I opening a can I guess, but..

[Mike.357]

What makes a Glock "all that"?

Seriously? I don't want to hear the Glock "Perfection" crap.

what makes one so great?

Assuming you can't answer the original question what makes it better than a Sigma? Both are pretty much the same design and the Sigma costs substantially less. I have shot one (Glock), I was not really impressed. I was expecting this revalation about it and, well to be honest I was disappointed. It was okay, but that is it, just okay.

so seriously what makes a Glock so great?

Sell me on it. I am not a Glock hater as such. Just not sure what it is all about.

[TripleDigitRide]

It's that really cool "Torture Test".

[Fallguy]

I'll be honest I've not shot a lot of different guns. So I can't make a fair comparison.

To me a Glock is not necessarily better than any other. I just like mine. It serves my purpose.

Of course there are many ready made accessories for a Glock out there, I'm sure that appeals to some.

I do see my next handgun purchase being a J-frame though.

[nightrunner]

i believe its part high popularity, highly accessorizable, the torture test, many LE agencies use it, etc. its a polymer gun that is very simple to break down and work under many conditions that a gun shouldnt. i guess its like the AK of handguns, not extremely accurate but very dependable and certaintly not ergonomic for many

[Schadenfreude]

Not a big fan of Glocks or Sigma's but the Sigma was such a direct copy of the Glock that S&W was sued by them

[Smith]

I personally think it has a lot to do with excellent marketing. they have cornered the market and made the name larger than life. To me they are kinda like Microsoft. Are there better programs out there, absolutely, but none of them have the market presence of MS.

For the vast majority of average folks, they do what it they need to do. Not with the greatest efficiency or best design, but enough to not raise to many complaints from the uninformed to displace their name.

[Guest dotsun]

It's just another gun to me. It suited *me* for the purpose I bought it for better than anything else on the market. Reliability, size, and capacity were my primary considerations in that order.

[R1100R]

I don't know about perfection. I have had a Glock 19 for about 13 years. I lost round count, Thousands of shots.I have never had FTF or FTF in it. I own 1911's, Sigs, and Walthers to mention a few.

I have shot other model Glocks and hated them. Mine is a 2nd Generation.

It just seems 8 out of 10 times when I go to the safe to get that carry gun

for the day its the G19. Unconsciously I pick it out. I have quite a selection

to pick from. If I am on the run and ask my wife to get it that is what she brings.

I don't drink the kool-aid. The G19 is a great pistol.

[Warbird]

I have 2 Glocks, my dad has 3 and a Sigma. We both agree that a comparison of th Sigma and Glock is no comparison at all. The Glock just feels better, it's mechanism is better, smoother etc on and on.

The Glock set the standard for their type of pistol and there are now many many imitators. Some are bad imitations and some are good. I would suggest the Sigma came out at a time for S&W when they were at their lowest point in quality. That's my opinion anyway. I don't believe there is a perfect pistol just ones that some people find favorable over another.

Glocks are not perfect but they are a great blend of many of the things someone looks for in a combat piece. You can dismantle just about any Glock throw a bunch of them in a bucket and put one together out of pieces picked up out of that bucket. Try that with a bucket of 1911's.

As for comparing prices on guns and their same basic design. There's a world of difference in the internals and the fittings and the materials used in different firearms. Their basic designs being the same has little to do with it. Glocks are still quite inexpensive, it's one of their selling points.

If you don't like Glocks I don't quite know what to say, I like mine very much, though I wish I had a 26 instead of the 27, and find that they have many great features, and some I don't care for. But there's no doubt they are excellent firearms whether they meet you specific needs or they do not.

I disagree completely about the marketing. I remember well the absolute hell Glock took. They went from town to town trying to get LE to give them a chance. They performed all sorts of stunts to get them to switch fro their S&W and Ruger autos. At the time Glock beat the hell out of those hands down. Eventually their toughness won over LE and for the most part LE officers loved the Glocks after finally being forced at times to start shooting them. Glock earned their name and rep the hard way, with guts and grime. They had to completely change a mindset, that's no easy task for old LE agencies of city governments big and small. No today, sure they have a solid name, but in no way did they just happen in to a large market share with great marketing gimmicks and branding. Their marketing was done the hard way. I think the first Glock I bought was probably because I simply admired their chutzpah.

