Glock 34 Gen 5 - Light Strikes or Failure to Ignite?

[deflave]

I bought a G34 a couple months back with the sole intent of shooting USPSA. It's got around 5-600 (give or take 100) and I haven't had any issues.

Until this past Sunday...

I was shooting a local Steel Challenge match and I had a failure to fire on my second run of the fourth stage. That was with 147gr. Ranger.

Today I was doing some drills and had it happen again with some 115gr. White Box. I'm not totally new to Glocks but I've also never been married to them like I am this one. Is there a recall I'm not aware of? Is this common with factory Winchesters?

Any thought or remedies are appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Firing pin assembly:

https://i.imgur.com/IGs6nht.jpg

Ranger on the right, White box on the left:

https://i.imgur.com/psX9XAA.jpg

[JTQ]

Is this gun completely stock?

[deflave]

Is this gun completely stock?

The only alteration's I've done are grip tape and sharpied the rear sight.

[L-2]

Keep any lube or oil out of the firing pin channel.
The photo of the firing pin assembly appears to be a bit too wet for my liking.

I'd detail strip the entire gun to determine if there were any unusually worn or non-stock parts.
It helps to have another Gen5 Glock present for comparison should there be any doubts on how a part should appear.
Experience at this time is very important if unfamiliar with Glock internals.

The primer hits look good in the photo. Perhaps it's just a bad batch of ammo.

[WDR]

It appears that you might be lubricating the striker assembly... if you are, stop. It should be dry. As should the channel its riding in. Not sure if that is your issue, but I have heard of lube catching junk and or (with excessive amounts) slowing down the striker enough to cause issues. In any event, the first thing I'd do is make sure the striker channel and striker and clean and dry. If that didn't help, and the striker itself looked okay, I might try a new set of spring cups (cheap, and I always have some on hand). Channel liner and the sleeve on the rear of the striker maybe too.

With the slide assembled and the safety plunger depressed, how much of the tip of the striker is sticking out proud of the breech face when you push it forward?

I have never had hard primer issues with Winchester ammo... but it's possible things have changed. I'd be inclined to try a different brand just to see what happens. If it happens with another brand of ammo, it might be time to send it back to Glock and have them look at it.

[deflave]

Keep any lube or oil out of the firing pin channel.
The photo of the firing pin assembly appears to be a bit too wet for my liking.

I'd detail strip the entire gun to determine if there were any unusually worn or non-stock parts.
It helps to have another Gen5 Glock present for comparison should there be any doubts on how a part should appear.
Experience at this time is very important if unfamiliar with Glock internals.

The primer hits look good in the photo. Perhaps it's just a bad batch of ammo.

Do you mean removing everything from the frame as well? I hadn't stripped the slide prior to this afternoon and I'm hoping the cleaning I gave it will remedy any potential issue with the gun.

My (and other guy's at the match on Sunday) had the thought of a bad batch as well. But I just purchased the 115gr. White Box stuff yesterday, and the 147gr. stuff was acquired months ago.

[deflave]

It appears that you might be lubricating the striker assembly... if you are, stop. It should be dry. As should the channel its riding in. Not sure if that is your issue, but I have heard of lube catching junk and or (with excessive amounts) slowing down the striker enough to cause issues. In any event, the first thing I'd do is make sure the striker channel and striker and clean and dry. If that didn't help, and the striker itself looked okay, I might try a new set of spring cups (cheap, and I always have some on hand). Channel liner and the sleeve on the rear of the striker maybe too.

With the slide assembled and the safety plunger depressed, how much of the tip of the striker is sticking out proud of the breech face when you push it forward?

I have never had hard primer issues with Winchester ammo... but it's possible things have changed. I'd be inclined to try a different brand just to see what happens. If it happens with another brand of ammo, it might be time to send it back to Glock and have them look at it.

I am not lubricating the striker assembly. The gun was purchased brand new and I only removed the striker assembly after my range session earlier today. I have since cleaned it and put it back dry.


https://i.imgur.com/YFrAnCU.jpg

[WDR]

Firing pin protrusion looks good to me.

