[cohland]

Shooting in a USPSA match this weekend, a member of my squad experienced a problem with his Glock, I think it was a G17. The symptom was that when, after the buzzer sounded, he attempted to fire the pistol, the trigger would not move. He was able to drop the magazine, operate the slide to eject the live round and make the gun safe, but could not get the trigger to reset to the safe position. Hmmm.

I was watching, and being fresh and eager from Armorer's school I stepped forward and said "I'm an Armorer, let me have a look, maybe I can help". He was also trained as an Armorer, but he agreed, so we took the gun to the Safety Table. I repeatedly operated the slide, but was unable to pull the trigger, and because I couldn't pull the trigger we couldn't get the slide off. I was mumbling something about sticking an Armorer's tool through the back to push the trigger bar down, and while I was talking I continued to operate the slide back and forth. I shook the pistol a little also, and then suddenly I was able to pull the trigger and remove the slide.

And what did we find? Nestled in the space between the trigger bar and the frame (indicated by the pencil point in the photo below), we found an Airsoft pellet! By shaking the gun a little I had moved it out of the position where it had caused the jam. I don't know how it got there (it wasn't my gun) and the owner wasn't sure. But when we took the pellet out, the pistol worked perfectly.

Lesson learned here, for me: don't assume that every failure you see is going to be caused by some broken part or other fault with the pistol. In this case, it was a simple foreign object that jammed it. How it got there remains a mystery.

I'll bet this is a good reason to have one of those plugs on the pistol.

In this photo, the gun shown is mine, not the one that had the problem.

Chris

 

[sfguard]

In the future, if for whatever reason you can't pull the trigger back so you can take the pistol apart just lock the slide to the rear. Remove the slide cover plate but be careful as the springs inside are now completely compressed (just hold your thumb over them while taking the slide off). Remove the striker. Ride the slide forward and you will be able to remove the slide then.

All you are doing is now preventing the striker from catching on the drop safety which is why you have to pull the trigger to dis-assemble the gun. Problem solved it will come apart.

Funny story though glad you all got it worked out

 

[cohland]

SF: You are RIGHT! I had clean forgotten the technique for removing the slide that you detailed, but I'll make a note of it for the future. Thanks!

Chris

 

[sfguard]

SF: You are RIGHT! I had clean forgotten the technique for removing the slide that you detailed, but I'll make a note of it for the future. Thanks!

Chris

No problem, that is what we are here for right?

 

[VolGrad]

sfguard beat me to the good stuff ... How to remove a slide when all else fails. I've had to do that several times for one odd reason or another ... usually forgetting to put all the parts back in before putting the slide back on the frame. DOH!!!

I have twice seen folks get target pasters stuck up inside a GLOCK during a class or match. Usually, they have a few target pasters they've torn off the roll then stuck them in their pocket along with fresh mags. They go to insert the mag in the pistol only to take a loose paster with it. They shove it in the gun and hilarity ensues. One of the guys I saw it happen to is a frequent poster here on GLOCK.Pro and at first thought it was a stick of gum that jammed him up.

 

[cohland]

I have twice seen folks get target pasters stuck up inside a GLOCK during a class or match. Usually, they have a few target pasters they've torn off the roll then stuck them in their pocket along with fresh mags. They go to insert the mag in the pistol only to take a loose paster with it. They shove it in the gun and hilarity ensues. One of the guys I saw it happen to is a frequent poster here on GLOCK.Pro and at first thought it was a stick of gum that jammed him up.

That one really made me laugh to myself! Thanks for the follow up.

Chris

 

[Rowdie]

... usually forgetting to put all the parts back in before putting the slide back on the frame. DOH!!!

It'll do it every time if you don't put the barrel or recoil spring in the slide. ........of course I've never done that! Just guessing. LOL

 

[__jb]

I wonder how the heck a pellet got inside the gun? Does the owner shoot airsoft pellets?

Good tip, sfguard!

 

[VolGrad]

I wonder how the heck a pellet got inside the gun? Does the owner shoot airsoft pellets?

Probably. It is not uncommon to use a airsoft replica of your primary weapon as a training aid. They can be safely used outside of a traditional range and most commonly are used for force-on-force scenarios.

 

[sfguard]

We always use the paint bullets at work but the airsoft would be a heck of a lot cheaper option for a private person. Not too mention it is just plain fun I am getting my daughter some NERF guns this year to play with her. We will move up to airsoft in a couple of years. BTW she has another Belt test coming up wish her luck

 

[cohland]

I wonder how the heck a pellet got inside the gun? Does the owner shoot airsoft pellets?

The shooter who had the problem is a student at a local college, and he was shooting with a buddy, also a student. They did say that they practiced with airsoft, but they still weren't sure how the pellet got in there. I don't recall the Glock having a "backstrap channel insert", but when I saw this problem it reminded me why these "plugs" are a good idea. Having the plug may have prevented the pellet from entering the gun.

Chris

 

[VolGrad]

I am getting my daughter some NERF guns this year to play with her.

BTW she has another Belt test coming up wish her luck

My daughter got NERF guns for Christmas last year. We've had a ball with them. She has a foam AR too. Well, it's the shape of an AR anyway. It's the foam I cut out of my Pelican case.

Good luck to her on the belt test. Very cool. I had hoped mine would show interest in martial arts but no luck. So far we've tried; gymnastics, ballet, co-ed soccer, co-ed baseball, girls softball, and maybe some other stuff I've forgotten. Softball is the only thing that has stuck.

 

[TheLaw]

We always use the paint bullets at work but the airsoft would be a heck of a lot cheaper option for a private person. Not too mention it is just plain fun I am getting my daughter some NERF guns this year to play with her. We will move up to airsoft in a couple of years. BTW she has another Belt test coming up wish her luck

Good luck. Both my kids are in martial arts, with my youngest (4) just starting. She loves it.