wmg1299
Professional
The Glock 17 is a fine pistol. I personally carried one as my duty weapon for years. I agree with other posters that a shooter's love or hatred of Glock is purely subjective.
What I have noticed is that many shooters who swear that the Glock 17 is the best full-sized gun have never owned or carried any other full-sized guns. I knew many cops who purchased compact or subcompact backup/off-duty guns, but never purchased another full-sized semi-auto handgun (mainly because they already had one). I may be showing my age, but a good number of other officers I worked with only had experience with two full-sized handguns (the Beretta M9 in the military and their duty Glock). In these officers' experience, the Glock 17 was accurate and reliable, so they praised it as a great gun. These officers weren't wrong, but their opinion was given undue weight by their friends and neighbors simply because of their profession.
In my opinion, the Glock 17 is the best duty handgun for professional use. This has nothing to do with the Glock being the best gun for any particular individual shooter. Glocks have proven exceptionally reliable for people who wear them on a gun belt exposed to the elements year-round. Glocks can handle the wear-and-tear from getting bumped, scratched, and scuffed while holstered during scuffles when officers have to wrestle suspects on the ground. A large number of officers can fire the Glock 17 with acceptable accuracy, and they are simple for armorer's to maintain with minimal training. The Glock probably isn't the best full-sized gun for many officers, but it most likely is the best gun for the "average" officer and the most economical/practical for a department to adopt.
What I have noticed is that many shooters who swear that the Glock 17 is the best full-sized gun have never owned or carried any other full-sized guns. I knew many cops who purchased compact or subcompact backup/off-duty guns, but never purchased another full-sized semi-auto handgun (mainly because they already had one). I may be showing my age, but a good number of other officers I worked with only had experience with two full-sized handguns (the Beretta M9 in the military and their duty Glock). In these officers' experience, the Glock 17 was accurate and reliable, so they praised it as a great gun. These officers weren't wrong, but their opinion was given undue weight by their friends and neighbors simply because of their profession.
In my opinion, the Glock 17 is the best duty handgun for professional use. This has nothing to do with the Glock being the best gun for any particular individual shooter. Glocks have proven exceptionally reliable for people who wear them on a gun belt exposed to the elements year-round. Glocks can handle the wear-and-tear from getting bumped, scratched, and scuffed while holstered during scuffles when officers have to wrestle suspects on the ground. A large number of officers can fire the Glock 17 with acceptable accuracy, and they are simple for armorer's to maintain with minimal training. The Glock probably isn't the best full-sized gun for many officers, but it most likely is the best gun for the "average" officer and the most economical/practical for a department to adopt.