It’s Official: Plaxico Shot Himself with a Glock

Why is it that I always hear these kinds of things about Glocks?

…the athlete's accidental shooting of himself with a .40 Cal. Glock semi-automatic pistol, ABC News has learned from two separate sources involved in the investigation…

…According to police officials, Burress' trouble began at about 1:50 a.m. Saturday morning at a New York nightclub when the star receiver attempted to balance a drink in his left hand while catching his Glock with his right before the gun slipped from the waistband of his trousers. In the process, the gun discharged sending a powerful .40 caliber round in and out of the Super Bowl hero's thigh…

Source: ABC News

Ouch. In the interest of full disclosure, I dislike Glocks; I have always disliked Glocks; I will always dislike Glocks. Don’t waste your time trying to convince me to change my mind. I think they’re ugly and dangerous. You never, or almost never, hear these kinds of stories about Beretta 92F’s, SIG 229’s, the evil-looking 1911 or even snubby wheel guns. Yet, you hear these stories constantly about the Glocks. Anymore, when I hear an accidental discharge story, I assume it’s a Glock until I hear otherwise: “Police Chief [name withheld] shot himself in the leg while reaching for his car keys… Swat operator [name withheld] shot himself in the leg while cleaning his pistol… Competitor [name withheld] shot herself in the butt while adjusting her holster…” Glocks all.

[Yeah, I know I’m going to get some hate mail on this one.]

To be fair to the Glocken, I never juggle drinks with one hand and fiddle with my pistol with the other. I use proper holsters, and I feel confident that I could carry a Glock successfully without blowing off an appendage. Nevertheless, I hear way too many “accidental discharge” stories about Glocks, many more than with other types of pistols. Is there something inherently dangerous about the Glock design, or are careless people drawn to Glocks? If as many people carried SIG 229’s as carry Glocks, would we hear the same number of accidents with them? I don’t know, and I know of no way to test the theory. All I do know is that I hear of a whole lot of leg shooting with the Glocken. Would Plaxico be in trouble today had he been carrying a 92F, a 1911 or even a Springfield XD having a grip safety? Given the quality of judgment he has displayed, I would have to say yes, he would be in some kind of trouble, but maybe it wouldn’t be for the bullet hole in his own dumb leg.

There’s nothing wrong with the Glock that John Moses Browning couldn’t fix.

[Did I mention that I don’t like Glocks?]