GLOCK 21: 18 Years And 200K Rounds – Dropped, Buried, Frozen
If you are anything like me, at the beginning of your career retirement was something that barely registered on the radar. But as the years and miles stack up, handing over the reigns to the next generation becomes more and more attractive. For the most part, guns are different – unlike disposable accessories such as magazines, most guns are built to last a lifetime, depending on round counts, environmental variables and maintenance schedules. In the case of this soon to be retired Glock 21, it has been tested in more ways than one over nearly two decades of use.
Steve, owner/operator of ADCO Firearms and one of the most knowledgeable people in the world on the MK12 AR15 platform, recently posted some pictures of his personally owned Glock 21. Over 18 years of ownership, he has torture tested this pistol by burying it for two years, freezing, salting and dropping it from an airplane. After noticing damage to the locking lug, Steve may finally decide to retire his piece, although I personally think it just needs a new barrel to keep running.
Yes, that’s my 21. I had records and more pics but lost most everything in a hard drive crash several years ago. A few of us started doing that stupid stuff as a joke. I never expected it to be as popular as it became. Yesterday I was thinking about when we dropped it off a garage onto the blacktop with a primed case. It didn’t go off but hit hard enough to smash the bullets out of round.
All I replaced were the sights and recoil springs. The only pic I have of the bore is when it went 13K rounds without cleaning
Sadly, I think it’s about finished. The front locking lug is noticeably worn, probably to the point where it is unlocking sooner than it should.
Silencers - Science Pete@thefirearmblog.com
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Have said it before. Will say it again. When it comes to service pistol for actual service use rather than game playing, etc., there is Glock. And ... there is everything else. Everything else desperately tries to prove they are at least as good as Glock. Fine. Gives them something to shoot for. Would feel sorry for them if they aimed for less than Perfection!
My Glock 21 is fat, ugly, not very comfortable and without the tiniest bit of style. It's easily the ugliest and least ergonomic of all the several different kinds of handguns I own. I bought my first one as a young LEO to replace my S&W 59 back in the days when the 9mm proved itself to be all but worthless in a gunfight (if you're scratching your head you're too young and will have to Google it). After all the data came out everyone was switching to .40S&W and back to .45acp and the Glock was the new golden gun on the market.
With all the downsides of the Glock listed above the upside was that it was (and still is) insanely reliable, accurate and very easy to shoot well, even the large frame G21's. The gun never let me down and to this day I trust my G21 with my life. I guess when it comes to a LE or defensive handgun that's all you need. I love the gun for that. Given my choice though, for fun shooting in .45acp I'll choose my STI Elektra every time.