Questions: What specific ammo are you using. Is it the FMJ flat pointed stuff Winchester recently started making for the military contract? Round nose FMJ plain "white box" in bulk boxes? The Ranger: Is it the foreign contract stuff SG Ammo was selling a while back? I'd be suspicious of harder primers in the military or contract ammo. If its plain WWB... I've never had a Glock not pop that stuff. Winchester QC has been sliding for quite a few years, and I mostly reload these days... so I may be out of the loop a bit.

I'd try some Federal and see what happens. Glocks generally light off anything their fed unless it has some really hard SMG type primers in it. If Federal or CCI ammo wont run without light strikes, it may be time to send it to the mother ship.

[deflave]

Firing pin protrusion looks good to me.

Questions: What specific ammo are you using. Is it the FMJ flat pointed stuff Winchester recently started making for the military contract? Round nose FMJ plain "white box" in bulk boxes? The Ranger: Is it the foreign contract stuff SG Ammo was selling a while back? I'd be suspicious of harder primers in the military or contract ammo. If its plain WWB... I've never had a Glock not pop that stuff. Winchester QC has been sliding for quite a few years, and I mostly reload these days... so I may be out of the loop a bit.

I'd try some Federal and see what happens. Glocks generally light off anything their fed unless it has some really hard SMG type primers in it. If Federal or CCI ammo wont run without light strikes, it may be time to send it to the mother ship.

https://i.imgur.com/PJ8BuAz.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/Xk89b61.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wM64N7Z.jpg

[cornstalker]

Both of my Gen 5 19's and my G43x had oil in the striker channel from the factory. Looked just like the 34.5 photo.

[JBP55]

Looking at the primers I would say faulty ammunition.

[BWT]

I’ve had... 6 Glocks and probably 4-5 in my extended family.

I’d clean the firing pin (you have), I’d maybe blow the firing pin channel out as well with canned air or with an air compressor (if you have it available), I’d take it shooting with the same Ammo again. If it failed again I’d contact Glock and/or shoot it with another pistol.

Two different loadings and one being a JHP has me skeptical of a loading issue. A different pistol might help with that (a known good quantity), cleaning the channel out would fix the light primer strikes if that is causing it (you’re already going down this avenue, and there’s a small chance IMHO it’s the gun. But it is happening.

10+ Glocks - we had the same issue with a Gen 3 Glock 21 and I absolutely was letting oil in the firing pin channel as I didn’t know better (I was 18 and it was my Dad’s gun... almost 15 years ago).

If you’ve thoroughly cleaned the firing pin channel and the ammo works in other guns (bring with to the range) - I’d probably call Glock.

That’s just my $.02

[El Cid]

How old is the ammo? Winchester has a huge run a few years ago with bad primers, including the bonded Ranger.

Agree with others - the primers were hot solidly. I can’t see how it’s not the ammo.

[UpDok]

[/QUOTE]

Ranger on the right, White box on the left:

https://i.imgur.com/psX9XAA.jpg[/QUOTE]

I don't post here very often, but from my standpoint I would not accept performance like that from any pistol. Those are certainly light strikes. If it was mine I'd send it back to Glock and let them fix it.

Glocks are usually good but they're not always perfect.

[HopetonBrown]

These areas glisten like they're coated in oil, which they shouldn't be.

Before we blame ammo or call Smyrna, let's make sure areas that don't need lube aren't lubed. 4975849759

[Darth_Uno]

Looks like the ammo to me. If it was FMJ at the range, taprackbang and roll on. I’d be much more concerned about the Ranger not firing.

[Alpha Sierra]

Looking at the primers I would say faulty ammunition.

I don't know...……...I can tell Glock brass on the floor immediately by the characteristic rectangular mark left on the primers by Glock strikers and that mark is absent from both of those cartridges.

I'm going with too much oil/preservative/whatever not cleaned out of the striker and striker channel before firing the pistol for the first time.

