Glock 18: For Sale, But You (Probably) Can’t Have One
The Glock 18 and 18C are legendary fully-automatic pistols. Find out more about them and how you possibly can own one. Plus how they actually shoot!
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The Glock 18 and the compensated 18C have become legendary as fully automatic pistols that everyone wants...
...but no one has.
Well, not that many people have anyway.
So what is this mythical Glock 18 and how does it manage its full-auto goodness?
Glad you asked, not only are we fans of the plastic fantastics, but we also happen to have shot a gull auto Glock 18 in all its glory.
What that means is...we've got the deets on this awesome design and we're happy to share the info we know.
So, let's go on a ride through the ins and outs of Glock's 18 and 18C and learn more about this rad pair of pistols.
Table of Contents
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What is the Glock 18 & 18C?
The Glock 18 is a full-sized automatic pistol chambered in 9mm capable of 1,200 rounds a minute.
Think of it as the G17 but with a "fun-switch" that lets you choose between semi-auto and full-auto.
The compensated 18C model features cutouts in the slide and a ported barrel for gas to escape -- this helps reduce muzzle climb during shooting.
The mechanics behind the full-auto is actually pretty simple. The "cross" part of the trigger bar has a raised extra tab.
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And remember the "happy switch" from above?
When it's switched to full-auto, it moves a piece of metal downwards that will contact the extra tab. So when you fire, the sear is kept engaged and you get your pew pew pew!
How Do I Buy a Glock 18?
Unfortunately, the answer is you pretty much can't.
Thanks to a bunch of laws (1934 NFA, 1968 GCA, & 1986 FOPA), there are only three ways of obtaining a Glock 18 (or any other machine gun):
- Transferable: Guns registered prior to May 19, 1986. These are the mythical guns that forums perpetuate are out there, but they might be so few in number you'll likely never seen one offered for sale. And if they were...they might be the price of a luxury car.
- Pre-Samples: These are ones imported from January 1, 1986 until May 19, 1986. Only dealers could have them since machine guns were deemed to have no sporting purposes for civilians. However, dealers could keep them after they gave up their licenses. Again, very low in number if any since the 18 was produced right around this time period.
- Post-Samples: These are the machine guns made after the May 19, 1986 deadline. However, they are only for dealers, manufacturers, military, and law enforcement. If you're a Class III dealer who has a "demo letter" (letter from a police department asking you to acquire a gun to test), you can get one to sample. But, you don't get to keep it when you give up your license.
Good news, though, if you're a Class III dealer or police department, it wouldn't cost you a Porsche.
It might even cost you less than a regular Glock 17 from the looks of this page from OMB Guns (now defunct site).
Glock 18 Alternatives
Another alternative if you're a Class III dealer with a demo letter is to get a converted Glock.
A converted Glock 17 uses a selector switch on the backplate to make it fire full-auto.
You'll also see some of these Post-Samples on GunBroker for around the $2,000 mark.
You also can check out our list of the best (and purchasable) Glocks!
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How It Shoots
We recently had a sort-of-review of a real Glock 18.
But here's a quick clip of it in action:
It doesn't help if all the rounds go into the air...and eventually, we got it down so that we were shooting into the size of a small car.
Check out the full review here.
And our full video review right below:
Conclusion
Though most of us can only dream of owning a full-auto Glock 18, 18C, or converted 17, they're still fun to watch in action.
And if you ever get the chance to fire one...definitely go for it! They're a blast!
Have you ever shot a Glock 18? How about other full-autos? Tell us in the comments! In the meantime, if you do have just a regular ole Glock, check out our Best Glock Mods to make it run a little better.