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Trigger (firearms)

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149-408: A trigger is a mechanism that actuates the function of a ranged weapon such as a firearm , airgun , crossbow , or speargun . The word may also be used to describe a switch that initiates the operation of other non-shooting devices such as a trap , a power tool , or a quick release . A small amount of energy applied to the trigger leads to the release of much more energy. Most triggers use

298-444: A metal detector . The Glock pistol has a relatively low slide profile, which holds the barrel axis close to the shooter's hand and makes the pistol more comfortable to fire by reducing muzzle rise and allows for faster aim recovery in rapid firing sequences. The rectangular slide is milled from a single block of ordnance-grade steel using CNC machinery. The barrel and slide undergo two hardening processes prior to treatment with

447-411: A quicker initiation of fire, but compromised by having a longer, heavier trigger pull, which can affect accuracy compared to the lighter, shorter trigger pull of a single-action fire. In a DA/SA semi-automatic pistol , the trigger mechanism functions identically to that of a DA revolver. However, this is combined with the ability of the pistol slide to automatically cock the hammer when firing. Thus,

596-436: A "buffer zone" that prevents the shooter from "jerking the trigger", allowing the remnant pressing force from the finger to be dampened via a "follow-through" motion. Although a perceivable overtravel can be felt as adding to the "creep" of the trigger break, it is not always considered a bad thing by some shooters. An overtravel stop will arrest the motion of the trigger blade and prevent excessive movement. When user releases

745-419: A 17-round capacity (which can be extended to 19 with an optional floor plate) or optional 24 or 33-round high-capacity magazines . For jurisdictions which restrict magazine capacity to 10 rounds, Glock offers single-stack, 10-round magazines. The magazines are made of steel and are overmolded with plastic. A steel spring drives a plastic follower. After the last cartridge has been fired, the slide remains open on

894-459: A barrel featuring a revised style of polygonal rifling (called the "Glock Marksman Barrel" by Glock), a deeper recessed barrel crown, omission of the finger grooves on the grip, a flared magazine well, and a reintroduction of a half-moon-shaped cutout on the bottom front of the grip. The locking block pin located above the trigger pin that was introduced in the third generation is omitted. Many internal parts were less conspicuously revised. "Gen 5"

1043-420: A body in space is defined by six parameters. Three of the parameters define the origin of the moving reference frame relative to the fixed frame. Three other parameters define the orientation of the moving frame relative to the fixed frame. A linkage is a collection of links connected by joints. Generally, the links are the structural elements and the joints allow movement. Perhaps the single most useful example

1192-485: A bright red frame, and Simunition-adapted practice pistols ("T"   models) a bright blue frame for easy identification. In 2009, the Glock   22   RTF2 (Rough Textured Frame 2) (chambered in .40 S&W ) was introduced. This pistol featured a new checkering texture around the grip and new scalloped (fish gill-shaped) serrations at the rear of the sides of the slide. Many of the existing models became available in

1341-477: A cartridge or loading the chamber, the hammer or striker will rest in a partially cocked position. The trigger serves the function of completing the cocking cycle and then releasing the striker or hammer. While technically two actions, it differs from a double-action trigger in that the trigger is not capable of fully cocking the striker or hammer. It differs from single-action in that if the striker or hammer were to release, it would generally not be capable of igniting

1490-505: A comparison microscope and an ABIS (Evofinder). Glock pistols lack a traditional on-off safety lever, which Glock markets as an advantage, especially to police departments, as the user is able to fire immediately without separately manipulating a safety. Instead, the pistols are designed with three independent safety mechanisms to prevent accidental discharge. The system, designated "Safe Action" by Glock, consists of an external integrated trigger safety and two automatic internal safeties:

1639-516: A contract to Glock to provide new 9×19mm Parabellum chambered duty pistols. The solicitation specifications deviated from the specifications of Glock fourth-generation models. Features found in the M series pistols evolved into what become Glock's Fifth Generation or Gen5 pistols. In August 2016, the Indianapolis Metro Police Department (IMPD) started training with a batch of Glock 17M pistols. The most obvious difference with

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1788-435: A degree of safety in the field compared to having a conventional, very light trigger. There are two types: single set and double set. Set triggers are most likely to be seen on customized weapons and competition rifles where a light trigger pull is beneficial to accuracy. A single set trigger is usually one trigger that may be fired with a conventional amount of trigger pull weight or may be "set" – usually by pushing forward on

1937-410: A firing pin safety and a drop safety. The external safety is a small inner lever contained in the trigger. Pressing the lever activates the trigger bar and sheet metal connector. The firing pin safety is a solid hardened steel pin that, in the secured state, blocks the firing pin channel (disabling the firing pin in its longitudinal axis). It is pushed upward to release the firing pin for firing only when

2086-424: A heavier weight and little or no discernible movement. A perceivably slow trigger break is often referred to as a "creep", and frequently described as an unfavorable feature. The trigger overtravel happens immediately after the break and is typically a short distance and can be considered an inertially accelerated motion caused by the residual push of the finger coupled with the sudden decrease in resistance after

2235-437: A height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) onto a steel plate. After firing 15,000 rounds of standard ammunition, the pistol was to be inspected for wear. The pistol was to then be used to fire an overpressure test cartridge generating 5,000 bar (500 MPa; 73,000 psi). The normal maximum operating pressure (P max ) for the 9 mm NATO is 2,520 bar (252 MPa; 36,500 psi). Glock became aware of

2384-407: A lower impact 6.1 mm (0.24 in) sight, and two higher impact versions – 6.9 mm (0.27 in) and 7.3 mm (0.29 in). The Glock pistol accessories available from the factory include several devices for tactical illumination, such as a series of front rail-mounted "Glock tactical lights" featuring a white tactical light and an optional visible laser sight. An alternate version of

2533-467: A manual safety that additionally may serve to decock the hammer. Some have a facility (generally a lever or button) to safely lower the hammer. As a disadvantage, these controls are often intermingled with other controls such as slide releases, magazine releases, take-down levers, takedown lever lock buttons, loaded chamber indicators, barrel tip-up levers, etc. These variables become confusing and require more complicated manuals-of-arms. One other disadvantage

2682-663: A matte gray-colored, nonglare surface with a 64 Rockwell C hardness rating and a 99% resistance to salt water corrosion (which meets or exceeds stainless steel specifications), making the Glock particularly suitable for individuals carrying the pistol concealed as the highly chloride-resistant finish allows the pistol to better endure the effects of perspiration. Glock steel parts using the Tenifer treatment are more corrosion resistant than analogous gun parts having other finishes or treatments, including Teflon , bluing , hard chrome plating , or phosphates. During 2010, Glock switched from

2831-486: A mechanism; examples are the steering mechanism in a car , or the winding mechanism of a wristwatch . However, typically, a set of multiple mechanisms is called a machine. From the time of Archimedes to the Renaissance , mechanisms were viewed as constructed from simple machines , such as the lever , pulley , screw , wheel and axle , wedge , and inclined plane . Reuleaux focused on bodies, called links , and

