Glock 17

In May 1980, Glock was invited to bid for a contract to supply the Austrian military with a new duty pistol.  This pistol was to replace the World War II era Walther P38. After months of tests and abuse the Glock 17 was awarded the contract.  The Glock 17 became so popular that by 1992, they sold approximately 350,000 pistols, and were being sold in over 45 countries.

The Glock 17 was named Glock 17, due to the fact it was the 17th patent Glock had in their name.  The Glock 17 is a 9x19 millimeter, semi-automatic pistol, that uses a modified Browning locked breech short recoil operating principle.  The Glock 17's locking mechanism features a vertically tilting barrel with a rectangular breech that engages a guide in the slide, on the breech face and a cut in the top front of the ejection port. The barrel recoils rearward, locked together with the slide approximately 3  (0.12 ) until the bullet leaves the barrel and pressure drops to a safe level. A ramped lug at the bottom of the barrel then engages an angled locking block in the frame, tilting the barrel downward while the slide continues back in a straight line. The slide also contains a spring-loaded claw extractor, while the fixed ejector is a steel protrusion in the trigger housing.

The slide features a spring-loaded claw extractor and the stamped sheet-metal extractor is pinned to the trigger housing. The has a spring-loaded firing pin that is cocked in two stages, powered by the firing pin spring. When a the weapon is charged, the firing pin is in the half-cock position. As the trigger is pulled, the striker is fully cocked. At the end of its travel, the trigger bar is tilted downward by the disconnector, releasing the striker to fire the cartridge. The disconnector also resets the trigger bar so that the striker will be captured in half-cock at the end of the firing cycle. This is known as a trigger mechanism, referred to as the "Safe Action" trigger by the manufacturer. The disconnector also ensures the pistol can only fire in semi-automatic mode.

For safety, the Glock 17 features a triple safety system that secures the weapon to prevent accidental discharge that consists of three independent safety mechanisms an external trigger safety a firing pin safety a drop safety This triple safety system guarantees safe handling of the pistol with a cartridge introduced into the chamber, reducing the time required to deploy the weapon. This allows the user to concentrate on tactical considerations, rather than manipulation of levers, hammers or external safeties found in other, conventional handguns. This design however does not allow the pistol to be decocked in case of a squib round. The Glock 17 features a double column box magazine with a 17-round capacity or an extended 19-round magazine.  Designed for stability, the magazines feature a steel body overmolded with plastic.  A spring drives a plastic follower, and after the last round has been fired, the slide remains open on the slide stop. Currently the Glock 17 is built with 34 different parts.  For easy stripping of the Glock 17, Glock has divided each pistol into 5 main groups...

Barrel Slide Frame Magazine Recoil spring assembly

Glock pistol accessories vary but include several devices for tactical illumination, front rail mounted lights, optional lasers, and an adapter to mount a flaslight ont he bottom of the magazine.  Polymer holsters in various configuarations and matching magazine pouches are also available.  You can also add optional sights, triggers, recoil springs, slide stop levers, and underwater spring cups.

With the popularity of the Glock 17, several variants were introduced.  Here is a rough overview of some of the variants...

