3 ms·

A true innovative disruptor: a plastic handle and curtain rod maker (?) tried to make weapons for the Austrian army and won. He greatly affected urban warfare i

by graphe 3y ago

A true innovative disruptor: a plastic handle and curtain rod maker (?) tried to make weapons for the Austrian army and won. He greatly affected urban warfare in the 90s bringing cheap accurate weapons with easier triggers to the masses.

JKCalhoun 3y ago
I don't remember 19 rounds being a standard capacity on handguns before the Glock but I could be mistaken.
- graphe 3y ago
  That's a good point. The magazines are also high quality enough they became a standard on other platforms. The whole platform is well packaged.
  - ggreer 3y ago
    Other platforms use Glock magazines because they are popular, not because they are particularly high quality. The most reliable magazines are double stack, double feed. Glock magazines (like many other pistols) are double stack, single feed. This simplifies feed ramp design, but it creates more friction in the magazines because the rounds have to slide against each other as they go from double stack to single stack at the top of the mag. This is not to say that Glocks or their magazines are unreliable, just that a better solution exists.
    - graphe 3y ago
      Is manufacturing for them easier? I knew they weren't the best but it's what I mean by good enough. It's a high capacity pistol magazine that is a common calibur that people deem good enough. It's ubiquitous.
      - ggreer 3y ago
        Glock magazine bodies are plastic with integrated metal parts, so materials costs are lower but manufacturing is harder. Some companies make Glock-compatible magazines out of metal, and those have higher capacity in the same volume (eg: Shield Arms). I think the Glock design is excellent, but the magazine is the weakest part. It's not bad, it's just not as good as some others.
- ggreer 3y ago
  The Glock 17 comes with 17 round magazines standard, though many police departments use extended magazines. Some pistols of that era had similar capacities, though it wasn't common. The Browning Hi Power came out in 1935 and had a 13 round capacity, and larger magazines (15ish rounds) were available by the 1970s. The Steyr GB was designed in the late 1960s and had an 18 round magazine. Glock's design became popular because it was reliabile, had good capacity, was easy to use, and was inexpensive. Other designs had one or more of those attributes, but not the combination of all of them.

by graphe 3y ago

JKCalhoun 3y ago

I don't remember 19 rounds being a standard capacity on handguns before the Glock but I could be mistaken.

graphe 3y ago
That's a good point. The magazines are also high quality enough they became a standard on other platforms. The whole platform is well packaged.
- ggreer 3y ago
  Other platforms use Glock magazines because they are popular, not because they are particularly high quality. The most reliable magazines are double stack, double feed. Glock magazines (like many other pistols) are double stack, single feed. This simplifies feed ramp design, but it creates more friction in the magazines because the rounds have to slide against each other as they go from double stack to single stack at the top of the mag. This is not to say that Glocks or their magazines are unreliable, just that a better solution exists.
  - graphe 3y ago
    Is manufacturing for them easier? I knew they weren't the best but it's what I mean by good enough. It's a high capacity pistol magazine that is a common calibur that people deem good enough. It's ubiquitous.
    - ggreer 3y ago
      Glock magazine bodies are plastic with integrated metal parts, so materials costs are lower but manufacturing is harder. Some companies make Glock-compatible magazines out of metal, and those have higher capacity in the same volume (eg: Shield Arms). I think the Glock design is excellent, but the magazine is the weakest part. It's not bad, it's just not as good as some others.
ggreer 3y ago
The Glock 17 comes with 17 round magazines standard, though many police departments use extended magazines. Some pistols of that era had similar capacities, though it wasn't common. The Browning Hi Power came out in 1935 and had a 13 round capacity, and larger magazines (15ish rounds) were available by the 1970s. The Steyr GB was designed in the late 1960s and had an 18 round magazine. Glock's design became popular because it was reliabile, had good capacity, was easy to use, and was inexpensive. Other designs had one or more of those attributes, but not the combination of all of them.