Download This Issue - US Concealed Carry

Phil Elmore shooting at a Progressive FORCE Concepts close-quarterscombat seminar.with a Clip Draw accessory arecourting disaster.Law enforcement often criticizesGlocks for lacking a manual safety ormagazine disconnect. Again, this is atrade-off made by design. Glocks areintended to be holstered if not being shot.Holding a suspect at gunpoint was notthe primary concern when Gaston Glockdesigned his Austrian military pistol. AGlock holstered in a proper retentionholster provides excellent protection fromdisarming attempts. However, once thegun is out and a suspect is covered, itis up to the officer, his training, and hisphysical abilities to secure the gun. In astruggle, there is no means to drop themagazine or engage a safety to avoidhaving your own gun used against you.Some departments mandate magazinedisconnects for this very reason.It is often asserted that Glocks suffercatastrophic explosive failures (kbs, orkabooms) more often than do other guns.You can’t search long on the internetbefore finding a picture or video of anexploded Glock. The question we must askis what really failed? In nearly all casesof kabooms, the use of poorly reloadedand/or high-pressure ammunition is toblame. Glocks have a loose chamberthat promotes feed reliability. As a result,they should not be used with reloadsand definitely not with lead ammunitionbecause lead ammo fouls the polygonalbarrel and results in higher pressures.If you look for instances of kabooms,you will find that unlike 1911s (whichmay shatter their slides and throw metal)and revolvers (whose frames may bendwhile the exploding weapon throwschunks of cylinder), Glocks that suffercatastrophic explosive failure generallyblow downward. This destroys the frameand blows the magazine out, but inlighter calibers at least, the explosiondoes not result in serious injury. Handinjuries are likely to occur, but for themost part, the “kabooms” are contained.This does not mean they are not verydangerous or potentiallydeadly. Typically, however,the explosions are theresult of bad ammunition orammunition with pressuresthat are not within theGlock’s specifications.These problems are notinherent to the Glock itself.Finally, the biggestissue that the Glock faceshas nothing to do with thecompany or the handgunsthat it manufactures. Thebiggest safety probleminherent to any Glockis the Glock user. Welleducatedand trained gunenthusiasts and policeofficers love Glocksbecause they get exactlywhat they need from them and nothingthey do not need. Inexperienced shootersand some poorly trained police in overstressedsituations, however, sometimespush themselves beyond what they canhandle. The result is that they dischargetheir Glocks accidentally, or they usethe multiple-shot speed that one canwring from the Glock to use what mightbe considered excessive force in thepublic eye.Inexperienced gun owners may alsofind that the light trigger, the need topress that trigger before disassemblingthe Glock, and the ability to fire whenthe magazine is removed all constitutehazards around the home. Perhapstheir maintenance activities or dry firingpractice results in executed televisions,bullet holes in the walls, or errant shotsthat pass into neighbors’ apartments.This is negligence at its most egregious.Before pulling the trigger of a firearm forany reason whatsoever, the user must, byhabit and painstakingly inculcated ritual,check the chamber, check it again, andthen check it once more before checkingit again. The gun is not safe for dryfiring or maintenance until the user hasassured himself multiple times that thereis no round in the chamber and no liveammunition anywhere in the vicinity.The Glock is an excellent weaponthat does what it is designed to do verywell. It is simple, robust, easy to maintain,and easy to operate. Glock owners, likeall firearms owners, must train diligently,obey all the rules of gun safety, andcarry their weapons in quality holsters.They must observe the proper handlingand manipulation of their weapons withan almost religious fervor. This mustbe done so that doing things the rightway becomes habit, something that isdone out of ingrained custom withoutconscious thought. The same is true ofany gun owner, but it is perhaps more sowith a weapon as simple as the Glock.There is nothing inherently unsafe aboutthe pistol, but there is nothing artificiallysafe about it either. ♠Ed Miller is a firearms enthusiast. Hiscoworker, Phil Elmore, is the publisher ofThe Martialist: The Magazine for ThoseWho Fight Unfairly. Phil is a martialartist and professional technical writerwho has published countless articles onself-defense, preparedness, politics, andphilosophy. Visit him online at:www.philelmore.com48 Concealed Carry Magazine www.usconcealedcarry.comVolume 4 - May/June 2007