I wanted to purchase a Glock after some thorough research. Reliability, longevity, accuracy, weight, and engineering were all of my concerns. So I started with what law enforcement carry. Glock... Step one complete. I looked up what polygonal rifling was and compared the difference between standard rifling. Then I started asking why do law enforcement carry Glock? Well in short besides all of the above reasons, there was NO external safety. The more I thought about it the more I liked the idea of not having to remember to switch "off" a manual safety. Being a new first gun owner (G17) I didn't want to have remember a lot of things to do before I pulled a trigger in a self defense situation. (I planned on getting my permit) after reading and hearing about others in the complications of cleaning a gun with traditional rifling, I'm very satisfied with my polygonal rifling that's easier to clean and lasts longer.
I've purchased my 17 after all these things were considered, thought about, reviewed, and then finally fired one. That first nervous as hell feeling loading rounds into a gun I've never shot before will never be forgotten, but the satisfactory feeling of making the right purchase will be with me for a long time. After the 17 I had to get another Glock, this time a 27. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one!