Calling all Glock experts - light primer strikes and failure to fire

[Velzey]

I've seen this before. Get yourself a couple Wolff spring kits.

 

[OIF11B2P]

Ok, I should have posted it as "aftermarket Glock varient" instead of Glock. I'm not saying Glocks have reliability issues, all I was saying that the issue I am having seems to have enough support out there already that I could have just googled it instead of being lazy and posting on here looking for a quick solution.

 

[DirectDrive]

Ok, I should have posted it as "aftermarket Glock varient" instead of Glock. I'm not saying Glocks have reliability issues, all I was saying that the issue I am having seems to have enough support out there already that I could have just googled it instead of being lazy and posting on here looking for a quick solution.

Why do you want to "own the fixes" on these pistols ?
Why not let the builders fix their products ?

 

[OIF11B2P]

I want to own the fixes because I like to learn. I like to tinker and get an idea of how things work. I don't pay someone to change the oil in my car, I do it myself because I can. If I can fix it myself, learn something, maybe save some money, why not?

And maybe I don't want to send something off and not have it for a few weeks because I like to stare at it when no one else is looking.

 

[Member 34319]

Why do you want to "own the fixes" on these pistols ?
Why not let the builders fix their products ?

This x1000.

If a stock Glock was actually having these issues, which I'm certain it wouldn't. I own or owned both models you have in the original stock configuration. As I've known many, many, many others that own 43s and 19s that have had thousands if not 10s of thousands of rounds through them with absolutely zero issues.

If one of those said Glocks did for whatever reason have an issue, Glock would fix it without question and with relatively zero hassle.

These pistols CAN NOT be sent to Glock. They won't repair aftermarket Glocks. They might, but they usually throw away the aftermarket stuff you have on it, replace it with factory parts, and send it back to you.

This is totally on the maker of your firearms. I would make them make it right.

 

[DirectDrive]

I want to own the fixes because I like to learn. I like to tinker and get an idea of how things work. I don't pay someone to change the oil in my car, I do it myself because I can. If I can fix it myself, learn something, maybe save some money, why not?

And maybe I don't want to send something off and not have it for a few weeks because I like to stare at it when no one else is looking.

OK

If it's "light strike" with the G43, then verify that you have a 5.5lb OEM striker spring in there.
How to tell ?
Aftermarket striker spring will be dark in color.
OEM 5.5lb spring will be a "galvanized" looking color....a dull silver color.

If you have a .270 bore mop, run it into the channel and make sure it's dry.
If no bore mop, then fashion something or use a Q-Tip.

With the Grey Ghost, same thing. Verify what that striker spring is.
If you need OEM striker springs, I can send you a couple.

ETA:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying run stock striker springs forever, but lets eliminate some variables and get your pistols running.
And I'd feed them some full power ammo, too.

DD
Who doesn't want to say NATO ammo and have to buy some RMR's that got thrown off.

 

[DirectDrive]

And make sure it's "light strike" and not "fail to return to battery" that we are talking about.
These are two different troubleshoot paths.

 

[OIF11B2P]

I'm 100% with you that I will have the makers own the issues IF it is not something stupid simple I can fix on my own for something inexpensive like some springs and 15 minutes of my time. Anything beyond that, and I'll be on the phone getting a RMA.

So,f I'll head out and shoot them making sure the channel is dry, I very well could have put too much lube in them today, being that they are both new, I wanted to make sure they were on the wet side.

After that, if I still have the issues, I will take the advice above with finding out what springs are in there and going with what you all have suggested.

And for the record, I have a Salient BLU-C coming in next week so if I have any issues with that one, I will be sure to title the thread appropriately as to not offend anyone in the non aftermarket Glock camp

 

[neven]

To add to the variety of opinions, my observation on the two factory Glocks that I have is that they both strike primers with less force than my hammer fired semiautos.
The only time this is a problem for me is if the primers in question are CCI 550 small pistol magnum or harder. The failure rate on CCI 550 is a little less than 0.5% for me. The strikes are always dead center, just not deep enough.
Luckily, most factory ammo has primers that are softer than
CCI 550 magnum so this is not an issue.

It sounds like the original poster's problem is more severe.
I would try the strongest available firing pin spring first.
(On second thought, it may be a return to battery problem.
This should be solved first.)

 

[Greenbug]

Do either of your triggers have an over travel adjustment?
You could possibly be experiencing some striker drag due to insufficient over travel on your trigger. That would also explain why it only did it on slow careful delicate trigger pulls trying to be accurate.

 

[OIF11B2P]

To my knowledge, the triggers do not have over travel adjustment. They are just drop in triggers with nothing to adjust. It makes sense what you said about striker drag, but I'm also really thinking I may have over done it with the lube. I normally only use EWP grease but in a rush to get out the door, I hit them both some regular slip2000 since it was right in front of me.

Then 43 definitely did fail to go into battery and I had to push the slide forward many times to get in to battery.

I did not visually see or feel the CCP fail to go in to battery yet it still had the off center primer strikes and more failures to fire than the 43.

And bullet weights were mentioned earlier, I did only shoot factory 124 and 147s.

 

[Kruel J]

To my knowledge, the triggers do not have over travel adjustment. They are just drop in triggers with nothing to adjust. It makes sense what you said about striker drag, but I'm also really thinking I may have over done it with the lube. I normally only use EWP grease but in a rush to get out the door, I hit them both some regular slip2000 since it was right in front of me.

