a string of shell companies in favourable tax locations around the world.[16][17]

References

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Further reading

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• 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, Wis. 2003. ISBN 0-87349-558-6.
• Sweeney, Patrick. The Gun Digest Book of the Glock, 2nd Edition. Gun Digest Books, Iola, Wis. 2008. ISBN 0-89689-642-0.
• Taylor, Robin. The Glock in Competition, 2nd Edition. Taylor Press, Bellingham. 2005. ISBN 0-9662517-4-1.

One of the fastest growing gun categories is the subcompact pistol for concealed carry. Generally, a scaled down copy of a full-sized semi-automatic handgun, subcompacts typically have all the features of larger guns but in a discrete package. The Glock 27, chambered in .40 Smith & Wesson is one such pistol.

The original Glock 17, a full-sized nine-millimeter handgun developed for the Austrian Army, has spawned an ecosystem of handguns for almost any purpose. Over the last four decades, Glock has introduced competition, full-sized, compact, and subcompact handguns with an emphasis on practicality, avoiding novelty and sticking to handguns and calibers that offer utility above all else. Combined with absolute reliability, it’s clear to see why Glock has captured a considerable portion of the worldwide police and military markets—including a commanding share of the law enforcement market across the United States.

The .40 Smith & Wesson caliber was developed in the aftermath of the infamous 1986 Miami Shootout, in which two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents were killed and five injured by two criminals armed with more powerful firearms. The FBI went in search of a more powerful pistol round and after a short period with the 10mm Norma pistol round, eventually standardized on .40 Smith & Wesson as the standard pistol caliber.

The FBI’s adoption of any handgun or caliber tends to strongly reverberate through America’s law enforcement community. Today, .40 Smith & Wesson has an impressive 70 percent market share among U.S. law enforcement agencies. At the same time, Glock pistols became highly successful with police departments, due to a combination of a reputation for reliability, accuracy, and an aggressive marketing campaign. As a consequence, the most popular Glock for law enforcement is the Glock 22, for all intents and purposes the original G17 chambered in .40 Smith & Wesson.

The Glock 22 full size is not a small pistol. Originally designed for military and police use, it is designed to be openly carried by soldiers and police where the carrying of a pistol is as much a symbol of authority as it is a weapon. At eight inches long, five and a half inches tall and 34 ounces with a full magazine, it is difficult for an ordinary sized person to conceal a Glock 22.

The adoption of the Glock 22 by law enforcement made the company’s release of a subcompact version all but inevitable. A smaller version of the pistol in the same caliber would be highly useful to officers working undercover, any time or place where they needed a discrete firearm, or as a backup handgun. A smaller version of an officer or sheriff’s duty pistol would be ideal, minimizing the need for additional training and logistic support.

The Glock 27 is that pistol. The Glock 27 is simply a scaled-down version of the Glock 22, and uses the same ammunition as the larger pistol. Anyone trained to use a Glock 22—or any Glock for that matter—can be brought up to speed on the Glock 27 in minutes. The loading, chambering, firing, and jam clearing processes are all exactly the same, as is the takedown procedure.

The Glock 27 has an overall length of 6.5 inches, making it more than an inch and a half shorter than the Glock 22. It is also just 4.17 inches tall, more than an inch shorter than the full sized pistol. It weighs a full half-pound less than its larger sibling. It is typically equipped with a nine-round, dual column magazine, which results in a width exactly the same as the Glock 17 and Glock 22. Alternately, if a protruding magazine isn’t an issue, it can also utilize 10, 15, 16, 13, 14, and 22 round magazines.

The Glock 27 fulfills a valuable role, providing compact firepower for those that need it in a simple, extremely reliable package. Although it may not have the magazine capacity of larger pistols, it can also quietly go where other pistols cannot. For those that require such a pistol in their department’s choice of caliber, the Glock 27 fits the bill.

Kyle Mizokami is a writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and The Daily Beast. In 2009 he co-founded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch.

Image: Glock.