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If given the choice, Glock made in USA or Austria?

Rockrivr1

Rockrivr1

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I don't know enough about Glocks to know which is preferred over the other. So if given a choice of getting a Glock would you prefer it was made in the US of A or directly from Austria? Everything else being equal what one would you choose and why?

Yes, this is a real question. Yes, I have this option. Yes I'll be moving forward with one of them.

And yes, I know it's "just" a Glock.......
 
New? I’d get the Austria one now. Odds are higher you can get a US made one down the road. Not as high with an Austrian.

I do like me the old slide treatment. Not sure if that is the difference.
 
Rockrivr1 said:
I don't know enough about Glocks to know which is preferred over the other. So if given a choice of getting a Glock would you prefer it was made in the US of A or directly from Austria? Everything else being equal what one would you choose and why?

Yes, this is a real question. Yes, I have this option. Yes I'll be moving forward with one of them.

And yes, I know it's "just" a Glock.......
Click to expand...

Have both don't care doesn't matter. I would never predicate buying not buying one based on origin.

I have at least 3 US ones, maybe more, lost count. I think onei s a 34, my newer 20 and 21s are US too, I think.
 
Caveman said:
I do like me the old slide treatment. Not sure if that is the difference.
Click to expand...

Lol which "old" slide treatment? There are at least 4 distinctly different finishes, I'm probably forgetting one.

-2 or 3 different shades of flat gray through several generations - these are the old guns that almost look frosty in appearance
-Gen 3 gloss black with very very slight texture - this is a very common one in gen 3
-That weird gray satin-like finish on some gen 4s - this is a hated finish, it marked/scuffed/mars easily although it still is protective
-The current Gen4/5 finish that is gloss black but no texture at all.
 
drgrant said:
Have both don't care doesn't matter. I would never predicate buying not buying one based on origin.

I have at least 3 US ones, maybe more, lost count. I think onei s a 34, my newer 20 and 21s are US too, I think.
Click to expand...
Are you saying you can't count past 3? One, Two, Five.... "Three, Sir"... Right...Three...
 
Hailstorm said:
Yep. Which makes it the best
Click to expand...

Except that it doesnt actually matter, in the real world. If something is going to corrode on a Glock, its not going to be the slide or barrel, regardless of treatment process etc.
 
To really mess with people there are also Glocks with US frames and Austrian slides. I thiink I have one of those too. [rofl]
 
drgrant said:
Except that it doesnt actually matter, in the real world. If something is going to corrode on a Glock, its not going to be the slide or barrel, regardless of treatment process etc.
Click to expand...
Not true. My son went on an extended hike, 6 months. The slide did rust. It is now pitted on his G26.
 
Hailstorm said:
Not true. My son went on an extended hike, 6 months. The slide did rust. It is now pitted on his G26.
Click to expand...

Thats great, but thats pretty rare, and I still doubt "tennifer or not" is going to make a difference for most people. Also tenifer is a metal treatment not a finish. Jurys still out on whether or not Glock is still even using Tenifer even in Austria.

I'm not really sure why people get hung up on this. Generally speaking even shitty guns like Shields will hold up pretty well absent any serious metallurgical problems. (various companies have had these issues over the years, resulting in oddly fast-rusting slides etc. S&W and Ruger to name a couple.
 
i didn't read all the answers, maybe this was mentioned...i'm not sure there's a mountain of differences other than the finish between the two. but something i only see on the u.s. guns is the warpage commonly called "pig nose" on the dust covers of the slide, causing them to bend up to where i've seen some almost rubbing on the slide. me, i've only seen this on frames that were molded in the states, never seen it on european frames. that's not to say it doesn't happen on austrian frames. it's cosmetic but i hate the look. all my glocks are austrian. they're fine. i had 2 u.s. frames, both have that pig nose condition. i fixed one with a heat gun but it took a while. i sold the other one i hated the look so much. some people it doesn't bother.
 
G4Y4HK said:
Doesn't the Austria have the original tennifer slide treatment? The USA one had to modify the meloniting process due to environmental laws
Click to expand...
No, I don't believe that's the case anymore. All new production Gen 3/4 have a non tennifer treatment. You can tell because it scratches easily and isn't that kind of "non stick frying pan finish"

original.jpg
 
puška m70 said:
No, I don't believe that's the case anymore. All new production Gen 3/4 have a non tennifer treatment. You can tell because it scratches easily and isn't that kind of "non stick frying pan finish"

original.jpg
Click to expand...
Yeah that mix n' match shit is annoying. I had a 21 Gen 4 with that chalky finish scuffed up real easily and lost Glock safe queen status lol. 19 Gen 4 looked like your 17 on the bottom with the seasoned pan finish that was more slippery and a more durable top coat. Then again, people these days pay extra for 'battleworn'.
 
puška m70 said:
No, I don't believe that's the case anymore. All new production Gen 3/4 have a non tennifer treatment. You can tell because it scratches easily and isn't that kind of "non stick frying pan finish"

original.jpg
Click to expand...

This pic doesnt represent the true spectrum of finishes in gen 3 and 4, imo.

If I actually got a good camera/lighting and catalogued them your mind would be blown, its changed so many times.

I would do it but I don't care that much, lol. It's just "a thing". I literally have glocks that were produced in the same year, two different
finishes. It's abundantly clear to me that, at times, the factory was either trying different things or trying to improve the process.

But yes, a lot of the 4s had that weird matte/semigloss thats kind of like the top one in your pic, but actually way worse.

The newer Gen5 guns are the most consistent, I have a bunch of Gen5s and they all basically look the same.
 
I think if this were a high precision device or machine, like a mechanical watch or fancy car, I'd want the assurance of original tooling and craftsmanship from the OG factory. But given Glock's design is praised for its simplicity, and this simplicity is probably part of its reliability, I don't think it really matters US vs Austria aside from personal preference.
 
G4Y4HK said:
Yeah that mix n' match shit is annoying. I had a 21 Gen 4 with that chalky finish scuffed up real easily and lost Glock safe queen status lol. 19 Gen 4 looked like your 17 on the bottom with the seasoned pan finish that was more slippery and a more durable top coat. Then again, people these days pay extra for 'battleworn'.
Click to expand...
Yes, exactly the word I'm looking for... chalky. A small minority of Gen 4 slides had the good, tennifer non chalky finish. But that was likely early production.

I'd prefer the more durable finish, as a lot of owners said it didn't show much of any holster wear. But it's a Glock.... designed for functionality. Can't say the new finish is bad outside of showing marks easier, hasn't rusted for me.
 

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