GhostDog

Handguns are defensive weapons; In other words, reactive survival tools. No matter who you are, police or not, you could very well finding yourself having to react rather than act. Granted, in a perfect world, you would see trouble coming and avoid it. Unfortunately, that may not turn out to be the case; you may have to react. A quick draw and ACCURATE, FAST defensive fire is exactly what is needed in a handgun. Thus the popularity of the 1911 pistol... and the Glock. The only legit argument against the Glock is the chambers in the older 40S&W guns. The rest is just personal opinion. I have noticed that the HK P7 is immune to these claims even though some of the same knocks could be made on it. Could it be because it's an HK? The reason the P7 never became more popular is the unique squeeze cocker and high price, not any other qualities of the gun (which were great IMHO).

When life gets complicated, your survival tools shouldn't be. Stick w/ your Glock.

I know what you're saying. Of course the guns are very different. The point I was trying to make was that the Glock has filled the niche that the S&W revolver had previously filled, that's all. I didn't mean to insult your revovler "art". IMHO the perfect revolver is a blued S&W K Frame, .357Mag, w/ 2.5-3" barrel. I have a pre-lock M65 w/ 3" barrel and love it (I know, it's not blued but you can't always have everything!). See Mars, I do shoot guns other than Glocks! The only problem for me w/ other guns is that I shoot the Glocks so much better! I try to stick with what works best for me. Other guns are nice and purdy, but the Glocks work best for me.

Rabbi, surely I haven't offended your revolver purist soul. Tell me you aren't a gun snob too.

The Glock 17/19 is perfect for ME. That's what I've said on a regular basis. They may not be perfect for everyone, but that doesn't mean they are sub-standard either. A Glock pistol is basically a S&W M&P revolver with a tuned trigger and a 17/15/13 round cylinder: a perfect self-defense gun for police and others (including many military shooters). It's not the perfect tool for all by any means but neither is it as you choose to describe it. It's simple and it works. And, like a revolver, if the shooter insists on keeping his/her finger on the trigger all the time, eventually that shooter will pay the price. You can pay more for something else but you won't get more where it counts. Several guns are as good, but none are better for a general purpose self-defense handgun.

Some of your arguments against Glock are well reasoned (40S&W barrels) but most are just opinion. The "Glock leg" jokes and take down are BS IMHO. Give a monkey a hammer and someone is gonna get hurt, but don't blame the hammer. As a matter of fact, a lot of the knocks you make on Glocks sound familiar. I seem to remember the same thing being said about 1911s back when revolvers ruled. That "light" (in other words shootable) trigger and cocked hammer were just too scary for most folks to be able to handle. Horse hockey! Also, you yourself advocate COCKING the hammer on a DA pistol if you anticipate trouble. Pistols are reactive weapons; there's a good chance you won't be able to cock it when trouble rears it's ugly head. There is no such thing as a "safe" firearm, only safe users. If we're not careful (as gun owners), we will help our enemies (anit-gun/pro litigators) make our tools so safe that they are unusable. Some of your points are well made and logical, but most are just opinion and bias.

They (Glocks) work, really well, plain and simple. This is the same thing that keeps your beloved HKs going. They're overcomplicated and overpriced but they do work very well.

I guess that makes it a little clearer. Then again, I'm not really a rifle guy. Wrong answer, Mars! In the mid 80s you might have had a point, but these days it's about results. That's why Glock sells so many pistols. Even their well documented mistakes (like the early 40S&W barrels) haven't sunk them. That says something about the results. You don't have to like it, but there it is. I guess we will see how this 6.8SPC does, time will tell.

Speaking of the AK, maybe one of you rifle guys can explain the difference to me between this new 6.8 whatever round and a 7.62X39. If a man thinks that .223 is so bad, why can't he just admit the Russian round is the answer? Why reinvent the wheel? Sounds like salesmanship rather than an honest search for something better. But, then again, I could be wrong.

"Universally acknowledged sub-standard ergonomics"... Hummm. Gonna have to call BS on that one. It's a tool, it works well. Everything else depends on the monkey behind the tool. Sounds like more opinion than fact. The proof is in the results.

I heard it this way: "Beware the man w/ one gun, he probably knows how to use it."

I couldn't resist.

A Glock w/ 5.5# pull is not OK... it's most excellent!

Handguns should be carried in a holster that covers the trigger guard. It's hard to do this w/ a long gun, thus the need for a safety on the long gun. As far as handguns go, it's up to the user. Mars will tell you that I like Glocks but I have also carried 1911s. As long as the user is up to speed, I don't think it matters.

Right back at ya! And thanks to all the military folks here. Don't know where our country would be without our military people. Or, more likely, I know EXACTLY where we would be w/o them, which is just another reason to REALLY appreciate them all. I noticed a few folks mention other generations of their families who served. My father was an Army medic in Korea. My oldest son just started college on an NROTC scholarship and my younger son is going to try to go the same route. We are very proud of them and are thankful for the opportunity at a college education and rewarding career. They're both smarter than their dad, good genes from their mom!

Mars is just poking me in the eye. Lord knows, I've poked him in the eye enough. There's nothing like living behind the Iron Curtain (West Berlin) to make you appreciate living in a free country. I wish our young folks today could see some of the things I've seen. Man... that sounded like something my grandpa would have said! You know, 10 miles to school, uphill both ways!

I shoot WWB all the time w/o problems. IMHO 9mm Silvertip is still an excellent choice for anyone looking for a good NON +P round.

USAF Russian Linguist 81-92. Then 10yrs as the PO-lice. Does that count?

...but, I think I've said nice things about other guns too. All joking aside, I saw some pictures recently that showed newer Glock 40S&W chambers and older chambers. It did appear that the newer ones had more support in that area. This was news to me, as I am not really a "40 fan" and hadn't paid attention to any changes. Some folks just seem to shoot certain guns better than others. It's an individual thing, more about the shooter than the gun. Glocks have always been best for me w/ Beretta and S&W autos running 2nd. I don't really have much experience w/ H&K except for a P7, which I could never really get used to.

I'd love to shoot w/ you guys and am planning on it ASAP. However, I'm working days on the 20th, so it will have to be later rather than sooner. I have to warn you, I don't have any fancy guns or rifles, just me and my Glocks. Am I still welcome?

The Pinto went the way of the dinosaur, the Glock has not. The rest is simply a matter of preference.

He and I always disagree about Glocks and I never miss an chance to "poke him in the eye" about it. Despite this, he has never even hinted that he would delete one of my posts.

I'm starting to believe that this whole "anything else vs Glock" debate is more of a commentary on the different personalities involved than on the guns themselves.

Mindlessly? Mindlessly?! I may be ugly (you'll have to speak to my mother about that), but must I be accused of being dumb too? (Overly dramatic sigh) I fear I may never recover.

Tedious would be debating about Glocks (again and again and again)!