Glock Discontinues 35 Models

By Bucky Lawson Breach Bang Clear

You’ve probably heard by now that Glock is discontinuing 35 models from its lineup. If not, well, now you have.

Glock hasn’t commented publicly on this action, other than a web page that says, “Streamlining our portfolio for a stronger future,” with a list of the discontinued models. We can infer some reasons ourselves just from the list itself, combined with a little industry and market knowledge.

To be clear, Glock isn’t going anywhere. The world’s most popular handgun will still be in every gun store. Glock, in some cases, is dropping older generations, leaving the latest Gen 5 models as the only option. That’s not really a rare thing. Gun companies retire older generations for the latest thing all the time. Maybe Glock has just spoiled us. In fact, leaving the older models in the catalog is almost unheard of.

Let’s begin with the trends we see in the list.

Underperforming Calibers

Some cartridges are obviously more popular than others. New cartridges often look promising but never catch on. Some rise and fall with police and military adoption. Some have dedicated followings but never quite get over the hump regarding widespread use. We have examples of each here.

Five cartridges kind of took a beating with Glock’s cutbacks: .357 Sig; .40 Smith & Wesson; .45 ACP; .45 GAP; and 10mm. A couple of those aren’t really surprising. .45 GAP never caught on and, despite the .357 Sig’s high-velocity performance, shooters just never took to it. 10mm is perhaps a bit more unexpected, but honestly, most people don’t have a 10mm, even though many shooters swear by it. All Glocks in those calibers are gone. Hunters and wilderness guides are reportedly snapping up the 10mm guns while they can.

.40 Smith & Wesson

.40 S&W has definitely fallen victim to law enforcement preferences and more effective 9mm rounds. It’s been declining for a while now, but I’m a little surprised that Glock dropped the .40 S&W entirely. .40 is often seen as a solid backup during ammo shortages, and many shooters have at least one for that very reason. But basing an entire line on possible ammo shortages doesn’t seem like a solid business model. Sales are down across the board, and I guess .40 just doesn’t move the needle anymore.

.45 ACP

The .45 ACP cuts caught me a little flat-footed. .45 is still a very popular self-defense round, and I know several guys who won’t carry anything else. The .45 ACP hasn’t been dropped entirely, but options will be limited going forward. Expect the remaining units of the discontinued .45 ACP guns to go fast too, like the 10mm.

9mm

Ten 9mm options are also going away, like the Gen 4 Glock 17. But there will still be plenty of 9mm Glocks. That cartridge isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. And Glock has given us the limited edition Aimpoint COA package for the G43X, G48, G19 Gen 5, G45, and G47 models, so there’s some new stuff too. You can find the complete list of discontinued models and generations here.

Glock Logistics

Logistics probably plays a role here, too. We noted that several models aren’t really selling because there’s little or diminishing demand for the cartridge for which they’re chambered. Modern manufacturers must constantly upgrade their production facilities to remain competitive. That costs money.

Upgrading the tooling, or even providing floor space to, say, the .357 Sig-chambered Glock 31 makes no sense if only a few people are buying the gun. Same with .45 GAP. Glock may well have conducted extensive market research on long-term trends regarding .40 S&W and .45 ACP. Those trends may have indicated a decline that cannot justify continuing with certain models.

It Makes Sense

Streamlining in the current environment makes sense for Glock. No company can hang onto products that don’t make money, and it looks like certain models are not. Continuing those models seems even more unwise when you throw in factory and tooling upgrades. Effective companies throw money behind success.

Losing Glocks in certain calibers is unfortunate. But that’s business. On the bright side, this may spark a boom in police trade-ins or other sources of used Glocks. Prices may rise on some models, but Glocks are everywhere, so it may not be that much, especially early on. And since Glocks seemingly last forever, a used model isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you want one of those discontinued models, they are still available, but you better get one now.

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