why do glocks blow up?

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For all the glock haters..............

No I dont own a Glock, yet. I know several who do.
And I actively want a Model 29.

Now two questions for all the glock haters?
Do you think Glock would be able to stay in business as a gun manufacturer, and continue to charge what they do, if they made crapola guns?
sure hi-point makes crap pistols, but look what they sell for too and look at how they are made.
But seriously if Glock was a cheap gun, would they still be in business charging what they do now?
I think not.
and:
If it was all you had when you needed a gun, would you be b*tching like you do now about how bad they are and how awful they feel?
NO.

I respect your right to free speech, but the "Glocks are grud, the blow up, arent made well." stuff is getting old.
You dont have to like glocks, but every couple of days having a new I hate glocks thread could stop.


sorry to rant.
 
I really doubt glocks blow more than other guns, its just they put on a bigger show when they do go Ka-Boom than others. Steel guns crack the grips and blow the mag out the bottom, glocks tend to do a grenage imitation at times. I have also seen lots of pictures of glocks with cracks in the frame too. I hear they have fixed that problem. There must be a reason that tanks have steel armor and not plastic plates. The Glock is one of the few guns that they dont give a price break for the plastic frame too. Its just a production method that saves a lot on cost unless you buy a glock. But I could not hit the sides of a pigs butt at 20 feet with one so I have a predjused opinion.:) I just cant get used to the trigger on a glock so its time to get off the soap box before I get the soap up the behind from the Glock lovers.:) Now that I have a bunch of people pissed off its time to say that the 5.45 will go thu 10 more cars than the 5.56 will.:):) And if you aim north a 7.62 will kill a T-56 south of you,:)
 
My $.02 is that Glocks blow for the same reasons other guns do and probably not more frequently. But Glock owners tend to tout the Glock as perfection itself (which it is not, though it is darned good), so those who are tired of hearing about the virtues of Glocks tend to exaggerate their problems. The "plastic" frame has never, to my knowledge, had anything to do with any Glock blowup.

Jim
 
Gosh, ive seen this thred so many times, i always try not to respond, but my gut lurches every time i read it. For some reason im personally offended by the way the ? is asked (subject thread). Way blunt for those who love glocks. The title doesnt say 'my dear wife, its a nice day for a walk" but rather shouts "damn your fatt, get your stank arse on a tread mill."

Anyhow, im pretty happy with the bad ammo answer. I remeber about 2 years ago when this was more of an issue, i read something about some hot factory ammo that accidently slipped through- andthe rest was reload mistakes. I remember even further back there was hysteria about KB's in Beretta's, it was all over the place. Pictures, "i know this guy who has a friend whose beretta blew up and blew the F'n roof right off his house, blinding him and his shirts were all dirty with powder burns, he had to dryclean them 2 times each b4 he could wear them again and then his dog ran away."... Then it came out it was all just Military tollerance testing with speicial/insane chambor pressures to find the limits and to come out with better SF ammo.
Anyhow, were all here now, and id easily put my life behind my glock23 (and soon 35) or a 92fs anyday.
 
I got the whole picture.

Glock haters sell some really bad ammo to Glock lovers.
This ammo is designed to blow the Glock up.

In regard to why tanks are still made from this crappy
steel instead of plastic - the answer is simple: there is
not enough plastic, any plastic made today is consumed to
make Glocks...
 
I wonder if most if not all these poor owners of KB'ed Glocks disobeyed the no lead bullet rule. I have a G30, and I have no fear of a KB, because I shoot only factory loaded jacketed ammo.
 
I agree with Ironballs -- the way the question is asked does seem to be derogatory...

As far as I know, and of course I could be wrong, there are no statistics to show Glocks blow up and more or less than other guns... when used with factory ammo as recommended.

Maybe a better way to have asked would be "Do Glocks blow up more?"... to which my answer would be a polite, "No".
 
STEYR M-357,
You said in your post...

"Why do you think 99% of all Kabooms are with Glock 40's?"

I'm curious, who did this "study". And where are the verifiable results to which you refer.

Not a flame, I've just have never seen such a report. Didn't know one existed.

If it doesn't exist, perhaps your "opinion" should be qualified?

By the way, I agree with you, the Steyr is THE .40 semi-auto. I don't own one, but have read a lot about the gun and if I ever buy another .40, it will be a Styer M.
 
One reason for so many Glock ka'booms is that there are so darned many GLOCKS!! (I suspect they make up a disproportionate number of the handguns bought in America, for example, over the past 10 years.)

There have been a lot of 1911 kabooms, too -- and for the same reason: unsupported cases in the .40 and .45 caliber cartridge.

In the few cases I'm familiar with, the problem was invariably bad ammo: reloads, or reloads bought at a gun show. And in the two cases where I know the shooters, the guns were distroyed but the shooter wasn't harmed.

Don't shoot lead, and don't shoot reloads from people you don't know...
 
