[Argonaut]

I am a new member here. I am expecting to make my first semi-auto handgun purchase soon, so I have no experience with semi-autos.

I recently looked at some Glocks at a local dealer, decided the Model 17 Gen4 was what I liked best. But then the salesperson mentioned there were some problems with this model jamming as a result of the change to a dual recoil spring.

Does anyone here have any first hand knowledge about this issue? I am apprehensive about making the purchase until I determine if this issue really exists or has been resolved or not. Don't want to waste my hard earned firearms dollars on a troublesome gun.

 

[__jb]

I am a new member here. I am expecting to make my first semi-auto handgun purchase soon, so I have no experience with semi-autos.

I recently looked at some Glocks at a local dealer, decided the Model 17 Gen4 was what I liked best. But then the salesperson mentioned there were some problems with this model jamming as a result of the change to a dual recoil spring.

Does anyone here have any first hand knowledge about this issue? I am apprehensive about making the purchase until I determine if this issue really exists or has been resolved or not. Don't want to waste my hard earned firearms dollars on a troublesome gun.

I have a 4th generation Glock 17 and love it!

There were some issues with early Glock 17 4th gens when shooting lower powered (cheap) ammunition. Glock recently came out with a new recoil spring that solves the problem.

If your G17 does not come with the new recoil spring (02 version) call Glock and they will send you one for free... That's what I did... I shoot cheap ammo and have had no (zero) failures since putting in the new recoil spring.

 

[TheLaw]

I have a Gen 4 19. while not the same, I haven't had any feeding or ejecting issues as some people have posted on the internet. In fact, I recently viewed a thread on another forum where there were many G19 Gen 4 owners that were very happy. I don't recall any real negative reviews from anyone.

 

[Don Glock]

it's hit or miss with the gen4's. the new "02" spring glock came out with for the gen4 g17 sometimes doesn't alleviate the reliability issues. even if it does work, sometimes it'll only work with hot loads, so you can't use the cheap federal 9mm champion at walmart which is loaded relatively weak. they're inconsistent in this regard.

i would stick with a gen3 g17. simple, and you know for sure it'll work. slightly more comfy in your hand takes a back seat to reliability.

 

[EdF702]

I own a G17 gen 4, my first handgun. I have shot @400 rounds of a variety of "cheap" Wal-Mart ammo through my Glock and I have personally had (0) zero malfunctions. My wife, also new to handguns, has also fired several magazines with no issues. BUT, my nephew, 20 something and 130 lbs dripping wet fired 30 rounds and had maybe 10 FTF and double load issues. I believe, in my G 17's instance anyway, that the problem was with "the Indian and not the arrow", but I don't use mine for work and the odds of me having an issue in an emergency situation is remote enough as to make that a non issue. Some "experts" say Glocks can be unforgiving of poor grip and weak wrist, which is what I suspect with my nephew.
One final thought, if you "internet research" enough, you most surely will buy a revolver... semi-autos can malfunction.

 

[__jb]

The original G17/4 spring was designed for hot loads... The new 02 spring is designed for less powerful loads...

I shoot a lot of Winchester White Box ammo and have shot a box of the Federal without any problems. The 02 spring was a good thing for me...

I know that some of you just don't like the generation 4 Glocks... However, I have two of them and like mine...

 

[Argonaut]

Thanks ___jb,
That is exactly the answer I was hoping to hear! But I am looking for consistency too, has everyone had the same results with the new spring? Can I buy with the confidence that the issue is resolved?

The Glock Rep. is supposed to be at the store this coming Saturday. I am interested to find out what he has to say about it.

 

[Argonaut]

Thanks Don Glock,
What you describe is exactly what I want to avoid. I will go with the Gen3 if I have to but I sure did like the rougher grip texture and the larger mag release on the Gen4.

Sorry for the thumbs down, that was accidental on my touch screen display. If the moderator can change that to a thumbs up would be nice, that's what I was trying to do in the first place.

 

[NWGlocker]

I'll throw my hat in and support the Gen4. Ed and I have had previous discussions about the recoil spring. Mine came new with the 02 and I'm in the group that has had no problems with it. I guess I really have to say *almost* no probs. I've shot about 700 rounds -- all PMC Bronze 115 gr -- with the 02 spring so far. I did have a single stovepipe around the 700's, but that was at the end of a long training day, an unclean gun, and probably a shooter (me) that was limp wristing late in the evening.

One question is if you think you'll be using the pistol for sport, plinking, or as a defensive weapon. If defensive, maybe you would want the track record that the Gen 3's have.

Welcome to the forum, by the way!

 

[Don Glock]

Thanks Don Glock,
What you describe is exactly what I want to avoid. I will go with the Gen3 if I have to but I sure did like the rougher grip texture and the larger mag release on the Gen4.

