The most troublesome and trouble free glock

meat

New member
In your experience, what is the most trouble free glock? For me it seems to be the model 17. It works every time. When I look at posts regarding problems other glocks have had (e.g. G19 Phase 3 malf., the .40 s&w models kaboom problems, the .45 acp models w/ cracked frames and firing out of battery problems, etc.), it seems that the original model 17 has the least amount of reported issues. I'm not out to start a flame war, I'm just curious to hear what has been good and bad about the glock models that you own. It's curios to me because the more I read about threads regarding glocks and 1911's, it appears that the ones that have more problems are the ones that are variations or compact models that alter the original design. This isn't saying that the originals never experience problems, it's just that they haven't been as common in posts.
 

taco

New member
I have owned 3 G17 (1st, 2nd and 3rd generations) a G19 and G26 and all 3 G17 and G26 worked perfectly. The G19 did have few failure to eject problems (no other failures) but only 3 or 4 times out of thousands of rounds fired. It could have been just that particular pistol. Overall, Glocks are damn reliable pistols. Too bad I don't like them.
 

Tecolote

New member
Personal Experience?

If you mean personal experience I've never had a problem with a Glock that wasn't ammo related. On about three occasions with a G19 and a G23 I had failures to eject and one failure to ignite a round. The failures to eject were due to underpowered Winchester 115 and the failure to ignite was with cheapie Blazer ammo. :p
 
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eap

New member
the problems you mention qualify for "unsolved mysteries", most likely urban myth.

the phase III ONLY happens to ny police, enough said.

the .40 kaboom, internet lore.

never heard of the .45 frame problem.

if something happens just send it to glock, but most can be fixed by yourself or an armorer at a gssf match. i've never seen any of these problems or known anybody who had them besides the bs you see on the net. all my glocks have functioned flawlessly for me and everybody else i know.
 

meat

New member
Yes Tecolote , I would like to hear about personal experiences from owners or "events" that have been witnessed. thanks.
 

juliet charley

New member
the phase III ONLY happens to ny police, enough said.
Actually, there have been Phase III type failures other than the NYPD. They are just more obvious there because of the large numbers of G19s in service and detailed tracking/documentation.
the .40 kaboom, internet lore.
Not really. Maybe not as common as one would believe based on the internet but definitely happens and has been documented.
never heard of the .45 frame problem.
This was pretty well hashed out over on Glock Talk (with no denials). Seems like it was a rather minor problem when Glock had a small run of bad frames that resulted in minor cracks around the serial number plate. It involved G29s as well (same frames) and did not cause any functioning problems.

The G19 has had some other fairly well documented problems early in its life including a tendency to slam fire (and even go full auto). It also "disintegrated during the DEA's "frisbee testing"--throwing/sliding it across a parking lot (not a totally unreasonable test for a proposed law enforcement weapon). These problems have been pretty well addressed by Glock's "voluntary upgrade," but there might still be a few "original issue" weapons out there.

If I had to pick a "must absolutely work every time" Glock, the G17 is a no-brainer.

FWIW, I have had two Glocks (out of several) that can only be described as lemons. One a G23 that was just plain inaccurate--nobody what ammunition, whether from a rest or not, it just plain would not shoot a group--it though bullets all over the place. The second was an early G31--it could not get through a magazine without numerous failures to eject--I tried four different mags and different ammo,and it just wouldn't work--my guess was it had the wrong extractor (a relatively easy fix, but it shouldn't have happened).
 

www.glock19.com

New member
from selling appox 200 glocks a year for the past 5 years
and being a glock armorer
i would say the most reliable is the 17
The least the 20.
the 9mm/40/357sig seem to be more reliable than the 45/10mm
On the frame problem the only serious glock problem i have ever seen that i could not fix by changeing out parts was a g30 that the frame split down the dust cover by the serial number plate.glock replaced the whole pistol
 

meat

New member
Thanks for the reply juliet charley and www.glock19.com. Your responses coincide w/ some of the research I have done at glocktalk. I'm just trying to see what's internet hype and what's not. I'm really wanting that G17 more and more now.
 