Edited May 7, 2008 by Warbird

[The Rabbi]

When you look for a pistol for different things you have certain qualities in mind. They might be:

-capacity

-size

-accuracy

-reliability

-ease of shooting

-maintenance

-availability of parts/accessories

and probably a few other things.

The Glock does all of those well. Other guns will do some of them extremely well. But none does as much as well as the Glock. They have no soul. You won't get attached to one as an heirloom piece. They are very utilitarian. But they serve the purpose.

And I've never owned one.

[Guest Verbal Kint]

i believe its part high popularity, highly accessorizable, the torture test, many LE agencies use it, etc. its a polymer gun that is very simple to break down and work under many conditions that a gun shouldnt. i guess its like the AK of handguns, not extremely accurate but very dependable and certaintly not ergonomic for many

I'd have to agree with these reasons. They're rugged and hold up to abuse and neglect. They have a high visibility/popularity and pretty much has become the standard of every new shooter entering the hobby. Fairly cheap compared to other guns in it's class. No one cries when they get bashed, scratched, dropped, etc... unless you're holding them when they explode.

Pretty much the Honda Civic of the gun world.

[TripleDigitRide]

Here's something that may help you undersyand. This isn't my opinion. Just something I found on the interweb.

The popularity of Glock pistols is due to several factors. They are renowned for their reliability, being able to function under extreme conditions and to fire a wide range of ammunition types due to their rugged construction. 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 field maintenance and repair easier.

They are significantly lighter than typical steel or aluminum-frame handguns, which makes them attractive for police officers and private citizens who carry a concealed handgun for self-defense. Another feature of Glock pistols preferred by many users is a lack of external controls such as levers, decockers, or manual safeties. This adds to the simplicity of use and removes a potential source of errors when operating the handgun under stress.

Many Glock shooters feel that the relatively low height of the bore above the grip results in less torque when shooting and lower perceived recoil, leading to increased accuracy. Glock also claims that its "Safe Action" safety system results in smoother trigger pull than for a conventional double-action pistol.

[Guest darkstar]

For me the selling point was simplicity. The Glock is easy to take down, easy to clean, and easy to shoot. They are a great utility gun. I feel comfortable carrying it, I like taking it to the range, I like having it on the nightstand...it does it all. That was the big selling point for me, that plus it's rugged as hell. You can't really kill them.

That being said I like other guns too. My favorites are my Sigs, but for price, ease, and durability I think Glock has a great (not perfect) product.

[deerslayer]

Simple, proven design, ultra reliable, highly accurate, great trigger (light enough to shoot accurately, heavy enough to be safe), lightweight, huge aftermarket. For the price of a decent lunch, a monkey can turn a Glock into a 3 pound trigger target pistol or a 12 pound trigger lawyer-proof service weapon in less than ten minutes. They are definitely not perfect, but I've never shot anything better, and I've shot just about everything. Older Glocks had larger chambers which led to blown up guns, but the newer ones have chamber support that is similar to many current designs.

[DWARREN123]

I have 2, 23/27. They are ugly utility handguns that are accurate, concealable and very reliable. I don't see how anyone could love them but like any great tool many have them.

[Guest GregRN]

They work. Unless you limp wrist it, I've never seen a Glock malfunction. I know everything does at some point, I've just never seen it myself. The safeties are automatic, like a revolver. Just keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire. They have low recoil.

Parts and accessories are available everywhere. I just bought a Glock 17 to replace a G26 that I sold to a friend. I thought about a S&W M&P 9, but stuck to the Glock simply because parts are so easily available. They are easy to work on. They field strip easily without tools. Cleaning and safety checks are as simple as anything I'm aware of.

The police officers I deal with, like theirs and qualify well with them out of the box. They are as accurate as I will ever need.

I always hated Glocks until my wife picked one out for herself. When I shot hers, I had to have one for myself, because it shot so much better than my Ruger P95.

They are not expensive compared to other semi-autos. Sure I would love to have an H&K, but I'll never be willing to part with that much money when I can buy a Glock that works for so much less.

Now I have to go. The Kool-aid is ready for consumption.

[jughead]

dont care for the glock but i own one. any weapon that goes bang when one pulls the trigger is better than none at all. i would drive a chebby before walking. no i dont own a chebby. dodge for me for nearly 50 years. use what works for you is my motto.