Sorry for the thumbs down, that was accidental on my touch screen display. If the moderator can change that to a thumbs up would be nice, that's what I was trying to do in the first place.

oh lol, i was wondering who gave me a thumbs down

check out the gen3 RTF2 if you like the rougher texture. i have one, and it's great. not too rough for carry, yet grippier than the gen4 texture.

it's now only made for LE, but you can still find them everywhere (at least in my area).

as for the mag release, i put a larry vickers tactical one in mine (not pictured), and it's awesome. extended to just the right length, and beveled edges.

this is my g19 rtf2 (you can get them with the straight slide serrations too):

 

[Argonaut]

oh lol, i was wondering who gave me a thumbs down

check out the gen3 RTF2 if you like the rougher texture. i have one, and it's great. not too rough for carry, yet grippier than the gen4 texture.

it's now only made for LE, but you can still find them everywhere (at least in my area).

as for the mag release, i put a larry vickers tactical one in mine (not pictured), and it's awesome. extended to just the right length, and beveled edges.

this is my g19 rtf2 (you can get them with the straight slide serrations too):

Thanks Don, I haven't begun to look into the aftermarket parts available for the Glocks. But the Vickers mag release sounds like a great option and I'll see if I can find an RTF2 to fondle...er...I mean check out. I also realize that there are aftermarket grips available too and I should be able to find something I love there as well.

 

[__jb]

Thanks ___jb,
That is exactly the answer I was hoping to hear! But I am looking for consistency too, has everyone had the same results with the new spring? Can I buy with the confidence that the issue is resolved?

The Glock Rep. is supposed to be at the store this coming Saturday. I am interested to find out what he has to say about it.

This is the Internet, so I can't really say everybody loves the gen 4 Glocks. Some people just don't trust them yet and they have gen2 or gen 3 Glocks that work fine... no reason for thm to trade up...

All I can say is that for my money, if I was buying a new Glock that was available in a gen4 version, I would buy a 4th gen... Actually, I did... I have a 17 and a 19 gen4... both work fine, altough I hear Glock is coming out with a new recoil spring for the G19.

Coudn't hurt to talk to the Glock Rep...

 

[Argonaut]

Talked with the Glock Rep on Saturday regarding this issue. According to him, this issue wasn't so much with the model 17 but with another early gen4 model. He said Glock did testing with many ammos and found that some of the cheaper ammos had too much variation in pressure from round to round (inconsistent pressures and velocities) even within the same box sometimes. In response to this Glock issued the 02 recoil springs which are 2 lbs. weaker than the original springs. He assured me that the 02 recoil spring had resolved the issue. He also gave me his card and said if I had any problems with a gen4 to call or e-mail him and he would arrange to personally meet me on the range and get the problem resolved to prevent having to ship the gun back to Glock.

He also discussed the difficulty of designing a gun that performs flawlessly with all available ammos and the large variation of performance that covers. I do realize the challenge of such a task.

He also explained that most firing issues were an ammo issue and secondly a shooter issue and that only about 3% of problems were actually gun related. I accept that this is probably accurate information as well.

In my Internet research on this, all of the reports of major problems I could find were posted months ago and undoubtedly involved early models of the gen4. More recent posts have been of weary shooters having 1 or 2 failures only after firing many hundreds of rounds in a day's shooting.

I am feeling more confident now in purchasing a 17/4 without issue and will probably do so within days. I will report my experience here for anyone interested. Thanks to all who chimed in on this!

 

[EdF702]

What the Rep told you matches well with my experience. I have both springs, my G17 gen 4 came with the "initial" spring (unmarked) and after reading the concerns and having witnessed my nephews difficulties, I called Glock customer service and they mailed me the "02" spring. I had it out at the range today and I used both springs on a couple of different ammos... from 115 ball to 147 +p HP and I had no issues with either spring. I like the feel of the "original" spring better... but it's not dramatically different. I'm really enjoying my G17!

 

[__jb]

Cool you got to talk to a Glock Rep...

I'd get the 02 spring and go shooting...

 

[Argonaut]

What the Rep told you matches well with my experience. I have both springs, my G17 gen 4 came with the "initial" spring (unmarked) and after reading the concerns and having witnessed my nephews difficulties, I called Glock customer service and they mailed me the "02" spring. I had it out at the range today and I used both springs on a couple of different ammos... from 115 ball to 147 +p HP and I had no issues with either spring. I like the feel of the "original" spring better... but it's not dramatically different. I'm really enjoying my G17!

Personally, I kind of like the idea of having both springs in my shooting kit, could be beneficial to have both on hand perhaps.

 

[EdF702]

Glock is very accommodating on the issue. I called them on a Monday morning and the "02" spring was in my mailbox on Wednesday. The customer service lady was very friendly and just took my address and mailed it off.