Glock struggles

[Jesting Devil]

So I have an older (2 pin frame) Gen3 Glock34 that has been having a lot of issues. I was under the impression that this was from Glocks golden years of reliability so I am hesitant to give up and sell it but nothing I've tried has worked so far.

The problem is rounds getting jammed against the feed ramp, angled towards the chamber, but wedged solidly. Sometimes the bottom of the slide/breachface (not sure what to call it) is on top of the rim of the case, sometimes it isn't, but the jam ends up about the same as a wedged round that tap-racking turns into a double feed. I tried to get a picture that I staged with a dummy round, unfortunately I didn't think to take any at the range.



This problem has been ongoing for most of the time I've had the gun (just over a year, about 2500 rounds) and started the first time I took it to the range. At the time I was shooting old UMC and winchester white box 9mm and it was jamming constantly. I replaced the recoil spring and the extractor spring and it ran better for a while (probably 1000-1500 rounds)again shooting assorted cheap boxed ammo but was never 100%. I started reloading my own ammo to compete with and the first 2-300 rounds ran well but the last 200 from that batch started having the same issues. I've since changed the bullet I use and changed my OAL slightly but nothing seems to make much difference and the issue has been getting worse and more consistent.

I don't think it's magazine related as it occurs with any of my five mags, three of which are 10 rounders and two 17's

I also tried swapping recoil springs as I thought my rounds might be a bit on the weak side (although in the upper half of the recommended charge range). I went from the stock 17lb to a 15lb which changed nothing so thinking it needed more I clipped 1 coil off the spring which made it jam every round. Clipping another coil made it run a bit better but not any better than the stock spring. I've since gone back to the original spring and it mostly runs with a very solid 2 hand grip but becomes a single shot gun in 1 hand shooting.

So what are your thoughts? Am I just light loading my ammo and should just up the charge? Am I "limp wristing" like a chump? Should I try to go even lower with the springs?

Help me Pistol-forum, your my only hope!

[41magfan]

If sending it back to Glock isn't on your radar, I would suggest you find a competent Glock Armorer (preferably one that attends the Advanced School on a continuing basis) who can return your pistol to pure stock configuration. Let him test fire it with quality factory ammo and a new magazine and then go from there. GSSF Matches are also a good place to get your stuff back to the best configuration. Changing the variables often just masked any real issues.

[Dave J]

FWIW, I had similar malfunctions once when I tried a 40274 ejector in a previously reliable Gen2 G19. The thicker ejector was pushing the top round down just slightly, allowing the slide to override the cartridge base. Going back to a 336 ejector cured it completely.

It's easy to check -- strip the slide off, insert a mag with dummy rounds, and see if the ejector is pushing the top round downward any.

I second the recommendation to put all the springs back to stock.


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[DocGKR]

Good advice so far.

1. Send it back to Glock

2. Have a well qualified, experienced Glock armorer evaluate it

3. Replace all the parts/springs/magazines with proven OEM parts (10 rd G17/34 mags often cause malfunction issues)

4. Use only high quality factory ammo for function testing

[Spr1]

The two simplest things to try as mentioned above are getting a new factory recoil spring assembly and a few new 17 round mags.

[SecondsCount]

If that was a 1911 in the picture, I would be suggesting a new magazine or heavier magazine springs. The round is not being presented fast enough for the slide to start pushing it forward or the round is contacting something it shouldn't on it's way up.

Does the slide lock back after the last round is fired?

[Jesting Devil]

Thanks a lot for the advice guys.

I should have noted that the 17rnd mags are brand new but getting more of them isn't really an option where I live, I'm lucky to have these two. Everything in the gun is currently back to stock configuration with maybe 1500 rounds on this recoil spring.

And yes, the slide locks back except when I had the clipped 15lb spring in, then it would not.

FWIW, I had similar malfunctions once when I tried a 40274 ejector in a previously reliable Gen2 G19. The thicker ejector was pushing the top round down just slightly, allowing the slide to override the cartridge base. Going back to a 336 ejector cured it completely.

It's easy to check -- strip the slide off, insert a mag with dummy rounds, and see if the ejector is pushing the top round downward any.

I just checked this and the ejector does in fact contact the top round slightly when the magazine is inserted. It is already a 336 ejector however, would you think a replacement would be positioned differently?

[pablo]

What's your handload recipe, handloads or cheap ammo may be the problem. Does it work with "full" power or higher end ammo. I've seen a similar problem, turned out that the remanufactured ammo the guy bought wasn't loaded with enough "oomph" to reliably cycle the slide.

[Jeep]

So what are your thoughts? Am I just light loading my ammo and should just up the charge? Am I "limp wristing" like a chump? Should I try to go even lower with the springs?

I have a Gen 2 G19 that was doing something similar. After trying a lot of things I finally installed a new OEM extractor. Problem solved (or at least it has gone 1500 problem free rounds since then). I can barely tell the difference between the old and new extractors but apparently the old one is worn away just enough to cause problems. Anyway, I'd try a new one on the theory that the misfeeds are perhaps caused by delayed extraction. You can get a new extractor from Glock Parts for $20 and even if it doesn't work its a nice part to have on hand.

If that doesn't work, I'd send it to the factory.

[David Armstrong]

I think the highlights have already been hit. Go back to a stock configuration iwith stock springs. And replace the spring and follower in the magazines. Use a fairly good factory round. If it still messes up, have a friend try it and see if it does the same thing with him. If so, get it to an expert, either Glock, Inc or an advanced armorer.