[Guest GLOCKGUY]

one reason glocks are very reliably and glocks customer services is the best out there. if something goes wrong with it all you have to do is send it in and glock will take care of it. most of time for free. they wont ask for proof that you were the original owner or not. and there really doesn't have to have something wrong with your glock to send it in. they will check it out and put new parts in it and just charge you shipping.

[Guest dwrd]

The big thing for me is that I shot my friend's Sigma, and the trigger pull was a big turn off for me. I was looking at first based off of price, and Sigma jumped out to me. After shooting one, I knew that I would never own one. When I traded my Ruger P94 for my Glock 23, I started shooting better with the Glock then I ever did with the Ruger. It is a smaller frame that I could control better. Like others have said, there are always going to be accessories of every type for a Glock. I also liked that I can use my same holster for my Glock 23 of my Glock 27, and use my magazines from the 23 in the 27 if needed. They work when needed and conceal well. Sure who wouldn't love a HK or a Sig, but if you look in the right places, you could come up with 2 glocks for the price of 1 HK.

[creeky]

A friend of mine picked the Glock for his department. he fought it tooth and nail at first. They tested a few different manufactors. he (like me) always had turned his nose up at glocks. After actually shooting one against the others and looking at the budget they had to work with... they went with the Glock 22s.

All shooting scores went 20% first day. He was shocked to say the least.

A friend of mine picked up a Glock 23 (having hardly never fired a handgun before) and "walked" right down a line of bowling pins (9) and missed only one.

After shooting one myself, I feel both foolish and embrassed that i didn't take a closer look at them when i was younger and give them an honest try.

I love my USPc... but if i had to do it all over, I might have walked away with a Glock instead. In fact, if I can get a few things squared away I plan on getting one. Maybe a G19.

[mousegunner]

The Sigma is about the best firearm you can get FOR THE PRICE. Earlier this year, new Sigmas were selling for under $300, with 2 mags, plus you got a $50 rebate and two more free mags in the mail. Thats $250 for a nice firearm with 4 mags. You can't beat that with a stick! Sigmas have proved to be fairly reliable and long-lasting, too (the third generation new ones).

However, the $500 GLOCK will generally be 100% reliable (even better than a Sigma), and it will have a much nicer trigger. It will also shoot more accurately.

So, if you only have $300, get a Sigma. If you have $500, get a GLOCK. Either way, you have a good gun. Here is a neat Sigma photo gallery:

http://www.mouseguns.com/mysw9ve/sw9ve.html

[memphismason]

Glock had exactly what I was looking for when I was looking for it. I wanted the smallest 10+1 .45acp, I could comfortable carry. The Model 30 fit the bill for me. My hand is kind of big, so the "fat" double stack grip. I have shot other Glocks and I didn't like the feel, so for me, I love my Glock, but I might not love yours.

They are definitely realiable, and their customer service is great. Very Simple take down, and a huge aftermarket.

[I_Like_Pie]

Here is what Glock really has going for them.

They have the KISS (Keep It Simple...Stupid) formula down pat. This has been a mantra for engineers for eons. They started with a blank piece of paper with the following ambitions.

...Make the user interface as simple as possible

...Make the gun as simple and reliable as possible

They did this better than any gun manufacturer of the past 50 years and are successful today because of this. They aren't heirlooms....they aren't works of art (as they followed function over form)...they aren't collectors items (unless you have a long slide model). They are made to be fighting pistols...that is it. They do this job very well.

[molonlabetn]

I personally think it has a lot to do with excellent marketing. they have cornered the market and made the name larger than life. To me they are kinda like Microsoft. Are there better programs out there, absolutely, but none of them have the market presence of MS.

For the vast majority of average folks, they do what it they need to do. Not with the greatest efficiency or best design, but enough to not raise to many complaints from the uninformed to displace their name.

+1

[towerclimber37]

Here is what Glock really has going for them.

They have the KISS (Keep It Simple...Stupid) formula down pat. This has been a mantra for engineers for eons. They started with a blank piece of paper with the following ambitions.

...Make the user interface as simple as possible

...Make the gun as simple and reliable as possible

They did this better than any gun manufacturer of the past 50 years and are successful today because of this...

Snipped for brevity.

One of the ambitions they should have added was safe to shoot.

a pistol should be simple and reliable. I agree they've made their pistols simple and reliable. unfortunately, without CONSTANT practice of manual of arms, they are not SAFE for the user! I disagree with the whole trigger safety dingus, but that's just me.

as for making the Glock a fighting pistol, I don't think that would be a good idea at all.