Blue Duck357

New member
Love the 17 but would note the earlier models with the older extractors tend to have a bad habit of throwing brass where it does not need to go (i.e. shooters face).

Some will argue it's limpwristing or bad ammo and it may sometimes be but funny how wrist suddenly get stronger and ammo better with the upgraded extractor or a little filing on the ejector ;)
 

Mo_Zam_Beek

New member
My personal experience is limited to a 27 and a 30.

The 27 has about 1k rounds through it. Seems to be fine - no probs.

The 30 is new. Many light primer strikes. Has some issues with some hollow points. Bottom line - I am not sold on the 30. May dump it soon.
 

JohnKSa

Administrator
quote:
-------------------------------------
the .40 kaboom, internet lore.
-------------------------------------

Not really. Maybe not as common as one would believe based on the internet but definitely happens and has been documented.
Have to agree. I don't think the .40 kB! is a myth. It does happen--and not just to Glocks either!
If I had to pick a "must absolutely work every time" Glock, the G17 is a no-brainer.
Have to agree again--the first is still the best...
I would say the most reliable is the 17
The least the 20.
That statement in combination with the fact that the 20 is often praised as the most durable 10mm on the market gives one a good frame of reference for gauging the other Glock pistols.

Good shooting,

John
 

beastman

New member
I just put another 250 rounds through my 17 tonight. The only issue that I have seen is if the shooter limp wrists. I haven't had it happen to me, but one of my wife's friends had it happen twice.

The best shooting Glock I have tried is the G35. What a sweet gun (put 250 rounds through it tonight and WOW does it shoot well!)



I don't know how many "torture tests" have been done to other Glocks, but from what I have heard, it is hard to break a G17
 

Ala Dan

Member in memoriam
Another vote for the early production, 1st series G-17!:D

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 

IanS

New member
Although I depend on a G23 (juliet charley's favorite ;)) for protection I recommend the G17 if it'll allay any concerns you may have. Its better to move on and concentrate on shooting instead of vacillating about something that may or may not happen to YOU. And save these kind of debates for fun and when you have time to kill.

The only times I've heard people express concern about Glock kB! or Glocks being more prone to failure HAS BEEN ON THE INTERNET. The past ten years of shooting I have never heard from anyone about any serious concerns surrounding Glocks and every time I bring the subject up at the range or elsewhere I just get blank looks. I am not refuting juliet charley or the documented cases surrounding Glocks. They probably did occur. Its a big world. And there has been lots of misleading, inaccurate, and colored remarks (good and bad) surrounding Glocks more than almost any other pistol IMO. With Glocks its always a passionate debate it seems. But in my personal experience (outside of the anonimity of cyberspace) the worst comments I've heard about Glocks were the fact they were plastic or that they simply didn't like them. I've been shooting Glocks of various calibers off and on for the past 10 years and I'm letting my own experiences be the guide.

So get that Glock 17 and happy shooting.
 

Jack19

New member
I've never had "trouble" with any Glock. For me, they've all been trouble free. Some haven't been my cup of tea (like the 40s) but they've all been reliable.
 

john kilgore

New member
The Glock .40 S&W Ka-Boom is not just internet lore.

One of our G-22's departed this world along with a piece of one of our officers thumbs in 1998. The ser.# was 02XX-DNR.
Several things happened to cause this kb.
1. Due to firearm design, the pistol fired out of battery
2. The unsupported case head allowed the catastrophic release of gasses that resulted in kb.
3. Hot loaded remanufactured with out of spec. case diminsions initiated chain of sequence resulting in kb.

Ammo was 180 fmj loaded by MasterCartridge of Villa Rica, Ga. The nominal spec on the ammo was 1050 fps, a bit hotter than normal spec, but the CEO of Master assured me that the pressures are within SAAMI pressure limits.

The Cartridge loader blamed the Glocks design, and construction; Glock blamed the Cartridge Co.
They were both Right !!!

The case head (Starline) was previously fired in a Glock and the casehead was weakened in the area of the feed ramp.
Since, we now only use new factory ammo for qualification as most agencies who shoot Glocks do.
That explains why you can't give away .40 S&W brass. Last time I checked, it was going for $20.00 a thousand which is about what it cost to ship.
 
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