By: Friedrich Seiltgen
Copyright © 2023
GLOCK
Gaston Glock is known for designing one of the most well-known firearms in the world. But what many people don’t know is that he didn’t start as a gun designer. He started his company in 1963 with his wife Helga, producing curtain rods, knives, hand grenades, machine gun belts, and entrenching tools for the Austrian Army.
His firearms career started in 1981 when Glock overheard Austrian military commanders complaining they lacked a pistol that met their specifications. Glock told them he would build them one, and the commanders laughed in his face. People that knew Herr Glock will tell you not to laugh at him; he takes it personally. Glock took a year to design the polymer-framed, recoil-operated, semi-automatic Model 17 pistol, stating that his lack of firearms knowledge was an advantage.
In 1982 he applied for the Austrian patent for his Model 17 pistol, and in 1983 he was awarded a contract for 25,000 guns for the Austrian Army. In 1985 Glock opened a U.S. subsidiary in Smyrna, GA, and now Glock has the most significant chunk of the law enforcement market.
Herr Glock is also a very tough man. In 1999, Glock’s longtime business associate Charles Ewert hired former French mercenary Jacques Pecheur to murder Glock to cover up his embezzlement of millions from the Glock Corporation! Ewert took him to a Luxembourg parking garage to look at a sports car when a man came out of the shadows and attacked Glock. Glock, who was always physically fit, swimming miles daily, managed to fend off the hitman even after being struck in the head with a hammer seven times! The hitman received 17 years and Ewert 20.
Glock would later say that the attack was the best thing that ever happened to him. “Otherwise, I would have gone on trusting Ewert.”
GUNSITE ACADEMY
The original ‘American Pistol Institute’ (API), now known as Gunsite Academy, offers firearms training to elite military personnel, law enforcement officers, and free citizens of the US.
We, as Americans, take our rights very seriously, and the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States guarantees each citizen the right to keep and bear arms. However, with each right comes an equal responsibility to discharge that right effectively, legally, safely, and within the bounds of morality. Rights demand responsibility.
“Owning a piano does not make one a pianist any more than owning a handgun makes one a good shooter.”
Lt. Col. Cooper
GUNSITE ACADEMY SERVICE PISTOL
Gunsite teamed up with Glock, Holosun, and Davidson’s Gallery of Guns to bring the Gunsite Service Pistol to the public, fitted with the best features to perform as the ultimate fighting pistol.
THE FRAME
Gunsite Glock Service Pistol is the Ultimate Fighting Handgun. Gunsite started the build with the Glock model 45 pistol. Glocks are well-known for their reliability. A unique feature of the frame is the FBI-style mag release, which is a bit larger than the factory release and has rounded edges. The magwell is flared for quick mag changes, and Gunsite added a lanyard loop at the rear of the magwell.
The Gunsite Glock trigger has the Minus connector, bringing the trigger pull to 4.5 pounds.
All Gunsite Glock serial numbers start with the letters API, an homage to Col. Jeff Cooper’s original school, the American Pistol Institute, which evolved into Gunsite Academy.
THE SLIDE
One of the first modifications people make on a Glock is the sights. Gunsite equipped their pistol with AmeriGlo suppressor-height steel sights, which co-witness through the installed Holosun X2 red-dot sight. It’s a closed red dot with a 50,000-hour battery life and a “shake-awake” feature. Gunsite also added the famous Gunsite Raven on the slide near the front sight.
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Striker-Fired Semi-Automatic
Caliber: 9mm Parabellum
Magazine Capacity: 17 Rounds
Sights: AmeriGlo Tall Steel suppressor-height sights, Holosun HE509T-RD X2
Barrel Length: 4.02 Inches
Overall Length: 7.4 Inches
Weight: —
MSRP: $1,274.99
URL: www.gunsite.com
THE VERDICT
The Gunsite Academy Glock Service Pistol is available exclusively through Davidson’s Gallery of Guns or the Gunsite Pro Shop.
The price point is excellent, given the custom features, AmeriGlo sights, and Holosun red dot.
Check one out today and see if it’s right for you.
That’s all for now, folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism Counterstrategies, Firearms, and Active Shooter Response. His writing has appeared in RECOIL, Soldier of Fortune, The Counter Terrorist Magazine, Off Grid, American Thinker, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International.
Contact him at [email protected]