Glocks With Flaws
BY Herschel Smith
9 years, 6 months ago
Bob Owens has written a piece for the LA Times on why LEOs shouldn’t use Glocks. Something about light trigger pulls. Go read it for yourself. Mike McDaniel writing at TTAG has written a response. Go read it for yourself. To me, if cops shouldn’t be shooting Glocks because of light trigger pull, they shouldn’t be carrying a weapon at all. But frankly, I couldn’t care less what happens to Glocks or whether LEOs carry them. The pistol is ugly and boxy, and I don’t like the sharper frame angle. I would rather shoot a 1911 or Springfield Armory XDm. But this might be a flaw that I cared about if I carried a Glock.
BARDSTOWN, Ky. (WDRB) — Dangerous defects were found on the guns that Bardstown Police Officers carry with them on a daily basis.
Hairline fractures appeared on 12 guns, which were immediately taken out of commission. That’s nearly half of the weapons of the 27-man department and Captain Tom Roby says it’s a serious concern.
“At one point the gun would actually fall apart,” said Cpt. Roby.
The issue was discovered on the Glock model 23s during recent training practices. Those guns were purchased back in 2000.
“It’s a hairline crack, Roby said. “But with a little pressure you could spread it open. And .40 caliber is a high pressure handgun.”
Cpt. Roby said, over the years that pressure adds up. He said officers continually train with their weapons. Many even practice shooting on their off days.
“What people don’t understand is police weapons take a lot of abuse,” said Cpt. Roby.
After about 15 years of wear and tear, the police department will receive $12,000 from the city. That money will be used to purchase new guns after the severity of the cracks was demonstrated to council members.
If the flaw is real. It sounds more likely that this “flaw” is a fabricated problem to convince the politicians to spend more money. Besides, the chamber pressure of a 9 mm and .40 is about the same, and 9 mm has been in service a very long time. On the other hand, if the weapons have been in service too long to be reliable, they should be replaced without having to demonstrate “flaws” to the politicians.
What do readers think?
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On May 18, 2015 at 12:31 am, Daniel Barger said:
“Hairline fractures”…..not particularly informative or specific. Where on the weapon, is it the same place on all guns, in different places. These guns are supposedly 15 years old…..years if less relevant than use. How many rounds through them…..100 a month, 500 a month, more? A 15 year old gun with 18,000 rounds through it (that’s about 100 a month) is going to look and run a lot better than one with 5 or 10 times that number run through it. So the story really doesn’t provide enough detail to reach a rational conclusion. And ALL guns will wear out eventually…..even ones that are well cared for….if used enough. As with most stories either the source failed to provide or the writer failed to document the relevant and necessary information to reach a reasonable useful conclusion.
On May 18, 2015 at 8:14 am, Nosmo King said:
I’ll agree with Mr. Barger – without round count per affected gun, location of the crack(s), records indicating what ammunition was used, etc. this is negative information.
Todd Green ran an endurance test on a gen 4 G17, and quit at 71,260 rounds after a hairline crack appeared on the bolt face at 68K rounds (http://pistol-training.com/archives/6885). For an agency (or an individual) to get 70K rounds through a gun in 15 years is 388 rounds/month. Possible, certainly, but not probable given the budget (and officer time) limitations of police agencies.
Guns are machines, and machines are “wear items” that will eventually need to be replaced. Tam, among others, has pointed out that if you’re not breaking your gun from time to time you’re not shooting it enough. I’ll agree, this sounds like smoke screen to justify spending money.
On May 18, 2015 at 8:40 am, Parnell said:
Owning three Glocks and having shot the hell out of them, I find this story a little fishy. I find it hard to believe that any PD has shot their guns more than the average enthusiast and this “flaw” has never been reported before. I find myself agreeing with Mr. Barger.
On May 18, 2015 at 2:11 pm, Jack Crabb said:
Owens uses the term “accidental discharge” when what he really meant was “negligent discharge”.
He also writes,” The fellow officer failed to do a chamber check before pulling the trigger as part of the handgun’s normal disassembly procedure.” So, in other words proper procedures were not followed. And this is the fault of the handgun?
Bob Owens continues to unimpress me. This copsucker sounds like he has an ax to grind with Glock. No wonder I quit visiting his site ages ago.
On May 18, 2015 at 11:43 pm, DAN III said:
Bob Owens is not a friend of gun owners.
Glocks. I have a G19 Gen 4 I got horse-trading. Not impressed. Give me a XDm or XD Mod 2. Or even better, a M&P.
But cops with guns ? I’d disarm cops totally if I had my way.
On May 19, 2015 at 7:58 pm, Bill Daigle said:
Low velocity hi drag information…full of generalities and accusations…not that it matters but I have great confidence in Glock…just as I do in SA or S & W …I stand by my GeeLok and clean it yearly by tying it to the bumper and driving for a half hour on a gravel road.