What I meant to imply was that overwhelming majority of Glock Kabooms are with the .40

If ammo is the cause of the Kaboom with the .40, then certainly the other calibers would be just as likely to Kaboom, right?

Why no 9mm Kabooms with the Glock?

Is 9mm ammo made with higher quality controls?

To blame it on "lead bullets" and "bad ammo" is pointing the finger in the wrong direction.

People don't want to admit the possibility of the flaw in the design of the 40 caliber Glock chamber.

The .40 chamber is thin
The 9mm chamber is thick

The .40 chamber is unsupported
The 9mm chamber is supported

The .40 Kabooms (rare)
The 9mm doesn't kaboom (never)

40 ammo is made the same as 9mm ammo

It doesn't take brain surgeon to see where the problem lies.

Anyway the original question was "Why do Glock blow up?"
 
Same reason as any other gun, overpressure. Actually Glock 45's get KB'd along with 40's.

From MarkCo, "This post might make some people mad, but that is okay. Here goes. First, I work as a forensics engineer (mechanical) and, professionally, I investigate failed products as an expert witness. I have conducted extensive testing on the issue of KBs in Glocks and especially the Lead issue. I have examined 14 blown Glocks to date (including one of my own). I have tested thousands of rounds in Glock barrels, aftermarket barrels and polygonally rifled pressure barrels. There are several factors at issue with Glock KBs. When related to the .40 it is a high pressure round and hot-rodding it will cause damage and injury. Heavier bullets are more likely to increase pressure due to reloading practices and quitre possibly handling of loaded ammo. Also the polygonally rifled (Glock) barrels do lead excessively causing increased pressure. I have conducted pressure testing with instrumentation and the pressure ramps up with each successive round of lead down the barrel. Lowering your velocity can actually increase the leading rate with some bullets. The laser Cast is not the answer either. It too leads, it has more gas cutting and may appear to not lead quite as much but you are still decreasing the cross-sectional area of the bore by "soldering up the bore". Now the solutions. Either use plated bullets ($12 more per 1K) or buy an aftermarket conventionally rifled barrel ($70-$200). Also, my test data has been confirmed by Glock reps and armorers and accepted into court as fact! Points to take with you. The 40 is a high pressure round to start with. Glocks and Lead lead to higher pressures. Heavy lead bullets at pretty high velocities accounted for KBs in 11 of the 14 Glocks I have examined. I personally have aftermarket barrels for lead but use Berry's plated bullets in Glock barrels almost exclusively. I avoid the heavier bullets in my reloads and in factory ammo (definately no 200 grainers in the 40 for me in a Glock). I shoot Cor-bons 150 grain in my G27 for a carry round. Feel free to e-mail me if you want more info. Now for the other 3 blown Glocks. One was a G30 shooting a jacketed bullet. Got a double charge of Bullseye that was near max anyway. Case rupture split the frame, blew the mag out and sheared off one of the four guide rails. Barrel was undamaged and is still in use today. Shooter had a slight abrasion on his strong hand thumb and a blood blister on the palm (from the cracked frame) and a wet pair of shorts. Another one was a G19 that had approximately 1500 rounds of commercial lead fired through it. Near chamber bore dimension due to leading was 0.323 inches after the KB. Cracked the frame, split the chamber horizontally for a depth of about 0.5 inches. Slide assembly lifted up and jammed bending 3 of the four slide rails but no breakage of the frame. Glock owns that one now. The other was a G22 (this one was mine, about 8 years ago) shooting 155 grain lead (about 16.5 BHN that was supposed to be 22 BHN) at moderate speeds. About 700 rounds fired since last cleaned. Failure similar to other lead and Glock failures except with a 155 grain slug. Slightly cracked chamber, one cracked rail and one bent rail. Glock determined excessive leading as cause of failure. Glock replaced the gun. Interesting thing to note here, 14 blown Glocks and the worst injury besides soiled shorts and bruised confidences, a blood blister and a sprained finger here and there. Not one slide separation and not one grenaded chamber. Can not say that for other blown guns I have examined. A blown Beretta or a blown 1911 is sure to severly injured. Glocks are very strong indeed. I have seen a couple of other blown Glocks but did not have the chance to examine them. One of these was reportedly a .40 (G23 belonging to a Cop) shooting Fiocchi FMJ departmental practice ammo. Somehow the remaining loaded rounds in the mag had the bullets seated 0.11 inches deeper than the rounds left in the box. It was the 3rd round in the mag that blew and the cases from the prevoius 2 were buldged extremely. The case is in litigation. Good Shooting, MarkCO "

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=82
 
STEYR M-357,
Fair enough! Conclusions and opinions are what fuel forums.
I agree, the .40 cal. Glocks have gotten some poor reports and that the gun was a re-designed 9mm "made it fit" the .40 caliber. Slip a .40 round into the Glock's chamber and you don't see the support your Steyr shows you. I also agree the 9mm Glock barrel "looks" stronger to my uneducated eye.

Two points. First, Walt's comment regarding the huge numbers of Glocks is correct. With numbers comes higher numbers of "KB's". That seems pretty straight forward to me.

