PDF reprint of the Journal of Glock Collectors Association Volume 2, Issue 2. This Journal was first published by GCA in Summer 1996. Includes articles on:
GLOCK Model G17 Serial Number History
In 1982, Mr. Gaston Glock introduced his first pistol, the GLOCK Model 17. Initial sales were to the Austrian military and later to other European military and law enforcement agencies. As word spread about the innovative GLOCK 17, Mr. Glock responded to demand for his pistol from Canada and the United States. Mr. Glock selected Smyrna, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, as his North American distribution point. In late 1985, Mr. Glock authorized the incorporation of GLOCK, Inc. and exported five Model 17 pistols to the United States for submission to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (BATF) and as sales samples. The serial numbers of the first five pistols imported for Glock, Inc. are...
What was the first GLOCK?
The G17 is the first GLOCK and was introduced in 1982. While the GLOCK pistol has now been widely adopted by law enforcement agencies throughout the world and in many places is viewed as the latest in technology, such was not always the view. In fact, one of the earliest adoptions in the United States took place in a small, rural, law enforcement agency located in the Midwest. Of course, the first U.S. Department to purchase pistols from GLOCK in Smyrna, Georgia was Colby, Kansas, and Canadian Agencies had bought the weapon in 1984. Before there was GLOCK of Smyrna, however, the GLOCK G 17 pistol had been imported to arm the officers of the small (at the time), five man rural, midwestern department. It is frequently the case that most breakthroughs take place in small police agencies where the ability to rapidly adjust and implement training programs do not encounter the bureaucratic problems associated with large tradition bound agencies. The decision to evaluate and possibly adopt the GLOCK was made after the firearms and training officer read a review of the GLOCK 17 in the respected English Journal Handgunner. Jan Stevenson, then the editor, evaluated the pistol, one of five at the time in England then undergoing testing in 1985 by various police and military forces. Stevenson was impressed. Being familiar with Stevenson's abilities and knowing him personally, the department's firearms officer contacted Stevenson for a more detailed evluation off the record review. What he heard impressed him more and while having some reservations about the caliber, he encouraged him to attempt to acquire some. After all the Blunt-Action Trauma (BAT) 9mm rounds were available and should prove to be suitable ammunition for police needs in rural America...