A Brief Glock Retrospective

Gaston Glock, businessman and engineer, and the man behind the same-­named pistol, died on December 27, 2023, at 94 years of age. Born in Vienna, Austria, in 1929, he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht in the final days leading to the end of World War II. He then studied engineering before founding Glock Ges.m.b.H. with Helga, his first wife, in 1963. It began as a side-­business operated in the garage next to his suburban house. They made window hardware, door hinges, and curtain rods in the 1960s. Then they turned to making military knives for the Austrian army in the ’70s, which provided him an understanding of cost-­saving, computer-­aided polymer manufacturing. After overhearing Austrian army colonels discussing a prospective military contract for a pistol at the Defense Ministry, Glock spent a year studying existing models and interviewing soldiers while designing the 17. He patented it in 1981, and the Austrian army adopted the semiautomatic pistol on November 5, 1982, placing an order for 20,000 in 1983. Glock also innovated a ferritic nitrocarburizing surface treatment, which is still used to prevent corrosion to metal surfaces on firearms. Glock, Inc. was established in Smyrna, Georgia, in November 1985, and quickly earned a reputation for reliability and safety.

The timing of the Glock 17 in the U.S. was fortuitous. Law enforcement agencies were urgent to transition away from issuing limited-­capacity revolvers. Officers were “outgunned” by organized crime and drug dealers, punctuated by the 1986 FBI Miami Shootout. Incidents were replayed during the nightly news, and violence was sensationalized through the entertainment industry, swaying and dividing public opinion to simultaneously support or condemn gun control while advancing police tactics and equipment.

Though the Heckler & Koch VP70 — an 18-­round polymer-­framed pistol — had been extant since 1970, the U.S. military Joint Service Small Arms Program (JSSAP) tested the VP70 in 1977, finding that it didn’t meet accuracy and reliability expectations. Subsequent XM9 tests in 1983 and ’84 resulted in a win for Beretta’s 92F and an honorable mention for the SIG Sauer P226. Glock was not a contender. He declined an invitation to submit 35 pistols to U.S. military specifications. Had Glock participated in the XM9 trials and failed to win, interest in the Glock 17 might have been delayed. However, in less than 10 years, more than 60 percent of American law enforcement would be issued a Glock. Despite dissenters berating the pistol as a “Wonder Nine,” the pistol evolved where it needed to.

The Glock 17 was first sold in a Tupperware-­style container. Reports (or rumors) of loaded pistols going off inside the box due to the trigger being activated by the molded post inside of the triggerguard when the box was dropped led to the modern, stackable hard case. 

Additionally, magazines in early Glock pistols did not reliably “drop free” from the grip when the magazine release button was pressed. Despite this characteristic being viewed as a feature in Europe, intended to encourage magazine retention, the complaint from American law enforcement resulted in magazines that ejected from the grip during reloads. 

Lastly, in 1998, the Gen 3 models introduced the accessory rail for mounting lights and lasers, again, evolving deployment tactics for another 15 years. “Glock” is now a term synonymous with a pistol that is publicly identifiable by its simple silhouette, overshadowing its inventor.

Gaston divorced Helga in 2011, stirring controversy, and married Kathrin Tschikof that same year. Gun control advocates regard Glock as a villain. Many who carry his pistols consider him a genius. Those who own a Glock are predisposed to own more than one, which is how he died a reclusive billionaire. Currently in its 5th generation, Glock’s patent expirations and minimalist marketing strategy gave rise to clones and competing designs that continue to steer attention away from the brand. Still, the fundamental Glock pistol design lives on and continues to age well.

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