It doesn't seem to be because it was the 17th patent or because it holds 17 rounds.

Grenade was already taken.

Yup, 17 rounds

Glock made (or makes) other things before firearms, models 1-16 maybe?

because it was too awesome to be called the glock 1

This.

17th patent is my understanding.

Because that's what Gaston Glock's net worth (in millions of dollars) was at the moment he developed the idea.

It was Glock's 17th patent. It also happened to hold 17 rounds.

The 30 is better...
 

Glock 7 was taken...it was the porcelain version. Very costly.




 

We have a winner.

It was Gaston's 17th attempt at making a pistol, and at that point he said, "Fuck it! I'll just tell people it's perfection."

The 1 signifies it's the plastic version of the Glock 7

.17 caliber.

This. Anyone who says it's because it holds 17 rounds is wrong.

Otherwise, why the hell would they call the Glock 21 the Glock 21, and not the Glock 14?

Another reason why you check people's answers.  It was the 17th patent ....not 17 rounds....

LMGTFY

17th patent of the company.

This.

I challenge someone to find Glocks 1-16th patents.

Because the Glock 7 cost more than you make in a month.

the 17 criteria it had to meet for military use didn't have anything to do with it?

In 1980, the Austrian military announced that it would seek tenders for a new, modern duty pistol to replace their World War II-era Walther P38 handguns.[7] The Austrian Ministry of Defence formulated a list of 17 criteria for the new generation service pistol:
1.The design has to be self-loading.
2.he pistol must fire the NATO-standard 9×19mm Parabellum round.
3.The magazines would not require any means of assistance for loading.
4.The magazines must have a minimum capacity of 8 rounds.
5.All actions necessary to prepare the pistol for firing and any actions required after firing must be done single-handed, either right- or left-handed.
6.The pistol must be absolutely secure against accidental discharge from shock, stroke and drops from a height of 2 meters onto a steel plate.
7.Disassembly of the main parts for maintenance and reassembling must be possible without the use of any tools.
8.Maintenance and cleaning of the pistol must be accomplished without the use of tools.
9.The pistol's construction may not exceed 58 individual parts (equivalent of a P38).
10.Gauges, measuring and precise testing devices must not be necessary for the long-term maintenance of the pistol.
11.The manufacturer is required to provide the Ministry of Defence with a complete set of engineering drawings and exploded views. These must be supplied with all the relevant details for the production of the pistol.
12.All components must be fully interchangeable between pistols.
13.No more than 20 malfunctions are permitted during the first 10,000 rounds fired, not even minor jams that can be cleared without the use of any tools.
14.After firing 15,000 rounds of standard ammunition, the pistol will be inspected for wear. The pistol will then be used to fire an overpressure test cartridge generating 5,000 bar (500 MPa; 73,000 psi) (the normal maximum operating pressure Pmax for the 9 mm 15.NATO is rated at 2,520 bar (252 MPa; 36,500 psi).[9] The critical components must continue to function properly and be up to specifications, otherwise the pistol will be disqualified.
16When handled properly, under no circumstances may the user be endangered by case ejection.
17. The muzzle energy must be at least 441.5 J when firing a 9mm S-round/P-08 Hirtenberger AG.
Pistols scoring less than 70% of the total available points will not be considered for military use.

I hear Glock's 7th patent was actually a curtain rod.

See, so undetectable!

That's how many fingers were lost during the R&D phase.

Gaston Glock is a huge fan of both Jethro Tull and Rick James. They both had songs titled "17" so it was only fitting.

This was # 3. It bankrupted him when it turned out to be defective. Luckily his black family found him living as a bum and took him back in.  He went on to invent the Glock pistol.  

Is there any method at all to their numbering system?

why is my Glock 22 a .40 cal? the clip doesn't hold 22 bullets?

Call Gaston and ask him.

Didn't know Glocks used clips.....

 

This, it was his 17th try at making the gun. It's in the book.....

They are numbered by order of introduction.



 

Because the first 16 blew up?

So the 7th try could have been porcelain?

Glock fortay's actually have 22rd. clipz now.



 

This, the earlier Glock models were the knife, the shovel, and a camping stove, among other things.





 

I is actual the glock 11 in hexadecimal

17th patent.

So 17th try at making gun or 17th patent?

I was going to post this!

Patent.



 

Because Q is the 17th letter in the alphabet.

It was his 17th patent, so he called it the Glock 17. All subsequent models were numbered in the order they were introduced after that.

Nope.





Glock 22/23 were introduced before Glock 20/21.




Numbering is based on when they started design. Glock stopped design of 20/21 to bring 22/23 to market fast. Hindsight says it was a smart decision.





 

Glock, for people who don't know any better.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glock_17

In 1980, the Austrian military announced that it would seek tenders for a new, modern duty pistol to replace their World War II-era Walther P38 handguns.[7] The Austrian Ministry of Defence formulated a list of 17 criteria for the new generation service pistol:

It was Glocks 17th patent.