2980-546: A modified extractor that serves as a loaded chamber indicator , and the locking block was enlarged, along with the addition of an extra cross pin to aid the distribution of bolt thrust forces exerted by the locking block. This cross pin is known as the locking block pin and is located above the trigger pin. The polymer frames of third-generation models can be black, flat dark earth, or olive drab . Besides that, non-firing dummy pistols ("P"   models) and non-firing dummy pistols with resetting triggers ("R"   models) have

3129-448: A modified rough-textured frame (RTF-4), front grip strap with finger grooves, interchangeable backstraps of different sizes, and an accessory rail. "Gen4" is rollmarked on the slide next to the model number to identify the fourth-generation pistols. The basic grip size of the fourth-generation Glock pistols is slightly smaller compared to the previous design. A punch is provided to remove the standard trigger housing pin and replace it with

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3278-499: A notch cut on both sides of the magazine body. Earlier versions of the magazines will not lock into the Gen4 pistols if the user has moved the magazine release button to be operated by a left-handed user. Gen4 magazines will work in older models. Mechanically, fourth-generation Glock pistols are fitted with a dual recoil spring assembly to help reduce perceived recoil and increase service life expectancy. Earlier subcompact Glock models such as

3427-435: A polygonal profile consisting of a series of six or eight interconnected noncircular segments (only the .45 ACP and .45 GAP have octagonal polygonal rifling). Each depressed segment within the interior of the barrel is the equivalent of a groove in a conventional barrel. Thus, the interior of the barrel consists of smooth arcs of steel rather than sharply defined slots. Instead of using a traditional broaching machine to cut

3576-432: A proprietary nitriding process called Tenifer . The Tenifer treatment is applied in a 500 °C (932 °F) nitrate bath. The Tenifer finish is between 0.04 and 0.05 mm (0.0016 and 0.0020 in) in thickness, and is characterized by extreme resistance to wear and corrosion; it penetrates the metal, and treated parts have similar properties even below the surface to a certain depth. The Tenifer process produces

3725-508: A recoil spring exchange program in which the manufacturer voluntarily offers to exchange the recoil spring assemblies of its fourth-generation pistols (with the exception of the "subcompact" Glock 26 and Glock 27 models) sold before 22 July 2011 at no cost "to ensure our products perform up to GLOCK's stringent standards", according to the company. On 29 June 2016, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) awarded

3874-401: A required mechanical movement and power transmission. Glock Glock ( German: [ˈglɔk] ; stylized as GLOCK ) is a brand of polymer - framed , short-recoil -operated, striker-fired , locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H . The firearm entered Austrian military and police service in 1982 after becoming

4023-488: A result an external safety is sometimes employed. Double-action triggers provide the ability to fire the gun whether the hammer is cocked or uncocked. This feature is desirable for military, police, or self-defense pistols. The primary disadvantage of any double-action trigger is the extra length the trigger must be pulled and the extra weight required to overcome the spring tension of the hammer or striker. DA/SA pistols are versatile mechanisms. These firearms generally have

4172-495: A single-action mechanism altogether, more commonly DAO revolvers are modifications of existing DA/SA models, with identical internals, only with access to the hammer prevented, either by covering it with a shroud or by removing the thumb spur. In both cases, the goal is to prevent the possible snagging of the hammer spur on clothing or holster. Due to the imposed limitation in accuracy, the majority of DAO revolvers have been short-barrel, close-range "snub" weapons, where rapidity of draw

4321-423: A skeleton diagram that emphasises the joints and reduces the links to simple geometric elements. This diagram can also be formulated as a graph by representing the links of the mechanism as edges and the joints as vertices of the graph. This version of the kinematic diagram has proven effective in enumerating kinematic structures in the process of machine design. An important consideration in this design process

4470-611: A small flattened lever (called the trigger blade ) depressed by the index finger , but some weapons such as the M2 Browning machine gun or the Iron Horse TOR ("thumb-operated receiver") use a push-button -like thumb-actuated trigger design, and others like the Springfield Armory M6 Scout use a squeeze-bar trigger similar to the "ticklers" on medieval European crossbows . Although the word "trigger" technically implies

4619-401: A spring) the hammer/striker, rotating a revolver 's cylinder , deactivating internal safeties , transitioning between different firing modes (see progressive trigger ), or reducing the pull weight (see set trigger ). A single-action (SA) trigger is the earliest and mechanically simplest of trigger types. It is called "single-action" because it performs the single function of releasing

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4768-425: A subset of compliant mechanisms that produce a geometrically well-defined motion (rotation) on application of a force. A cam and follower mechanism is formed by the direct contact of two specially shaped links. The driving link is called the cam and the link that is driven through the direct contact of their surfaces is called the follower. The shape of the contacting surfaces of the cam and follower determines

4917-415: A trigger pull to both cock and trip the hammer/striker for every single shot, unlike a DA/SA, which only requires a double-action trigger pull for the first shot (or a typical DA/SA revolver, which can fire single action any time the user wishes but uses double-action as a default). This means that there is no single-action function for any shot, and the hammer or striker always rests in the down position until

5066-426: A way to catch the hammer on release; while the other two have three-position safety selectors and a way to capture the hammer on release. In these triggers, the third position activates the pull and release mode, while the center selector position causes the trigger to only drop the hammer when pulled. A set trigger allows a shooter to have a greatly reduced trigger pull (the resistance of the trigger) while maintaining

5215-403: A white dot on the front post and a rectangular border on the rear notch. Some newer rear sights can be adjusted for windage (on certain models due to the windage sights not coming as factory default), as it has a degree of lateral movement in the dovetail it is mounted in. Three other factory rear sight configurations are available in addition to the standard 6.5 mm (0.26 in) height sight:

5364-582: Is a device that transforms input forces and movement into a desired set of output forces and movement. Mechanisms generally consist of moving components which may include Gears and gear trains ; Belts and chain drives ; cams and followers ; Linkages ; Friction devices, such as brakes or clutches ; Structural components such as a frame, fasteners, bearings, springs, or lubricants; Various machine elements , such as splines, pins, or keys. German scientist Franz Reuleaux defines machine as "a combination of resistant bodies so arranged that by their means

5513-519: Is a short recoil –operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistol that uses a modified Browning cam-lock system adapted from the Hi-Power pistol. The firearm's locking mechanism uses a linkless, vertically tilting barrel with a rectangular breech that locks into the ejection port cut-out in the slide (the SIG Sauer system ). During the recoil stroke, the barrel moves rearward initially locked together with

5662-445: Is a trigger that must perform the double function of both cocking and releasing the hammer/striker. Such trigger design either has no internal sear mechanism capable of holding the hammer/striker in a still position (so cocking and releasing have to happen in one uninterrupted sequence), or has the whole hammer shrouded and/or with the thumb spur machined off, preventing the user from manipulating it separately. This design requires

