Glock Armorer

[Damian]

I have been meaning to write a post about my experience taking the Glock Armorer's Training and Certification course.

First I want to explain how to qualify to take the class and become an Armorer and Second I will explain why I chose to take it and lastly how did it go.

How to qualify:

You need to be an active Law Enforcement Office or work in Security of some kind.  As a civilian, you can take the course if you are a member of the Glock Sports Shooting Foundation or GSSF.

I joined the GSSF sometime ago due to several benefits.  As a GSSF member you can purchase a Glock at LE prices once a year.  For new members, you must be a member for a full year to qualify for your first LE pricing.  You also get to compete in some shooting events Glock puts together across the country and meet like minded individuals.  Glock gives a way a free handgun for the winner of each category and you also have a chance to win a Glock during one of these events with a drawing they do.  The other benefit is that you can take the Glock Armorer Certification course as a GSSF member.

Why I became a Glock Armorer:

I decided to take advantage of the Armorer Certification perk because I simply enjoy the platform.  I wanted to know everything I possible could about the Glock platform and rely on myself to maintain it at the highest level.  I did not take the course to actually service Glocks as an Armorer although I could do that now.  I simply took it because I was interested in knowing as much as possible on this platform.

How did it go:

The class cost $195 and was presented at the Ft. Worth Police Academy.  The class had over 30 students and I was one of two civilians or GSSF members present.  It was a great experience to learn the full history of Glock from Glock.  They covered the first generation model to the current 4th Generation.  They covered all the changes in components along the way and why they components were revised or improved.  We went over every single component of the Glock, what it's function is and how to inspect them for proper operation.  The Glock only has 36 parts and 28 of them are interchangeable with all models.

We took the weapon down completely and re-assembled it so many times, I lost count.  We learned about all the different triggers, connectors, RSA's, etc.  I got the chance to handle the Glock cut-away model which is really cool and allows you to see all the moving parts in action on the gun as you run it.

You need to pass a test in the end and then you are officially a Glock Armorer.  Another cool perk is that you can buy parts directly from Glock as an Armorer that are not available for sale to anyone else.

Conclusion:

I learned a lot, had great discussions with many LE's during the breaks, had some laughs and overall enjoyed myself.  In the end, I felt great knowing everything about the Glock, how to take it completely apart the correct way and assemble it back the correct way.  After each range visit, I break my Glock down completely and clean it because it's easy and you can get the gun really clean in areas that you normally can't get access too.

I recommend it to anyone who is simply interested in knowing everything possible about the Glock platform.  I do not regret paying the money to learn it directly from Glock.  I also can work on my friends Glocks or at least take them completely down for cleaning now and then.

Interesting tidbits:

1. Glocks are made in the USA since 2004 and the slides will start to say USA sometime in 2012.

2. Glock puts a nylon brush inside the gun case because the Nitration finish (Tenifer) is stronger than steel or brass.  Using a steel or brass brush will simply start to wear them down since the finish on the Glock is stronger.  This is why they supply the Nylon brush instead.

3. The flat slide design on the Glock allowed for soldiers in the field to sharpen their knives by running then on the slide.  This was demonstrated with an allen wrench which was rubbed on the slide until it had a sharp point.  The slide was not damaged at all.

4. The Glock can fire without a trigger spring or a broken one as long as you shoot to trigger reset and continue to fire without fully releasing the trigger.  If you do, you simply rack the slide, take the next shot and reset the trigger to keep shooting.  We tested this by assembling the Glocks without a trigger spring at all and they work just fine.

[Bob Mayne]

Good review!  This is on my list of classes to take, but I'm not a GSSF member.  Maybe I need to join.

[haskovez]

Great Review Damian, I really got a lot out of the class as well when I took it a year and a half ago.  Another benefit that Damian forgot to mention is that as an Armorer you are entitled to purchase 2 Glocks directly from Glock for LEO pricing (this is in addition to GSSF membership glock).  The pricing on these 2 is slightly cheaper actually than GSSF pricing but when you factor in shipping and an FFL transfer it is probably a wash.  Looking at my armorer's order form a Glock 17 Gen 4 with standard sights runs $398.  To buy one with GSSF discount pricing it is $425.  GSSF used to give you the LEO pricing exactly a couple of years ago, but they raised the prices slightly to allow non-LEO dealers to participate in the program. 

I think one of the cool things about the class is each of the different instructors seems to have different anecdotes about the platform, so you can really pick up a lot of interesting information.  For example I never learned the thing about sharpening knives in my class, but that is pretty amazing.  The part where you remove the trigger spring was a very cool exercise and I have considered doing so before going to the range sometime to make sure that I am always shooting from reset.

[The Inspector]

This sound like a good idea for anyone that owns glocks and shots them regularly. I just got my first Glock, not a single run through it. What does Glock say about cleaning before the first trip to the range. What should I be cleaning and how extensive. Should I just field strip it and wipe it down a little or is there more that I should do? Thank you for the great review.

[Bob Mayne]

Cleaning it before shooting it is a good idea. If I remember correctly, do not remove the rust colored lubricant Glock put in at the factory. Am I right Damian?

[haskovez]

Good review!  This is on my list of classes to take, but I'm not a GSSF member.  Maybe I need to join.

To take the armorer's class you either need to be law enforcement, a glock stocking dealer, or a GSSF member.

[haskovez]

Cleaning it before shooting it is a good idea. If I remember correctly, do not remove the rust colored lubricant Glock put in at the factory. Am I right Damian?

That lubricant is antiseize compound and should not be removed.  It is put on there since you don't know how long the gun is going to sit in the box from the time it is assembled at the factory and test fired until someone buys it.  So yes leave that there.

[Ken Kowalski]

What about .mil types?

[haskovez]

What about .mil types?

Looks like they let military take it:

http://www.glocktraining.com/