[LittleLebowski]

I'm going with ammo. Find you some quality Wolf or Tula and rock on :D (My Glocks love steel cased)

[BigT]

I don't know...……...I can tell Glock brass on the floor immediately by the characteristic rectangular mark left on the primers by Glock strikers and that mark is absent from both of those cartridges.

I'm going with too much oil/preservative/whatever not cleaned out of the striker and striker channel before firing the pistol for the first time.

Gen5's don't leave a rectangular mark, and mark is only visible after the primer has been fired not just struck.

To the OP, there does look to be excess oil in the channel I would clean all of that out. Also make sure the end of the firing pin cups is not in line with the seam on the spring cups and that they are properly in place. It should look seamless with no visible gap.

[deflave]

How old is the ammo? Winchester has a huge run a few years ago with bad primers, including the bonded Ranger.

Agree with others - the primers were hot solidly. I can’t see how it’s not the ammo.

The Ranger stuff is from late 2019, the White Box stuff I bought Monday.

[deflave]

I’ve had... 6 Glocks and probably 4-5 in my extended family.

I’d clean the firing pin (you have), I’d maybe blow the firing pin channel out as well with canned air or with an air compressor (if you have it available), I’d take it shooting with the same Ammo again. If it failed again I’d contact Glock and/or shoot it with another pistol.

Two different loadings and one being a JHP has me skeptical of a loading issue. A different pistol might help with that (a known good quantity), cleaning the channel out would fix the light primer strikes if that is causing it (you’re already going down this avenue, and there’s a small chance IMHO it’s the gun. But it is happening.

10+ Glocks - we had the same issue with a Gen 3 Glock 21 and I absolutely was letting oil in the firing pin channel as I didn’t know better (I was 18 and it was my Dad’s gun... almost 15 years ago).

If you’ve thoroughly cleaned the firing pin channel and the ammo works in other guns (bring with to the range) - I’d probably call Glock.

That’s just my $.02

I cranked the compressor to 60 PSI and let her rip.

Thanks for the info. .

[deflave]

I'm going with ammo. Find you some quality Wolf or Tula and rock on :D (My Glocks love steel cased)

Serves me right for trying to go high brow... grin.

[deflave]

Gen5's don't leave a rectangular mark, and mark is only visible after the primer has been fired not just struck.

To the OP, there does look to be excess oil in the channel I would clean all of that out. Also make sure the end of the firing pin cups is not in line with the seam on the spring cups and that they are properly in place. It should look seamless with no visible gap.

I double checked the alignment of the cups and spring and they're good to go.

Thank you.

[deflave]

Thanks to everyone for their input on this.

I'm sort of surprised by the amount of people that think some oil in that firing pin assembly could gum one up. As stated previously, I didn't put it there and have cleaned it and dried it thoroughly. But I think it may simply be a bad spring.

Glock was closed when I called yesterday but I'm going to try and contact them today and get their thoughts and at least give them the S/N in case it's something they're trying to troubleshoot.

I am going to keep shooting to see if the problem goes away or resurfaces.

Full disclosure (after assessing the garbage can in my garage) this pistol has just over 1K rounds through it. My previous statement was a bit too conservative. As an aside, my garbage can also seems to indicate that I'm a raging alcoholic. Who knew?

Thanks again for all the input.

[Squib308]

run some steel berdan primed ammo through it
if ignites fine then there cant be an issue w the pistol
this is my approach anytime i lower a hammer spring weight, to confirm i am indeed well enough above the threshold for primer ignition.

[Mfbpt]

It’s the ammo. Those aren’t light strikes. Grab some S&B or Blazer brass and shoot the shit out of it. Ten bucks says it doesn’t happen again unless you continue using Winchester white box then all bets are off. Can’t really explain the Ranger except it must have been a bad primer.

[cornstalker]

I have to wonder. If oil in the firing pin channel is a cardinal sin, why does Glock put it there? Is it a storage thing?

As far as the ammo. In the past I had some WWB .40 S&W ammo that averaged two failures per 50 rounds.

Didn’t some major agency take Ranger ammo off of the approved list due to failures to ignite?