5811-442: Is a two degree-of-freedom joint. It is possible to construct a mechanism such that the point trajectories in all components lie in concentric spherical shells around a fixed point. An example is the gimbaled gyroscope . These devices are called spherical mechanisms. Spherical mechanisms are constructed by connecting links with hinged joints such that the axes of each hinge pass through the same point. This point becomes centre of

5960-504: Is also known as traditional double-action (TDA), as the vast majority of modern "double-action" handguns (both revolvers and semi-automatic pistols ) use this type of trigger instead of "double-action only" (DAO). In simple terms, "double-action" refers to a trigger mechanism that both cocks the hammer and then releases the sear, thus performing two "acts", although it is supposed to describe doing both strictly with one trigger pull only. However, in practice most double-action guns feature

6109-442: Is common among police agencies and for small, personal protection firearms. The primary drawback is that the additional trigger pull weight and travel required for each shot reduces accuracy. Pre-set triggers offer a balance of pull weight, trigger travel, safety, and consistency. Glock popularized this trigger in modern pistols and many other manufacturers have released pre-set striker products of their own. The primary disadvantage

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6258-412: Is essential and limited accuracy is already an acceptable compromise. The purpose of a DAO action in a semi-automatic is mostly to avoid the change in trigger pull between the first and subsequent shots that one experiences in a DA/SA pistol, while avoiding the perceived danger of carrying a cocked single-action handgun, although it also avoids having to carry a cocked and loaded pistol, or having to lower

6407-418: Is essentially a firing pin directly loaded to a spring, eliminating the need to be struck by a separate hammer. The firing pin/striker then collides into the cartridge primer positioned ahead of it, which contains shock-sensitive compounds (e.g., lead styphnate ) that sparks to ignite the propellant powder within the cartridge case and thus discharges the projectile . The trapping interface between

6556-404: Is often considered the most critical stage of the trigger pull for achieving good practical accuracy, since it happens just prior to the shot being discharged and can cause some unwanted shakes from the shooter's hand at the instant of firing. Shooter preferences vary; some prefer a soft break with a smooth but discernible amount of trigger travel during firing, while others prefer a crisp break with

6705-457: Is pinned to the trigger mechanism housing. Pistols after 2002 have a reshaped extractor that serves as a loaded chamber indicator. When a cartridge is present in the chamber, a tactile metal edge protrudes slightly out immediately behind the ejection port on the right side of the slide. The striker firing mechanism has a spring-loaded firing pin that is cocked in two stages that the firing pin spring powers. The factory-standard firing pin spring

6854-402: Is rated at 24  N (5.4  lb f ), but by using a modified firing pin spring, it can be increased to 28 N (6.3 lb f ) or to 31 N (7.0 lb f ). When the pistol is charged, the firing pin is in the half-cock position. As the trigger is pulled, the firing pin is then fully cocked. At the end of its travel, the trigger bar is tilted downward by the connector, releasing

7003-458: Is rated at 25  N (5.6  lb f ), but by using a modified connector, it can be increased to 35 N (7.9 lb f ) or lowered to 20 N (4.5 lb f ). In response to a request made by American law enforcement agencies for a two-stage trigger with increased trigger pull, Glock introduced the NY1 (New York) trigger module, which features a flat spring in a plastic housing that replaces

7152-481: Is retained in the frame by a steel axis pin that holds the trigger and slide catch. The trigger housing is held to the frame by means of a polymer pin. A spring-loaded sheet-metal pressing serves as the slide catch, which is secured from unintentional manipulation by a raised guard molded into the frame. Because of its polymer construction, there were initially fears that Glock pistols would be invisible to airport X-ray machines , making them easy to illegally import into

7301-483: Is rollmarked on the slide next to the model number to identify the fifth-generation pistols. The "Gen 5" slide can feature front serrations (FS) to provide an additional tactile traction surface choice. The magazines were also revised for the fifth-generation models: the redesigned magazine floor plates feature a frontward protruding lip to offer grip for manual assisted extraction and the magazine follower became orange colored for easier visual identification. The Glock 17

7450-408: Is that pulling the trigger a second time after a failure to fire will not re-strike the primer. In normal handling of the firearm, this is not an issue; loading the gun requires that the slide be retracted, pre-setting the striker. Clearing a malfunction also usually involves retracting the slide following the " tap rack bang " procedure. Mechanism (engineering) In engineering , a mechanism

7599-473: Is that the follower moves slightly and helps to rotate the cam six times more circumference length with 70% of the force. The transmission of rotation between contacting toothed wheels can be traced back to the Antikythera mechanism of Greece and the south-pointing chariot of China. Illustrations by the Renaissance scientist Georgius Agricola show gear trains with cylindrical teeth. The implementation of

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7748-467: Is the degree of freedom of the system of links and joints, which is determined using the Chebychev–Grübler–Kutzbach criterion . While all mechanisms in a mechanical system are three-dimensional, they can be analysed using plane geometry if the movement of the individual components is constrained so that all point trajectories are parallel or in a series connection to a plane. In this case

7897-482: Is the difference between the first double-action pull and subsequent single-action pulls. DAO firearms resolve some DA/SA shortcomings by making every shot a double-action shot. Because there is no difference in pull weights, training and practice are simplified. Additionally, the heavier trigger pull can help to prevent a negligent discharge under stress. This is a particular advantage for a police pistol. These weapons also generally lack any type of external safety. DAO

8046-506: Is the planar four-bar linkage . There are, however, many more special linkages: A compliant mechanism is a series of rigid bodies connected by compliant elements. These mechanisms have many advantages, including reduced part-count, reduced "slop" between joints (no parasitic motion because of gaps between parts ), energy storage, low maintenance (they don't require lubrication and there is low mechanical wear), and ease of manufacture. Flexure bearings (also known as flexure joints ) are

8195-399: Is to rack the slide, clearing the round and recocking the hammer. While this can be advantageous in that many rounds will fire on being struck a second time, and it is faster to pull the trigger a second time than to cycle the action, if the round fails to fire on the second strike, the user will be forced to clear the round anyway, thus using up even more time than if they had simply done so in

8344-633: The Austrian Armed Forces announced that it would seek tenders for a new, modern duty pistol to replace their World War II –era Walther P38 handguns. The Federal Ministry of Defence of Austria formulated a list of 17 criteria for the new generation service pistol, including requirements that it would be self loading ; fire the NATO -standard 9×19mm Parabellum round; the magazines were not to require any means of assistance for loading; be secure against accidental discharge from shock, strike, and drop from

8493-546: The Austrian Army 's planned procurement, and in 1982, assembled a team of Europe's leading handgun experts from military, police, and civilian sport-shooting circles to define the most desirable characteristics in a combat pistol. Within three months, Glock had developed a working prototype that combined proven mechanisms and traits from previous pistol designs. In addition, the plan was to make extensive use of synthetic materials and modern manufacturing technologies, which led to

