trustygun25
New member
Im thinking about putting a tac light on one of my Glocks for home defence and i have heard of a few storys of polymer frame guns not being as realiable with lights on them, can any shed some light on this? no pun intended lol
Glock reliability with tac light
- Thread starter trustygun25
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mrgoodwrench76
New member
I fail to see how adding a light to the rail would affect reliability. I get better groups with the light on, probably due to the extra weight but I've never had a failure from it.
From Streamlight website:
Q: Are there Issues Using Tactical Lights on Glock® Pistols?
A: Some Glock® .40 caliber pistols, models 22 and 23, exhibit feeding malfunctions, either nose down or nose up (stovepipe), when used with tactical lights. The problems tend to occur with individual guns, with some pistols becoming totally unreliable while other identical, even close in serial number sequence, guns have no problems. Most models 22 and 23 are reliable.
A sensitive gun may malfunction with any tactical light - the TLRs, the older M models, and even Glock®’s own brand. There is evidence that the problem sometimes develops with use, and may progress until the pistol is unreliable even with no light attached.
On the basis of testing by Streamlight, we believe the problem is magazine related. It appears that the rounds are unable to rise fast enough for proper cycling. We have observed proper feeding for the first few rounds, consistent failures at mid-magazine capacity, and a return to proper feeding of the last few cartridges in the magazine.
We have tried both stronger and weaker recoil springs, and compound-action recoil buffers, all without success. Sometimes new magazine springs, either new Glock® or Wolff, will cure the problem. In one case of a pistol which was totally reliable when new but progressed to malfunctioning on every magazine, even with no light installed, we found two solutions which restored reliability, but which might not be acceptable to some users. The first was using 10 round capacity Glock® magazines. The gun will not cycle reliably with 15 round mags with their steeply stacked columns but works flawlessly with 10 round mags. The second solution was a new magazine follower from Brownells®, their part number 069-000-006. When used in a 15 round magazine with a new spring, reliability was restored. However, the follower would not lock the slide open after the last round.
Ammunition is also a factor with any weapon. Some brands and weights may be totally reliable while others jam repeatedly. Make sure your gun is thoroughly tested with your duty ammo.
http://www.streamlight.com/faq/
Q: Are there Issues Using Tactical Lights on Glock® Pistols?
A: Some Glock® .40 caliber pistols, models 22 and 23, exhibit feeding malfunctions, either nose down or nose up (stovepipe), when used with tactical lights. The problems tend to occur with individual guns, with some pistols becoming totally unreliable while other identical, even close in serial number sequence, guns have no problems. Most models 22 and 23 are reliable.
A sensitive gun may malfunction with any tactical light - the TLRs, the older M models, and even Glock®’s own brand. There is evidence that the problem sometimes develops with use, and may progress until the pistol is unreliable even with no light attached.
On the basis of testing by Streamlight, we believe the problem is magazine related. It appears that the rounds are unable to rise fast enough for proper cycling. We have observed proper feeding for the first few rounds, consistent failures at mid-magazine capacity, and a return to proper feeding of the last few cartridges in the magazine.
We have tried both stronger and weaker recoil springs, and compound-action recoil buffers, all without success. Sometimes new magazine springs, either new Glock® or Wolff, will cure the problem. In one case of a pistol which was totally reliable when new but progressed to malfunctioning on every magazine, even with no light installed, we found two solutions which restored reliability, but which might not be acceptable to some users. The first was using 10 round capacity Glock® magazines. The gun will not cycle reliably with 15 round mags with their steeply stacked columns but works flawlessly with 10 round mags. The second solution was a new magazine follower from Brownells®, their part number 069-000-006. When used in a 15 round magazine with a new spring, reliability was restored. However, the follower would not lock the slide open after the last round.
Ammunition is also a factor with any weapon. Some brands and weights may be totally reliable while others jam repeatedly. Make sure your gun is thoroughly tested with your duty ammo.
http://www.streamlight.com/faq/
mrgoodwrench76
New member
Thats what I thought. Any handgun can be reliable or not for various reasons, a rail mounted tac light not being one of those reasons.
There are a couple departments in my county that carry 19's for duty. They experienced a couple of these problems with their weapons. I spoke to one department's head range guy and he said that he spoke to a Glock representative. The rep told him that Glock frames are made to flex during cycling. It's possible that a weapon mounted light may stiffen the frame to the point where a malfunction might occur in some of their models. Just food for thought.
mrgoodwrench76
New member
If that were the case, then why would they put the rail there to begin with? I just dont buy it.
trustygun25
New member
Cool I just wanted to make sure.
jcsturgeon
New member
I think it's nonsense. Mine works just fine with the light.
Glock 22 Gen4. I have the Streamlight TLR-3 (single CR2 battery) mounted to the rail.
I've put about 100 rounds each of 40 and 9mm (using a Storm Lake conversion barrel) through with the light attached, with no issues or malfunctions. Not exactly a torture test but it does work for me.
I've put about 100 rounds each of 40 and 9mm (using a Storm Lake conversion barrel) through with the light attached, with no issues or malfunctions. Not exactly a torture test but it does work for me.
DannySeesUSMC
New member
it's strange to see people say they think it's nonsense...how does silly speculation help people looking for factual knowledge?
Back when the FBI was still using Gold Dots, they had to have a new load made up to help reliability with their Glocks + tac lights. Several PD's reported having problems also.
It's based on Glock only ever so slightly altering the 17 design all of these years, they always have problems when it comes to a new alteration or two. You are the R&D team
Back when the FBI was still using Gold Dots, they had to have a new load made up to help reliability with their Glocks + tac lights. Several PD's reported having problems also.
It's based on Glock only ever so slightly altering the 17 design all of these years, they always have problems when it comes to a new alteration or two. You are the R&D team
patriotthad
New member
In a Glock Amorer school a few weeks ago, this problem was mentioned. We were told to replace the 10 coil magazine spring with an 11 coil mag spring.
Tactical Jackalope
New member
What about XD45's reliability? D:
Keep in mind these pistols are recoil operated with a locked breach, not a simple blow back design. As most of you know a limp wristed hold can cause malfunctions so adding a good chunk of weight to the front of the pistol can have strange effects. Bottom line is you've got to throughly test your duty weapon with a sight and your duty--not practice--ammo.
Anyone thats seen the slow mo video of how the Glocks dustcover whips like a rubber hose under recoil shouldnt be shocked that a tac light can cause problems. Add more mass to that whipping action and the dustcover will bounce up til it makes contact with the slide as it slams into battery.