Internet Rumours?Glock goes Kaboom!

[telewinz]

Saw the pics of the blown Glock. I reload so it is a real eye opener for me. I don't think it reflects badly against any Glock pistol but does demonstrate that any pistol (like my P11) that isn't of all steel construction may have a hidden cost as far as safety. And no a steel frame would not have been worse, I'd be willing to bet an all steel pistol may still have been ruined but not to the extent the Glock was.

 

[croyance]

Yes, but I did not "drink the water" when I got my Beretta or 1911.
Glock fans take any negative comments as personal attacks that must be stomped down. If you are not for them, you are against them. All hail the Glock.
You are right, each manufacturer has some lemons out there. I think the Glock is okay, it really doesn't do anything for me.

 

[curiousg]

Greenmantis, thank you so much for raising the intellectual bar here at TFL. I'm sure we all look forward to your next well considered post!:barf:

 

[johnwill]

Don't take my word for it. Go back a few weeks to the posting about a Glock accidental discharge and see for yourself.

I think you're making our point for us! Since the reason the Glock fired in that incident was because the trigger was pulled, why is that the fault of the Glock? I would defend any quality service pistol the same way, in almost every case of "accidental discharge", some clown had his finger, or something else, on the trigger! That's what guns do when you pull the trigger, they go BANG!

 

[johnwill]

One more complaint about Glocks before I quit. WHO in thier right mind would think it is a good idea to have to pull the trigger to get the slide off!! (BIG contributor to the ND's I mentioned earlier.)

Gosh yes, talk about dangerous! Of course, it's less dangerous for me because I have triple-checked that the gun is UNLOADED before I field strip it!!! I can only hope this was supposed to be a joke, because it's sure a ridiculous point!

 

[Tamara]

Greenmantis,

On hammer driven guns you keep pulling the trigger, the firing pin will smack that round again. THEN if it doesn't go, eject it.

Oh, yeah, all those "hammer driven" guns have second-strike capability, like the 1911, and the High Power, and the P-210, and the Para LDAs...

None of those striker fired do, like the P-99/SW99...

YES it's more expensive.
YES it looks nicer.
AND YES MY LIFE is worth it!

Despite the presence of actual expensive carry guns in my collection, and even some cheap ones like my SIG P-226 Stainless (it's all relative, ain't it?), I still sometimes trust my uninformed life to those cheesy cheepo "Glops". They shoot every time I pull the trigger and put the bullet right where I want it. What more could I want?

(As far as SIGs being blow-up-proof goes, I'm aware of three SIG .40's being used by a LE agency that detonated in the last few months. It can happen to any gun.)

 

[NapAttack]

This thread kind of disturbs me. I don't like the Glock anyway, but that's simply because of personal preference, it doesn't fit my hand. I have absolutely no problem with anyone else who likes them. Different strokes for different folks.

What bothers me about this is that a pistol can blow to pieces from using the wrong kind of ammo. The Front Sight website mentioned that one of the Glock shooters was using ammo that was copper plated. I can understand one blowing up from bad reloads but factory ammo?

I have had a bad reload blow in my Combat Commander. I was using bad brass that an ex-friend lied about when he sold it to me. It merely blew the basepad out of the magazine, no other damage and I'm still shooting the pistol today. I have heard of other problems with the 1911 such as a slide breaking but I've never heard of one blowing to pieces like the Glocks in the pictures.

If the Glock didn't have polygonal rifling and was made of steel instead of plastic would they still blow up like that? Can you see my point?

I think personally that if I ever owned a Glock the very first thing I would do before I ever fired it would be to change the bbl for one with standard rifling. Why take the chance?

 

[dsk]

The POINT is that whenever a shortcoming of a Glock comes to light, Glock-a-holics rant, rave, scream and jump in the air and start bandying about the term "internet rumors"....

No kidding? You mean, sort of like how the 1911 and SIG die-hards often behave? So what's new? Like Tamara says, silly little tribes. It's not confined to guns, either. In high school I got sick of all the morons screaming at each other over Chevy small-block V8s vs. Ford Clevelands vs. Dodge Hemis. I proved nothing, but a lot of folks got to beat their chests and feel good that they had out-lasted the other guy in arguing.

