GLOCKS - are they THAT good ?

Status
Not open for further replies.
In the 20,000+ rounds I've sent downrange in the different Glocks I have owned (that includes the 19,21,22,23) and currently own (19,23) I have never had one malfuction or one detonate in my hand. Of all the ranges I've frequented, and shooting clubs I have had memberships with, I have never heard of one KB'ing. :)

It wasn't untill I got online that I heard of the "horror stories" from very "reliable sources" about my "plastic toys". IMHO just more heresay. :(

If you are a 1911 aficinado (sp) go forth and do good things. My experience with them has been pretty negative. It just seems rediculous to me to spend 5 bills on a 1911 and then spend half again as much on gunsmithing to make the "the king of all handguns" reliable. :(

Sorry if I've offended anyone. That's not my intent. :)

[This message has been edited by Dan (edited 11-29-98).]

[This message has been edited by Dan (edited 11-29-98).]
 
Its true that the Glock has a cult-like following. I have a 19,23,26 and 30. and have about 25,000 (collectively)rounds through them. Other than a few ammo-related problems there have been no Glock related malfunctions. Hard to beat. My High Powers are more accurate, so are my Colts but for carry, maintenance, durability and a simple manual of arms the Glock is hard to beat.
 
We're a Glock family here. I've shot quite a few types of pistols (who hasn't), but own only Glocks. The Glock just happened to have what I'm looking for out of a pistol and have it at an affordable price. While I've pretty much stuck to one kind of gun, my wife went through four different kinds. Her latest incarnation is a Glock. She's now a Glock believer as well.

One thing is for sure. Glock is not for everybody.
 
Lets face it, there are a lot of Glocks out there. Next, a certain number have blown up -- in some manner. Some just out of battery experiences, some more serious. They call all of these KABOOMS. How many Glocks? I hear numbers from 250 to 500. Have I seen any guns blow? Yes, Glock 19 and S&W 10. Have I looked at guns after the fact that KABOOMED? Yes. Have I seen other guns KABOOM? Yes. Have I ever had a gun KABOOM in my hand? YES, Khar, Kel-Tec, Colt, ( Khar and Kel-Tec -- out of battery, Colt, case failure ).
If 500 Glocks Have KABOOMED, that is just 33 100s of 1 percent based on 1.5 million Glocks out there.
I have never read/heard of a personal injury with a Glock KABOOM.
How many were user induced? Remember, this is a 65% plastic gun, and it will be easier to damage than a steel gun during a KABOOM. The three guns that KABOOMED in my hand had no gun damage, only magazine or magazine follower damage. The one alloy frame 1911 ( not a Colt frame ) that I have in my posession that KABOOMED, well the frame is in several pieces, but the slide with barrel was installed on another frame and still shoots fine.
I have also seen rifles and shotguns that have KABOOMED.
The only people that really worry about these things are the nonprofessionals. Thoses of us in the Business understand that guns will fail, just as any mechanical device can and will fail. GLV

------------------
 
I have never had a failure of any kind from either of my Glock 19's. Never. No extraction problems, no feed problems. They are impressively tight in grouping shots, comfortable in my hand and comfortable to carry. I have heard the "horror" stories but have never witnessed any problems first hand. I have however, witnessed frequent problems with other weapons. Feed and extraction problems abound with 1911 variants unless properly worked by a competent smith... and even then… I also have a second hand account of a 1911 type going full auto !!! Do I dislike 1911's ? Nope; I love'em. I have however, concluded that firing weapons (of any maker) is inherently dangerous and that all the problems ascribed to the Glocks potentially exist in the other makers weapons as well.
 
I am told by several folks that you can not use lead bullets in the Glocks because of the polygonal rifling in them. This means no "cheap shooting". That ended the Glock for me. KJE
 
KJE,

You've hit on one of my pet peeves, sorry.

Can you define "cheap shooting" ?
Does that mean saving a dollar on a box of shells?
Does that mean reloading?

Reloading is the simplest myth to address, plated rounds which, by all accounts, are 100% Glockable cost insignificantly more than lead rounds when bought in bulk. And, of course, when you first start reloading it can take awhile until you are actually saving money.
Not only that, but most manufacturers advise against using reloads (lead or not) in their guns (obviously, this is just for liability/quality control reasons) and will immediately void many warranties.

Many people have attacked Glock for using the ploygonal rifling, as if they use it just to keep people from being able to reload. The truth is that they did not invent it. I have three different makes of guns with Poly rifling.

AND, if you can find a way to save a massive amount of money by shooting lead, you could invest $125 dollars of the savings in a traditionally rifled barrel for your Glock.

