L.A. police to get slicker, lighter guns (switching from Beretta to Glock)

Sacramento Bee ^ | 8.27.03

[mhking]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police here will soon be able to carry a lighter and slicker weapon - the Glock pistol.

The Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday approved the new weapons, which are already used in some specialized divisions.

[mvpel]

Look for an increase in accidental discharges as cops fail to check the chamber before disassembling their sidearms for cleaning.

There's two such holes in the cleaning bench at the San Jose Police Department's range.

[boris]

Glocks are reputedly fine weapons; I don't like their feel: too square and blocky in my hand.

And that silly semi-hemi-demi double-action-only...forget it.

I love my Sig .40...

--Boris

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***The $500 Glock has less recoil than guns currently used by officers.****

The laws of physics state that every action has an equal and oposite reaction, so how can they have less recoil than other firearms using the same bullet!

[mvpel]

It may sound hard to believe, but I found the full-size Glock 21 .45ACP to have more felt recoil than the compact Glock 30 .45ACP. Might have something to do with the coaxial slide spring in the 30, perhaps more of the recoil force goes into compressing the spring and less into your hand. I found it very surprising the first time I fired the two.

I bought the latter, and that's my preferred carry piece.

[LibertyThug]

The pistols are easier to use, but it's more difficult to trace the bullets fired from Glocks than other guns.

I had never heard there were tracing issues...now, I have one more
reason to love my Glock. ;-)

[Mr. Mojo]

Glocks are reputedly fine weapons; I don't like their feel: too square and blocky in my hand.

I'm with ya, but they feel better to me than most Berettas. After 1911s, Sigs and CZs fit my hand the best -- the latter are very underrated guns.

[mvpel]

http://yarchive.net/gun/barrel/polygonal_rifling.html

Instead of the rifling being square and hanging down in the bore so that
it can engrave a square notch in the bullet it has flats where the
rifling would be. The bullet is not upset much. Instead of having 6 or
8 sharp knotches it will have small flats that are very unnoticeable.
This makes the bullet fly better in the wind because there is no sharp
edges to bite into a cross wind. The bullet jacket is not deformed as
much so the chances of loose cores are much less. Since there is no
sharp corners to burn off the barrel life is much longer and is
dependent on heat checking alone to end its life. That is one major
reason most barrel makers are not interested in them. It would decrease
their business by half. They are more difficult to make than regular
rifled barrels for a couple of reasons one being they are difficult to
lap and give a cut barrel maker more problems due to tooling.

[Monty22]

The polymer frame on the Glock absorbs a bit of the recoil, but not THAT much. The Beretta is heavier, so I think it all balances out frankly.

Silly article.

[Joe 6-pack]

"The laws of physics state that every action has an equal and oposite reaction, so how can they have less recoil than other firearms using the same bullet!"

You are correct; however, the factor is actually that of perceived recoil...

...a ported barrel, for example is often sold as something that, "tames," recoil. What it does in fact do, is limit muzzle flip. It vents some of the propellant gasses out the top of the end of the barrel and helps keep the muzzle oriented toward the target. Many models of Glocks feature ported barrels; however, I'm not particularly fond of the feature on a tactical sidearm which may be fired under conditions of darkness, or from the hip.

Grip design or angle is also a feature which can affect perceived recoil in the way the rearward energy of the weapon is dispersed.

[TomServo]

Posted here.

[Vinnie]

The guns can take 9 mm, .40 caliber and .45 caliber ammunition.

Now that is a great idea.
Gives you the ability to buy whatever is cheaper or available. Wonder if you can interchange them in the same magazine. (g)

[Akira]

Damn, I couldn't even bump this to you before you had posted. Do you have some sort of FR radar that goes off when a gun article is posted?

[FreedomCalls]

Not only that, but the Glock is made of ceramic and therefore invisible to airport x-ray machines.

[RAY]

Beretta has the best safety system of any semiauto handgun. I hope the Glock has as good.

[FlyVet]

The laws of physics state that every action has an equal and oposite reaction, so how can they have less recoil than other firearms using the same bullet!

Maybe because of perceived recoil, rather than real recoil. The Glock's slide is very heavy, I think 80% of the gun's weight. I've tried a Browning Hi-Power too, and though it's heavier, I think it has more recoil than the Glock. I have the model 17, and the recoil is very manageable with the hottest handloads. For instance, a gas-operated shotgun has the same amount of recoil as a pump, but it's stretched out over a longer time period.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

***The polymer frame on the Glock absorbs a bit of the recoil***,

Several years ago we found that if you put Pacmyer grips on a .44 mag S&W there is less FELT recoil even though the recoil was really still the same.

Maybe this is what the LA cops are talking about.
So, will the LA SWAT teams still use their Kimbers?

[FlyVet]

Gives you the ability to buy whatever is cheaper or available. Wonder if you can interchange them in the same magazine. (g)

Hah, no kidding. If the calibers were interchangeable, this boy would convert his Glock 17 to .357 Sig. A lot more wallop.

[natewill]

Not only that, but the Glock is made of ceramic and therefore invisible to airport x-ray machines.

You're being sarcastic, right?