Then 43 definitely did fail to go into battery and I had to push the slide forward many times to get in to battery.

I did not visually see or feel the CCP fail to go in to battery yet it still had the off center primer strikes and more failures to fire than the 43.

And bullet weights were mentioned earlier, I did only shoot factory 124 and 147s.

Definitely an issue with not fully going into battery. Shoot man I would send those things back for warranty work.

 

[osprey]

I would send them back to the manufacturer until they are right. Stock glocks are boringly reliable. The chances of buying two stock glocks and having issues with both are little and none. I would suggest picking one up and learn it inside and out as it will help you diagnose the gucci variety. The firing pins are not round and are shaped like the breech face opening. They still should strike pretty much in the center and leave a good impression. Maybe a slightly out of battery situation? What ammo were you using?

 

[TTSX]

stock glocks do not need heavier springs. they run right out of the box

Just gonna give my .02 on that. I do have one Glock, a gen 4 19 that would light strike wolf steel case once every 100 or so. So I put in a "blue" striker spring because I like shooting cheap steel ammo. Other than that, it's been better than flawless.

To the OP, anything not OE glock that advertises a lighter trigger probably has reliability issues built in.

 

[OIF11B2P]

Okay, haven't read all posts since my last but I'm back out in the pit and think the 43 issue is solved. It definitely was not going back into battery, and when reassembling it after cleaning, the RSA just didn't seem snug enough.

I have a couple extra 43 barrels laying around. Stuck a TRUE barrel in and the RSA seems much tighter. Just ran a dozen mags through it with no issues. It does ever so slightly seem to be a bee's dick out of battery but zero light primer strikes and primer strikes are now centered on the primer. I'll call Suarez tomorrow amd run this by them, but as another user posted... I'm aware of the reputation.

Going to shoot 5 mags through the CCP and see if the cleaning and grease will have any effect but I'm not crossing my fingers on this one since all the parts still the same outside of being cleaned and using a different lube.

 

[DirectDrive]

To my knowledge, the triggers do not have over travel adjustment. They are just drop in triggers with nothing to adjust. It makes sense what you said about striker drag, but I'm also really thinking I may have over done it with the lube. I normally only use EWP grease but in a rush to get out the door, I hit them both some regular slip2000 since it was right in front of me.

So you hosed them like you would an M4 ?

Then 43 definitely did fail to go into battery and I had to push the slide forward many times to get in to battery.

You did not mention this until now.
This is a different kind of problem/troubleshoot process.

I did not visually see or feel the CCP fail to go in to battery yet it still had the off center primer strikes and more failures to fire than the 43.

A lot of proprietary parts in this one.
Of the two, this one most likely has a reduced power striker spring.

So unfuk them from the Slip 2000 hosing and try again.

Here is the Glock lubrication plan....the unit of measure is "drops"


My deviation from that plan is....
I use Microlon or Lubriplate #105 Engine Assembly (break-in) Lube which is a very, very light grease in these areas using a dedicated artist brush :

Paint a light coating into the slide grooves
Paint a light dollop on the area inside the oval mark in the slide
Small touch on the top of the striker safety plunger
Small touch on the striker lug

Everything else gets oil.

You can use the scant Glock (oil) lube plan exclusively, but new pistols love Microlon in the slide grooves for the break-in.
I wipe it out and re-apply at each cleaning session.

 

[Ops]

factory ammo or reman?

 

[WoodsPlinker]

Sounds like possible issues have been covered. So I'll just share my story since you got it solved and might run into something similar.

Only twice have I had issues in my Glocks with light primer strikes. The first time was gunk around the firing pin, helps of you clean that area every few thousand rounds.

The other time I got a new aftermarket firing pin and springs and it blew through the primer. So I didn't notice and not only did it puncture the primer the heat stuck the primer to the firing pin. It got stuck in the tiny hole in front of the firing pin blocking the firing pin from striking future rounds very hard.

After about a hundred rounds of disappointment I noticed something shiny in the firing pin hole that didn't look right during cleaning.

After popping the metal out of there I haven't had any more issues to write home about.

Best of luck to ya that it's cleared up for good

 

[DirectDrive]

Sounds like possible issues have been covered. So I'll just share my story since you got it solved and might run into something similar.

Only twice have I had issues in my Glocks with light primer strikes. The first time was gunk around the firing pin, helps of you clean that area every few thousand rounds.

The other time I got a new aftermarket firing pin and springs and it blew through the primer. So I didn't notice and not only did it puncture the primer the heat stuck the primer to the firing pin. It got stuck in the tiny hole in front of the firing pin blocking the firing pin from striking future rounds very hard.

After about a hundred rounds of disappointment I noticed something shiny in the firing pin hole that didn't look right during cleaning.

After popping the metal out of there I haven't had any more issues to write home about.

Best of luck to ya that it's cleared up for good

That's an interesting episode with the AM firing pin and springs.
For future reference, what exactly was the firing pin brand and the spring weight ?

 

[WoodsPlinker]

That's an interesting episode with the AM firing pin and springs.
For future reference, what exactly was the firing pin brand and the spring weight ?

LS titanium striker and Wolff 5lb spring. (In Glock 17)