I don't mean to sound insensitive to people's shooting budgets, but I've had guys with $1200 1911's tell me that they thing a $450 Glock is too expensive to shoot. Hell, at saving $2.00 a box of 50, it would take them 19,000 rounds to make up the $750 cost difference. Disregarding savings, they could probably by about 3500-400 rounds of ammo for the difference in the cost of the guns.

I know that those are extreme examples, but I have a really hard time accepting that cost to shoot is a valid reason to disregard a Glock. I wish Glock made a .22LR, that would be one way to really make it cheaper to shoot a Glock.

I have no problem with people not liking Glocks, I have a problem with your particular argument, that's all.

------------------
-Essayons
 
Lead ammo compatability isn`t a big thing but it is a consideration. The "bulgy brass" caused by the unsupported chamber is another. Sure it`s not much trouble to circumvent these problems but I`d rather not even need to think about it. The KB issue is also not a big thing,unless it happens to you which is admittedly unlikely. The 22degree grip angle that causes Glocks to point high for many people can be trained around or the grip can be modified at additional expense. Again,I`d rather not trouble myself. Some years ago I had Glock fever and wanted a 23 in the worst way. Then I shot one. It was okay,reliable ,shot pretty well (but high for me) but it wasn`t magic and it wasn`t perfect. So I saved myself the grief of messing around modifying a Glock and bought a S&W Sigma 40 for $150 less,it already has all the features the Glock lacks. I have a couple thousand flawless rounds through it so far and the fact that I can shoot all the cheap lead ammo I want is just icing on the cake. YMMV and probably will. Marcus
 
Ah! The S&W GLOCKMA rears its' ugly head! You get what you pay for, period. You got $150 less toughness and reliability. The Glockma has a felt-buffer which flattens-out and needs replacing, doesn't it? And that doofy hinged-trigger looks very Rube Goldberg and breakage-prone! Is the Glockma TENIFER-finished? My friend has a GLOCK 17 which is at least four years old, carried loose (Condition 3) in assorted book-bags. LOOKS NEW. GLOCK KBs happen when geniuses ignore the manuals' advisory to use ONLY FACTORY ammunition and to not shoot LEAD. Change over to a supported barrel w. different rifling if you want lead/reloads. Uh, did I mention that the GLOCKMA is an obvious cheap knock-off trying to cash-in on the GLOCK design and its' popularity? ;)

[This message has been edited by Herr Glockner (edited 12-16-98).]
 
It's been nearly 2 months since I posted to this thread and I'm ready to post again. Getting back to the original question that started this post "... are Glocks really that good," I have this to add. I am very pleased with my Glock 23 purchased 2 months ago. It has not malfunctioned once with over 500 rounds(180 TMJs, JHPs, 165 TMJs) through it. These are the things that are less than perfect about it. 1) Although the recoil is manageable it has noticeably more recoil than my USP40Compact, which is very similar in size and weight. I have heard from another thread that the 9mm(G19) and the 40(G23) have the same weight recoil spring in them. This doesn't make sense but given its flawless function so far doesn't matter much, but might explain the more noticeable recoil. As a result of this I am experimenting with aftermarket Wolffsprings. 2) The G23, right out of the box is shooting 4"-6" high at 25 yds. I have just started the process of having Glock warranty correct this. No response yet from Glock. 3) The 5.5 lb trigger is a bit scratchy. When I bench tested my USP40C against the G23 the USP produced tighter groups and is hitting at point of aim. The USP does have about 1800 rounds through it so maybe the Glock trigger will smooth out over the next few months.

My USP was not perfect from the box. I have had 3 jams with it. A stovepipe with a noticeably weak factory load(Federal 165 TMJs). A shaved piece of lead from a 3D round stopped the USP from going into battery and shaved aluminum from a Blazer round caused the same. However all this was in the 1st 500 rounds fired through the USP and since then it has been flawless. Also since then I gave up shooting lead reloads and any underpowered loads!

Tying this altogether, The Glock as purely a self defense weapon is great, right out of the box. The scratchy trigger, larger and slightly high shot groups, and higher recoil would NOT get in the way of using it effectively to defend oneself within the typical distances encountered in self defense situations.

However, I feel exactly the same way about the USP40C. It DID take longer to get to this level of confidence because of more experimentation(the USP was my first semi-auto in 8years), but what I learned with the USP spared me some unnecessary experimentation with the Glock. At this point I have complete confidence in BOTH guns. They both even digested flawlessly my first reloads out of my SDB.

Somebody earlier said you either love Glocks or you hate them. Well, I really like the Glock 23, but not to the exclusion of the USP40C!!! I'm gonna keep both!!!


