Glock's 2025 Bombshell: What Surprised the Firearm Industry

Here at 2 If By Sea Tactical Indoor Range & Store we strive to stay up to date on the latest happenings in the Gun World.  We are constantly checking with our suppliers and industry partners to see what is on the horizon and the exciting things coming out soon. We try to keep our "Patriot's Almanac" blog full of up-to-date with things as they come. To say we were, like many of you, surprised by the announcement from Glock would be an understatement.

Background: Where Did Glock Come From?

We would not be us if we did not give a brief history lesson on the history of Glock.  Gaston Glock founded the company in the 1980’s when the Austrian Armed Forces were looking to replace their World War 2 era side arm, the Walther P38 pistol.  He took the idea that the next generation of pistols should be lightweight and reliable.  Thus, he started experimenting with polymers pistols like what H&K had done previously.

However, where H&K failed, Glock succeeded and the Glock 17 pistol entered service in 1982 and thus, a legacy was born.  Glock set off a proverbial cultural revolution in the firearm industry and since 1982, every polymer striker fired pistol can thank Mr. Glock for paving the way and showing the world that polymer was strong, durable, and reliable.  In today’s world, almost every police department and military utilizes a polymer striker fired pistol.

Glock's Situation in 2025

On October 20^th, 2025 the GlockStore.com (no affiliation with Glock itself) dropped a bombshell on the industry.  They were told that ALL Glock wide frame models, including the original Glock 17, would be discontinued and replaced.  It is hard not to wonder if this was done by Glock to try an eliminate a massive Gun Control push in blue states including Minnesota against them.

To explain what this looks like, in May 2024, Chicago, IL dropped a first of its kind lawsuit against Glock by stating that the manufacturer was intentionally marketing easily convertible guns into machine guns and endangering their citizens.  The “Glock Switch” they are referencing was invented in Venezuela in 1987 by Jorde Leon and he officially filed a patent for the device in 1996 which was approved in 1998.

Glock is proudly made in Austria, not Venezuela.  They have never made a “switch” for their pistols.  Glock does manufacture a fully automatic version of their Glock 17 Pistol called the Glock 18 which feature a selector switch on the slide and internal modifications that the patented “switch” does not.  They marketed these machine guns to Law Enforcement and Militaries around the world with virtually no success as it does not fulfill any real role for those departments.

Since the Chicago lawsuit in May of 2024, Minnesota, New Jersey, and 14 other states have followed suite in suing the manufacturer over what they claim as “Glock intentionally” selling easily modified handguns.  Just this week California passed a bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom banning the handgun entirely from the State of California.  Of course, this ban as with all bans exempts military and Law Enforcement from the new regulations flying in the face of the purpose of the 2^nd Amendment.

Several Gun Rights groups have subsequently sued California over this law stating that it clearly defies the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen Decision from the Supreme Court in 2022 that stated that ALL gun laws had to be rooted in the “history and tradition of firearm regulation from 1791”.  Ultimately, these lawsuits may indeed overturn laws such as this.  As for the other lawsuits, the Peaceful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) of 2024 was designed to help shield firearm manufacturers from frivolous lawsuits such as these.

Glock has in the past updated and modified its handguns several times (we currently until this week were on the 5^th Generation Models) with the latest generation, the Gen5, updated with changes to prevent the use of “Glock Switches”.  The company at no time has ever marketed, nor manufactured a switch, or even the Glock 18 to the public.  The Glock 18 was designed and manufactured after the May 19^th, 1986, cutoff to the National Firearms Act update in the Firearm Owners Protection Act signed by Ronald Reagan that prevented new machine guns to be sold to the public.  Of course, before this act they were heavily regulated and restricted under the same NFA from 1934.

Glock "V" and What May Be Next

This brings us to today, and Glock’s decision to, what appears to be, caving to the mob.  They announced a “New Line” of guns called the “V” models that would feature changes.  Of course, they claim this is just Glock continuing to innovate and advance but the timing does appear to be suspicious at best. The equivalent to this would be Ford being sued for their F-150 truck being used in a terror attack in New Orleans in January of 2025.  Ford had nothing to do with that, and its truck design does not increase or decrease the likelihood of attacks.  It is designed to haul things which it does very well.

This opens the door to these 16 states to go after other manufacturers.  The Glock patent for the Gen1-3 models is up and several manufactures such as Ruger with their RXM pistol and Palmetto State with their Dagger Pistols make a variety of clones available on the market.  This also does not take into consideration that Glock has 43 years of making these pistols and has made millions of them.  This is what the state suing them either fail to understand, or more likely ignores entirely.

You cannot just remove them from society.  The Glock designed pistol is endemic to the United States and the world.  Millions upon millions have been sold, copied, cloned, or privately manufactured.  The internet exists, thus, the “Glock Switch”, Glock frame, and various other parts will continue to be made and sold throughout the world.  The end game for these states is not really about stopping the flow of “machine guns”.  It is about sticking it to the firearms community as a whole. Their end game is if they can get one of the largest firearms manufacturers to blink, others, especially smaller ones, will capitulate as well.

Whether it is because of the financial burden of defending oneself in court. Or press hit pieces that follow; or outright bans in states via the Governmental Gatekeepers in their prospective states, Glock has opened up everyone to lawsuits.  What may follow this decision could be dark for our industry and embolden those who want to see the 2^nd Amendment erased entirely.  We must remain vigilant and pray that Glock’s decision had actual meaning and is only a blip on the radar and not a darker trend. Be sure to check out our Youtube video on this issue.

Correction Notice – Glock 18 Production Status

Date: October 22, 2025

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that the Glock 18 was no longer in production.Correction: The Glock 18 remains in production and is currently manufactured by Glock Ges.m.b.H. for law enforcement and military use. It is not available for civilian purchase in most countries, including the United States, due to restrictions on fully automatic firearms.

Source: Glock Official Website – G18 Model