Editorial: Why Glock lovers should join the GSSF

One of the best kept secrets of Glock lovers is the Glock Sport Shooting Foundation. Like many of you, there was a time when I could barely afford a used Glock. College tuition, high book prices and car debt ate the majority of my income. What little remained was divvied up between gas and food. So when a local gun shop got a used second generation Glock 17 in for around $450, I began to save my pennies and switched from canned food to generic ramen. After three gastrointestinal-ruining weeks, I had enough scratch to pick up the Glock and possibly an extra box of ammo.

I anxiously approached the store, leaning awkwardly in an attempt to catch a glimpse of my Glock. I looked like a groupie camped outside a hotel, hoping for a chance to see their favorite singer. I couldn’t find it on the way in, but reassured myself that it must have simply been moved. As I impatiently searched through all the display cases, the shop owner asked me what I was looking for. “The used 9mm Glock you had in here a few weeks ago,” I replied. Rubbing his chin in thought, the owner recounted how he sold the pistol a few days before.

Crushed, I wondered the shop for a few moments, ogling new Glocks with their unreachable $550 price tags. Then I saw something I’d somehow never noticed before, a few third generation pistol with blue price tags, marked well below the cost of the used model I had been so excited to purchase earlier. I leaned closer and saw, “LEO Only” written on the tags. “Figures” I mumbled to myself. Half-sarcastically I asked the owner what I had to do to get pricing like that. He replied, “Join the academy, or get a GSSF membership.”

“What is the GSSF?” I questioned. The owner explained the GSSF is an organization started by Glock to promote Glock-sponsored shooting competitions hosted by local ranges. These matches can only be shot with Glock pistols. In order to make this more affordable to competitors, Glock offers significantly reduced pricing to its members on one pistol of their choice a year. In my case, a new third generation Glock 17 for $425. The cost to join is $35 for new members and $25 to renew.

While members don’t have to use the weapon to participate in GSSF matches, they really should. GSSF matches are three-stage matches, where the fastest time after penalties, wins. What separates them from traditional matches, is that Glock gives away pistol certificates to the top shooters in each division, and several random shooters. The amount of pistols given away depends on the amount of participants, but roughly comes to about a three percent chance of winning a certificate for everyone involved. The match also gives away several Glock knives and $50 cash prizes. What’s cool about the pistol certificates, is that they entitle the holder to a Glock pistol of their choice for free.

Lastly, the GSSF membership also gives the shooter a subscription to Glock’s annual publication and a GSSF hat.  While the GSSF program is clearly a marketing program by Glock, it’s a damn effective one. Especially if you live somewhere that local gun shops have their Glock pistols marked really high up. To me, spending $35 to get a magazine, a hat and $150 off a new Glock is a solid investment. Just remember, only certain Glock dealers accept GSSF pricing.