British Army and The Glock

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Glenn E. Meyer

New member
While this may seem a semi forum issue - I thought I would put it here as a general commentary on the UK.

http://www.defensenews.com/article/...ck-Pistols?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

4th Gen - Glock 17s.

Replacing the HPs. How will Piers live with his beloved country buying the archetypial evil black pistol? How many young British minds will be warped by exposure to them?

I hope the mods - will indulge me - oh, wait.

I do think the choice is a good one though.
 
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sigcurious

New member
This is a sad day for their army, not because I dislike glocks(I really like my 34), but because I like my HP even more! :D

In all seriousness though, I think any anti will simply twist events like these into something along the lines of "See, they are military weapons so regular people should not have them". Features, such as simple operations and maintenance, which make it attractive for large organizations, also make it attractive for self defense users. It is unfortunate that even today there are those that simply don't recognize the right to self defense.
 
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Xfire68

New member
^^^^^^^ Not all Gen Glock are the same and additional things can be done to help make a Glock fit better.

I liked Gen 1's but hate Gen 2's. Gen 3's fit better but the trigger guard dug into my index finger while shooting. The gun frame being made of polymer can be sanded and molded to fit almost anyone's hand. There are also nice slip on rubber grips that imo transform the gun into a comfortable easy to shoot weapon.
 
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stingray2100

New member
glock 4Gen

So the Glock Gen 4 models hare ambi and they have diffrent back straps.

so they can be fit to your hand, The trigger is a bit better than the Gen 1,2 and 3.

Glocks are good guns. I'm not being myopic. Just providing some data points.

Now going from the Browning L9A1 (Browning Hipower) to a Glock 17 is not going to be a huge learning curve for the British lads.

Less to think about and a lighter gun. I think it was a good choice for the British forces.

If we can only make the US armed forces change from the Beretta M9 to a Glock...But that is a hard selling point. (some US units use Glocks)
 
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Alabama Shooter

New member
Replacing the HPs. How will Piers live with his beloved country buying the archetypial evil black pistol? How many young British minds will be warped by exposure to them?
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You can argue that the police don't need guns in the UK but selling the military on gun free life might be too tough.
 
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Webleymkv

New member
Strange, I was under the impression that the Brits had replaced their Hi-Powers with Sig 226's several years ago. Perhaps I was mistaken.
 
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BGutzman

New member
Yes its easier to give the military the ammunition free environment like we often do rather than a gun free environment.. Unfortunately this happens way more often than people know.

You can argue that the police don't need guns in the UK but selling the military on gun free life might be too tough.
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Scouse

New member
Not sure I understand how this offers a general commentary on the UK to be honest. A comment on a British tv guy who is a tosser, yes.

Seems a sensible choice to me. Those UK forces that carry pistols don't tend to practice with them much, traditionally; the simpler the better since the reason the Glocks have been bought is to give troops in Afghanistan an always accessible defence against green on blue attacks. Doesn't help that doctrine with the BHP appears to involve a holster with a flap and an empty chamber.

A bunch of sigs were bought, but they were never intended for general issue or to replace the knackered old BHPs. They were given to infantry units on the line as an UOR, or urgent operational requirement - basically fast tracked MoD procurement, not just the SAS, who I believe we're using sigs already. I imagine some BHPs will remain as I think only 25,000 Glocks were bought, or maybe not, we are not quite Russia with their caches of ancient weapons.
 
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Ben Towe

New member
Yes its easier to give the military the ammunition free environment like we often do rather than a gun free environment.. Unfortunately this happens way more often than people know.
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Yes, this has been going on for over 70 years. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in '41 all the ammo on our ships was locked up. The sailors, in many cases, had to break into the ammo cabinets to load their weapons. Really great idea.
 
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Falcon5NZ

New member
Webleymkv said:
Strange, I was under the impression that the Brits had replaced their Hi-Powers with Sig 226's several years ago. Perhaps I was mistaken.
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Sure you're not thinking of us Kiwi's? We replaced the BHP with the 226. The Air Force hung on to them a bit longer as they were slimmer and thus better/more comfortable to wear for pilots who might have to bang out. When we got rid of the aircraft with bang seats, the NZSAS was putting in an order so the RNZAF piggy backed on that. AS a result, the RNZAF has the P226 with a rail (P226R, or as we call it the P226AL,) while most of the NZ military has the plain P226.

Personally, I like the BHP, it fits my hand a LOT better.
 
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Bart Noir

New member
While I don't like the grip angle of the Glock, I recently came across the G20 Short Frame version. And that fit me so nicely that it came home with me.

But as said above, new shooters will not be ruined by older designs before they show up for initial weapons training, so the grip shape is not that important.

However, there is one aspect of the Glock that is important. Consider that military forces tend to emphasize cleaning guns, and doing it often.

And the first steps in field stripping the Glock are (1) make sure it is unloaded, close the slide and (2) pull the trigger.

As you can see, a screw-up on Step (1) may result in a very loud Step (2). I see that as a fault in the design. The Springfield XDm does not require the trigger to be pulled. The S&W M&P does not. But the Glock does.

Yeah, people will tell me that is a training issue and hence not a problem. But I think there are better designs, for that single reason of partially setting the stage for unintended shots to be fired.

Bart Noir
 
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PlungerLips

New member
I have a Gen. 3 G19 and it fits my hand perfectly. My next gun is going to be the G20 sf when I get enough money in the old piggy bank.
 
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