8642-868: The Browning Hi-Power , and the Austrian Steyr Mannlicher entered the competition with the GB ). The results of the Austrian trials sparked a wave of interest in Western Europe and overseas, particularly in the United States, where a similar effort to select a service-wide replacement for the M1911 had been going on since the late 1970s (known as the Joint Service Small Arms Program ). In late 1983,

8791-622: The LeMat , as well as early metallic cartridge revolvers such as the Colt Model 1873 "Single Action Army" (named for its trigger mechanism) and Smith & Wesson Model 3 , all of which required a thumb to cock the hammer before firing. Single-action triggers with manually cocked external hammers lasted a while longer in some break-action shotguns and in dangerous game rifles, where the hunter did not want to rely on an unnecessarily complex or fragile weapon. While single-action revolvers never lost favor in

8940-544: The Smith & Wesson Centennial , the Type 26 Revolver , and the Enfield No. 2 Mk I* and Mk I** revolvers, in which there is no external hammer spur, or which simply lack the internal sear mechanism capable of holding the hammer in the cocked position. A double-action/single-action (DA/SA) trigger is a hybrid design combining the features of both single- and double-action mechanisms. It

9089-589: The Smith & Wesson Model 27 , S&W Model 60 , the Colt Police Positive , Colt Python , etc. Early double-action revolvers included the Beaumont–Adams and Tranter black-powder muzzleloaders . There are some revolvers that can only be fired in double-action mode (DAO), but that is almost always due to existing double-action/single-action models being modified so that the hammer cannot be cocked manually, rather than from weapons designed that way from

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9238-654: The United States Department of Defense inquired about the Glock pistol and received four samples of the Glock   17 for unofficial evaluation. Glock was then invited to participate in the XM9 Personal Defense Pistol Trials, but declined because the DOD specifications would require extensive retooling of production equipment and providing 35 test samples in an unrealistic time frame. In 1985, after joint Norwegian and Swedish trials from 1983 to 1985,

9387-425: The involute tooth yielded a standard gear design that provides a constant speed ratio. Some important features of gears and gear trains are: The design of mechanisms to achieve a particular movement and force transmission is known as the kinematic synthesis of mechanisms . This is a set of geometric techniques which yield the dimensions of linkages, cam and follower mechanisms, and gears and gear trains to perform

9536-473: The kinetic energy from the spring releasing, and a firing pin to eventually strike and ignite the primer. There are two primary types of striking mechanisms – hammer and striker . A hammer is a pivoting metallic component subjected to spring tension so when released will swing forward to strike a firing pin like a mallet hitting a punch / chisel , which then relays the hammer impulse by moving forward rapidly along its longitudinal axis. A striker

9685-452: The "fifth generation" or "Gen 5". The revisions centered on ergonomics and improving reliability. Many parts of fifth-generation Glock pistols cannot be interchanged with those of the previous generations. The two fifth-generation models announced were the Glock 17 and Glock 19, chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum. Some conspicuous changes on the fifth-generation models are ambidextrous slide stop levers, DLC surface finish for barrel and slide,

9834-843: The Austrian Armaments and Defence Technology Agency, the Glock P80 was clearly superior to other handguns in terms of performance, handling, charging capacity and price. The handgun was adopted into service with the Austrian military and law enforcement in 1982 as the Pistole 80 (P80), with an initial order for 25,000 guns. The Glock   17 outperformed eight different pistols from five other established manufacturers ( Heckler & Koch of Germany offered their P7M8 , P7M13 , and P9S , SIG Sauer of Switzerland bid with their P220 and P226 models, Beretta of Italy submitted their model 92SB-F , FN Herstal of Belgium proposed an updated variant of

9983-409: The Glock   17 becoming a cost-effective candidate. Several samples of the Glock   17 (so named corresponding to its magazine capacity or because it was the 17th patent procured by the company) were submitted for assessment trials in early 1982, and after passing all of the exhaustive endurance and abuse tests, the Glock emerged as the winner. According to Friedrich Dechant, former head of

10132-600: The Glock   17 was accepted into service as the P80 in Norway, and in 1988 as the Pistol 88 in Sweden, where it surpassed all prior NATO durability standards. As a result, the Glock   17 became a standard NATO-classified sidearm and was granted a NATO Stock Number (1005-25-133-6775). By 1992, some 350,000   pistols had been sold in more than 45   countries, including 250,000 in

10281-488: The Glock 19 and Glock 23, the reduced size "compact" versions of the Glock 17 and Glock 22, became available for retail. In late 2010, Glock continued the introduction of fourth-generation models with the Glock 26 and Glock 27 "subcompact" variants. In January 2013, more fourth-generation Glock pistols were introduced commercially during the annual SHOT Show, including the Glock 20 Generation 4 along with other fourth-generation Glock models. In September 2011, Glock announced

10430-554: The Glock 26 and Glock 30 have already used a dual recoil spring assembly that was carried over to the fourth-generation versions of those models. The slide and barrel shelf have been resized, and the front portion of the polymer frame has been widened and internally enlarged, to accommodate the dual recoil spring assembly. The trigger mechanism housing has also been modified to fit into the smaller-sized grip space. The introduction of fourth-generation Glock pistols continued in July 2010 when

10579-409: The Glock pistols involved the addition of checkering on the front strap and trigger guard and checkering and serrations to the back strap. These versions, introduced in 1988, were informally referred to as "second-generation" or Gen2 models, though Glock did not mark the pistols Gen2. In 1991, an integrated recoil spring assembly replaced the original two-piece recoil spring and tube design. The magazine

10728-485: The Glock third- and fourth-generation models on published images is the omission of finger grooves on the grip. In October of that year, the IMPD issued a 17M voluntary recall following failures encountered while dry firing the pistols during training. According to Major Riddle with the IMPD, "Glock is working to correct the problem and we hope to begin issuing the new [17Ms] as soon as December." In August 2017, Glock presented

10877-534: The ILS renders the Glock unfireable, as well as making it impossible to disassemble. When disengaged, the ILS adds no further safety mechanisms to the Glock pistol. The ILS is available as an option on most Glock pistols. Glock pistols cannot be retrofitted to accommodate the ILS. The lock must be factory-built in Austria and shipped as a special order. The Glock 17 feeds from staggered-column or double stack magazines that have

11026-472: The Internal Locking System (ILS) safety feature named Glock Safety Lock. The ILS is a manually activated lock located in the back of the pistol's grip. It is cylindrical in design and, according to Glock, each key is unique. When activated, the lock causes a tab to protrude from the rear of the grip, giving both a visual and tactile indication as to whether the lock is engaged or not. When activated,

