Your humble correspondent received an invite to a Glocktoberfest event at our local Range USA outlet located at 5661 South Cooper St, Arlington, TX 76017.

Who could resits a chance to visit with a factory rep and try out some of Glock’s fine handguns?

Range USA is lightyears beyond the typical indoor gun range. The retail area is bright and spacious. The staff have always been top-notch and professional when I have visited them. Many establishments in my experience have demonstrated a lack of patience with new shooters, or a tendency to promote certain firearms for certain demographics. (The snubnose .38 is THE PERFECT ladies’ gun!) Range USA actively caters to all levels of shooter. It is a place I would feel comfortable taking my Mom to knowing she would be properly assisted in selecting a firearm and receiving the training to safely enjoy learning to shoot. They even offer Ladies Night and Date Night specials!

Mr. Jim Lankford, Commercial Sales Manager from Glock Inc. was on site. He brought along a selection of the most popular handguns for folks to handle, and Range USA allowed interested customers to take a free 5 round test drive.

The notion of a .22 Glock has been nagging at me for several years, so I was forced, Forced! I say, try out a Glock 44 in .22 Long Rifle. The results are in the nearby photo. Not bad for the first run without my prescription specs.

The sights are typical basket-ball factory sights, and the trigger is all Glock. The weapon is the same size as the Glock 19. Cheap practice with a dead ringer for one of the most popular handguns on the planet. The only change I could suggest would be a version sized to match the Glock 43X/48 since the magazine is already a single-stack.

I am an unashamed hogleg man. Single Action or Double Action, if it spins in the middle, I’m a fan. As I discussed in my “Volkswaffen” piece, the Glock manual of arms is almost as simple as that of a double action revolver. Firing either type of handgun is so consistently predictable they approach the term “boring”, and boring is exactly the quality needed when bad things are happening and the pressure is on. Boring is also a fine quality to have when trying to perfect your marksmanship. The first thing on my mind is addressing the target, and the last is the firearm. Good job Glock!

Mr. Lankford was a font of information.

I asked him why he did not have a G26 Gen 5 on the table, and he replied that the G43, 43X, and 48 had killed the G26 product line. No more Baby Glock with magazine compatibility with the double-stacks, so get ’em while you can!

We debated the famous internet rumors regarding a Glock carbine/rifle, a polymer revolver, and a new one to me, a 1911 of all things. Lankford confirmed Glock does have multiple patents filed for products they do not ever intend to build. This is a common industry practice to limit the ability of other companies to enter a given market. Example: Multiple EV and hydrogen fuelcell patents were tied up by Mobile-Exxon since the 1970s for this very reason.

Carbine/Rifle: One of the main pieces of evidence Cited by the carbine crowd is the “rifle range” behind the Smyrna, GA facility. Mr. Lankford told me this was built at the request of the Thai government who wanted to know how their recent order of G19s would group at 100 meters. He went on to say that it is not used for storage.

Revolver: Glock Inc. has ceded the revolver business to Ruger, Smith & Wesson, and Taurus. The market is not deep enough to support another player, so this was tabled.

5.7 x 28 mm: This is another case of insufficient depth in a market occupied by FN, S&W, and Ruger, so no Glocks in 5.7 on the horizon.

1911: This seem silly to this correspondent. If you want a single-stack Glock in .45 ACP, grab a G36 with 6+1 on board and get a +1 mag extension. Per Mr. Lankford, If some government is willing to pony up for the tooling for a 1911 pistol, Glock would probably build it, but not as a commercial product.

Surprise Packages: I asked about anything new coming down the pike. Mr. Lankford chucked and said that he finds out about new releases when a large package in a plain brown wrapper appears on this desk. Glock is so sensitive to the risks of industrial espionage, that they keep the new stuff underwraps, so the competition does not beat them to the punch.

I recall American Rifleman Magazine ran an article in June 2008 title “I am, personally, very pleased with the result” by Wiley Clapp where they describe Ruger almost beating Smith & Wesson’s launch of the Model 29 44. Magnum because Bill ruger got hold of some spent 44 Magnum brass from a scrap pile..

I was able to pick up the new 2023 Glock Buyer’s Guide and a brochure on the Glock Shooting Sports Foundation , and I was on my way.

Glocktoberfest was a great experience. I hope it comes back around again.
Oh! I almost forgot the 10% discount on Glock brand products being offered by Range USA.

Many thanks to Mr. Jim Lankford and manager Scott P. of Range USA for their kind indulgence today.