Complete Rookie - Could Someone help??

Hello, Glock Rookie!

Glock handguns were designed to be like the old police revolvers - you load the gun, squeeze the trigger and it will fire. There are no visible external safeties. The safety " catch " is missing on the Glock because there are some built-in internal safeties. The primary safety is built into the trigger itself.

Please take the magazine out of the gun ( newbies call them "clips", but that is incorrect). The gun can still fire! Do NOT put your finger on the trigger! Point the gun in a safe direction ( if you are not on the second story, the floor is a good place - be careful not to point it at your own toes).

Carefully pull the slide back to make sure that there is no cartridge (bullet) in the chamber ( be sure you took the magazine out before this step). If there is a round in the chamber, it will be ejected when you pull the slide back. Take all loaded cartridges (bullets) and the magazine and move them away from the gun. Pull the slide back again until you are sure there are no bullets in the gun.

Point the gun in a safe direction after you are SURE it is empty and gently squeeze the trigger. You will note that there is a second "trigger" inside the main trigger. This is one of the internal safeties. As your finger takes up the slack, the trigger stiffens slightly, then you will hear the "click" of the striker moving forward under spring tension. This would have fired the gun if you had not removed the cartridges.

Note how "flat" the spring trigger feels now. There is no spring tension. Once the slide is moved to the rear, the gun automatically recocks itself.

Remember the cardinal rule of firearms - do not put your finger in the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.

As with all semi automatic ( self loading, if you will ) firearms, to load the weapon you must put cartridges into the magazine, which is then inserted into the weapon firmly. Pointing the pistol in a safe direction, pull the slide back sharply and release. DO NOT EVER PULL THE SLIDE BACK WHILE YOUR FINGER IS IN THE TRIGGER GUARD. The pistol is now loaded and WILL fire even if the magazine is out of the weapon.

With the Glock, it is important to keep all items out of the trigger guard until you are ready to fire. Once loaded, it is only necessary to point and squeeze.

The 21 is .45 ACP, which has some recoil. The polymer frame of the Glock absorbs a good deal of this recoil, but it still quite noticeable.

This is a VERY brief overview and you should still get some range time with the weapon ASAP. In the mean time, review the manual that comes with the Glock and BE SAFE.

More Basic Questions from the Rookie

allmons,
Thanks so much for getting me started. The Glock is brand new but didn't come with a manual. I'll call the store and ask about a manual, box, etc. The magazine is loaded but it is not in the gun....wait a minute - the movie, Forest Gump said a gun is for fun. This is a weapon.

Here's a basic question for you ... you said it's a .45 ACP. What's ACP? (something caliber pistol??)

When I tried to load the bullets into the magazine I could only get 9 in the magazine, but the magazine has small holes with numbers 1 through 10 and you mentioned that it holds 10 rounds.

Next - there's a small "latch/button" on the side of the gun my husband said I have to push up in order to pull back the slide (I'm guessing that's what it's called). I'm having a really hard time pushing it up and when I do get it pushed upward it takes literally all my strength to pull the slide back. (I am right-handed and had an auto accident several years ago that left my right arm, hand and shoulder rather weak.).

Is there a trick to pulling the slide back more easily? It took me 8 tries to pull it back/open. If I'm in a situation where I need to protect myself, I won't have the luxury of 2 full minutes to open the slide. That's why he opened it for me and it will be kept open. All I should have to do is load the magazine and pull the trigger, correct?

Thanks again and please be patient with me. I'm 49 years old so I'm old enough to be careful and treat the Glock as though it's always loaded. I'm not afraid of it, I just want to know without a doubt that I can handle it properly if the situation ever arrives.

Rookie

The magazine holds the rounds

You insert the magazine into the gun firmly. If your husbans left the slide "open", shoving the magazine in firmly will usually slam the slide shut on the Glock. That small lever is a "slide stop" designed only to hold the slide open. If the slide is all the way back, ie "open", then all you need do is push the lever straight down. The slide will close with some force.

Question # 2 - There was a .45 caliber bullet in a long catridge case that was carried by many cavalry officers. The .45 had very good stopping power, but the case was too long for an automatic pistol. Ergo, the .45 caliber bullet was put in a shorter case with a little rim at the base so that the extractor of the pistol could grasp it securely and eject free from the gun. To signify the difference, the designation ACP ( automatic cartidge, pistol) was utilized. Nowadays we call the original .45 revolver/rifle cartridge the ".45 long".

This is a very brief and poorly explained history, but suffice it to say that the .45 caliber bullet has been proven to be one whale of a man stopper over the last 110 years or so.