Glock 17

The 9mm Pistol is a weapon in Half-Life. It can be fired in either semi-automatic or automatic mode.

Overview
The Pistol is one of the most common weapons in the game. It is the standard issue weapon used by Security Guards, and therefore, is easily found throughout the Black Mesa Research Facility.

A suppressed Pistol is used by female Black Ops, but cannot be picked up by the player.

It can first be found in Unforeseen Consequences; it can be obtained by killing the first Security Guard or dropped by a dying security guard before the player exits the Anomalous Materials laboratory. After Apprehension, the player can find a new Pistol from a Security Guard that is eaten by a Barnacle.

This weapon shares ammo with the SMG, which makes it very easy to find ammo for this weapon throughout the game.

Tactics

 * If fired in semi-automatic mode, the Pistol is one of the most accurate weapons in the game. While it does little damage per shot, it has good accuracy even after multiple shots in a row.


 * Because of its accuracy, it is best used at long range. Most enemies have poor accuracy at long range, which puts the player at a major advantage.


 * When firing at long range, try to aim for the enemy's head. Headshots do double damage. This works very well against enemies that have high health, such as the Bullsquid.


 * If the player is facing off multiple enemies from long range, he should duck so that more of the enemy's shots miss him.

Automatic mode

 * The automatic mode for the pistol is best used when an enemy unexpectedly appears while firing at long range. Its rate of fire is fast enough to kill an enemy at short range without too much trouble.


 * The automatic mode also works well as a makeshift SMG before the player obtains one. However, he/she should make sure to reload often, as this mode quickly eats up ammo.

Behind the scenes

 * The Pistol was originally supposed to have an attachable suppressor. It is unknown where it would be obtained. It was scrapped in the final version, but the attachment and detachment animations are still in the Pistol's model file. However, the suppressed pistol is used by female Black Ops as their primary weapon, and it's possible that it was to be acquired through killing one.


 * The Tranquilizer Gun in Team Fortress Classic uses the Pistol's model, but has the unused suppressor attached to it.


 * Similarly, Team Fortress Classic's Sentry Guns use the unsuppressed pistol's firing sounds.


 * An early texture for the Pistol in the Half-Life modding tools shows that it was supposed to be a Glock 18 (an automatic pistol) at one time.


 * The HD pack turns the Pistol into a Beretta M9 pistol.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life: Day One
 * Half-Life
 * Half-Life: Uplink
 * Half-Life: Opposing Force
 * Half-Life: Blue Shift
 * Half-Life: Decay

Notes and references
Glock 17