glock 19 made in USA and glock made in Austria

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    22   0   0
    Dec 29, 2008
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    Not a danged thing is different except the wording on it. I've read that many, if not nearly all of the parts are made in Austria on the US guns and they are pretty much just assembled in Georgia. I'm not even sure if they do so much as mold the frames or make the slides here. Otherwise, no difference at all. I'd prefer to have at least some Americans get paid for some part of the process, but three of the four Glocks I've had said Austria on them. Only the G42 said USA.

    Edit...Sounds like the slide coatings may be different, from the posts in this thread. My G42 slide finish appears exactly the same as my Austrian Glocks. I'm not sure what is really up with the slide finishes, or why they would have changed from such a great finish (Tinifer) they had in the past.

    Also, I've heard many different things now about how/what is exactly manufactured in the US. I'd like to hear what Glock says about it. That said, differences on mine are just in the roll mark.
     
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    Cameramonkey

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    As I recall (Im no expert) but the coatings they put on the Austrian ones is a little different than what the USA models get. Probably some lame a** EPA crap.


    Somebody correct me if Im wrong.
     

    MCgrease08

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    I only bought my first Glock because it was USA made. The finish on the slide was a bit different then the Austrian version. It was the non-stick pan type finish, not the flatter black. I actually preferred it. It seemed tougher and more scratch resistant.

    Sadly it was stolen last year and the insurance company replaced it with the Austrian version. I still wish I had my USA model.

    20131216_223027_zpsmf0an1nu.jpg
     
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    TopDog

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    As I recall (Im no expert) but the coatings they put on the Austrian ones is a little different than what the USA models get. Probably some lame a** EPA crap.


    Somebody correct me if Im wrong.

    Yep you are correct Sir. If you hold a USA and Austrian up together you can see a difference in the finish on the slides.
     

    9mmfan

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    My Glocks are US made but my Beretta 92 FS was made in Italy. My Italian made gun had a 'smoother, rounded' look to it compared to the US made ones.
     

    IndyGlockMan

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    From what I've read, the USA guns are made in the USA, but the CNC machines that cut the parts are controlled by the factory in Austria.
    The guns made here and the guns made there are exactly the same except for the coating.
     

    WebSnyper

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    Yep you are correct Sir. If you hold a USA and Austrian up together you can see a difference in the finish on the slides.

    I've got both. The difference in the finish (frying pan look vs the smoother more easily scratched finish) can be seen between Austrian guns as well, it is not limited to Austrian vs US guns.

    And remember, the finish you see is not the Nitration treatment applied to the metal.

    But yeah, I would not make or break a deal on whether it was a US or an Austrian stamped gun.
     

    TopDog

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    I've got both. The difference in the finish (frying pan look vs the smoother more easily scratched finish) can be seen between Austrian guns as well, it is not limited to Austrian vs US guns.

    And remember, the finish you see is not the Nitration treatment applied to the metal.

    But yeah, I would not make or break a deal on whether it was a US or an Austrian stamped gun.

    I agree it would not make or break a deal for me either. Also it seems to me the US slide is more gray and the Austrian seems darker black. Just the process used on the slides, both will resist rust just fine.
     

    USMC-Johnson

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    They make everything in the US as well as austria. To give you an idea of how far they went to make sure they were identical is that the entire plant is wired differently since non of the machines runs on what is standard in the US.
     

    Gabriel

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    I agree it would not make or break a deal for me either. Also it seems to me the US slide is more gray and the Austrian seems darker black. Just the process used on the slides, both will resist rust just fine.

    While they are both decent in this respect, the original Tenifer coating is superior to the newer coating applied in the US. I'd never seen any rust on the 200 or so Glocks I was in charge of that had the Tenifer finish (Gen 3 Glock 22s). When we switched to the Glock 17s, we started having rust issues and had several replaced by Glock. I still find light spots of rust on some of the slides now and then and just noticed my 19 has a bit starting on it.

    That being said, the new finish still does it's job fairly well. It does not, however, do it as well as the Tenifer finish did and the newer US made Glocks benefit from keeping the slide lightly oiled where the older Tenifer finished ones seemed to be able to withstand just about anything.

    I would buy a US made Glock without a second thought, it's just something to be aware of.
     

    TopDog

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    While they are both decent in this respect, the original Tenifer coating is superior to the newer coating applied in the US. I'd never seen any rust on the 200 or so Glocks I was in charge of that had the Tenifer finish (Gen 3 Glock 22s). When we switched to the Glock 17s, we started having rust issues and had several replaced by Glock. I still find light spots of rust on some of the slides now and then and just noticed my 19 has a bit starting on it.

    That being said, the new finish still does it's job fairly well. It does not, however, do it as well as the Tenifer finish did and the newer US made Glocks benefit from keeping the slide lightly oiled where the older Tenifer finished ones seemed to be able to withstand just about anything.

    I would buy a US made Glock without a second thought, it's just something to be aware of.

    I never had a problem with either one showing any rust. But then the newer US made Glock's I have are range guns. I carried an older G22 for about 10 years, mostly in leather holster and it has very little wear on it. The finish on Glocks has always amazed me.
     
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    Gabriel

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    The old finish amazed me. I could direct traffic in the pouring rain for hours with my holster exposed and I would never think twice about my Glock rusting or having issues. With the new one, I would have to wipe it down for sure afterward. I don't think it's a bad finish (like the finish on Remington 870s or 700s that will rust if you look at them funny), I just think I was spoiled with the old Tenifer guns and got lazy with cleaning them because of it.
     

    Denny347

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    While they are both decent in this respect, the original Tenifer coating is superior to the newer coating applied in the US. I'd never seen any rust on the 200 or so Glocks I was in charge of that had the Tenifer finish (Gen 3 Glock 22s). When we switched to the Glock 17s, we started having rust issues and had several replaced by Glock. I still find light spots of rust on some of the slides now and then and just noticed my 19 has a bit starting on it.

    That being said, the new finish still does it's job fairly well. It does not, however, do it as well as the Tenifer finish did and the newer US made Glocks benefit from keeping the slide lightly oiled where the older Tenifer finished ones seemed to be able to withstand just about anything.

    I would buy a US made Glock without a second thought, it's just something to be aware of.

    I never had a problem with either one showing any rust. But then the newer US made Glock's I have are range guns. I carried an older G22 for about 10 years, mostly in leather holster and it has very little wear on it. The finish on Glocks has always amazed me.

    The old finish amazed me. I could direct traffic in the pouring rain for hours with my holster exposed and I would never think twice about my Glock rusting or having issues. With the new one, I would have to wipe it down for sure afterward. I don't think it's a bad finish (like the finish on Remington 870s or 700s that will rust if you look at them funny), I just think I was spoiled with the old Tenifer guns and got lazy with cleaning them because of it.
    I've never had an issue with any of my Glock slides rusting, even my current Austrian made Gen 4. However, I have seen some co-workers with surface oxidation on the slide on their Austrian made Gen 4, so it is not confined to US made Glocks. I do not pretend to know if they changed their Tenifer process or what but I was floored to see the rust. To be fair, it is still not common but I had NEVER seen it at all before the Gen 4's.
     
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