11175-786: The R9GSP trials. The French Armed Forces (FAF) in 2020 began replacing their MAC Mle 1950 and, to a lesser extent, their PAMAS G1 pistols with Glock   17   Gen   5 models specifically made for the FAF. The French preferred the Glock   17   Gen   5 over the HS2000 and CZ P-10 offerings that also made it to the final selection phase. Glock has updated its basic design several times throughout its production history. The first-generation (Gen 1) Glock pistols are most notably recognized by their smoother "pebble finish" grip and finger groove-less frames. The Gen 1 frame pattern and design

11324-529: The RTF2   version, including the 17, 31, 32, 23, 21, and 19. Some of those did not have the fish gills. At the 2010 SHOT Show , Glock presented the "fourth generation", now dubbed "Gen4" by Glock itself. Updates centered on ergonomics and the recoil spring assembly. The initial two fourth-generation models announced were the full-sized Glock 17 and Glock 22, chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W cartridges, respectively. The pistols were displayed with

11473-560: The US right up until the birth of the semi-automatic pistol , double-action revolvers such as the Beaumont–Adams were designed in Europe before the American Civil War broke out and saw great popularity all through the latter half of the 19th century, with certain numbers being sold in the US as well. While many European and some American revolvers were designed as double-action models throughout

11622-632: The US were from the AF000   series in January 1986, followed by AH000, AK000, and AL000. These early Glock   (Gen 1) pistols (serial number prefix   AF through AM) were also manufactured with a barrel that had a smaller overall diameter and thinner bore walls, later known as "pencil barrels". These early Glock   17 "pencil barrel" pistols are considered rare and highly desirable by Glock collectors. The barrels were later redesigned with thicker bore walls, and manufacturing continued to evolve and improve

11771-701: The United States alone. Starting in 2013, the British Armed Forces began replacing the Browning Hi-Power pistol with the Glock   17   Gen   4, due to concerns about weight and the external safety of the Hi-Power. The British preferred the Glock   17   Gen   4 over the Beretta Px4 Storm , FN FNP , Heckler & Koch P30 , SIG Sauer P226 , Smith & Wesson M&P , and Steyr M 9A1 of which 19 pistols each, all chambered in 9×19   mm   Parabellum, were entered in

11920-553: The United States in 1985 failed to meet the BATF import "points" requirement, requiring Glock to quickly develop an adjustable rear sight which allowed for the pistols to be imported and sold commercially in 1986. It is believed that Glock designed and created this adjustable rear sight over a weekend in order to meet the ATF's importation requirements, and so it was dubbed the "weekend" sight. These first-generation adjustable rear sights extended past

12069-549: The United States. In actuality, 84% of the gun's weight is from steel, and Polymer 2 is visible to X-ray machines. The myth's prevalence is believed to be connected to a scene that perpetuated the myth in Die Hard 2 , which released a few years after the Glock was invented. In 1988, the Undetectable Firearms Act was passed in the United States, banning the manufacture or import of any gun that could pass undetected through

12218-461: The additional function of cocking the hammer – and there are many designs where the trigger is used for a range of other functions. Firearms use triggers to initiate the firing of a cartridge seated within the gun barrel chamber . This is accomplished by actuating a striking device through a combination of mainspring (which stores elastic energy ), a trap mechanism that can hold the spring under tension , an intermediate mechanism to transmit

12367-520: The barrel, slide, frame, magazine, and recoil-spring assembly. The firearm is designed for the NATO-standard 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge, but can use high-power (increased pressure) +P ammunition with either full-metal-jacket or jacketed hollow-point projectiles. The hammer-forged barrel has a female type polygonal rifling with a right-hand twist. The stabilization of the round is not by conventional rifling , using lands and grooves, but rather through

12516-447: The cocked position when it is pulled to the rear and the trigger is not depressed. In a revolver , this means that simply squeezing the trigger when the hammer is lowered will both cock and release it. If the user uses their thumb to pull the hammer to the back, but does not press the trigger, the mechanism will lock the hammer in the cocked position until the trigger is pressed, just like a single action. Firing in double-action mode allows

12665-480: The combustion gases trapped behind the bullet, slightly greater (consistency in) muzzle velocities, and increased accuracy and ease of maintenance. The newer lines of Glock pistols—i.e. Gen5, G42/43—are equipped with the Glock Marksmanship Barrel , or GMB. While older barrels were somewhat difficult to identify a bullet as coming from a particular barrel with high enough reliability for evidentiary use,

12814-409: The concentric spherical shells. The movement of these mechanisms is characterised by the group SO(3) of rotations in three-dimensional space. Other examples of spherical mechanisms are the automotive differential and the robotic wrist. The rotation group SO(3) is three-dimensional. An example of the three parameters that specify a spatial rotation are the roll, pitch and yaw angles used to define

12963-402: The connections between these bodies, called kinematic pairs , or joints. To use geometry to study the movement of a mechanism, its links are modelled as rigid bodies . This means that distances between points in a link are assumed to not change as the mechanism moves—that is, the link does not flex. Thus, the relative movement between points in two connected links is considered to result from

13112-420: The design of Glock pistols. Many of the first-generation Glocks were shipped and sold in the iconic " Tupperware " style plastic boxes. The earliest Glock boxes had ammunition storage compartments that allowed for 17 rounds of 9mm to be stored with the pistol. This box design was later changed by Glock to meet BATF import requirements, and the ammunition storage compartments were removed. A mid-life upgrade to

13261-401: The entire mechanism (known as the trigger group ), colloquially it is usually used to refer specifically to the trigger blade. Most firearm triggers are "single-action", meaning that the trigger is designed only for the single function of disengaging the sear , which allows for a spring -tensioned hammer / striker to be released. In "double-action" firearm designs, the trigger also performs

13410-607: The factory. A release trigger releases the hammer or striker when the trigger is released by the shooter, rather than when it is pulled. A binary trigger is a trigger for a semiautomatic firearm that drops the hammer both when the trigger is pulled, and also when it is released. Examples include the AR-15 series of rifles, produced by Franklin Armory, Fostech Outdoors, and Liberty Gun Works. The AR-15 trigger as produced by Liberty Gun Works only functions in pull and release mode, and does not have

13559-433: The firing pin to fire the cartridge. The connector resets the trigger bar so that the firing pin will be captured in half-cock at the end of the firing cycle. This is known as a preset trigger mechanism, referred to as the "Safe action" trigger by the manufacturer. The connector ensures the pistol can only fire semiautomatically. The factory-standard, two-stage trigger has a trigger travel of 12.5 mm (0.49 in) and

13708-421: The first place. The Taurus PT 24/7 Pro pistol (not to be confused with the first-generation 24/7 which was a traditional pre-set) offered this feature starting in 2006. The Walther P99 Anti-Stress is another example. A double-crescent trigger provides select fire capability without the need for a fire mode selector switch. Pressing the upper segment of the trigger produced semi-automatic fire, while holding

