[rowemesp]

Here's my issue. . . .I have a department-issued G23 that I got in the spring and have qualified with it twice and now have about 500-600 rounds through it. . . .it shoots reliably and I really like it. . .so much that I bought a G27 for off-duty carry.

I qualified with the G27 and had a couple issues of FTF (slide locked back) and at the time I attributed it to limp-wristing (had a hard time adjusting to the smaller grip).

Today I took the G27 to the range and put about 250 rounds through it and had several failures to feed due to slide hanging back. I was really concentrating on locking my wrist so I'm pretty sure I wasn't limp-wristing it. I brought it home and gave it a good clean and lube and will be going out to the range again tomorrow.

I'd be happy if I could feed 50 rounds through it without a malfunction. I'll put a couple hundred rounds through it and see what happens.

So that brings me around to my question: Do Glocks need "break-in" shooting to make them reliable? Or is it more breaking in the shooter to the Glock?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Rob

 

[rowemesp]

OK. . .I just got back from the range. I put 220 rounds through it. I modified my grip to keep my right thumb out of the way better and everything seems OK for now. I did have it lock back twice early on in the session, but I believe I relaxed my grip discipline and my thumb may have hit it. After the second lock back, I fired another 180+ rounds without any problems. . . long story short, I think this failure was operator error. I would like to mention though that the slide lock lever does move extremely easy (compared to my G23), as if the spring was weaker. If I have the opportunity, I may have a Glock armorer evaluate the spring and maybe replace it just for giggles.

For those that are wondering, I am shooting Federal American Eagle 180 grain FMJ factory rounds for practice and Federal 165 grain HST Tactical JHP for self defense. My magazines (both) have the Pearce PG-2733 +1 extensions. I have noted that the JHPs have NEVER caused the slide to lock back--I'm not sure if it's coincidental or not.

Also, I purchased this gun new about a month ago from a Glock dealer in PA--it was test-fired at the Glock factory on 9/1/10

Thanks for all the comments and advice.

Rob

 

[rowemesp]

When I first encountered this problem I thought it was improbable that I'd be hitting it with my thumb, but that "seems" to be the case, unless by modifying my grip I'm reducing the vertical movement that's causing the slide lock lever to move when the gun is fired. I think that modifying my grip could have cured a symptom, but didn't really cure the problem, which is why I'm probably gonna have that spring changed out when I can.

Has anyone ever heard of that spring being weak and letting that slide lock lever move when it's fired?

 

[rowemesp]

I think the spring is installed correctly, based on your (EdF702's) description of how it should be. It looks like the spring is under the pin. I've attached a couple pics that hopefully you can see the spring well enough to verify it's installation. As far as I know, this Glock has not been disassembled since leaving the factory (other than field stripping for cleaning). I'm gonna keep shooting it for now and try to perfect my grip and see if that takes care of the issue. This gun DOES jump around quite a bit more than my G23 and maybe I just need to control it a little better.

I've carried a lot of different guns throughout my career and I've never had an issue like this with any other. . .and I know the Glock is built like no other, so I realize there might be some differences in technique involved. This issue aside, I love how the gun shoots. . .excellent trigger pull, great ergonomics, nice size and I shoot really tight groups with it. Thanks again for the input and advice.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14231719/340.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14231719/346.JPG
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14231719/347.JPG

 

[rowemesp]

Thanks Voyager!. . .you're probably right about that. Today's range session was much better than the last. . .I'm enjoying getting to know this gun. . .

 

[rowemesp]

I'm still experimenting with my 27. . . my last trip to the range I got 220 rounds through it with with two lock-backs--I'm still not totally convinced that my thumbs are hitting the lock lever because I can't touch that lever while holding the gun in a shooting position, unless the recoil is somehow twisting the gun around in my hand. Yesterday at work I was looking the gun over and I made these observations:

--I have the Pearce +1 mag extensions on both mags; when I have 10 rounds loaded in the mag and insert the mag into the gun with the slide forward, it takes a fair amount of force to get it to lock in. If you continue pushing up on the mag after it locks (as if you were rapidly slamming the mag into the well) I noticed that something was pushing the slide lock UP--it actually touched the slide.

--When you remove one round from the mag this does not happen. It's as if loading the 10th round into the mag is somehow slightly changing the dimensions of the top of the mag so that it touches the slide lock upon insertion, forcing it upward toward the slide. I can't say if this happens with both mags--I'll know today.

--I field stripped the gun and put a loaded mag into the frame to observe what happens inside upon insertion. I can't get the mag to even touch the slide lock, no matter what I do, so the problem is related to having the 10th round in the mag AND forcing it against the slide to cause movement and / or deformation to touch the slide lock.

--The gun otherwise feeds fine with 10 rounds in the mag.

--I've never experienced lockback on the first or second round so I'm not entirely sure if this problem is related to the lockback or not. I'm still not ruling out operator error (limp-wristing). I intend to hit the range again this weekend to do some more experimenting with it. I may remove the Pearce extensions next and see if it makes any difference.

--Rob

 

[rowemesp]

This issue has been resolved. See this thread for details: http://glock.pro/showthread.php/1267-G27-update.-.-. As of this writing I've shot an additional 400-500 rounds through it without any problems. Based on my experience and reading about others experiences, it's my observation that some Glocks do need some rounds put through 'em to "wear in" certain parts. What parts need this additional "machining" seems to vary from gun-to-gun--in my case it was probably the powdercoat finish on the slide release lever near the pin-hole being applied too thickly, causing it to bind. When that powdercoat was worn away from use, the binding ceased.

Merry Christmas!

--Rob