Not A Good Day On The Range For Glocks

[Mike97124]

One thought I did have based on watching a bunch of YouTube videos on the LCP 2 and other .380 guns where they would have problems with some ammo... I don't believe the Glocks were very old for any of them and I know they don't seem to go shooting all that often so it could be that the guns just haven't had enough ammunition through them to so they are broken in. It's a thought anyway.

My wife and I are going to go do some window shopping at a store that has some choices in .380 and let her handle a few, play with the slide, loading the magazine, check out the hand fit, etc...to see if she will have any issues that show up prior to firing them. I'm still trying to talk her into trying a .22 magnum, although I've not found on in a revolver yet that she would be able to carry easily. But I'll go with what ever she feels more comfortable with, because if she isn't comfortable with it, she won't take it with her most of the time. Maybe I should just carry it and if we need it, hand it to her since she is a better shot than I am.

Mike

 

[Lilhigbee]

Glocks are awesome. Please don't make fun of them. I actually saw one fn up on Saturday after our rimfire shoot as well. I must have been seeing things though, as we all know "they always function flawlessly "...

I presume you are referring to my pistol. Can't blame Glock for that. 80% lower with Swensen slide and barrel, bought used here. The only Glock parts are the parts in the frame. Gun wouldn't extract. Brass stuck firmly in the chamber. Five rounds, all single-shot, all the same. Got it home and the chamber is coated with some nasty-bubblegum crap, like maybe the lacquer had come off some steel-cased rounds?? spent a while cleaning it up. I think it will be fine now. Need another day at the range to make sure.

 

[orygun]

I believe there's an operator problem going on, not a gun problem. I let a friend shoot my perfectly reliable Officers size, double stack 1911 and he couldn't get thru a whole "clip" D) without it stovepiping. He tried a few mags and it just wouldn't work (I thought he broke it!). I took my gun back and proceeded to shoot Clip after Mag thru it, well I shot the bullets from them without having one single feeding or extracting issue. Later, after I'd told him not to be such a Pee-You-double-SS-why he shot it without a hitch.

Seriously, I believe a firmer shooting grip, or using two hands if previously only using one, will solve most, if not all of those Glocks feeding issues.

 

[DuneHopper]

Not a Glock fan by any means. But they usually work as they should.
I do not like them, cause they are boxes and feel cheap compared to steal.
I CC a Shield, and yep those are plastic too. But Glock just always feel like holding a brick.
Never been a fan and don't see it unless some one bought me one

 

[bbbass]

Well, to me, any semi that needs the shooter to be braced against a brick wall to get it to shoot reliably is not a gun I want to depend on. If it's that susceptible to not firing because even a little of the power of the recoil is wasted based on how the gun is held, then it sounds like a defect or poor design. I wasn't watching every time one of the Glocks mis-fed or failed to feed but at least some of the times I saw it the person had a good two handed grip on the gun. So I don't go along with what many are saying about it being limp wristed. I'd go with the type of ammunition or cleaning habits first as a guess.
Mike

A two-handed grip is all ya need eh?

All semi's need the shooter to be braced... borrowing half of what you wrote. It's built into the beasts. Glocks are no more prone to lack of proper grip and stance than any other semi.

MY first suspect would be dirty guns, followed closely by reloaded ammo, which has huge potential for feeding and cycling problems. Add in a dirty action and chamber, then add in limp-wristing, and ya got troubles.

Limp wristing is not a myth or so many qualified, highly experienced shooters here would not be mentioning it. I've personally assisted new shooters and female shooters at my local IDPA club to overcome problems they were having due to poor grip and stance. IMO one needs a better class of Youtube vids to watch and some real classes on Self Defense shooting to properly understand semi issues. They're not revolvers... both have advantages and disadvantages.

 

[bbbass]

To add a bit more to this notion of limp-wristing...

Consider the techniques involved in an isosceles grip/stance and those for a Weaver grip/stance... both involve muscle control. An isosceles stiffens the forearms/wrists/upperback (when done properly), and a proper Weaver uses a push/pull two hand grip while easing upper body tension.

The truth is: one cannot properly control a semi-auto pistol w/o using good grip/hand/stance/body technique. Note that I specify "properly control".... surely it is possible to send rounds downrange while not using any particular technique, but the results are likely to be spotty.

I think we are witness to a generation (edit: meant loosely as in group or gaggle rather than meaning age group) of shooters that have popularized semi-auto handguns while not seeking out training. The idea seems to be that anyone can just go down to the gun store, pick out a semi, go to the range and start blasting away. While this may be technically true, is it best practices?

Along with many other shooters, I received handgun training in the military. Others from Law Enforcement acadamies, and yet others from NRA instructors and such. Some type of training is needed to be proficient, as there is in any sport/hobby. Would baseball be played w/o learning how to properly throw, catch, or hold and swing the bat? Even intercourse requires a modicum of basic knowledge to be enjoyable to both partners. Point is... there are too many shooters that don't know the minimum basics of the shooting sports/hobby. I can't currently think of many other sports or activities where this is so.

I'm not trying to be harsh. It's just that OP mentions doubts about limp-wristing... a well known problem involving lack of proper grip/stance technique. My recommendation is to seek more knowledge/training. This will benefit revolver shooters as well as semi-auto pistol shooters.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

I presume you are referring to my pistol. Can't blame Glock for that. 80% lower with Swensen slide and barrel, bought used here. The only Glock parts are the parts in the frame. Gun wouldn't extract. Brass stuck firmly in the chamber. Five rounds, all single-shot, all the same. Got it home and the chamber is coated with some nasty-bubblegum crap, like maybe the lacquer had come off some steel-cased rounds?? spent a while cleaning it up. I think it will be fine now. Need another day at the range to make sure.