For the record, I am a die-hard 1911 fan. But I also own a Glock, a Beretta, and an HK, and used to own a SIG. What I have learned is that they are all excellent combat and defense weapons. One may have some small advantage over another for given uses, but in the end it's irrelevant. The bullet is what matters, and the bad guy will never know if that projectile came out of a Glock, a 1911, or a SIG, will he? Nor will he know or care what caliber or brand it was either. So why all the fuss? Probably because we have this inner desire to convince ourselves that we each own or admire the single most badass fighting handgun on the market. Being a fan of #2 just doesn't do it. On the positive side it often promotes involved discussion about what works and what doesn't. On the other hand however, it also encourages immature or testosterone-based quarrels that make me just want to go take up plastic model building again! :barf:

Oh yes, then there's the debate over Tamiya vs. Hawsegawa and who makes more realistic models. I forgot.

 

[mini14jac]

By the way, the following guns are currently in my stable:
Ruger, KelTec, Kahr, Glock, S&W.
I could list a shortcoming of any of them.
Of the guns where I own more than one of a particular brand, Glock is not one (right now )

But, I'll also gladly share my opinion with anyone who thinks any of these guns are junk!

I'm a Christian, drive a Toyota, vote Republican, root for UT, and drink Coke!
Silly tribes indeed.

 

[Tamara]

NapAttack,

This thread kind of disturbs me. I don't like the Glock anyway, but that's simply because of personal preference, it doesn't fit my hand. I have absolutely no problem with anyone else who likes them. Different strokes for different folks.

What bothers me about this is that a pistol can blow to pieces from using the wrong kind of ammo.

All pistols can blow to pieces from using the wrong kind of ammo.

The Front Sight website mentioned that one of the Glock shooters was using ammo that was copper plated. I can understand one blowing up from bad reloads but factory ammo?

I've seen the results of some pretty gnarly gun explosions with factory ammo. In revolvers, and auto pistols, and rifles, and...

I have had a bad reload blow in my Combat Commander. I was using bad brass that an ex-friend lied about when he sold it to me. It merely blew the basepad out of the magazine, no other damage and I'm still shooting the pistol today. I have heard of other problems with the 1911 such as a slide breaking but I've never heard of one blowing to pieces like the Glocks in the pictures.

And that's exactly what happens when you have a simple case failure in a Glock; it blows the magaze out and onto the ground. I've seen it happen. That's it. These dramatic explosions aren't caused by simple case failures.

If the Glock didn't have polygonal rifling and was made of steel instead of plastic would they still blow up like that?

Yes, they would. The charges that peeled those slides back like bananas would've done the same to any gun this side of a T/C Contender.

Can you see my point?

Yes, you don't want a Glock; which is fine, no need to make elaborate justifications.

I think personally that if I ever owned a Glock the very first thing I would do before I ever fired it would be to change the bbl for one with standard rifling. Why take the chance?

The last three .40 caliber pistols I know of that blew up were, BTW, SIGs. (Coincidentally, that lot of Gold Dots is being recalled)

You know, ironically, before there was such a thing as a .40 caliber Glock, 1911's were the guns that were supposed to do this. Of course, there was no World Wide Web on which people could make reputations (or prop up fading ones) on exploding pistols, either.

(Before the 60 Minutes story on "Sudden Acceleration" in Audi 5000's, there were only a handful of cases. After the story, they started rocketing all over suburbia.)

 

[WESHOOT2]

RUGER-HOLIC

Glock's KB more.
Not sure why, but have some ideas..........

First, lotsa greenpeas bought them, started handloading, blowed themselves up.

Second, fresh duty-type ammo didn't have sufficient case-neck tension (cheaper to manufacture).

Third, big chamber...........


Your results may vary.

 

[Eric Larsen]

I personally witnessed a Glock KaBoom at a range a couple of years ago. It was a 40 S&W and luckily the shooter wasnt hurt, just powder burned and shaken up ALOT! This was a fluke, 1 gun out of thousands Ive seen and shot isnt a bad ratio. Just thought I would mention it.

