Glock Issue

02 Jan 08

Glock issue.

This is old news to many of us, but it is still critical for every Glock owner:

"John, I had a disconcerting moment at the range today. I attempted to fire my G19, which I just acquired, used, from another LEO. It went "click," but it wouldn't fire! I bought the gun several days ago used and, at that time, it appeared to function normally. Not today! Today, it was a good deal colder than when I first test-fired the pistol, and that should have been a hint!

When examining the recalcitrant rounds, I noticed that the striker was leaving only shallow and unconvincing dents on the primers. I have seen this problem before, and, in every case, the culprit was a striker-channel and spring that are gummed up with green-colored gunk. This is usually caused by owners who generously (and repeatedly) 'lubricate' the striker-channel, spring, and striker itself, in direct contradiction to Glock's literature whichadvises to keep the channel bone-dry.

When our armorer broke the weapon down all the way, that is exactly what we found! Shame on me for not asking our armorer to break it down an inspect it first thing. Once the striker-channel, striker, and spring were all clean and dry, the pistol fired normally, even in the cold, with nary a hiccup."

Comment: Advice to used-gun buyers: Spend the time and money to have a armorer/gunsmith detail dissemble your new acquisition and inspect/clean/adjust/replace parts, as necessary, BEFORE putting the weaponinto serious service. Glocks are normally extremely reliable, but even they have issues, as we see.

"'Luck' is merely probability, taken personally."

/John