Glocks are very popular, a statement that can earn someone the title of “Captain Obvious”. It is still true, though. So it should not come as a surprise to anyone that the German gunmaker Umarex is giving this pistol its very special attention and opening up the air pistol and paintball gun market. The company was licensed by Glock to make copies of the gun for various non-lethal uses. It started last year with a gas-gun version. Due to the enthusiastic acceptance and the great demand, it was decided to develop further variants. The next two copies, Glock paintball and air pistols, were presented at the IWA.

The first is an airsoft Glock with a steel slide. It was designed primarily as a training weapon. The goal was therefore to keep them as close to the original as possible, allowing the user to experience a very high degree of realism. However, this will appeal greatly to serious airsoft players. It uses 20 rounds of 6 mm BB for ammunition, but has a comparatively strong recoil. This is not a bug, but a feature. Because here, too, the aim was to copy the behavior of the original pistol as much as possible.

For this reason, the magazine was also designed to be closed, so that the pellets are not visible as it is with other airsoft guns. The imagination of dealing with a real magazine for a real Glock should remain intact – a request made directly by customers to Umarex.

It is also noteworthy, though not unique, that the magazine is a unit in which the projectiles and gas cartridge are combined. This has two advantages:

1. When the magazine is removed, the gun is safe. Without the magazine, neither gas nor projectiles come out of the barrel.
2. Since each magazine has its own gas tank, you no longer have to pay attention to it separately. The gun is either loaded or not.

The second example is basically the same weapon but it’s a Glock paintball replica. It fires .43 caliber ammunition. It can be filled with different types of bullets including gelatin, hard plastic, tracer (UV), rubber bullets, chalk and pepper. This pistol offers a wide range of possible uses, from leisure activities to training and non-lethal self-defense. A variety of Glock models are available including Gen 4 and 5 Glock 17s, the Glock 19X and the Glock 18, 19, 42 and 34. As with the gas pistol, the two new variants can be combined with original Glock equipment.

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Alexander Straube is a German freelance writer, chief editor of FIPS and author of the book on the German gun debate.