Shoot well

 

[WESHOOT2]

PERSONALLY

I see/inspect/hear about/read about lotsa 'flukes'.

Not always Glocks, though.

Lotsa handloading 'errors'.

Not always handloads, though, either.

 

[riverdog]

Tribal bickering. My sig line states where I stand.

 

[tag]

I find it interesting that Warhammer reads the information from Front Sight and determines that these are condemnations on Glocks, when Front Sight seems to see them as condemnations on reloads and American Ammunition. Front Sight never draws the conclusion that the Glocks were to blame, but that these problems were caused by faulty ammunition. Gee, maybe warhammers intrepretation was skewed by his own personal view on Glocks (and his apparent inability to shoot them accurately.)

I have heard 1911 nuts swear that their precious guns never malfunction and that all claims to the contrary are lies and jealousy.

I have heard Beretta nuts swear that their precious guns never malfunction and that all claims to the contrary are lies and jealousy.

I have heard H&K nuts swear that their precious guns never malfunction and that all claims to the contrary are lies and jealousy.

Starting to see a trend? The fact of the matter (as any competent gunsmith will tell you) is that all firearms malfunction from time to time and that one manufacturer can't claim to be more or less prone to malfunctions, among major quality manufacturers. I don't claim that my Glocks won't or can't malfunction. I can report, however, that I have put over 10,000 through different Glocks in my shooting career and never had a single malfunction. I can also say the same thing about Sigs and Berettas.

I lump those who claim that their firearm is infallable and those who insist on bad-mouthing other firearms based on internet BS and misintrepreted information in the same group: The Hot Air Club.

 

[NapAttack]

Tamara,

All pistols can blow to pieces from using the wrong kind of ammo.

I misspoke here. I understand that Glock specifically recommends against lead bullets. When I asked why, the reason given was that the polygonal rifling leads much faster than normal rifling and can lead to a serious overpressure situation. If this is incorrect then please correct my info.

I've seen the results of some pretty gnarly gun explosions with factory ammo. In revolvers, and auto pistols, and rifles, and...

I've heard anecdotal evidence also. This is the first time I've seen photographs of weapons that blew up from factory ammo. I've seen other photos of blown weapons but they have all been from reloads. Not doubting your word at all. Do you have any photos of these blowups?

And that's exactly what happens when you have a simple case failure in a Glock; it blows the magaze out and onto the ground. I've seen it happen. That's it. These dramatic explosions aren't caused by simple case failures.

What then did cause these dramatic explosions?

Yes, they would. The charges that peeled those slides back like bananas would've done the same to any gun this side of a T/C Contender.

I didn't see peeled slides. What the pictures at Front Sight looked like was that the case blew out the bottom of the bbl right where you would expect, right where the case has the least support. Then the frames failed right below where the metal frame inserts are.

Yes, you don't want a Glock; which is fine, no need to make elaborate justifications.

I was not making elaborate justifications. Interesting that you interpreted it that way. I have already stated very clearly that I don't like them for other reasons and that I did not question anyone else's judgment in selecting one.

My contention was and is that had these Glocks had normal land and groove rifled bbls and steel frames that you would not have had these catastrophic frame failures. The polygonal rifling caused a serious overpressure situation which caused the case to blow out the bottom of the bbl just like any normal pistol would but then the polymer frame, because it does not have the structural strength of steel, had a catastrophic failure.

You have contested everything I said, however, you have not proven my contention wrong.

I respect the fact that you are much more experienced with firearms than I am but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to question your conclusions. Experts are still sometimes wrong. Heaven knows I have been in my area of expertise.

Thank you, I enjoy a spirited debate with someone who knows what they are talking about.

 

[contender4040]

lawyers

I personally do not care for glocks and I have seen one glock 22 KB with winchester factory 180 gr.

Personal dislikes aside, I believe that if the glock had a design flaw, weakness, etc,etc-----whatever you want to call it, the lawyers of today's sue-happy society would have already decended upon glock and runned them out of the U.S. market.
That has not happened. With all of the reported KB's you would think a large class-action suit would be happening----it's not.