Let me start by saying I have owned multiple different glocks over the years and fired even more. I have recently been seriously considering buying the Glock 22 Gen 4 for use as a duty weapon. Our current issue duty weapon is just too outdated and I am allowed to carry pretty much whatever I want as long as it meets a few simple requirements which the Glock 22 easily surpasses. Being a LEO, I can get Glocks for a very nice price which is also weighing on my decision to go ahead and add another firearm to my small collection. Here is where the difficulties start.
I have seen, as I am sure many of you have, lots of glowing reports for the new Gen 4 but I have also seen people talking about problems with the new double spring. Most reports I saw of people having trouble were saying the spring was either coming apart or would shift from its position while firing or even while just repeatedly pulling the slide back and releasing it by hand. This is of course a concern because I want to know for a fact my duty weapon will function properly when I need it most. Heck that is part of the reason I want to switch to a Glock because of their reliability.
I decided today to go to my local shop and see if they had one there I so I could try and duplicate the problems that some are claiming to have. In some regards it was my lucky day because they actually had a Glock 22 Gen 4 blue label in the safe that someone ordered then backed out on. So I take it out the box and after insuring there was no magazine in the firearm and no ammunition in the chamber either, I did a couple function tests and dry fires to see how things felt. I then began to breakdown the firearm to inspect how the spring was sitting and look for anything that may concern me. At first glance all looked ok but as I looked closer it appeared the spring was not sitting down far enough into the groove on the barrel. I re-adjusted the spring and reassembled the firearm where I once again did multiple function tests and then back to disassembly. This time, I see the spring is not even sitting down against the barrel where it was before but is not sitting up in another notch that I do not believe it is intended to sit in but I know for sure it was not there when reassembled.
So I disassemble and reassemble the firearm one more time and begin to function test it again to see if I can get it to repeat. About the 3d or 4th time I pull the slide back and release there is a major malfunction. I have no idea what happened but front of the guide rod and barrel were standing at least and inch out in front of the firearm and part of the spring was pressed out as well. It was jammed up so tight it could not be disassembled or even have the slide completely close. Myself and the salesman both worked with it for over half an hour trying to figure out what was wrong and how to fix the problem. At one point, I held pressure back on the slide while he hit the barrel and guide rod with the palm of his hand as hard as he could and that did return everything partially back to place. However, try as we might, even using a rubber mallet, we could not make them return to proper position.
After another 15 min or so of me refusing to leave while the firearm was in that condition, I somehow, and I have no idea how, managed to work it free and everything seemed to fall back into place. As soon as everything returned to place, I immediately disassembled the firearm to inspect for the cause and any damage. There did not seem to be any cause obvious problems that would have caused such a malfunction. We did however notice the head of the guide rod/spring where it sits against the barrel appeared to be bent at about a 25 degree angle. The salesman took the rubber mallet and gently attempted to straighten the end of the spring and had some degree of sucess. Now that could have happened while we were trying to force it back into position or it may have just been the cause of it all. I also noticed the gold packing grease seemed a little heavier, not much but a little, then I am used to seeing so we cleaned it and put a tiny bit of lubricant on the slide. It was while we were applying the lubricant that we noticed a very small bit of metal on the slide that wiped off. I guess it could have been some flashing but it was still a concern. We reassembled the firearm and did a couple function checks and everything seemed ok then.
I guess what I am wondering is if anyone has had one do anything similar. I don't feel like the cause would have been either the grease or the tiny bit of metal on the slide. It appeared to me that the spring was the culprit all along. Now they are trying to sell me that particular gun but I just do not have faith in it and am really losing faith in Gen 4s altogether. I could not bring myself to buy this firearm today and am not sure I could without a replacement spring because lets face it, once something is bent and then bent back into shape it is generally weaker. I really wanted to purchase one this week but now I think I will wait. I am supposed to be visited at work by the regional glock LE rep within the next month for a demo for the department (they most likely will not buy because they are cheap) and he is supposed to bring a test and evaluation gun or 10 to try. I am now leaning towards waiting for that and seeing if there are any problems there and to talk with him about what happened today. However, even if things go well then I am not sure my faith will be fully restored.
