Glock GmbH - Firearms Manufacturers

Named after its founder, Gaston Glock, and headquartered in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria, the Glock Weapons Manufacturing Company is best known for its line of striker-fired polymer-framed pistols. They produce more than firearms, including such things are field knives and entrenching tools and they sponsor a competitive shooting team which travels worldwide promoting the Glock company.

Besides being used by a majority of US and international law enforcement agencies and military personnel, Glock handguns are also very popular with civilians for personal protection and also for practical shooting.

The History of Glock GmbH Firearms

Glock was founded in 1963 and had its beginnings as a manufacturer of curtain rods. It branched out into the arms industry in the 1970s when the company started manufacturing machine gun belts, practice hand grenades, plastic magazines, field knives, and entrenching tools for the Austrian Army. In the early 1980s, the Austrian Army asked Glock to produce a handgun. Their response was the first polymer made, 9mm semi-automatic pistol, the Glock 17 - representing the 17th patent of Gaston Glock. It didn't take long for the Glock product to be adopted by some of Europe's armies and then, in 1983, Glock opened an operation in the United States. Glock expanded its 9mm line of products and in 1990 was the first manufacturer to produce models chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge - the Glock 22 and the Glock 23 - beating Smith & Wesson to the punch when it came to producing firearms for their own cartridge.

They're Popular, Reliable and Versatile

Glock firearms are very popular and that is due to a number of different factors. They are very reliable and versatile, with the ability to be used in a number of extreme conditions. They also accommodate a wide range of ammunition types. Because the design of the firearms is so simple, containing a relatively small number of components, repair and maintenance are made easy.

Glock's Innovation Set a Standard

The polymer frame, a Glock innovation, means these firearms are lighter than the typical steel or aluminum-framed handguns commonly found. This makes them particularly attractive to law enforcement officers and civilians who carry handguns for long periods of time. The fact that Glock pistols do not have any external levers, decockers or manual safeties, the potential source of operation errors is reduced. The steel components of the Glock pistol are treated with a special nitriding process called "Tenifer", which increases the surface hardness and makes the firearm resistant to corrosion and wear.

Glock pistols have been the inspiration for many other firearms manufacturers, such as Springfield, Steyr and Smith & Wesson, to produce similar polymer-framed firearms. Glock firearms are priced in the middle range for good quality pistols which makes them accessible to people wanting quality and performance without having to pay huge bucks to get it.