Second, I will never deny that the "opportunity" for a KB is greater when firing "hi-PSI ammo" in an unsupported chamber (the .40 Glocks ARE of the Browning design and ARE unsupported....the Glock .45 is also unsupported but is generally not shot at PSI's which lead to failure).

However, in my opinion, a MAJOR point in Glock's favor is it's overall brute strength (as illustrated in 9x45's detailed post). If I ever have a Kb...I hope it's while I'm shooting one of my Glocks. They seem tough enough to support you when the sh*t hit's the fan.

I appreciate and respect your comments.
 
I own a Glock 33 and a Glock 21

Having said that, I would not be "afraid" to own a .40 caliber Glock.

The chances of a Kaboom are pretty remote.

It is fun arguing back and forth etc in these forums.

About the only thing I hate about the Glock is the squishy trigger.
 
Oh no! No argument! Ahhh!
10-4 on the trigger...
I even have a couple Glocks with
the "3.5 lb" trigger and
can't seem to fall in love
with them either. The "pros"
on Glock Talk suggest some
sanding and other stuff to
improve the pull. Mine are
all stock factory.
In my opinion, my H&K Tactical
with it's stock "match trigger"
is pretty sweet.
It's funny, after you get a
few guns, you start thinking
about triggers and stuff that
never ment squat when you
got the gun!
 
for what it's worth...

I know this topic gets beat to death, but I saw my first Glock kB this weekend and thought I would share the experience. The kB occurred using factory ammo in a G21 (.45). In retrospect, perhaps we should have seen it coming.

I was at Front Sight in Nevada, taking their 4 day defensive handgun course (which I highly recommend, btw. I was very impressed.) One of my fellow students was shooting American Ammo through his G21. I was on the line next to him on several occasions and noticed he was having some jacket separation issues. After close-range shots there would be one nice, round hole, and several smaller shrapnel-type holes. On the fourth and final day of the class, we were doing timed presentation and firing drills from various distances. Since we were all firing in the same very short time limits, I didn't even hear it blow, though the shooter was only 2 students down the line. I was conducting my after action drills when I noticed the gun on the ground and the student hurrying back to the back of the range. I reholstered my own pistol and noticed my hands were wet. I looked down and saw I had blood on my shirt and hands. I had caught a small piece of shrapnel of some sort in my finger.

Inspecting the G21 after the kB revealed classic kB effect. The mag was blown out the bottom, and the mag floor and spring had been blown out of the mag. The mag floor ended up approximately 15 feet to the shooter's left. The sides of the grip just below the chamber were blown out and the slide was bowed outward. The round was still partially in the chamber and was cracked and seperated in the 6 o'clock position, where the cartridge was unsupported.

The ammo was labeled American Ammuntion, "copper coated." I didn't write it down, but if memory serves they were 230 grains.

I don't know if the student had cleaned his gun over the course of the 4 day class. The good news is that he while he suffered a fairly severe cut on his hand between the thumb and index finger, and some powder stippling on his face, there did not appear to be any permanent damage. After having the cut bandaged by the on-site EMT's, the student returned to the range to finish the course with his Kimber.

I don't know the actual cause of the kB, and the parts of the gun were retrieved for later analysis, but I suspect that the seperation of the copper coating "jacket" allowed lead deposits to accumulate in the polygonal barrel. The student had fired approximately 700 rounds of this ammo over the 4 day course, and if he didn't clean the gun it might have allowed lead build-up. In addition, American Ammo is relatively inexpensive - this may or may not imply lower quality control standards regarding case quality and overcharges.

I am still considering purchase of a G21, but this gives me pause. I would recommend in any case to avoid the particular combination of copper-coated ammo (rather than jacketed) and extended firing of the Glock.

I hope that this may save another person's hand who might otherwise have thought that kB's "don't happen with factory ammo."

addendum: I forgot to mention that, ironically, the student had previously ordered a Bar-Sto fully-supported-chamber barrel for the G21 that kB'd, but it didn't arrive in time for the class.
 
kaaaaa boom!
g-unsupcham.jpg


afr0xx-4.jpg
 
Pvt. Idaho,
I've heard of several "overload" situations with American Ammo. It's inexpensive, but I have heard the quality control is not so hot...it is re-manufactured ammo.
I'm glad the guy (or others) were not seriously hurt.
 
Keep in mind, "American Ammunition" is not jacketed ammo and therefore does not fit Glock's recommended ammo for use. It is a copper plating, put there to lubricate and to fool the customer. You can get through it with a good fingernail.
 
Dispel the rumors

Let's dispel the rumors. I work in the industry, and know first hand that ALL of such reports, which are true, is due to home made ammunition and/or double loaded rounds.

Agrip, a wonderful synthetic antislip wrap for Glocks, can protect you from schrapnal (misspelled) upon an explosion. It has been proven to save fingers and hand scars.

Bestdefense.com sells it online.
 
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