Sure. Be honest, you know you were limp wristing it. That's the only time glocks have issues. I sure hope you use that one in our next bowling pin shoot..

 

[No_Regerts]

TEven intercourse requires a modicum of basic knowledge to be enjoyable to both partners.

 

[Member 34319]

Glock, most reliable gun ever....

Unless you hold it wrong......







Hides.

 

[DuneHopper]

Glock, most reliable gun ever....

Unless you hold it wrong......



Hides.

Or using it

 

[DuneHopper]

I actually love the square boxy design of the Glock, its design fits perfect when placed in the safe door jam to keep it open.

 

[Koda]

Im curious if they were using aftermarket "glock" magazines?

 

[Cerberus Group]

My first thought.... limp-wristing. C'mon man, hold & fire that motherbubblegummer with a purpose!!

Yep...grab it, like you love it.

 

[osprey]

I am going to have to try and create this limp wrist phenomena as I have never seen it. Even my wife shots her G 23 without fail with little coaching about a firm hold. So if you just hold the thing willy nilly, on recoil, it takes some of the needed enegy to properly cycle action away?

 

[xtratoy]

I have 4 Glocks and have tried to get them to jam by holding them as loosely as possible while shooting them. So far no luck.

 

[osprey]

I guess some just naturally have limper wrists than others.

 

[deadeye]

I absolutely dislike Glocks..... its a fitment thing.

That being said they are known for their reliability so as stated by others it is an issue with the shooter or the maintenance. It is pretty rare that all of them would have issues at the same time in my opinion. I have owned several over the years, acquired through trades never bought new and had no issues with performance.

 

[Mike97124]

Im curious if they were using aftermarket "glock" magazines?

Not that I'm aware of, Koda. But since I'm not familiar with Glocks, let alone semi-autos, I probably wouldn't have know unless it was a different color or something. They really looked like pretty new guns and stock though. I did not handle the bigger 9mm ones, just the two smaller ones they had there. I was too busy using up a lot of old .38 ammo and a box of .357 in my revolvers that didn't give me a lick of trouble.

And just to add to those that didn't notice my comments earlier in the thread (I know who has time to read everything ) and think I am bashing the Glocks... I did not bash the Glocks and being defective nor did it even enter my mind. Each time I saw it happen what I thought was either dirty ammo or dirty guns. Glocks do have a good name... although even the best in the business have sub par guns sometimes. If the G42 wasn't twice as expensive as the LCP 2 I'd be leaning towards getting that for my wife since she wants to get a .380. But with out being able to shoot it for a bit, just to make sure it isn't one of those rare sub-par guns, I hate to spend the money on it when I can get a cheaper gun from another well known gun manufacturer. At least if I get one of their rare sub-par guns, I won't be out as much money. And if my wife is going to carry it, I don't want anyone's sub-par gun at any price.

Mike

 

[bbbass]

You guys are right, limp-wristing is all a hoax. Thousands of handgun instructors are in on it.

Except it's not. I have personally witnessed it. And experienced it using light reloads while suffering arthritic bouts. (edit: btw, follow up shots are the major malfunction during action shooting as accuracy after the first shot goes awry due to lack of controlling the handgun.)

This guy seems to cover it pretty well:

"As the name suggests, the problem occurs most often with shooters who have a loose grip or allow their wrists to flex or bend too much relative to their forearm during recoil. A firm, two handed grip or a stiffened wrist relative to the forearm will often solve the problem. Some shooters, however, lack the strength for such a firm grip, and in that case there are two avenues that can be explored: changing the firearm, or changing the ammunition."

"In the event that proper grip and follow through cannot be obtained because of physical limitations an alternative would be to use a manually cycled firearm action, such as a revolver. Revolvers are a viable option for shooters who have difficulty with semiautomatic designs. The other alternative is to pick a firearm whose frame is heavier in relation to its slide. Polymer framed hanguns have the lightest frames, and as the frame is flexible, it absorbs more energy than metal frames. Aluminium and titanium alloys are slightly heavier and much stiffer than the polymers, and steel is the heaviest frame material generally used. Full sized frames are also heavier than compact frames. The heavier frames will have more inertia, and will rely less on the shooter's grip strength to hold the frame still."

"The other approach is to alter the ammunition used. Low-velocity, light bullet loads such as those used in target shooting have the least energy available to operate the action, and thus are the most sensitive to limp wristing. A heavier or faster bullet will help. Accurate Powder did tests of various powder types in Glock and SIG Sauer handguns, and determined that fast-burning powders caused failures to increase, and that medium- and slow-burning powders (of the range suitable for the cartridge) gave the best reliability.[citation needed] Limp wristing would magnify these changes, so fast powders should be avoided."

"When the ammo is too weak or the recoil spring is too stiff or the slide is too heavy, and limp wristing jams occur, the cure may be more powerful ammo or a lower-force recoil spring." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limp_wristing

So I guess Glocks are more susceptible to limpers.

I say again, my first suspects are dirty gun/chamber, or bad reloads.

I've shot my Glocks a ton. The only time I've had problems is after neglecting maintenance or with reloads. That's not to say that something else cannot occur.

 

[orygun]

I am going to have to try and create this limp wrist phenomena as I have never seen it. Even my wife shots her G 23 without fail with little coaching about a firm hold. So if you just hold the thing willy nilly, on recoil, it takes some of the needed enegy to properly cycle action away?

Yes. While I don't think I've been able to duplicate it, I've seen it. My wife shot the same gun my friend did without a problem and while she's shot guns for a long time, she doesn't shoot a lot.