13857-406: The following cases: Higher pairs: Generally, a higher pair is a constraint that requires a line or point contact between the elemental surfaces. For example, the contact between a cam and its follower is a higher pair called a cam joint . Similarly, the contact between the involute curves that form the meshing teeth of two gears are cam joints. A kinematic diagram reduces machine components to

14006-481: The hammer from accidentally dropping, or a " decocker " – a lever that safely and gently drops the hammer (i.e. decocks the gun ) without fear of the gun firing. The latter is the more popular because, without a decocker, the user is forced to lower the hammer by hand onto a loaded chamber, with all of the attendant safety risks that involves, to return the gun to double-action mode. Revolvers almost never feature safeties, since they are traditionally carried un-cocked, and

14155-430: The hammer is manually lowered again. This gives the positive aspects of a single-action trigger without the need to carry "cocked and locked" (with a loaded chamber and cocked hammer), or with an empty chamber, which requires the user to chamber a round before firing. A potential drawback of a DA/SA weapon is that the shooter must be comfortable dealing with two different trigger pulls: the longer, heavier DA first pull and

14304-637: The hammer on a loaded chamber, if one only fires a partial magazine. A good example of this action in a semi-automatic is the SIG Sauer DAK trigger, or the DAO action of the Sig P250 . For striker-fired pistols such as the Taurus 24/7 , the striker will remain in the rest position through the entire reloading cycle. This term applies most often to semi-automatic handguns; however, the term can also apply to some revolvers such as

14453-663: The hammer requires the user to physically cock it prior to every shot; unlike a DA/SA gun, which cocks itself every time the slide is cycled. There are many examples of DA/SA semi-automatics, the Little Tom Pistol being the first, followed up by the Walther PPK and Walther P38 . Modern examples include weapons such as the Beretta 92 , among others. Almost all revolvers that are not specified as single-action models are capable of firing in both double- and single-action mode, for example,

14602-498: The hammer/striker (and nothing else), while the hammer/striker must be cocked by separate means. Almost all single-shot and repeating long arms (rifles, shotguns , submachine guns , machine guns, etc.) use this type of trigger. The "classic" single-action revolver of the mid-to-late 19th century includes black powder caplock muzzleloaders such as the Colt 1860 "Army" Model , and Colt 1851 "Navy" Model , and European models like

14751-400: The ideal connections between links kinematic pairs . He distinguished between higher pairs , with line contact between the two links, and lower pairs , with area contact between the links. J. Phillips shows that there are many ways to construct pairs that do not fit this simple model. Lower pair: A lower pair is an ideal joint that has surface contact between the pair of elements, as in

14900-401: The kinematic pair that joins them. Kinematic pairs, or joints, are considered to provide ideal constraints between two links, such as the constraint of a single point for pure rotation, or the constraint of a line for pure sliding, as well as pure rolling without slipping and point contact with slipping. A mechanism is modelled as an assembly of rigid links and kinematic pairs. Reuleaux called

15049-465: The late 1930s and early 1940s, Walther introduced the first "double-action" (actually DA/SA hybrid) semi-automatic pistols, the PPK and P.38 models, which featured a revolver-style double-action trigger, allowing the weapon to be carried with a round chambered and the hammer lowered. After the first shot, they would fire subsequent shots like a single-action pistol. These pistols rapidly gained popularity, and

15198-420: The late 19th century, for the first half of the 20th century, all semi-automatic pistols were single-action weapons, requiring the weapon to be carried cocked and loaded with the safety on, or uncocked with an empty chamber ( Colt M1911 , Mauser C96 , Luger P.08 , Tokarev TT , Browning Hi-Power ). The difference between these weapons and single-action revolvers is that while a single-action revolver requires

15347-429: The longer cross pin needed to mount the medium or large backstrap that will increase the trigger distance by 2 mm (0.079 in) or 4 mm (0.16 in). With the medium backstrap installed, the grip size is identical to the third-generation pistols. The magazine release catches are enlarged and reversible for left-handed use. To use the exchangeable magazine release feature, fourth-generation Glock magazines have

15496-444: The lower segment of the trigger produced fully automatic fire. Though considered innovative at the time, the feature was eliminated on most firearms due to its complexity. Examples include MG 34 , Kulsprutegevär m/40 automatic rifle , M1946 Sieg automatic rifle , Osario Selectiva, and Star Model Z62 . A progressive , or staged trigger allows different firing rates based on how far it is depressed. For example, when pulled lightly,

15645-472: The mechanical forces of nature can be compelled to do work accompanied by certain determinate motion". In this context, his use of machine is generally interpreted to mean mechanism . The combination of force and movement defines power , and a mechanism manages power to achieve a desired set of forces and movement. A mechanism is usually a piece of a larger process, known as a mechanical system or machine . Sometimes an entire machine may be referred to as

15794-412: The movement of the mechanism. In general a cam and follower mechanism's energy is transferred from cam to follower. The camshaft is rotated and, according to the cam profile, the follower moves up and down. Nowadays, slightly different types of eccentric cam followers are also available, in which energy is transferred from the follower to the cam. The main benefit of this type of cam and follower mechanism

15943-471: The newer GMB ones are designed differently. A study by Stephen Christen and Hans Rudolf Jordi, published by Forensic Science International in February 2019, shows that the new GMB barrels leave more identifiably unique markings on the fired projectile. These marks were more easily identified than previous pistol barrel markings, and were sufficient for reliably tying a bullet to a particular barrel. The study used

16092-415: The optional ability to cock the hammer separately, reducing the trigger to perform just one action. This is opposed to "double-action only" firearms, which completely lack the capability to fire in single-action mode. In a DA/SA trigger, the mechanism is designed with an internal sear that allows the trigger to both cock and release the hammer/striker when fully pulled, or to merely lock the hammer/striker in

16241-460: The orientation of an aircraft. A mechanism in which a body moves through a general spatial movement is called a spatial mechanism . An example is the RSSR linkage, which can be viewed as a four-bar linkage in which the hinged joints of the coupler link are replaced by rod ends , also called spherical joints or ball joints . The rod ends let the input and output cranks of the RSSR linkage be misaligned to

16390-456: The origin of a coordinate frame in F , and the angle measured from the x -axis in F to the x -axis in M . This is often described saying a body in the plane has three degrees of freedom . The pure rotation of a hinge and the linear translation of a slider can be identified with subgroups of SE, and define the two joints as one degree-of-freedom joints of planar mechanisms. The cam joint formed by two surfaces in sliding and rotating contact

16539-493: The pistol to be fired immediately after being submerged in water. They feature additional openings that allow liquids to flow and escape around them, offering enhanced reliability when water has penetrated into the firing pin assembly channel. Magazine floor plates (or +2 baseplates), which expand the capacity of the standard magazines by two rounds, are available for models chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum, .45 GAP, .40 S&W, .357 SIG , and .380 ACP cartridges. In addition to