• Glock 17C: Introduced in 1996 and incorporated slots cut in the barrel and slide to compensate for muzzle rise and recoil. Many other Glock pistols now come with this option, all with a "C" suffix on the slide.
• Glock 17L: Introduced in 1988 and incorporates a longer slide and extended barrel. Initially the 17L had three holes in the top of the barrel and a corresponding slot in the slide, however later production pistols deleted the holes. The Glock 17L is discontinued.
• Glock 17A: Variant produced with a 120 mm (4.7 in) extended barrel that protrudes from the slide visibly. It is intended for the Australian market to conform to local laws regarding barrel length created after the Monash University shooting and are supplied with 10-round magazines.
• Glock 17T: Training pistol that fires paint or rubber rounds. There are two versions and they are both easily recognizable from their bright blue frames: the Glock 17T 9 mm FX, which fires Simunition FX cartridges and the Glock 17T 7.8x21 AC, which fires paint and rubber rounds with replaceable pressurized air cartridges.
• Glock 17P: Training dummy for practicing hand-to-hand combat, loading and unloading of the pistol. The G17P is identical to a standard Glock 17 except for its red frame, an inert barrel (without a chamber, thus preventing the accidental chambering of a live cartridge) and no firing pin hole in the breech face (thus preventing someone from using a live barrel with the training slide).
• Glock 17Pro: Version produced exclusively for the Finnish market. It has the following improvements over the standard Glock 17: factory tritium night sights, an extended, threaded barrel, marine spring cups, modified magazine release, extended slide release (factory standard in newer models), extended +2 magazine base plates, 3.5 lb force connector and factory Glock pouch.
• Glock 17DK: Version for Denmark, where handguns must, by law, be at least 210 mm (8.3 in) long. The Glock 17DK has a 122.5 mm (4.8 in) barrel, making the pistol 210 mm (8.3 in) long overall.
• Glock 18: Selective-fire variant of the Glock 17, developed in 1987 at the request of the Austrian counter-terrorist unit EKO Cobra. The Glock 18 is not available to the civilian market. This machine pistol-class firearm has a lever-type fire-control selector switch, installed on the left side of the slide, in the rear, serrated portion (selector lever in the in the bottom position – continuous fire, top setting – single fire). The firearm is typically used with an extended 33-round capacity magazine. Early Glock 18’s were ported to reduce muzzle rise during automatic fire. Another compensated variant was also produced, known as the Glock 18C. It has a keyhole opening cut into the forward portion of the slide, not unlike the opening on the Glock long-slide models, although the G18 has a standard-length slide. The keyhole opening provides a venting area to allow the four, progressively-larger (from back to front) compensator cuts machined into the barrel to accomplish their job, which is to afford more control over the rapid-firing machine pistol. The compensator cuts, of varying widths start about halfway back on the top. The rear two cuts are narrow, while the front two cuts are wider. The slide is also hollowed, or dished-out in a rectangular pattern between the rear of the ejection port and the rear sight. The pistol’s rate of fire in fully automatic mode is approx. 1100-1200 rounds/min. Most of the other characteristics are similar to the Glock 17.
• Glock 19:Effectively, a reduced-size Glock 17, called the “Compact” by the manufacturer. It was first produced in 1988, primarily for military and law enforcement. The Glock 19 has a barrel and pistol grip that are shorter by approx. 12 mm (0.5 in) compared to the Glock 17 and uses a 15-round magazine (the pistol remains compatible with standard and high-capacity factory magazines). To preserve the operational reliability of the short recoil system, the slide's mass was kept the same. With the exception of the slide, frame, barrel, locking block, recoil spring, guide rod and slide lock spring, all of the other components are interchangeable between the models 17 and 19. In 1990 the Glock 19 was accepted by the Swedish Army and entered service as the Pistol 88B.
• Glock 20: Developed for American security forces and introduced in 1991. The pistol was designed from the ground up around the 10 mm Auto cartridge, but can also fire Federal 10 mm Auto FBI rounds with a reduced muzzle velocity. Due to the more powerful chambering, the pistol is dimensionally larger than the Glock 17, approx. 2.5 mm (0.1 in) wider and 7 mm (0.3 in) longer. Though many small parts interchange (close to 50% parts commonality), the major assemblies are scaled-up and do not interchange. The pistol’s bore has a hexagonal profile.
• Glock 21: .45 ACP version of the Glock 20 designed primarily for the American market. The barrel features an octagonal bore and the slide is lighter to compensate for the lower-energy cartridge. The Glock 21 magazine is of the single-position-feed, staggered-column type with a capacity of 13 rounds. The Glock 20 and 21 frames and slides are not compatible. The Glock 21’s locking block has been altered to prevent this. Glock has also released the Glock 21SF. The suffix "SF" denotes "short frame" in that the front-to-rear profile of the grip has been reduced by about 5 mm (0.2 in). The pistol was originally designed to compete in the now canceled US Military trials for a new .45-caliber pistol to replace the Beretta M9. It features an ambidextrous magazine release and an optional MIL-STD-1913 rail system along with a reduction in the size of the grip. The Glock 21SF is currently available in three versions: one with a Picatinny rail and ambidextrous safety and two with a Universal Glock rail available with or without the ambidextrous safety. All current 10 mm and .45-caliber Glock magazines are all being made with ambidextrous magazine release cutouts at the front of the magazines.
• Glock 22: .40 S&W version of the Glock 17 introduced in 1990. The pistol uses a modified slide, frame, barrel (hexagonal profile rifling with a right-hand twist).
• Glock 23: .40 S&W version of the compact Glock 19. It is dimensionally identical to the Glock 19 but is slightly heavier and uses a modified slide, frame, .40 S&W barrel and 13-round magazine.
• Glock 24: .40 S&W competition variant of the Glock 22 similar in concept to the target Glock 17L model. The Glock 24 was officially discontinued upon the release of the Glock 34 and 35.
• Glock 25: A derivative of the Glock 19, adapted to use the .380 ACP (9x17mm Short) cartridge. Due to the relatively weak cartridge, the pistol features an unlocked breech and operates via straight blowback of the slide. This method of operation required modification of the locking surfaces on the barrel as well as a redesign of the former locking block.
• Glock 26: 9 mm "subcompact" variant designed for concealed carry and introduced in 1995, mainly for the civilian market. It features a small frame with a pistol grip that supports only two fingers, a short barrel, slide, and a 10-round double-stack magazine. More than a shortened Glock 19, design of the subcompact required extensive rework of the frame, locking block, and spring assembly.
• Glock 27: .40 S&W version of the subcompact Glock 26, with 9-round, double-stack magazine.
• Glock 28: .380-caliber subcompact version of the blowback-operated Glock 25.
• Glock 29: 10 mm Auto equivalent of the Glock 26 introduced along with the Glock 30 in 1997. The pistol has a 96 mm (3.8 in) barrel and a 10-round magazine.
• Glock 30: .45 ACP version of the Glock 29. Glock has also announced the Glock 30SF as a short-frame counterpart to the Glock 21SF.
• Glock 31: .357 SIG (9x22mm) variant of the full-sized Glock 22. It features a polygonal (hexagonal) bore.
• Glock 32: .357 SIG (9x22mm) variant of the compact Glock 23.
• Glock 33: .357 SIG (9x22mm) variant of the subcompact Glock 26.
• Glock 34: Competition version of the Glock 17. It is similar to the now-discontinued Glock 17L but with a slightly shorter slide and barrel than its predecessor. It was developed and produced in 1998 and features a 21 mm (0.8 in) longer barrel and slide. It also has an extended magazine release, extended slide stop lever, 20 N (4.5 lbf) trigger pull, and adjustable rear sight. The top of the slide is milled out, creating a hole designed to reduce front-end muzzle weight to better balance the pistol.
• Glock 35: .40 S&W version of the competition Glock 34.
• Glock 36: "Slimline" version of the .45 ACP Glock 30 that features an ultra-compact frame and is chambered for the .45 ACP round; the barrel, slide, and magazine, are unique to the model. It has a 6-round capacity, and is the first Glock to be manufactured with a single-stack magazine.
• Glock 37: .45 GAP version of the Glock 17. It uses a wider, beveled slide, larger barrel and different magazine but is otherwise similar to the Glock 17. The Glock 37 first appeared in 2003 It was designed to offer the stopping power of the .45 ACP with the frame size of the Glock 17. The concern with the size of the Glock 20/21 has also been addressed by the Glock 36, 21SF, and 30SF all of which featured reduced-size frames.
• Glock 38: .45 GAP version of the compact Glock 19. It was the first pistol to use Glock's newly designed .45 GAP cartridge.
• Glock 39: .45 GAP version of the subcompact Glock 26.