[deflave]

I have to wonder. If oil in the firing pin channel is a cardinal sin, why does Glock put it there? Is it a storage thing?

As far as the ammo. In the past I had some WWB .40 S&W ammo that averaged two failures per 50 rounds.

Didn’t some major agency take Ranger ammo off of the approved list due to failures to ignite?

If they did that'd be good to know.

Interesting on the White Box.

[deflave]

run some steel berdan primed ammo through it
if ignites fine then there cant be an issue w the pistol
this is my approach anytime i lower a hammer spring weight, to confirm i am indeed well enough above the threshold for primer ignition.

Not a bad idea.

[deflave]

It’s the ammo. Those aren’t light strikes. Grab some S&B or Blazer brass and shoot the shit out of it. Ten bucks says it doesn’t happen again unless you continue using Winchester white box then all bets are off. Can’t really explain the Ranger except it must have been a bad primer.

I just got off the phone with Glock and they agreed. NOT the gun.

I told them I just wanted to make sure they didn't have a bad run of springs or something else I wasn't aware of and he replied "Never."

LOL.

[cornstalker]

If they did that'd be good to know.

Interesting on the White Box.


Super old news. (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?10396-SAFETY-ADVISORY-Winchester-Ranger-Bonded-9mm-147-grain-(Q4364))

The occurrence was quite some time ago.

[deflave]

Super old news. (https://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?10396-SAFETY-ADVISORY-Winchester-Ranger-Bonded-9mm-147-grain-(Q4364))

The occurrence was quite some time ago.

Thanks for this.

Interesting.

[BigT]

Thanks to everyone for their input on this.

I'm sort of surprised by the amount of people that think some oil in that firing pin assembly could gum one up. As stated previously, I didn't put it there and have cleaned it and dried it thoroughly. But I think it may simply be a bad spring.
.

Oil in the firing pin channel can slow down the firing pin, especially if its attracted crap into the channel. Keeping the channel clear of oil on a Glock is a thing, hence the comments from the guys.

[JBP55]

Thanks to everyone for their input on this.

I'm sort of surprised by the amount of people that think some oil in that firing pin assembly could gum one up. As stated previously, I didn't put it there and have cleaned it and dried it thoroughly. But I think it may simply be a bad spring.

Thanks again for all the input.

I saw 2 new shooters with new Glocks having issues with their pistols not firing properly while trying to qualify on a LEO course.
I disassembled the pistols and both had filled the hole in the slide with oil where the firing pin resides. After cleaning both pistols worked as they should.

[deflave]

I saw 2 new shooters with new Glocks having issues with their pistols not firing properly while trying to qualify on a LEO course.
I disassembled the pistols and both had filled the hole in the slide with oil where the firing pin resides. After cleaning both pistols worked as they should.

I didn't know you were supposed to strip them and clean them when they're new.

I'm starting to feel like YouTube lied to me all these years. Grin...

[Vista461]

I personally quit using WWB a few years ago after some issues.
Even when Walmart was clearancing out their handgun ammo, I passed on the WWB.

Federal was as cheap or cheaper and I never had any issues with it.

[psalms144.1]

I saw 2 new shooters with new Glocks having issues with their pistols not firing properly while trying to qualify on a LEO course.
I disassembled the pistols and both had filled the hole in the slide with oil where the firing pin resides. After cleaning both pistols worked as they should.I had an ASAC on one of my ranges who couldn't get his GLOCKs to shoot worth a shit. I took them into the booth, detail stripped them, and found the striker channel positively FILLED with lube. I pointed this out to him (he's a former Marine), and he told me he thought the hole on the bottom of the slide was a grease fitting, so he would just squirt CLP into it every time he cleaned the pistols. It's a wonder his guns worked as long as they did...

Having said all that, unfortunately, Winchester has not had a stellar reputation in the last several years for turning out reliable ammo. I'm with others in that I won't touch the stuff. For a duty 147 load, I'd go HST (bonded or not - your choice) or G2.

[Wondering Beard]

I didn't know you were supposed to strip them and clean them when they're new.

