I was looking through the Glock Annual magazine the other day, and I was suddenly stuck by the thought that for the first time Glock seems to be playing a little catch up to some of the other brands that are on the market. For years they have been the leader in all things polymer. If your gun was black, it was a Glock. Now the Smith and Wesson M&P, Springfield XD and others are competing heavily for your polymer dollars.
The Generation 4 has been promoted heavily in all of the gun mags lately, and it certainly gets a lot of press in the Glock Magazine. For years this magazine has been a little boring to say the least. Most of the articles talk about Glocks being used around the world, and they rarely offer anything new. In fact, so little changed with Glock that getting re-certified as an armorer was kind of a joke. But that changed a lot with the implementation of the SF models, and the looks have definitely changed with the Gen 4 models.
Forget the the new grip surface. Forget the cocking serrations. Notice the interchangeable back straps. For years other companies were offering this option on guns to fit a variety of hands. Many wanted a reversible mag catch like the Beretta or the M&P have. Now Glock has finally started. They are playing catch up for the first time.
I will applaud them for at least catching up. Many of the regular readers know my fascination with all things Colt. The Colt company is fine example of an industry leader getting left behind. They are almost irrelevant now because they have not kept up with all the options. Want updated options? You simply won’t look to Colt for their 1911.
What will be interesting to see as we move forward in the coming years is how much market share Glock will maintain in the polymer pistols. Will they continue to be a leader in the industry or have they been content to not change? By offering the back straps they are in a way admitting they had it wrong. I would love to hear what you think on this subject, especially if like me you are a big fan of the Glock products.
As I told a friend of mine who was touting the merits of the FN-X, “Man, you know I’m Glock to the bone.” But without regard to my personal proclivities, Gaston has been losing market share in LE in gobs. The S&W with the interchangeable backstrap was especially attractive because (gasp) not every man and woman has the same grip. Glock is to be applauded for letting other makers do the market testing before introducing their own version. Sometimes being second to the market is a money saver, and reduces errors.
Don’t give up on Colt just yet. Read John Taffin’s article “Colt’s Comeback” in the March/April issue of American Handgunner. Under new management, Colt is researching production of double action revolvers now.
To quote Weezer, “Say it ain’t so!” I had heard Colt was under new management. I have an engraver who friend who was commissioned by them to knock out 100 fully engraved 1911’s. I hope they will come back strong. They are missing out on the 1911 market and the revival of old school revolvers. Thanks for the heads up on Taffin’s article. He does great stuff.