Originally Posted by Mike Barham

Of course, one reason you hear about more Glock .40s exploding than anything else is that it is by far the single most popular law enforcement gun in America.

I still believe its a disproportionate number compared to other makes. The Glock was built around the 9mm. Glock just bored out the barrel, changed the ejector and extractor, and viola...you have a Glock 22. Not to mention the unsupported chamber to facilitate better feeding.

I only deal with Glocks in 9mm.

Originally Posted by brisk21

The officer is fine. a few minor burns. she actually came back and qualified with another glock later that day.

off topic: How many times do u guys qualify per year?

Originally Posted by brisk21

yah, you may be right, but i'll bet it could be done without sacrificing reliability. I just suspect that glock won't admit thiers a problem.

An arrogant company like Glock?, noooooooooo. Glock likes to fix things quietly.

Get a 19 or a 17, cant go wrong with either of those.

Originally Posted by bluehandgun

why is the 40 more popular than the 357? i would think the 357 is a better cartridge for LE?

Good question.

Originally Posted by bluehandgun

why is the 40 more popular than the 357? i would think the 357 is a better cartridge for LE?

Ballistically better perhaps. What makes a law enforcement round popular is cost more than anything. Equipping a major urban police force is a costly venture. If "Caliber A" is offered to a large force in "Handgun B", at an attractive price, that will influence their decision far more than stopping power, or ballistic superiority. Glock has done well in this dept. because they have cut some unbelievable deals to law enforcement from a cost savings standpoint. Always remember the buck rules far more than officers, or "the peoples" safety. Remember those Pinto gas tanks? Burning alive in your car was a better risk for Ford to assume than paying the $7.50 per car to prevent it. Bill T.

mine just blew, 9mm reloads all under the max pressure. The base of the case blew out the side breaking of a piece of poly frame and cracking more. Most ofthe shraplnal went out the left side and into my hand. I have fired around 500rounds with this Gen 4 and this was the first problem, still hurt like hell thought ok. Local Dealer won't help because warrenty was void as soon as I used read ammo. I agree that the chamber should be desisned better to support the bass.

Originally Posted by Fargold

mine just blew, 9mm reloads all under the max pressure. The base of the case blew out the side breaking of a piece of poly frame and cracking more. Most ofthe shraplnal went out the left side and into my hand. I have fired around 500rounds with this Gen 4 and this was the first problem, still hurt like hell thought ok. Local Dealer won't help because warrenty was void as soon as I used read ammo. I agree that the chamber should be desisned better to support the bass.

ouch, guess now we know why using reloads/handloads voids glocks warranty..... hope you heal up soon.....

Originally Posted by brisk21

I understand that, but it seems like that should never happen. I mean, I love glocks, and I actually just ordered one, (17), but you never really heard about this happening with any 9mm pistol. I know it is such a small percentage, compared to the millions of rounds that have been fired through the glock .40 cals, but it just seems like maybe that unsupported part of the case is really the issue. I know glock says that any factory standard ammo is fine, but I think that a gun should be able to hold up to an overcharged round just in case of an error in the manufacturing process, which clearly happens. I really think that glock should redesign their 40 cal barell chamers. it wouldnt be that hard, allbeit expensive. they could do it without changing anything but a barrell swap. like a recall, I know that would be alot of barells to replace, but it may be time for glock to admit theirs a problem and fix it.

Last I checked (long ago) firearms HAD to be proofed(fired with excessively high pressure). If glocks are still exploding it would seem to be a design flaw(at least to me), and No I dont own a glock or any other tupperware firearm, just dont like the looks of ANY of them.

Originally Posted by scooter

Last I checked (long ago) firearms HAD to be proofed(fired with excessively high pressure).....

while "proofing" is still required in many european countries, there are no laws in the u.s. requiring any proofing, nor have there been.

If Glock redesigned the barrel and admitted a design flaw,and all the .40 cal they have out there, imagine how much the cost would be for that move....JJ

I'm having a hard time understanding this. If the reloads are all under the specified pressure, or at least supposed to be, is it likely that reloading errors are to blame, or is it more likely caused by something else. I've got more than 3000 rounds on my G17 and really enjoy it, but I've never gotten around to trying a reload in it.

Originally Posted by FNISHR

I'm having a hard time understanding this. If the reloads are all under the specified pressure, or at least supposed to be, is it likely that reloading errors are to blame, or is it more likely caused by something else. I've got more than 3000 rounds on my G17 and really enjoy it, but I've never gotten around to trying a reload in it.

i have been doing some reading on this and have found a few things that i did not know, since i am not a reloader....

the case expands and stretches during firing (i did know this) and when it elongates the case wall thins out (i would have known this, it stands to reason the brass must come from somewhere).

also the case rim is weakened by the extraction process (even NEW FACTORY ammo is only designed to be cycled 2 TIMES)

so you have a weakened rim and a thinner walled case and now you are loading everything to the max.... and the case is NOT supported correctly due to the design of the barrel.

now we might have one more factor.... the bullet is set in the brass at a certain depth, just loading it into the camber via the slide can set it back into the brass even deeper, creating even greater pressures , and a weakened case.....

in a design where the case is fully supported, you get a split case... in a glock, you get a catastrophic failure.

its no secret that i am not a glockophile, and havent been since the days i was UNinstalling the new york triggers in my own shop. but this condition has been cataloged and photographed and blogged and reported on for almost 2 decades.... glocks blow up , ALOT

Originally Posted by Zaakir*Abdullah

Good question.

