The Glock Series

Introduction:

There are target pistols, duty pistols, hunting pistols, and pocket pistols. Glocks are just, well... pistols. Glocks are known to represent the most basic that a handgun can be. They are the WD-40 of the pistol world; OK at a lot but great at very little. They're the quintessential polymer-framed pistol and are renowned for their reliability, though they may not win any beauty contests. Their squared-off design and, until recently, lack of front slide serrations has seen criticism, but widespread use by military and law enforcement has given Glock its legendary reputation and its place as one of the greatest handguns of all time.

Technical Details:

At its core, the Glock is a locked breach, tilting barrel, striker-fired pistol. It was one of the first polymer-framed pistols ever made and was essential in getting people to warm up to them. This was due to their unfaltering reliability and durability. 

The weapon operates from a locked-breach, like most modern service pistols. Unlike a 1911 style or a Browning Hi-Power, the barrel does not contain locking lugs that lock into recesses in the top of the slide. Instead, the chamber portion of the barrel locks into the slide at the front of the ejection port. The Glock is also a tilting-barrel design, but instead of the slide catch being used to cam the rear of the barrel down, the lower portion of the barrel engages with a block located in the frame.

The pistol is also striker fired, further diverting it from other popular pistols such as the 1911 or the Hi-Power. Now, the Glock was nowhere near the first striker-fired pistol, but its safe-action design made it unique and desirable. This safe-action design allows the Glock to not have a manual safety. This creates a good design for law enforcement or conceal-carriers who don't want to have to worry about flicking off the safety in the event that the pistol needs to be used.

 Instead of a traditional safety, the Glock incorporates 3 passive safety systems. First, the trigger safety ensures that the entire trigger needs to be pressed to be moved rearward. Second, there is a fireing pin safety that mechanically blocks the firing pin from moving forward unless the trigger is pulled. Lastly, there is a 'drop safety' that is comprised of the trigger bar preventing the firing pin from moving forward until the trigger is pulled. In short, the gun can only fire if the trigger is pulled.

Glocks in Popular Culture:

Glocks, being incredibly prolific pistols, have shown up time and time again in popular culture. Many popular rappers include mentions of Glocks in their song lyrics. Glocks have become a sort of status symbol actually. Rapper 21 Savage, in his track "asmr" says "I'm so 4L gang I keep a Glock not an XD". I think it's interesting that, even though the Springfield XD is extremely functionally similar to the Glock, the distinction is still made between the two and the Glock is used as a status symbol. 

The Glock's popularity likely also lends itself to the fact that 30 round magazines for the Glock are extremely common. Lyrics about "extended clips" are as common as ones about Glocks. Both of these are used as status symbols in rap music, and their popularity has extended into popular culture.

Conclusion:

Overall the Glock is a pretty basic pistol, but its simplicity lends well to its overall reliability. There is no fanciness to the Glock, there is no effort to try anything too innovative. It is simply a combination of all of the simple elements that contribute to the successful function of a firearm put into one pistol, and it just works. They are fairly inexpensive, and they work well for the function for which they were designed. They're become popular on both sides of the law, and their popularity has extended well into the popular culture.