Glock 21 from AIM Surplus: Police Trade-in or New?

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toivo

toivo

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I just bought the handgun in the title -- a Glock 21SF (Short Frame) .45 ACP. They were advertised as police trade-ins, but mine looks brand-new, and the hang-tag on it says "Status: New." Huh? Maybe unissued? I guess I got lucky. It's a Gen 3, so it couldn't really be showroom new, could it?

I'm trying to figure out where these came from. "SCIF" is stenciled on the box, but all I get when Googling that is "Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility" or "State Compensation Insurance Fund." The whole stencil looks like this:
SCIF
CERT
15​
Any ideas?
 
It is extremely possible your gun was a pistol that was bought by the agency but not yet issued. You did get very lucky.

It's possible the agency it came from has a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility division and that's the department it was purchased for. ( which would add to the possibility of it being un-issued) It could have come from Homeland Security or another alphabet agency with similar "secrets" to keep. Of course this is only a guess but it does sound possible.
 
Pretty sure SF stands for Slim Frame, It did when I bought my 30SF a few years ago. Does yours take full size 13 round magazines, do they fit flush to the bottom of the grip??
SF Slim Frame reduced the grip circumference to make the large frame more comfortable for smaller hands.
If it does not have the interchangeable backstraps but has finger grooves in the frame its a gen 3.

LA SCIF Sherriff's Critical Incident Forum
 
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Gen 3 is still manufactured new in the factory, can you check the serial for date of manufacture? I have a feeling it might just simply be a new gun that you got lucky on.
 
sequins said:
Gen 3 is still manufactured new in the factory, can you check the serial for date of manufacture? I have a feeling it might just simply be a new gun that you got lucky on.
Click to expand...

To my knowledge this is pretty much only for California sales (since Gen 3 is the last one on the roster) and LE departments that insist on Gen3.

My guess is that it was a gun that was technically turned in from the department's inventory but was never issued. Effectively brand new. Or who knows it could have been issued but had a very gentle and/or short service life.

The Glock 22 Gen 3 I got from them was definitely well used. Granted, perfectly functional, but the frame had been handled so much it was noticeably worn smooth around the grip. Only gun I've ever bothered to put grip tape on :).
 
Thanks for all the info, everybody. Mine would take the 13-round magazine, but I had to have it shipped without magazines because I live in a state with a 10-round limit. I had to buy 10-round magazines separately. I wish AIM would have done a magazine swap or at least credit, because I bought the 10-round magazines from them, but that's a no-go. I can't complain, though, because I essentially got a new gun for a used price.
 
It was back when the surplus places were selling Star Super B's for cheap. I got a really nice one for around $250 OTD.

My FiL liked it so much he ordered one from a different outfit and paid a little less.

His pistol was NiB. Not a mark on it. I can't remembered if it had been test fired or not, but it had obviously never been issued.

Sometimes you get lucky like that. :)
 
OK, I just field-stripped it before going to the range. It has definitely been fired and not cleaned afterwards. Kind of weird, because the outside is shiny like new. Anyway, it's clean inside and out now, and I'm off to the range.
 
Master Blaster said:
Pretty sure SF stands for Slim Frame, It did when I bought my 30SF a few years ago. Does yours take full size 13 round magazines, do they fit flush to the bottom of the grip??
SF Slim Frame reduced the grip circumference to make the large frame more comfortable for smaller hands.
If it does not have the interchangeable backstraps but has finger grooves in the frame its a gen 3.

LA SCIF Sherriff's Critical Incident Forum
Click to expand...


Actually, the SF stands for short frame.
 
A short while ago AIM was selling pistols they said were new that were turn ins, but they'd been marked by the agency.

In that case it was Detroit PD.
 
Either way, if the gun has been transferred even if never fired, they shouldn't be selling it as NEW. They could call it AS NEW, but not New.
At least like you said, you got it for a used price.
 
toivo said:
OK, I just field-stripped it before going to the range. It has definitely been fired and not cleaned afterwards. Kind of weird, because the outside is shiny like new. Anyway, it's clean inside and out now, and I'm off to the range.
Click to expand...
It's easier to wipe it down than to take it down!
 
jdavis123 said:
I hope that AIM sold you gen 3 magazines because later gens will not fit without modification.
Click to expand...
Hmm ... Are you sure about that? I ordered 10-round G21 magazines without specifying what generation, and they fit. Bought a few from another source as well, and they fit too. They're all cut out for ambi/reversible mag release, so I suspect they're later than Gen 3.

My 21 has no changeable backstrap, so I'm pretty sure that makes it Gen 3.
 
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ontarget said:
Either way, if the gun has been transferred even if never fired, they shouldn't be selling it as NEW. They could call it AS NEW, but not New.
At least like you said, you got it for a used price.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I bought it as used -- that's what the listing on AIM said. I was just surprised that it had a hangtag on it that said "New."
 
5F6A6379-620B-456B-8F60-798C99EE029F.jpeg
toivo said:
Hmm ... Are you sure about that? I ordered 10-round G21 magazines without specifying what generation, and they fit. Bought a few from another source as well, and they fit too. They're all cut out for ambi/reversible mag release, so I suspect they're later than Gen 3.

My 21 has no changeable backstrap, so I'm pretty sure that makes it Gen 3.
Click to expand...

The Gen 3 SF mags have a bare metal square window between the side cut outs. The cut-0ut serves to lock in the mag on the ambidextrous safety SF guns. Glock says that the Gen 3 SF mags are rare and they are no longer making them. At one time they would convert the ambidextrous safety to just one side under warranty. .I purchased a 10 round for my 21SF and the mag did not have the metal window and did not lock in. It did have the impression in the plastic of the square window and with an Exacto knife I was able to cut out the square. It now works as it should.
In the above photo, the left magazine is the newer modified 10 round. The one on the right is an original 13 round SF magazine.
If your 21 SF mags aren’t like this, you may have a more current edition made after the ambidextrous safety was abandoned by Glock.
 
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jdavis123 said:
If your 21 SF mags aren’t like this, you may have a more current edition made after the ambidextrous safety was abandoned by Glock.
Click to expand...
I think that must be it. My mags have no window but they're locking in OK.

EDIT TO ADD: Does your G21 have a picatinny rail? According to the thread below, that was a one-off that Glock made for a while, which was the only Glock to have the center locking notch on the magazines.

https://www.glockforum.com/threads/glock-21-magazines-in-glock-21sf.15746/post-346537
 
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My 21 SF has the typical Glock rail with the ambi mag release. I may have an oddball or “transitional” frame. The mag release mechanism hasn’t given me any problem yet so, I won’t send it in until it does.
519E9659-953C-4782-B0CE-B2415B8CC600.jpeg
 
SF means Short Frame.
The Glocks Gen3 with full ambi magazine release were called MB and were a flop.
Just to say that not every Glock 21 SF is a MB one.
 
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