------------------
 
a friend of mine has a glock 19 he has put about 6000 rounds through. We were at the range the other day, and he had it in his holster. When he drew it from the holster, he slide seperated from the rest of the pisto and stayed in the holster !! Has to be the strangest failure ive ever seen on a pistol.

------------------
"Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist."
-Thoreau
 
Is the Glock that good? In a word YES! How many guns will function after not being cleaned or oiled for over 5000 +P+ rounds? My Browning High Power will jam after 1500 jacketed and 500 lead. My GP100 300 jacketed. If I were stuck on a deserted island it would be the glock 9mm only. No need for oil or a cleaning kit! Rust? What's that? Tools? Find a twig or a pen. No it's not as accurate or comfortable as John Browning's designs. But if you want something that will last forever with hot loads; you can't beat a Glock in 9mm! And leave the knife sharpening stone at home; it's your slide. I've owned several glocks 19,17+22. They are the most maintenance free toys I've ever seen! What problems have I had? Well when I pushed my 22 to 10mm levels; none(factory barrel, used brass). When I shot 500 rounds in an hour of lead reloads out of my model 19; none. When I shoot 9x21 out of my model 17; no problems. When I went to draw and fire in self-defense(19); trigger safety caught on belly-button lint and refused to fire! While shooting my new glock 17 at the range my front sight blew off.One jam caused by trying to feed an empty case. One jam by trying to shoot too mild a load. Are glocks perfect? To me closer than anything I've ever seen. Remember even a slant 6 can be run on 1 quart of water and 1 quart of oil but the belts won't last forever. As with all mechanical devices some failure is inevitable. In Summary: I fixed(pinned) the trigger safety. Installed night sights. And shoot only quality full power loads.I polished the feed ramp until I could make out individual mustache hairs! Good Luck and happy shooting!
 
I had several malfunctions with G23 and 27. I believe all malfunctions (failures to feed) were induced by a single high-cap +2 magazine. I promptly traded it off.

I had a G21 that I had numerous failure-to-feeds with. I believe every failure occurred w/ the "ultimate" round, some version of a 185-grain Speer HP loaded hot.

That said, perhaps I should mention that I have, and have had, numerous guns. The sidearms that I will always reach for, if given a choice, are Glocks. For me, in an open carry or high-risk situation during winter, the Glock 24 is the ultimate pistol. It has a longer sight radius, neglible recoil with my current magik bullets of choice (Gold Dot or XTP @ 1300 fps), and is so accurate that I shot a flower at 15 yards with my very first shot. Your USP may be great, your finely-tuned 1911 hybrid may be perfection, but I'll take a Glock anyday.
 
The Glock is a good weapon for the money. Hk's are expensive. They sell only through authorized dealers to keep the prices up. And what about their slogan "In a world of compromise, some don't." My Colt still looks better. But if a Lorcin .380 ACP is good for you, that's your choice. It's still a semi-free country...

Join the NRA!!!
 
Excuse me here, just a second...
Did some one just slander HK?

Whoa... Hold it right there a second.
HK is not too expensive. Maybe they have a few MP5s that are a bit spendy... but a good old USP aint going to cost you any/much more than a glock, sig or other duty capable handgun. And the HK is BETTER as well!
Whats wrong with the HK slogan? It suites HK perfectly. Like a 1000 dollar Italian suit.
Better than Glock's "perfection" which remain highly questionable. Just cause you feel it is too expensive, dont knock it.
You go be happy with your Lorcin.

------------------
Kodiac
Kenetic Defense Institute
"Sir Heckler"
 
Kodiac,

Heckler and Koch better than Glock?

When did they start to make anything other than an MP5 in the best caliber?

Yes, until the mighty H&K is available in the BEST caliber ever, it won't be better than Glock, which has two models in the right caliber! Glock Models 20 and 29 are in the right caliber. :D

Yah! Da TEN be da ONE!



------------------
Ni ellegimit carborundum esse!

Yours In Marksmanship

michael


[This message has been edited by Michael Carlin (edited 01-12-99).]
 
Okay, I will bite...
Just what the heck are you talking about BEST CALIBER? 10MM? Its is pretty good yeah...
But there are loads in .40 that go up into the 10MM spectrum. .357 SIG? Same. there are 40 loads that do it too... and with a bigger bullet.
HK has guns in many suitable calibers, and guns that are convertable to other as well
9MM, .40, .45, .400 Corbon, .357 Sig, .45 Super, .223, .308. .224 BOZ....
I think you can find your own BEST CALIBER some place in there.

------------------
Kodiac
Kenetic Defense Institute
"Sir Heckler"
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top