Well, 357sig vs. 40cal for LE. In LE, you must consider penetration through intermediate barriers such as auto windshields, auto bodies, drywall, doors, and such. The 180 grain 40's seem to do relatively well in this particular area.

Originally Posted by TedDeBearFrmHell

i have been doing some reading on this and have found a few things that i did not know, since i am not a reloader....

the case expands and stretches during firing (i did know this) and when it elongates the case wall thins out (i would have known this, it stands to reason the brass must come from somewhere).

also the case rim is weakened by the extraction process (even NEW FACTORY ammo is only designed to be cycled 2 TIMES)

so you have a weakened rim and a thinner walled case and now you are loading everything to the max.... and the case is NOT supported correctly due to the design of the barrel.

now we might have one more factor.... the bullet is set in the brass at a certain depth, just loading it into the camber via the slide can set it back into the brass even deeper, creating even greater pressures , and a weakened case.....

in a design where the case is fully supported, you get a split case... in a glock, you get a catastrophic failure.

its no secret that i am not a glockophile, and havent been since the days i was UNinstalling the new york triggers in my own shop. but this condition has been cataloged and photographed and blogged and reported on for almost 2 decades.... glocks blow up , ALOT

Thanks, Ted. That helps a lot.

Originally Posted by FNISHR

Thanks, Ted. That helps a lot.

yvw

i hope i got it right, like i said i was just recently researching this and it makes sense to me, but i am not a reloader so if i got it wrong, i hope someone steps up and corrects me.

1) The unsupported chamber myth--that ended late in Gen II. Gen III pistols have a pretty much typical chamber for modern pistols.

2) I have a G22, G23, G27, and G35. I shoot USPSA and IDPA with those guns. I have literally tens of thousands of rounds in matches and in practice with nary a hitch, glitch, or "kaboom". 40 is a high pressure cartridge, plain and simple. GLOCK is no more prone to issues than other designs. In fact I have personally seen more 1911s blow up than I have GLOCKs. It's 4:1 so far. 1 G27 vs 1 Springfield, 2 Kimbers, and a Sig 1911. A shooter was injured in only one incident--the Sig 1911 had an apparent overcharge and literally blew in half. The shooter took shrapnel to his hands, forearms and face. It was at a match, so he had eyewear on and was not more than superficially injured.

Originally Posted by HK Dan

1) The unsupported chamber myth--that ended late in Gen II. Gen III pistols have a pretty much typical chamber for modern pistols.

2) I have a G22, G23, G27, and G35. I shoot USPSA and IDPA with those guns. I have literally tens of thousands of rounds in matches and in practice with nary a hitch, glitch, or "kaboom". 40 is a high pressure cartridge, plain and simple. GLOCK is no more prone to issues than other designs. In fact I have personally seen more 1911s blow up than I have GLOCKs. It's 4:1 so far. 1 G27 vs 1 Springfield, 2 Kimbers, and a Sig 1911. A shooter was injured in only one incident--the Sig 1911 had an apparent overcharge and literally blew in half. The shooter took shrapnel to his hands, forearms and face. It was at a match, so he had eyewear on and was not more than superficially injured.

so the myth ended when they did a design change from gen2 to gen3.... but yet the recent poster stated his blown up glock was a gen4???

and because you have never been hit by a meteor doesnt mean that 1000s of people havent

9mm Glock Ka-booms are rare enough on their own pre Gen 3. Gen 3 9mm Glock ka-booms even rarer still. Gen4 9mm Glock ka-booom, not likely going to be the gun.

Gotta' go with Dan on this one. The unsupproted chamber was more of a .40 / .45 issue and Glock changed the chambers a while back improving case support. Blaming the chamber for a 9mm ka-boom just doesn't fly IMHO.

Originally Posted by Fargold

mine just blew, 9mm reloads all under the max pressure. The base of the case blew out the side breaking of a piece of poly frame and cracking more. Most ofthe shraplnal went out the left side and into my hand. I have fired around 500rounds with this Gen 4 and this was the first problem, still hurt like hell thought ok. Local Dealer won't help because warrenty was void as soon as I used read ammo. I agree that the chamber should be desisned better to support the bass.

I don't see how you could verify that the load that blew up was under max, all it takes is one that isn't. Sure you can chrono a batch of rounds etc. but all that's going to tell you that THOSE rounds are in the right ball park.

Are you using a powder alarm?