Glock 17

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Glock 17: Design and Specs If there’s one pistol that has influenced the modern-day pistol market more than any other, it’s the Glock 17. Today, the striker fired, polymer framed pistol is the mainstay sidearm of military forces, special forces units, law enforcement, and civilians all over the world. What makes the Glock 17 so influential is the fact that it was the pistol that proved there was indeed a marketplace for such a gun. Numerous IWB holsters and OWB holsters are also available for the Glock 17, and the Glock platform as a whole is the most customizable family of pistols in existence, rivaled only by the 1911 series of pistols . In this article, we’ll dive into the evolution and history of the Glock 17, and then we’ll discuss the design and features of the pistol that have made it so successful. History and Evolution of the Glock 17 The Glock has quite the history. The founder and head engineer of the company, Gaston Glock, previously had literally zero experience with firearms design at the time of the Glock 17’s design. But what Gaston did have much experience in was in synthetic polymers, which would prove to be the main standout feature of the pistol. What’s also so notable about Glock beyond their durable synthetic polymers is the fact that they introduced ferritic nitrocarburizing into the gun world, which helped make metal gun parts far more rust and corrosion resistant. The real story of the Glock 17 began when in the early 1980s the Austrian military announced that they would be seeking a more modernized pistol design to replace their current issue Walther P38 pistols . While a fine weapon, the P38 was also obsolete by the 1980s. After developing the prototype of the Glock 17, Glock formally submitted the new pistol to the Austrian military in 1982. The new handgun was revolutionary for its abundant use of synthetic materials (in this case the highly durable and yet lightweight polymer frame) while still adopting proven design mechanisms from pre