Australian Glock 17A Imported to the United States -The Firearm Blog

Texas Machine Gun & Ordnance, a firearms and explosives manufacturer, importer, and exporter in Dickinson, TX, announced last Saturday that they have imported from Australia what they believe to be the only Glock 17A in the United States. According to the company’s Facebook post:

After much delay due to military obligations, we finally got a chance to take some legit pictures of the Glock 17A we imported from Australia. We’re pretty sure this is the only one in the country, but we could be wrong.

The Aussies have funny rules that handgun barrels have to have to be at least 4.7 in long, so Glock makes a special model of 17 for a land down under with a slightly longer barrel than the usual 4.4 in barrel.

Indeed, according to the Parliament of Australia’s website, the 2002 National Agreement on Handguns states that “[c]hanges included a 10-round magazine capacity limit, a calibre limit of not more than .38 inches (9.65 mm), a barrel length limit of not less than 120 mm (4.72 inches) for semi-automatic pistols and 100 mm (3.94 inches) for revolvers, and stricter probation and attendance requirements for sporting target shooters.”

We would assume, then, that the imported gun’s barrel is actually 4.72 inches, but who’s counting? The pictures published by TXMGO also show a Glock factory adjustable rear sight, which they’ve told me is an import requirement. A manager for the company said this was specifically, “to meet ATF’s ‘point’ requirements; as firearm imports fall under a byzantine labyrinth of regulations including the Gun Control Act of ‘68, the National Firearms Act, the Firearms Owners Protection Act (the ‘86 machine-gun ban), Department of Defense Trade Controls, Arms Embargoes, Executive Orders, and ATF rulings”. We confirmed that magazines that accompany the pistol are the original 10-round capacity.

Australian Import Glock 17A, photo by Texas Machine Gun & Ordnance

The proof mark wasn’t one I had seen before, but I’m told is usual for this pistol. The CIP over N is the Permanent International Commission (equivalent of SAAMI) proof mark that replaced the Eagle over N in 2014. The N reportedly stands for “normal” proofing loads. Austria is one of 14 CIP member states and firearms are stringently tested. The small eagle to the right of the CIP over N is the exact facility that conducted the testing, I can’t quite make it out, but it will either be Beschussamt Ferlach (Proof house, Ferlach) or Beschussamt Wien (Proof house, Vienna). (Why anyone would care to know this is beyond me, but I found it interesting.) The manufacturer markings are also different from Glocks imported for the US market as this pistol lacks the Smyrna, GA importer address on the frame. In the picture below, “Ges.m.b.H” is shown, meaning Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, or “limited liability company”.