The Glock 17 is used by many of the worlds top militaries and peace keepers. A few of the examples include...

• Afghanistan - Secondary weapons of the Afghan National Police.
• Australia - Armament of the Australian police forces. All Australian police services apart from the South Australian Police and Victoria Police use Glock pistols. A special Glock 17 outfitted with a M1911-style safety was designed specifically for the Tasmania Police. Glocks are also issued to Australian Customs officers.
• Austria - P80 standard service pistol.
• Belgium - Used by Belgian police.
• Canada - Used by various police agencies in cities such as Toronto.
• Finland - Used by Finnish police and border guard.
• Germany - Various special units of the German Federal Police.
• Iceland - Icelandic special forces, such as Víkingasveitin and ICRU.
• India - Indian Army, Special Forces and Indian Police
• Iraq - Iraqi security forces.
• Israel - Glock 17s and Glock 19s are standard service pistols in certain Israeli military and paramilitary units (Yamam, Shayetet 13, Shabak, and private security firms) and remain popular pistols amongst Israeli citizens.
• Latvia - Standard sidearm of the Latvian Military and police.
• Lithuania - The Glock 17 is the standard sidearm of the Lithuanian Armed Forces. [1]
• Malaysia - Glock 17 (mostly used by the Royal Malaysian Navy).
• Netherlands - Standard sidearm of the Royal Netherlands Army.
• New Zealand - The New Zealand Police carry the Glock 17 in situations where weapons are issued.
• Northern Ireland - Used by Northern Irish police.
• Norway - Issue pistol of the Norwegian Army.
• Poland - Approx. 4,800 Glock 19 pistols acquired for the Polish police. The contract was awarded in 2007 and first deliveries were scheduled for October that same year.
• Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka Police
• Sweden - The Swedish Army use two 9 mm variants of the Glock - the Glock 17 and compact Glock 19, known locally as the Pistol 88 and Pistol 88B respectively.
• United Kingdom - Users include the Specialist Firearms Command of the London Metropolitan Police Service.
• United States - The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation issues all agents graduating from the FBI Academy a Glock 22 or Glock 23 according to the agent's preference, although the Glock 17 may be issued for FBI agents tasked in certain overseas assignments. .40 caliber Glock pistols are issued to all new agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Glock 19 remains the standard issue of the US E.P.A. Criminal Investigation Division.