Reprint of the Journal of GLOCK Collectors Association Volume 3, Issue 1. In this Journal, first published by GCA in Fall, 1997, you will find articles on:
- New Products:
- GLOCK 29 and GLOCK 30
- Compensated GLOCK Pistol Models
- GLOCK 20 Gen 3 and GLOCK 21 Gen 3 (New Receiver Style)
- GLOCK 17T
- GLOCK 18 Full Auto Model
- GLOCK 31, GLOCK 32, and GLOCK 33
- GLOCK 28
The G18 is a selective-fire variant of the G17. The G18 was first produced in 1986, and features a lever-type fire-control selector switch, installed on the serrated portion of the rear left side of the slide.
What is a Glock 18?
While common in many areas of the world, the GLOCK 18 is rare in the U.S. Where, due to federal law, their sale is artificially restricted to law enforcement and military units. The BATF classifies the GLOCK 18 as a post-1986 foreign-made machine gun.
Is the Glock 18 Fully Automatic?
While it resembles the standard G17 in many ways, subtle design changes have been made so that it is impossible to fit the slide from a G-18 onto the receiver (frame) of a standard G17. Still, externally the G18 looks like a G17 and it will fit into all standard G17 holsters.
The main difference, of course, is the selector lever that appears on the left side at the rear of the slide. The G-18 is a true burst-fire machine pistol, as controlled by the operator depressing the trigger.
When the selector is flipped into the semi-auto position (downward), the G18 operates just like any other semi-auto Glock pistol. When it is flipped into the full-auto (upward) position, a spur projects through a hole in the slide. The spur hits the connector as the slide closes allowing the firing pin to released thus firing the weapon. This is a simple and seemingly foolproof, safe system for allowing burst fire in the design.