Glocks safe or not

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ericphllps

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So here I am trying to choose my first handgun and I go to all of the stores in town and these three guys an owner and two buddies that work at the range suggest the Glock 17/19 for my first gun, but I reply with the no trigger lock saftey issue and they say that it is a very safe gun and anyone that says different doesn't know any better.

My question to all of you is do you have any "horror Glock stories" first or second hand and as a first time owner of a hand gun that is mature and safe will I shoot my toe off or something.
 
No "Horror Stories"

and I've owned a G17, G23, and a G-27.

Glock's are very safe, provided that one remembers the first
commandment of gun safety:

"Keep YOUR finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire the weapon"

Of course, this applies to all other weapons as well.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
My question to all of you is do you have any "horror Glock stories" first or second hand and as a first time owner of a hand gun that is mature and safe will I shoot my toe off or something.
Click to expand...

I agree with tuner and ala dan.....you won't shoot your toe off unless you pull the trigger while aiming at said toe:D

If you rely on a safety to keep from shooting yourself or someone else you will probably forget the safety sometime and BANG!!!!

I have owned glocks since the late 80s and none of them have gone off without pulling the trigger....I don't use the ultra light triggers on my glocks, just the 25 cent trigger job on the stock trigger......you can always use the NY trigger if you want a little harder trigger pull......tom
 
Your 1st handgun. What an adventure! Do a lot of shopping around and reading up on models. Go out to the gun range and rent some models to shoot. Also while you are out there look around and see what others are shooting. Ask owners if you can try them out. I have always found people more than willing to let me try out a firearm and explain advantages, disadvantages, likes, dislikes. As for Glocks, I don't know. I have never shot one. I have a Walther P99 and a CZ 75 D compact. I like them both.
 
And I bought my first Glock (a 19...since then added a 17, and a 21 twice) because my analysis is that they are incredibly safe. With the internal safeties there is virtually -0- chance that it will ever fire by any action except a trigger pull.

Reliable, relatively inexpensive, and you get 13 .45 rounds in a G21, easy to clean and take apart...what's not to like?

It is not the perfect gun for everyone, none is....but for a beginner I rank it way near the top rung.
 
Remember rule #1 (KEEP YOUR @(#&(!&@(&!ING FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER!!!) as I've heard it put.....

You'll have no problems.


With three internal safeties, aside from pulling the trigger, there's no way to make it go off. I've carried my Glock daily for four years and shot it for five, and it's never gone off except when I wanted it to. And I've also shot the G17,19, 20,21,22,23,26,27,29,31,32,33, 34 and 35 (plus my own G30), many, many thousands of rounds downrange. Very reliable, very safe. The Glock is in 65-70% of cop holsters across the country because it doesn't cost much, and it WORKS.
 
It will be exactly as safe as you are.
Click to expand...

Good post!

My first pistol was a Glock 19. Bought it when I first turned 21 in '92. I still have it. Still shoot it. Carry it on occasion. Carried a Glock 36 for a year and recently switched to a Kahr P9 Covert (which has ZERO external, manual safety devices).

As suggested above, rent and handle as many guns as you can before making a choice (revolvers inlcuded). Never and I repeat, never buy a gun based on what the guy behind the counter tells you! Do your own homework. There's TONS of info on the web. There are websites\forums for just about every make. You can even find prices to compare to your local shop for bargaining strength.

Most importantly, after you've made your purchase, take a gun safety class. IMHO, the only safety you should rely on is the one between your ears! :)

Good luck!

PS - Noticed you're from Tampa. I'm from Clearwater originally. After you've gone to the local shops to rent\fondle some guns, check out www.onpointfirearms.com for great prices on guns. They're in St.Pete. I'm not affiliated with them. I know them from SIGForum and I bought the owner's personal 642. He's a gun enthusiast and an FFL. He's sold many guns to people on www.sigforum.com without any complaints. He's not in it to make a ton of $$$. He's in it to get people like you and me the best prices on guns.
 
I never really understood this rationale of considering Glocks unsafe. I have also heard of 'Glock Leg', which is the limp caused after shooting yourself in the foot/leg with your "unsafe" Glock. A Glock pistol is almost no different than a dual action revolver (in essence) and is no more dangerous or "unsafe". As stated, any gun is dangerous and should be treated as such. The person who relies on a manual safety device to prevent negligent discharges instead of relying on proper firearm handling techniques (and following the four rules of gun safety) is dangerous...not the firearm.

That said, my first firearm was a Glock 19. IMHO, it makes a great first gun. It's reliable, dependable, durable, easy to use, and cheap to feed. If there is a downside to it, I would say it is the spongy trigger.
 
