It’s hard to believe, but I bought my Glock 17, Bruce, 33 years ago today.
In 1992, I had changed jobs, and on December 23 I used some cash from some stock options to buy a Gen2 Glock 17 at a pawn shop in Alabama. While it has very few original parts, it’s still my go to USPSA gun.
Happy birthday Bruce!
Hard to believe, but today is my Glockerversary.
In 1992, I changed jobs, and I forgot that I had 90 days to cash out my stock options. Fortunately I got a letter with 2 weeks to go, and I ran to a broker and cashed it out. I made quite a bit, to be honest.
In those days, I owned no guns. Really. But I had a hankering for one, so I started looking.
We had just moved to Alabama, and frequently visited family in the Atlanta area. After shopping around for several weeks, I was in a gun store near my folks and decided to buy, only to discover the guvmint requires purchasers of handguns to be residents of the state they buy in. Srsly?
So, back to Alabama.
Now, in the meantime my wife and I had discussions on what gun she would like. She really had no preference, except she asked that it at least hold enough ammo so that if she had to shoot at a home invader, she would be able to do so without reloading, “just like Bruce Willis.”
So on December 23, 1992, I was in a pawn shop in our town in Alabama, and there was a nice Glock 17, at a nice price. And it certainly met her requirements. Done.
And that’s how my first gun got its name.
Happy birthday Bruce!
I recently shot my first USPSA match in about 18 months, and I must admit, my lack of practice in that time showed. To me the biggest hamper was that my magazine changes made me even slower that normal. As a result, I actually shot next to last in Production. I was not happy.
So, in order to speed things up a bit, I have decided to change from Production to Limited class for the next match. For those who don’t know, the main thing for me will be that my magazines can hold as many rounds as they can hold, instead of being limited to 10 rounds in Production. So now I can shoot twice as many shots before requiring a magazine change.
Now, I am still going to shoot Bruce, my G17, which means I will be shooting Minor power factor, which puts some lesser value on the C and D shots. So, this means I need to shoot all A’s, doesn’t it. Yes, I know this will automatically put me behind from the beginning. But, I don’t expect I would win if I shot Major, and right now I can’t afford a Major gun, nor the ammo.
So my plan is to compare how well I do in Limited, to my Production performance, and if I do well enough, then start saving for a Glock 35, in .40 caliber, which would be Major power factor.
I’m probably going to but new mag pouches as well.
So, please keep me in your thoughts on December 8. And, please feel free to share your thoughts about what I might do in order to maximize my scores. I know I can use the help.
Exactly twenty years ago today, on December 28, 1992, I went back to the pawn shop in a small town in Alabama, laid down four portraits of Benjamin Franklin, and left the proud owner of a Gen 2 Glock 17 pistol, which I named Bruce.
It took me a few weeks to decide what pistol to buy, then to find this one. Thanks to the Brady law, I had to wait at least five days to pick it up, after filling out the background check paperwork.
My next stop was the shooting range, where I got the break of a lifetime.
I’ve written about this purchase before, and I’ve reviewed it here, and told of its extended life here.
It’s on my hip right now.
Happy Anniversary, Bruce!
Fill Yer Hands 