16688-413: The point that they lie in different planes, which causes the coupler link to move in a general spatial movement. Robot arms , Stewart platforms , and humanoid robotic systems are also examples of spatial mechanisms. Bennett's linkage is an example of a spatial overconstrained mechanism , which is constructed from four hinged joints. The group SE(3) is six-dimensional, which means the position of

16837-543: The primer. Examples of pre-set strikers are the Glock , Smith & Wesson M&P , Springfield Armory XD -S variant (only), Kahr Arms , FN FNS series and Ruger SR series pistols. This type of trigger mechanism is sometimes referred to as a Striker Fired Action or SFA. Examples of pre-set hammers are the Kel-Tec P-32 and Ruger LCP pistols. Pre-set hybrid triggers are similar to a DA/SA trigger in reverse. The first pull of

16986-452: The rifling into the bore, the hammer forging process involves beating a slowly rotating mandrel through the bore to obtain the hexagonal or octagonal shape. As a result, the barrel's thickness in the area of each groove is not compromised as with conventional square-cut barrels. This has the advantage of providing a better gas seal behind the projectile as the bore has a slightly smaller diameter, which translates into more efficient use of

17135-434: The salt bath nitriding Tenifer process to a not exactly disclosed gas nitriding process. After applying the nitriding process, a black Parkerized decorative surface finish is applied. The underlying nitriding treatment will remain, protecting these parts even if the decorative surface finish were to wear off. A fourth generation Glock 17 consists of 34 parts. For maintenance, the pistol disassembles into five main groups:

17284-543: The sear reaches the point of release, which is described as resembling the breaking of rigid materials when the strength fails under stress . The actuation force required to overcome the sear resistance during the break is known as the trigger weight , which is usually measured with a force gauge in newtons in SI units , or alternatively kilograms or grams in metric units, and pounds and/or ounces in US customary units . The break

17433-552: The second stage to fire a shot. The Glock's frame, magazine body, and several other components are made from a high-strength nylon-based polymer invented by Gaston Glock, called Polymer 2. This plastic was specially formulated to provide increased durability and is more resilient than carbon steel and most steel alloys . Polymer 2 is resistant to shock, caustic liquids , and temperature extremes where traditional steel/alloy frames would warp and become brittle. The injection-molded frame contains four hardened steel guide rails for

17582-401: The set trigger, and then pulling the firing trigger. A double set, double phase trigger can be operated as a standard trigger if the set trigger is not pulled, or as a set trigger by first pulling the set trigger. Double set, double phase triggers offer the versatility of both a standard trigger and a set trigger. Pre-set strikers and hammers apply only to semi-automatic handguns. Upon firing

17731-432: The shorter, lighter subsequent SA pulls. The difference between these trigger pulls can affect the accuracy of the crucial first few shots in an emergency situation. Although there is little need for a safety on a DA/SA handgun when carrying it loaded with the hammer down, after the first shots are fired, the hammer will be cocked and the chamber loaded. Thus, most DA/SA guns either feature a conventional safety that prevents

17880-405: The shortest, lightest, and smoothest pull available. The pull is also consistent from shot to shot so no adjustments in technique are needed for proper accuracy. On a single-action revolver, for which the hammer must be manually cocked prior to firing, an added level of safety is present. On a semi-automatic, the hammer will be cocked and made ready to fire by the process of chambering a round, and as

18029-418: The slide about 3 mm (0.12 in) until the bullet leaves the barrel and chamber pressure drops to a safe level. A ramped lug extension at the base of the barrel then interacts with a tapered locking block integrated into the frame, forcing the barrel down and unlocking it from the slide. This camming action terminates the barrel's movement while the slide continues back under recoil, extracting and ejecting

18178-466: The slide and magazine release. For example, the subcompact Glock 26 will accept magazines from both the full-size Glock 17 and the compact Glock 19, but the Glock 17 will not accept magazines from the smaller Glock 19 or the Glock 26. The magazines for the Glock 36, the Glock 42, the Glock 43, and the Glock 44 are all unique; they cannot use magazines intended for another model, nor can their magazines be used in other models. The first Glock pistols sent to

18327-457: The slide and were susceptible to breaking. Even on later models, the front sight can easily become misshapen from friction against the holster, leading to replacements with metal sights, or tritium illuminated night sights. More commonly today, the Glock 17 has a fixed polymer combat-type sighting arrangement that consists of a ramped front sight and a notched rear sight with white contrast elements painted on for increased acquisition speed –

18476-520: The slide stop. The slide stop release lever is located on the left side of the frame directly beneath the slide and can be manipulated by the thumb of the right-handed shooter. Glock magazines are interchangeable between models of the same caliber, meaning that a compact or subcompact pistol will accept magazines designed for the larger pistols chambered for the same round. However, magazines designed for compact and subcompact models will not function in larger pistols because they are not tall enough to reach

18625-428: The slide: two at the rear of the frame, and the remaining pair above and in front of the trigger guard. The trigger guard itself is squared off at the front and checkered. The grip has an angle of 109° and a nonslip, stippled surface on the sides and both the front and rear straps. The frame houses the locking block, which is an investment casting that engages a 45° camming surface on the barrel's lower camming lug. It

18774-477: The spent cartridge casing. The slide's uninterrupted rearward movement and counter-recoil cycle are characteristic of the Browning system. Glock pistols incorporate a number of features intended to enhance reliability in adverse conditions, such as utilizing advanced metal coatings, "stub" slide guides instead of true frame rails, and an unusual cocking mechanism wherein the trigger is partially responsible for cocking

18923-508: The standard nonadjustable polymer sight line, three alternative sight lines are offered by Glock. These consist of steel, adjustable, and self-illuminating tritium night rear sights and factory steel and self-illuminating tritium contrast pointer steel front sights. The Glock 17 along with many variants can accept pistol conversion kits, with one such example being the FAB-Defense KPOS Scout. They can also accept special stocks like

19072-407: The striker. By relying partially on force from the shooter's trigger finger to cock the striker, a Glock effectively reduces the load on the recoil spring as the slide moves forward into battery, whereas almost all other striker-fired pistols on the market rely fully on the recoil spring to cock the striker. The slide features a spring-loaded claw extractor , and the stamped sheet metal ejector

19221-437: The system is called a planar mechanism . The kinematic analysis of planar mechanisms uses the subset of Special Euclidean group SE , consisting of planar rotations and translations, denoted by SE. The group SE is three-dimensional, which means that every position of a body in the plane is defined by three parameters. The parameters are often the x and y coordinates of the origin of a coordinate frame in M , measured from

19370-498: The tactical light using an invisible infrared light and laser sight is available, designed to be used with an infrared night vision device . Another lighting accessory is an adapter to mount a flashlight onto the bottom of a magazine. Polymer holsters in various configurations and matching magazine pouches are available. In addition, Glock produces optional triggers, recoil springs, slide stops, magazine release levers, and maritime spring cups. Maritime spring cups are designed to allow

