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New to the Glock world

3K views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  SouthernBoy 
#1 ·
I own many handguns. I prefer all metal handguns, but have a few poly guns because they are nice for CC. I have never owned a Glock because I didn't like the look. They are plain looking, kind of like a stick of butter.... A while back I purchased a nice SW 1911 3". The gun has been a bear to break in. 500 rounds and still having FTE's every once in a while. I won't carry the gun because of this. I also love .45, it's a great round! Accurate, packs a punch, and it's fun to shoot. I decided to go a different route and purchased a new Glock 36. I've only put 50 rounds through it, but had no malfs whatsoever. The only bad thing was the pinky pinching between the mag and gun.... I've ordered some Pearce extensions which look like they will fix that issue. I never thought I would say this, but I really like this gun! Simple, accurate, (reliable is yet to be determined, but good so far). I may actually start a new collection:)
 
#3 ·
I had that same pinched pinky finger my 1st time out with my G30. I was so excited about shooting it, I didn't realize the pinch until I was done shooting. The G30 was my 1st Glock I bought or fired a few months ago. I was so impressed with it, I bought a G23. I never really had the desire to shoot or own a Glock. I decided to purchase one based on their exceptional performance history and have not looked back. I have owned a Kimber Stainless classic for about 13 years and bought a S&W .357 magnum revolver a few years ago. I wanted another 9 mm handgun so I purchased a Sig Sauer M11 (P228). Man what that a train wreck. That dang gun would consistently FTE. I shoot over 800 rounds through it and the problem never went away. I call Sig a dozen times, never got an answer, could not leave a message. E-mailed several people at Sig and did not get one response. That is poor customer service. I finally gave up on it and traded it in and lost my shorts on what I got for it compared to what I paid. Oh well lesson learned. I will just buy a reliable handgun. Glock.
 
#4 ·
Unfortunately, I have put 400 rounds (took forever) through the G36 and I am having FTE's at least every other mag. I have emailed Glock and am waiting on their reply. On the Glock forum, I found that this is not uncommon with the 36..... I want this weapon for carry, so it's imperative it runs all the time. Hopefully it's something simple. I am not limp wristing either. I shot 100 rounds tonight with white knuckles and arms locked just to make sure I was not the problem. I still had a lot of FTE's. So many I can't recall the number, I'm guessing 10.... Not thrilled about my first Glock experience, but I should have done my due diligence before I purchased. I probably would have gone with the 30SF. Trekman, I have a few Sigs, and have nothing but praise for all of them. My 226 Extreme 9mm goes bang no matter what garbage I feed it. Accurate as heck too. I have burned through a few 3" 1911's trying to find one that runs well, but haven't had a whole lotta luck. I finally went with a 4" Sig 1911 C3 that so far, runs like a champ is light weight and hopefully will earn the priviledge of being one of my carry guns. I have a Ruger Commander that runs great, but weighs a ton:)
 
#5 ·
Are these stoppages with full-power defensive ammunition, or lighter practice/target-shooting loads? If it's the practice/target ammo, I'd clean the Glock, lubricate it in accordance with the manual (very important, especially with a new-ish pistol), and try it again with your full-power defensive loads.

Yes, I know this will be expensive, but the reliability may be just fine when you feed it high-quality ammo. Think of it like putting cheap gasoline vs. high-octane fuel in a race car; you won't get very good results with the low-end stuff there, either.
 
#6 ·
I own six Glocks, all gen3's, and out of all of them I have only had two failures. Two stovepipes with my primary carry gun (G23) and I know exactly why they occurred. The first one happened when the gun was new and it was because I was resting the past of the magazine on a shooting pad. Under recoil, the magazine was pressed further into its well which moved the next round further up. This impaired the extraction of the fired round. The second time was when I took a lady friend and her fiance to the range. She owns guns but had never fired a Glock. I let her fire my G23 carry gun and she clearly limp wristed it, resulting in a stovepipe.

Oh, and I did have a few failures to go to slide lock on my carry G23 because it came with an extended slide stop and I would hit it a few times during drills. That is not the fault of the gun but I replaced it anyway with the standard Glock slide stop.

These guns just flat run... like the Eveready Bunnie. I go to the range every two weeks with a neighbor friend and he competes several times a year, thought because of the ammo shortage and my back we haven't been able to do this for several months. He fires around 5000 round a year and only cleans his gen3 G19 maybe two or three times a year. Because of this, he does get the occasional FTF and failure to go into slide lock, but again, that gun gets dirty. Otherwise it just runs and runs.

I have three M&P's, one of which is an M&P 9mm Pro Series. I have fired over 3000 rounds through it and have had a few failures to go to slide lock and an occasional FTF, but it has also been pretty much dead on reliable... and very accurate. All of these guns were made to shoot and they do it very well. My primary carry gun, as mentioned, is one of my gen3 Glock 23's and it is one solid and reliable sidearm. I worry far more about me doing my part than the gun doing its part.
 
#7 ·
It fires defensive rounds fine..... Fired 40 Federal HST 230 with no issues. $50 bucks shot quick..... I called Smyrna and told them I have have a G36 that is having FTE issues. Immediately the reply was "what's your address? We will send you a new RSA". Said without a pause.:) I asked if this was a common problem. He avoided answering my question and said that if this didn't work, they would need to take a look at it.
 
#8 ·
I don't believe in breaking-in a firearm.

If it doesn't fire correctly right out of the box, there's something wrong with it. A gun may fire better after so many rounds, but that's still no excuse for it not functioning right when new.

I've purchased so many firearms over the years, I've lost count. I can say that I've never had to break one in, for it to function properly.

And, I prefer the term "wear-in" vs. "break-in", if you really need to use a term at all. Most likely, functioning issues are more likely caused by ammo, than the actual firearm itself.
 
#13 ·
I don't believe in breaking-in a firearm.

If it doesn't fire correctly right out of the box, there's something wrong with it. A gun may fire better after so many rounds, but that's still no excuse for it not functioning right when new.

I've purchased so many firearms over the years, I've lost count. I can say that I've never had to break one in, for it to function properly.

And, I prefer the term "wear-in" vs. "break-in", if you really need to use a term at all. Most likely, functioning issues are more likely caused by ammo, than the actual firearm itself.
Wear-in is a good term to use.

There is one gun manufacturer who specifically addresses "breaking in" their guns when purchased new. Kahr Arms states that you should run 200 rounds through their guns when new before considering them to be good to go. Though they don't state the "why" of this, I suspect it is because their tolerances are so tight that they need to be worked in before being reliable enough to carry. I have owned eleven Kahrs and still own five, and all of them have been very tight right out of the box.

As for Glocks, I've owned eight of them and still own six. Every one has been fine right out of the box. I treat them just like any other good gun I might carry. Buy it, take it home and get familiar with it, field strip it and give it a quick cleanup and some lubrication, then take it to the range and shoot it.
 
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