My first handgun was a Glock 23 purchased new in 1993. I bought it because my dad had the exact same gun and there was some level of familiarity with the weapon. I think that Glocks are one of the best duty weapons around. I, personally, do not like them for concealed carry. I do not agree with the assumption that keeping your finger off the trigger alone will guarantee that your firearm will not discharge; it isn't that simple. My grandfather shot his son, my uncle, and his finger never touched the trigger of the firearm. Both are okay. I was never comfortable holstering my Glock behind my back with an inside the waistband holster. If I couldn't see the Glock into the holster, I was always worried that something like a shirttail or other obstruction might cause the gun to fire. The newer kydex holsters were even worse. The weapon has a lot of resistance right at the trigger guard as it "snaps" into place inside the holster. I was extremely uncomfortable because I could not tell if the the resistance was occurring at the trigger guard or the trigger itself. I've since sold the Glock and replaced it with a Springfield XD mainly because of the grip safety. It sound like a contradiction, but I feel my Glock 20, with an OWB method of carry is one of the safest pistols I own...I just won't carry it inside my waistband.
 
A Glock 17 was my first handgun.

I consider the glock to be a very safe design; however it is not idiot proof, and will go off if the trigger is pulled. In fact my glock went off EVERY time the trigger was pulled...

:D

If nothing else, I'd say glock's tend to hammer home the importance of trigger awareness more then others with de-cockers and external safeties.


Remember that scene in 'Blackhawk Down' when the delta guy is stared down by the Ranger Captain who say's his safety is not engaged... The delta guy lifts up his trigger finger and says 'this is my safety, sir'
 
Thanks for all the feedback. I am going to take a safety class as well as go to the range and rent before I purchase. Sounds like the Glock is safe and I will see how it feels. Thanks again
 
I agree with everything said but will add one thing.

If you have any reservation about the trigger becoming accidently pulled by you or anyone else you may be better off with a gun that has a trigger safety of some type. Accident's happen to the best of people. If you have any hesitation about yanking that think out of a holster and accidently having your finger pull on the trigger, get a gun that is made to where even if you pull the trigger the gun won't discharge while the safety is on. You do have to remember to put the safety on though or it does no good either. Your other option is to not carry a round in the chamber. Just rack the slide when you're ready to shoot the Glock and when your done return the gun to same condition.
 
It's a gun, of course it's not safe. That's why the person using needs to be safe. No incidents with my Glock 24P with it's unsafe 3.5# trigger and unsafe extended magazine catch and unsafe porting along with the unsafe extended slide catch I added. No NDs to date but I've only had it about 9 years and put 6000 rounds or so down range with it.

It's the shooter, not the gun.
 
Fascinating Thread

4 Rules that are to be religiously observed:

1 Yes...it's loaded.

2 If you want it to fire, pull the trigger. If you don't...don't. (Other things can pull a trigger besides a finger. Be aware.)

3 Don't point it at anything that you don't want shot.

4 Know your target and what lies behind it or beyond it. It could be somebody's wife, kids, husband, father, mother, brother, or huntin' dog.
_____________________

There is no mechanical safety device that will substitute for your own
good sense. There is no safe gun. Guns don't fire themselves any more than a car can start itself, put itself in gear, and drive away. Somebody has to load it...Somebody has to pick it up...and somebody has to get careless with it. If the gun is in such a mechanically sorry state that it will fire by bumping it, don't load it until it's fixed or take the firing pin out of it and hang it on the wall.

Cheers all!

Tuner
 
If it is a newer Glock it should have all the kinks worked out. Don't let the fact that Glock recalled 400,000 of its pistols cloud your buying decision.
 
you may be better off with a gun that has a trigger safety of some type
Click to expand...

The glock does have a type of trigger safety, similar to what you would find on the Springer XD... I think we all know what you meant, but some people may not.
 
Yea, I have an XD, thanks for pointing that out to those that don't know though. I should have worded that differently and said an external frame mounted, slide mounted or even a grip safety.
 
One thing that I did not at all like about Glock autopistols was the Polymer-Plasticness and mass produced feel, and the almost certain knowledge that a failed case would blow the frame to pieces... :scrutiny:
 
1) A loaded Glock will never fire unless the trigger is pulled.
2) A loaded Glock will always fire when the trigger is pulled.

Any questions?
Click to expand...

I like that. I also like:

Safety? We don neeed no steenkin' safety! Ees gon, ees no safe!

Tag, actually they seem to keep the user's hand fairly safe. I think of this, but I've never blown a gun up. I also think of picking Cocobolo splinters out of my hand when my 1911 blows up. Sometimes I lie awake at night wondering on what seemingly normal shooting day my Beretta slide will leap apart and lodge itself in my eyesocket too. :D
 
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