Let me be clear on this point: Glock makes excellent guns! They are rugged, reliable, durable, accurate, easy to maintain, easy to shoot and reasonably priced. But, marketing slogans notwithstanding, there is always room for improvement. The first real indication of this, as far as I'm concerned, was when Glock deviated from their set formula of Standard, Compact, and Sub-Compact in the various established calibers and brought out the Slimline Sub-Compact Glock 36. It was during the reduced capacity magazine period (1994-2004) and small, single stack pistols were making a comeback. Glock responded to their customer's desire for a slimmer, smaller version of their popular .45 Auto models, the 21 and the 30.

What Glock did, in retrospect, was to fuel the fire for those who wanted a Glock pistol with a smaller grip and a different feel. Glock proved it could be done with the 36. Then aficionados dared to hope for a scaled up version of the 36, specifically a full size, single stack magazine, same thickness version in, of course, 45 ACP. Well, Glock has yet to build that gun. They charged off in an entirely different direction with the .45 GAP models 37, 38 and 39. They certainly have a smaller grip, but that wasn't the only thing that users wanted. To say that the GAP cartridge has gotten off to a slow start would be putting it as kindly as I can. Also, changing the grip size wasn't the only thing that users have been seeking.

Glock has pretty much always resisted any type of external, manually operated safety. Their position has been that it isn't necessary, although they have made a few Glocks with manual safeties to satisfy certain clients. The other feature they have resisted, until recently, is an ambidextrous, or at least reversible, magazine release. When it looked like there might be a military contract for a .45 caliber pistol in the offing, Glock brought out the Glock 21 SF, in order to accommodate more hand sizes and the anticipated requirement for an ambidextrous magazine release. Well, the new military pistol proposal fell through the cracks, but Glock realized they had something in the short frame "SF" and added that option to the Glock 30. According to the Glock representatives at the SHOT Show, however, they are discontinuing the ambidextrous magazine releases in the model 21 and are not offering it in the model 30.