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By Duane ThomasRecently I was asked by an online friend, “Why do

you like the Glock 17 so much?” By the time I wasdone answering that question, I had basically writtenthis article. My reply went something like this:

I like that the Glock 17 has an extremely highsize/weight-to-firepower ratio. Lots of ammo in alight gun that – in the overall scheme of things – isnot a terribly large gun. The Glock 17 is overallthe same size as a Commander (albeit a bit thick-er), which is generally considered a fairly com-pact, easily concealable gun. Because of its sizeand weight, the Glock 17, though it’s consideredby modern standardsa full service-sizedauto pistol, is an easy,comfortable gun tocarry and conceal.

Some might pointto the Glock 19 asbeing even easier toconceal. In my experi-ence – and I speak assomeone who carriedand competed with aGlock 19 for years –the Glock 17 is con-siderably easier toshoot fast and wellthan the Glock 19, and almost as easy to conceal.I truly can’t imagine a situation where I could con-ceal a Glock 19 where I couldn’t do the samething with a Glock 17.

I like that I can load my Glock 9mm with Win-chester 127-grain SXT +P+ and be carrying, inessence, a fast-firing, quick-reloading, 17-shot (Idon’t top off after inserting the mag and racking around into the chamber.) .357 Magnum. I like thatwhen carrying this gun and two spare magazines, Ihave more than a full box of ammo on my body.Will I ever need that much ammo for self-defense?HIGHLY unlikely; but if I can carry that muchammo, comfortably concealed…why not? I viewthat as more of a luxury than a necessity.

I like that the various Glocks, including theG17, all have extremely low bore axes. For sucha light gun, a G17 has much less perceivedrecoil and muzzle flip than you’d think, simplybecause the barrel rides so low in relation to theweb of the shooter’s hand that the gun doesn’thave a lot of leverage to flip its muzzle on you.Even when firing hot +P+ ammo, this is not ahard gun to control.

I like the trigger system, and the short, consis-tent trigger pulls it gives me. I like that performinga trigger job on a Glock is so simple that even Ican do it without screwing it up. I like that creat-ing lighter or heavier trigger pulls in a Glock is(largely) simply a matter of replacing drop-in partswith other drop-in parts. I like that I can replace

the stock trigger spring with a “New York Trigger”module and wind up with a gun on which I don’thave to worry about the trigger return springbreaking, which can (and occasionally does) hap-pen on most other auto pistol designs.

I like that the basic Glock design is, literally,the easiest handgun in the world to detail strip andreassemble. I like that this is a modular handgun,that replacing worn or broken parts is simply amatter of swapping out drop-in parts with otherdrop-in parts, and that this can be done by an enduser who has no advanced pistolsmithing or met-alworking skills – also no need to turn the gun

over to, and wait forits return from, some-one who does havethose skills.

I like this gun’sreliability level, andthat it works evenwhen filthy. I’m com-ing up on 20,000rounds through myGlock 17, I think I’vecleaned it once, andit still works flaw-lessly.

I like that this is avery self-contained

design with no major openings into the gun forcrud to work its way inside the action in a harshenvironment. I like that the entire gun is out-of-the-box rustproof. I like that the magazines arecovered with a thick coat of polymer that makesthem damn near indestructible.

I like it that the combination of the Glock’smodular nature and ease of switching parts hascombined to create an extremely large array ofaftermarket parts that may be user installed if youwant to upgrade the gun.

I like that there are no sharp edges anywhereon this thing, a very important consideration onceyou start manipulating a gun fast. I have cut myselfon a number of gun designs over the years – butnever on a Glock.

I like that the Glock 17 is extraordinarily popu-lar, almost, one is tempted to say, the least com-mon denominator handgun. I’ve run into the “youcan tell a lot about a man by the gun he carries”attitude from numerous folks over the years, usual-ly from someone just itching to show you theircustom 1911. Don’t get me wrong – I love the1911 – but what MY gun says is, “I don’t carewhat you think about me or my gun.” Go out andwin a match with a Glock 17 and no one can sayyou “bought the win” with a super-expensive, eso-teric gun that most people couldn’t get.

There is no other handgun on Earth aboutwhich you can say all these things. For all thosereasons, I love my Glock 17.

Why I Love My Glock 17…

“I’m comingup on 20,000rounds through myGlock 17, I think I’vecleaned it once, and itstill works flawlessly.”

Dec 10 Blue Press Section 3 10/15/10 8:53 AM Page 60