I have seen, as I am sure many of you have, lots of glowing reports for the new Gen 4 but I have also seen people talking about problems with the new double spring. Most reports I saw of people having trouble were saying the spring was either coming apart or would shift from its position while firing or even while just repeatedly pulling the slide back and releasing it by hand. This is of course a concern because I want to know for a fact my duty weapon will function properly when I need it most. Heck that is part of the reason I want to switch to a Glock because of their reliability.
I decided today to go to my local shop and see if they had one there I so I could try and duplicate the problems that some are claiming to have. In some regards it was my lucky day because they actually had a Glock 22 Gen 4 blue label in the safe that someone ordered then backed out on. So I take it out the box and after insuring there was no magazine in the firearm and no ammunition in the chamber either, I did a couple function tests and dry fires to see how things felt. I then began to breakdown the firearm to inspect how the spring was sitting and look for anything that may concern me. At first glance all looked ok but as I looked closer it appeared the spring was not sitting down far enough into the groove on the barrel. I re-adjusted the spring and reassembled the firearm where I once again did multiple function tests and then back to disassembly. This time, I see the spring is not even sitting down against the barrel where it was before but is not sitting up in another notch that I do not believe it is intended to sit in but I know for sure it was not there when reassembled.
So I disassemble and reassemble the firearm one more time and begin to function test it again to see if I can get it to repeat. About the 3d or 4th time I pull the slide back and release there is a major malfunction. I have no idea what happened but front of the guide rod and barrel were standing at least and inch out in front of the firearm and part of the spring was pressed out as well. It was jammed up so tight it could not be disassembled or even have the slide completely close. Myself and the salesman both worked with it for over half an hour trying to figure out what was wrong and how to fix the problem. At one point, I held pressure back on the slide while he hit the barrel and guide rod with the palm of his hand as hard as he could and that did return everything partially back to place. However, try as we might, even using a rubber mallet, we could not make them return to proper position.
After another 15 min or so of me refusing to leave while the firearm was in that condition, I somehow, and I have no idea how, managed to work it free and everything seemed to fall back into place. As soon as everything returned to place, I immediately disassembled the firearm to inspect for the cause and any damage. There did not seem to be any cause obvious problems that would have caused such a malfunction. We did however notice the head of the guide rod/spring where it sits against the barrel appeared to be bent at about a 25 degree angle. The salesman took the rubber mallet and gently attempted to straighten the end of the spring and had some degree of sucess. Now that could have happened while we were trying to force it back into position or it may have just been the cause of it all. I also noticed the gold packing grease seemed a little heavier, not much but a little, then I am used to seeing so we cleaned it and put a tiny bit of lubricant on the slide. It was while we were applying the lubricant that we noticed a very small bit of metal on the slide that wiped off. I guess it could have been some flashing but it was still a concern. We reassembled the firearm and did a couple function checks and everything seemed ok then.
I guess what I am wondering is if anyone has had one do anything similar. I don't feel like the cause would have been either the grease or the tiny bit of metal on the slide. It appeared to me that the spring was the culprit all along. Now they are trying to sell me that particular gun but I just do not have faith in it and am really losing faith in Gen 4s altogether. I could not bring myself to buy this firearm today and am not sure I could without a replacement spring because lets face it, once something is bent and then bent back into shape it is generally weaker. I really wanted to purchase one this week but now I think I will wait. I am supposed to be visited at work by the regional glock LE rep within the next month for a demo for the department (they most likely will not buy because they are cheap) and he is supposed to bring a test and evaluation gun or 10 to try. I am now leaning towards waiting for that and seeing if there are any problems there and to talk with him about what happened today. However, even if things go well then I am not sure my faith will be fully restored.