The bottom line on "why" is their reliability. They're not pretty. There's not a 1001 after-market parts to play with (like 1911's).

Their attraction is simple: they work.

Why anyone would carry anything else to protect life and limb is beyond me. It took me more than 15 years to realize my 1911's were obsolete compared to a Glock. Sure, everyone should own a 1911 sometime in their gun-lives, but when it comes to serious business, a 1911 pales in comparison to a Glock, or any other modern high-capacity pistol.

The 1911 will be a hundred years old next year. Their mystique and after-market gimicks still appeal to the stubborn, the young, and the novice. I have owned numerous 1911's of all sizes, including Colt, Kimber, Springfield, AMT, Baer, Wilson, and Yost. While they all excel in workmanship and history, a modern G21 outshines them all as a fighting pistol.

PS.... I have had to stop carrying at the nude beaches..... I kept pulling the wrong gun.

reliability and ease of operation

The reason why I'm buying a Glock?

Ease of use does come into play, no manual safety to remember in a situation is nice. Also the reliability made it a top choice. I have been trying out 9mm pistols to find the one that I felt most comfortable (for lack of a better word) with and of the pistols I've tried out the ones that felt best in hand were (no order) the Glock 17, HK P30v3 (9mm), and Sig P226 (9mm). The DA/SA of the Sig and the P30 variant the shop had did give the Glock an edge at the beginning. And as I researched all three online, I found pretty much that the Glock did just as well in the areas of safety, reliability and accuracy (when practiced with).
And yes, all other things equal, the fact that the Glock is much more affordable is certainly another selling point. Although if I thought from what I've read, heard or seen that one of the others was significantly better I would put up the extra cash, that just wasn't the case. (I know some HK fans might disagree, but I didn't find anything that made me think that if cost wasn't an issue I would jump at the HK over the Glock).

So after a moderate ramble; reliability, safety, affordability and how the pistol felt in hand were the four points that sold me on a Glock over other options.


Jeff

I was turned off by them and had a taste for a Beretta....So I bought a Beretta 92fs. Good gun as it was, I started straying when I held a friends G23. Once I stated doing more research and reading, it became an extreme obsession that I had to have one. The 23 was my first polymer, then the 19 followed 2 weeks later in a trade from the Beretta. I have not been disappointed, and fear another will follow, just don't quite know which and when.

Reputation, Reliability, & cost was my hook.

I bought a Glock because my brother-in-law was a Leo for 20+ years in Alaska. When his dept. wanted to change from revolvers to semi-autos they brought in samples of the semis that they were interested in. My brother-in-law told me that only the Glock never failed to work. Evidently the mud, sand & freezing tests got the competition. They were sold on Glock & never regretted it. If it was good enough for them it's good enough for me.

This should be a sticky

For me Glock is as good as it gets. My first Glock was in the mid 1990's and I have yet to see any of mine fail. So for me, its the bet your life reliability that Glock has right out of the box. I also love the way they look. I am a big "form follows function" fan.

Everyone of these posts is why I'm considering purchasing a Glock myself...it all comes down to that reliability that everyone keeps talking about. That said - I was noticing several threads on another forum that Glock customer service gets called a lot, they seem to be very responsive and will send repair/replacement parts without hesitation or question, but it's still concerning.

Can't (read - WON'T) own a weapon that I have to be worried about frequent parts breakage (in case you're wondering, I'm not a kool-aid drinker). I do understand that things break, I also will attribute a lot of the things I'm reading elsewhere to the fact that there are just sa damn many of these guns out there - those kind of numbers a few lemons are bound to make it through.

So anyone care to put my mind at ease on this matter?

Originally Posted by halfbreedinkc

Everyone of these posts is why I'm considering purchasing a Glock myself...it all comes down to that reliability that everyone keeps talking about. That said - I was noticing several threads on another forum that Glock customer service gets called a lot, they seem to be very responsive and will send repair/replacement parts without hesitation or question, but it's still concerning.

Can't (read - WON'T) own a weapon that I have to be worried about frequent parts breakage (in case you're wondering, I'm not a kool-aid drinker). I do understand that things break, I also will attribute a lot of the things I'm reading elsewhere to the fact that there are just sa damn many of these guns out there - those kind of numbers a few lemons are bound to make it through.

So anyone care to put my mind at ease on this matter?

People are calling customer service to get free stuff, and Glock readily preventative maintenance for free. Customers can take a pistol by the factory or a GSSF match, and Glock generally goes through and replaces all of the springs, etc, as a matt or course.

I have been a Glock armorer for quite sometime maintainng 150 pistols for two different agencies plus my own Glocks, and I have only had issues with one pistol, and it was promptly fixed.

Originally Posted by jlweems

People are calling customer service to get free stuff, and Glock readily preventative maintenance for free. Customers can take a pistol by the factory or a GSSF match, and Glock generally goes through and replaces all of the springs, etc, as a matt or course.

I have been a Glock armorer for quite sometime maintainng 150 pistols for two different agencies plus my own Glocks, and I have only had issues with one pistol, and it was promptly fixed.

See THIS is exactly the kind of info I'm looking for, don't get me wrong, not dissing the weapon, it is jsut a concern - having worked in a gun store all those years ago (ahh the good ole days) I remember certain brands that were nothing but trouble, never could figure out why we continued stocking them...other than they were cheap and the owner of the company didn't care as long as product was moving.

One issue in over 150 weapons is an exceptionally LOW failure rate, that's very good to know. I do plan on building a spare parts kit, as I do for all my weapons, just in case there is a failure, I can fix it (short of a cracked frame/slide).