Uploaded October 2012 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Having fun in Kentucky.
The Glock pistol, sometimes referred to by the manufacturer as Glock "Safe Action" Pistol, is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Glock Ges.m.b.H., located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. The company's founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearm design or manufacture at the time their first pistol, the Glock 17, was being prototyped. Glock did, however, have extensive experience in advanced synthetic polymers, knowledge of which was instrumental in the company's design of the first successful line of pistols with a polymer frame. Glock introduced ferritic nitrocarburizing into the firearms industry as an anti-corrosion surface treatment for metal gun parts.
Despite initial resistance from the market to accept a "plastic gun" due to durability and reliability concerns, Glock pistols have become the company's most profitable line of products, commanding 65% of the market share of handguns for United States law enforcement agencies as well as supplying numerous national armed forces and security agencies worldwide.
The 9×19mm Parabellum (abbreviated 9mm, 9×19mm or 9×19) cartridge was designed by Georg Luger and introduced in 1902 by the German weapons manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) for their Luger semi-automatic pistol. For this reason, it is designated as the 9mm Luger / 9mm Luger +P by the SAAMI and the 9 mm Luger by the C.I.P.), differentiating it from the 9mm Makarov and 9mm Browning (.380 ACP) cartridges. Under STANAG 4090, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries.
The name Parabellum is derived from the Latin: Si vis pacem, para bellum ("If you seek peace, prepare for war"), which was the motto of DWM.
The book Cartridges of the World stated in 2006 that the 9×19mm Parabellum is "the world's most popular and widely used military handgun cartridge." In addition to being used by over 60% of police in the U.S., Newsweek credits 9×19 pistol sales with making semi-automatic pistols more popular than revolvers. The popularity of this cartridge can be attributed to the widely held conviction that it is highly effective in police and self-defense use. Its low cost and wide availability are self-sustaining contributors to the caliber's continuing popularity.
Having fun in Kentucky.
The Glock pistol, sometimes referred to by the manufacturer as Glock "Safe Action" Pistol, is a series of semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Glock Ges.m.b.H., located in Deutsch-Wagram, Austria. The company's founder, engineer Gaston Glock, had no experience with firearm design or manufacture at the time their first pistol, the Glock 17, was being prototyped. Glock did, however, have extensive experience in advanced synthetic polymers, knowledge of which was instrumental in the company's design of the first successful line of pistols with a polymer frame. Glock introduced ferritic nitrocarburizing into the firearms industry as an anti-corrosion surface treatment for metal gun parts.
Despite initial resistance from the market to accept a "plastic gun" due to durability and reliability concerns, Glock pistols have become the company's most profitable line of products, commanding 65% of the market share of handguns for United States law enforcement agencies as well as supplying numerous national armed forces and security agencies worldwide.
The 9×19mm Parabellum (abbreviated 9mm, 9×19mm or 9×19) cartridge was designed by Georg Luger and introduced in 1902 by the German weapons manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) for their Luger semi-automatic pistol. For this reason, it is designated as the 9mm Luger / 9mm Luger +P by the SAAMI and the 9 mm Luger by the C.I.P.), differentiating it from the 9mm Makarov and 9mm Browning (.380 ACP) cartridges. Under STANAG 4090, it is a standard cartridge for NATO forces as well as many non-NATO countries.
The name Parabellum is derived from the Latin: Si vis pacem, para bellum ("If you seek peace, prepare for war"), which was the motto of DWM.
The book Cartridges of the World stated in 2006 that the 9×19mm Parabellum is "the world's most popular and widely used military handgun cartridge." In addition to being used by over 60% of police in the U.S., Newsweek credits 9×19 pistol sales with making semi-automatic pistols more popular than revolvers. The popularity of this cartridge can be attributed to the widely held conviction that it is highly effective in police and self-defense use. Its low cost and wide availability are self-sustaining contributors to the caliber's continuing popularity.
