Gaston Glock, 1929 - 2023

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simonrichter

New member
I hope it is not off topic to announce here that Gaston Glock has passed away today. He was undoubtedly in the same league as Samuel Colt, John Moses Browning or Eugene Stoner when it comes to the development of modern firearms and apart from that a prominent figure in Austria though he tried to avoid publicity as much as possible.
 
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44 AMP

Staff
General forum is the right place.

He didn't go tragically early, and all things do come to an end.

Personally I wouldn't put him on the same level as Browning, but on a tier beneath that. Like Stoner and Kalashnikov, and, even Colt, he created one outstandingly successful design, and variants of it. Browning created dozens of very successful designs, rifles, shotguns, pistols, and machine guns. Pumps. lever actions, semi autos and full autos, nobody did as much as Browning did, and likely nobody ever will again.

RIP Herr Glock
 
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Double Naught Spy

New member
he created one outstandingly successful design, and variants of it.
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And geniusly marketed the heck out of it.

I have never liked Glock pistols (grip issues), but they are outstanding for what they are and I think contributed heavily to the demise of revolver favor with their stock reliability.

Indeed, RIP Gaston Glock.
 
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FITASC

New member
Personally I wouldn't put him on the same level as Browning, but on a tier beneath that. Like Stoner and Kalashnikov, and, even Colt, he created one outstandingly successful design, and variants of it. Browning created dozens of very successful designs, rifles, shotguns, pistols, and machine guns. Pumps. lever actions, semi autos and full autos, nobody did as much as Browning did, and likely nobody ever will again.
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You have something against his single shot?........ ;)
 
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44 AMP

Staff
well I just plum forgot, should have added "and more".

"More" including the guns I didn't list and all those cartridges he invented to go in them.

Herr Glock deserves full credit for what he did.
 
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simonrichter

New member
what I found interesting about his biography is that he wasn't a gunsmith from the start but more of a generalist inventor and manufacturer who came to designing the P80 / G17 relatively late in his career. The only other popular items produced by Glock are far less spectacular, namely a quite simplistic knive, an entrenching tool and plastic clips and buckle for a M56-style pistol belt the still AAF uses.
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
Personally, I wouldn't put Glock in the same league as true firearms designers. He's not even remotely in the same league as Browning, Pedersen, Tokarev, Siminov, or Saive.

Glock didn't design his pistol. He brought together a group of experts, including firearms design engineers, who all contributed to the gun. Glock's primary contribution was the injection molding process, which his company had been employing for years.

Glock is, however, in the same league as Oliver Winchester. Winchester wasn't a gun designer, he was a businessman who knew how to capitalize on the strengths of the products that his company produced.
 
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JohnKSa

Administrator
Personally, I wouldn't put Glock in the same league as true firearms designers. He's not even remotely in the same league as Browning, Pedersen, Tokarev, Siminov, or Saive.
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Agree. He had vision and the ability to carry through.

He definitely made an impact, but not so much in terms of design. The team he assembled gets the credit for any innovation in the design of the guns.
 
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bamaranger

New member
Herr Glock

Somehow I thought Gaston Glock was younger.......the man was 93! By rough estimate, he was working on his poly pistol about the time some folks retire.

Was there a poly pistol before the Glock? The Glock 17 set the gold standard for hi-cap 9mm autos even to this day in my estimation. Simple, durable, reliable and accurate (enough). All a handgun should be.

Thanks Gaston.
 
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MarkCO

New member
Mike Irwin said:
Personally, I wouldn't put Glock in the same league as true firearms designers. He's not even remotely in the same league as Browning, Pedersen, Tokarev, Siminov, or Saive.

Glock didn't design his pistol. He brought together a group of experts, including firearms design engineers, who all contributed to the gun. Glock's primary contribution was the injection molding process, which his company had been employing for years.

Glock is, however, in the same league as Oliver Winchester. Winchester wasn't a gun designer, he was a businessman who knew how to capitalize on the strengths of the products that his company produced.
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Yep, great marketer in the right place at the right time. I feel fortunate to have met him at SHOT once.

RIP regardless

My intrigue now lies in the company direction. His wife (now 99% owner) did not enjoy the gun biz, but loves horses and animals. They did not have children. His first wife, whose 3 children Gaston fired, no longer have anything to do with the company. It does look like ex-wife still has a non-voting 1%.

My bet is a sale. My bet is that the top execs had a plan.
 
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Dfariswheel

New member
Younger people may not remember the huge controversy when Glock was introduced in America.

Politicians like Upchuck Schumer raged that it was a plastic gun specifically made for terrorist so it could slip by airline inspection to be used in hijackings.
There were news stories claiming even the barrel was made of either plastic or ceramic.
The polygonal rifling was supposed to not leave any markings on a fired bullet so the bullet couldn't be traced to a crime gun.
All the usual suspects were demanding it be banned in the USA.

A few years later virtually every lawman in America was using a Glock.
 
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FITASC

New member
His wife (now 99% owner) did not enjoy the gun biz, but loves horses and animals.
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And the money she makes from her ownership share will keep her in horses and animals as long as she has competent folks running the company
 
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MarkCO

New member
FITASC said:
And the money she makes from her ownership share will keep her in horses and animals as long as she has competent folks running the company
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Maybe, but she apparently likes to give money to various groups. 1.09 Billion goes a long ways. Even with taxes, she would have more from a sale than she would get over many years of owning something she does not like.
 
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Ricklin

New member
RIP Gaston Glock. Genius inventor like Browning, uhh no, not even close. A brilliant marketer, yes and a man who recognized talent. Genius businessman, again yes. We can only hope to be so fortunate, his wife will be just fine. How old is she?
 
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bamaranger

New member
controversy

I'm old enough to remember the stink about the Glock. More than one person of my acquaintance bought the fuss about undetectable plastic pistols. People that should have known better. The Glock is still maligned by the anti's, now for it's capacity, supposed ghost gun potential and Glock switches. A "32 shot Glock" is apparently a big deal with the gang bangers. I still hear people that should know better complain about "no safety".

It took a while for me to warm up to the Glock, I was a blue steel and wood grips guy, and didn't particularly care for the feel of the Glock trigger either. But the reliability and durability of the platform won me over. I know own 4 of the dang things, two for SD, one to compete, one to hunt.

Thanks again Gaston.
 
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