19519-404: The takeup. Setting the takeup travel (also known as the first stage) to near zero essentially makes the trigger a single-stage trigger. Some single-stage triggers (e.g., Glock Safe Action trigger, Savage AccuTrigger ) have an integral safety with a noticeable spring resistance that can functionally mimic a two-stage trigger. The trigger break is named for the sudden loss of resistance when

19668-402: The time his first pistol, the Glock   17, was being prototyped . Glock had extensive experience in advanced synthetic polymers , which was instrumental in the company's design of the first commercially successful line of pistols with a polymer frame. Glock introduced ferritic nitrocarburizing into the firearms industry as an anticorrosion surface treatment for metal gun parts. In 1980,

19817-524: The top performer in reliability and safety tests. Glock pistols have become the company's most profitable line of products, and have been supplied to national armed forces, security agencies, and police forces in at least 48 countries. Glocks are also popular firearms among civilians for recreational and competition shooting , home- and self-defense, both in concealed or open carry . The company's founder and head engineer, Gaston Glock (1929–2023), had no experience with firearms design or manufacture at

19966-411: The traditional single-action-only pistols rapidly lost favor, although they still retain a dedicated following among enthusiasts. Today, a typical revolver or semi-automatic pistol is a DA/SA one, carried in double-action mode but firing most of its shots in single-action mode. A double-action trigger, also known as double-action only (DAO) to prevent confusion with the more common hybrid DA/SA designs,

20115-401: The trigger and the hammer/striker is typically referred to as the sear surface. Variable mechanisms will have this surface directly on the trigger and hammer or have separate sears or other connecting parts. The trigger pull can be divided into three mechanical stages: When considering the practical accuracy of a firearm, the trigger takeup is often considered the least critical stage of

20264-459: The trigger bar's standard coil spring. This trigger modification is available in two versions: NY1 and NY2 that are rated at 25 N (5.6 lb f ) to 40 N (9.0 lb f ) and 32 N (7.2 lb f ) to 50 N (11.2 lb f ), respectively, which require about 20 N (4.5 lb f ) to 30 N (6.7 lb f ) of force to disengage the safeties and another 10 N (2.2 lb f ) to 20 N (4.5 lb f ) in

20413-414: The trigger break. It can be a very critical factor for accuracy because shaking movements during this phase may precede the projectile leaving the barrel and is especially important with firearms with long barrels, slow projectiles and heavy trigger weights, where the more significant resistance drop can make the trigger finger overshoot and shake in an uncontrolled fashion. Having some overtravel provides

20562-429: The trigger is actuated and the safety is pushed up through the backward movement of the trigger bar. The drop safety guides the trigger bar in a ramp that is released only when direct rearward pressure is applied to the trigger. The three safety mechanisms are automatically disengaged one after the other when the trigger is squeezed, and are automatically reactivated when the trigger is released. In 2003, Glock announced

20711-409: The trigger is pre-set. If the striker or hammer fail to discharge the cartridge, the trigger may be pulled again and will operate as a double-action only (DAO) until the cartridge discharges or the malfunction is cleared. This allows the operator to attempt a second time to fire a cartridge after a misfire malfunction, as opposed to a single-action, in which the only thing to do if a round fails to fire

20860-479: The trigger is tasked to perform, a.k.a. the trigger action (not to be confused with the action of the whole firearm , which refers to all the components that help handle the cartridge, including the magazine , bolt , hammer and firing pin / striker , extractor and ejector in addition to the trigger). While a trigger is primarily designed to set off a shot by releasing the hammer/striker, it may also perform additional functions such as cocking (loading against

21009-431: The trigger pull begins. With semi-automatics, this means that unlike DA/SA weapons, the hammer does not remain cocked after the first round is fired, and every shot is in double-action mode. With revolvers, this means that one does not have the option of cocking the gun before shooting and must always shoot it in double action mode. Although there have been revolvers that were designed with trigger mechanisms totally lacking

21158-409: The trigger pull. Often triggers are classified as either single-stage or two-stage based on the takeup. A single-stage trigger is often called direct trigger and is popular on hunting rifles. A two-stage trigger is often called pressure trigger and is popular on competition rifles. Some fully adjustable triggers can be adjusted to function as either a single-stage or two-stage trigger by adjusting

21307-425: The trigger, and it travels to its resting position. On semiauto firearms the movement eventually passes by reset position where trigger-disconnector mechanism resets itself to its resting state, in which pulling the trigger releases the sear. The reset event does not occur in double action firearms and in full auto firearms. There are numerous types of trigger designs, typically categorized according to which functions

21456-513: The trigger, or by pushing forward on a small lever attached to the rear of the trigger. This takes up the trigger slack (or "take-up") in the trigger and allows for a much lighter trigger pull. This is colloquially known as a hair trigger . A double set trigger achieves the same result, but uses two triggers: one sets the trigger and the other fires the weapon. Double set triggers can be further classified into two different phases. A double set, single phase trigger can only be operated by first pulling

21605-485: The user to manually cock the hammer before each firing, a single-action semi-automatic pistol only requires manual cocking for the first shot, after which the slide will reciprocate under recoil to automatically recock the hammer for a next shot, and is thus always cocked and ready unless the user manually decocks the hammer, encounters a misfiring cartridge , or pulls the trigger on an empty chamber (for older weapons lacking "last round bolt hold open" feature). In

21754-416: The weapon can be carried with the hammer down on a loaded chamber, reducing perceived danger of carrying a single-action semi-automatic. When the user is ready to fire, simply pulling the trigger will cock and release the hammer in double action mode. When the weapon fires, the cycling slide automatically cocks the hammer to the rear, meaning that the rest of the shots fired will be in single-action mode, unless

21903-414: The weapon will fire a single shot. When depressed further, the weapon fires at a fully automatic rate. Examples include FN P90 , Jatimatic , CZ Model 25 , PM-63 , BXP , F1 submachine gun , Vigneron submachine gun , Wimmersperg Spz-kr , and Steyr AUG . Each trigger mechanism has its own merits. Historically, the first type of trigger was the single-action. This is the simplest mechanism and generally

22052-571: Was slightly modified, changing the floorplate and fitting the follower spring with a resistance insert at its base. In 1998, the frame was further modified with an accessory rail (called the "Universal Glock rail") similar to a Picatinny rail to allow the mounting of laser sights , tactical lights , and other accessories. Thumb rests on both sides of the frame and finger grooves on the front strap were added. Glock pistols with these upgrades are informally referred to as (early) "third-generation" models. Later third-generation models additionally featured

22201-438: Was used by Glock from 1982 through 1988 and pre-dates the checkered grip patterns used in the second generation of Glock pistols. The first Glock   17s imported to the US were serialized with an alphanumeric (two-letter prefix followed by three numbers) stamped into the slide, barrel, and a small metal plate inserted into the bottom side of the polymer frame. The first documented Glock   17s (by serial number) imported into

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