Glock 4th generation

C hawk Glock said:

So what I am reading is that Glock will finally do what everyone else has been doing the last 3-5 years! Not to bust the chops of my beloved Glock, but it's the truth. Glock is pretty slow to evolve, look at the difference between 1,2,3 gens. If they were not so reliable and didn't have such a fan base, Glocks would be average at best.

Let's hope they keep the reliability on par with what we are used to, and I am sure they will. Glock's have always been like a hammer, one goes bang and the other goes whack every time!

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Well, I see it like this: used to be in the past, Glock pretty much marketed itself with little publicity outside competition, law-enforcement, military, and certain other somewhat exclusive communities. Serious Glockers have more than likely been through at least two of the Glock generations, and some have just got on board and fell in love for one reason or another. However, as we can see on this forum alone, there are those hoping, wishing, or wanting to take another look at the Glock if only the Glocks had "such and such or this and that". Other than overseas military contracts and the like, I figure the United States is the largest market for LE and civilian sales. In this sliding US economy (and worldwide for that matter), it only makes sense to start catering to a larger customer base and more opportunities as I'm sure they have lost some over the years. Kind of like automobiles....flooded the market, but now turnover has slowed. Or maybe...just maybe, Glocks are lasting longer than expected? Ya think? So...in my mind, Glock never has needed to nor do I believe they are now....trying to catch up with any competition in whatever form. They just have someone smart in marketing just like they have someone smart in engineering. And just maybe....maybe after all of these years with booming sales and totally satisfied customers throughout the industry.....they are simply opening up more opportunities and projected sales, and may be listening to consumer input from sources. Why be satisfied with current trends staying at the current level, or dropping slightly? Purely survival instinct, and if Glock does well with the new market, then we'll all benefit by the prices remaining somewhat steady on their pistols. I'm sure they have enough contracts well into the next decade to sustain the company as is, even considering some of the American law enforcement community dropping some, and some adopting them year to year. Glock has done their research well, and "3-5 years catching up with others" is a fallacy in my opinion. Not "catching up", just a very wise thing to do in the corporate world especially now. While others have taken risk and jumped in amidst being bought and sold and changed ownerships as corporations, Glock has remained the rock in the foundation. The company is by no means slow to learn, or scrambling for the lifeboats. Perhaps now is the time to be more modular than they have been in the past. It just makes sense. I'm also sure the so called 'late response' could be attributed to their ethics and standards of doing extensive research in the markets, and where others may project 3-5 years, maybe Glock looks ten years in either direction (past and future), long enough to have more stable statistics than others. Glock slow to evolve? Surely you jest. A company, a man, and a firearm that originally left all others behind at least twenty years? You can't expect me to take that seriously. Are they fighting for share of the current market with these newer models? I seriously doubt it. Am I defending Glock for their decisions or perceived lack thereof? Nope. I know they are fully capable of defending themselves. I'm just sayin'.

C hawk Glock said:

So what I am reading is that Glock will finally do what everyone else has been doing the last 3-5 years! Not to bust the chops of my beloved Glock, but it's the truth. Glock is pretty slow to evolve, look at the difference between 1,2,3 gens. If they were not so reliable and didn't have such a fan base, Glocks would be average at best.

Let's hope they keep the reliability on par with what we are used to, and I am sure they will. Glock's have always been like a hammer, one goes bang and the other goes whack every time!

Click to expand...

Having talked to 2 people who have met Gaston Glock (at least that is what they said, I have no proof other than their word) they have both said the same thing I have read in a couple of places. That is, Gaston is a bit of a jackass and quite stubborn. He designed the gun the way he wanted it and didn't care for a very long time that a lot of people, including his die hard customers wanted a few tweaks made.

My understanding is that the interchangeable backstraps are a result of the market share for Glock, particularly in the law enforcement market, having shrunk primarily to the S&W M&P. I know that at least 3 state police departments dumped the Glock and went to the M&P in the last few years so that every officer, male, female, large handed or small could be issued the same model gun and have it fit their hand. That can translate to significant savings for a department.

So it has taken a real hit in the old wallet to get Old Gaston to grudgingly include interchangeable backstraps.