I'm starting to feel like YouTube lied to me all these years. Grin...

One other possibility: I don't know what your cleaning routine has been with that Glock, but I wonder if, while trying to clean the breach face you got more CLP inside the firing pin channel than you wanted/expected and the result was those light strikes.

Many years ago, I got a light strike with my G23 with quality ammo (Fed 165gr Tactical); the primer strike, if memory serves, looked a lot like yours. One of my thoughts at the time was that the breach face wasn't really dry and maybe Hoppe's #9 had deactivated the priming compound, or it could have been that the firing pin channel had gotten some of that same Hoppe's inside. The rest of the rounds in the magazine worked fine but when I got home, I made sure that both breach face and firing pin channel was dry and the problem never reappeared.

[deflave]

One other possibility: I don't know what your cleaning routine has been with that Glock, but I wonder if, while trying to clean the breach face you got more CLP inside the firing pin channel than you wanted/expected and the result was those light strikes.



Certainly possible.

Thanks.

[Gio]

I'm not saying this is the cause here, but I've seen several Glocks experience light primer strikes because LEO's put too much oil in the firing pin channel. Usually, they do it unintentionally by using some kind of CLP to clean the inside of the slide and the breach face, which migrates into the striker channel. There is a test you can do to check the movement of the striker. With the gun disassembled/barrel and recoil spring removed, pick up the slide, depress the plunger safety with your thumb, and shake the slide back and forth. You should hear the striker bouncing around inside the channel completely unobstructed. If you hear nothing, or only a faint sound, then you have oil or residue gumming up the action.

I'll also add, it usually takes a significant amount of lube and carbon build up in the lube to get a Glock to actually stop firing from this. In my experience, gen5's are even harder for this to happen to because they seem to have even more reliable ignition at lower striker spring weights.

[psalms144.1]

All of these problems would be quickly solved when people realize it's a GLOCK. You don't clean them - except with a bore brush, a tooth brush and a dry rag every couple thousand rounds...;)

[deflave]

All of these problems would be quickly solved when people realize it's a GLOCK. You don't clean them - except with a bore brush, a tooth brush and a dry rag every couple thousand rounds...;)

https://media.giphy.com/media/kc0kqKNFu7v35gPkwB/giphy.gif

[JBP55]

I didn't know you were supposed to strip them and clean them when they're new.

I'm starting to feel like YouTube lied to me all these years. Grin...

I detail strip, clean and lubricate all my new pistols before the first range trip. YMMV

[L-2]

Without the knowledge to detail strip a Glock, I wouldn't advise somebody to detail strip before using.
In a larger LE department where I worked, brand-new Glocks were issued and each LEO would qualify with it (maybe 50 rounds). If no problems were encountered, we'd use the gun and qualify twice a year with only routine cleaning, unless a problem arose.
If any problems or breakages occurred, an assigned armorer would usually cure the cause. If the cause couldn't be immediately cured, another firearm would be issued.

In the OP's case, light strikes were encountered which might need further study. It's unknown whether it was gun-related or ammo-related.

Detail-stripping is just one possible way to research the problem.

From the photos, I observed the firing pin assembly appeared to be wetter than normal. I'd previously seen a new Glock with too much lube/CLP in firing pin channel. Perhaps merely cleaning/blowing out the firing pin and channel might be all that was necessary to cure this problem

Perhaps changing to a different brand or batch of ammo would be a good test, also. Remember, each round of ammo might be unique and a failure to fire could occur at any moment, whether in practice, competition, or battle. Do be aware of and practice for a failure.

(To answer a previous question to me, no, the frame may not need detail stripping in this case; but I'm just speculating what the cause could be. It definitely helps to have Glock Armorer and 20+ years of Glock experience. I don't expect someone who just bought a new Glock to be able to or need to detail strip his new Glock.)

[JBP55]

1. It definitely helps to have Glock Armorer and 20+ years of Glock experience.
2. I don't expect someone who just bought a new Glock to be able to or need to detail strip his new Glock.)

1. That describes me.
2. If someone does not know how to detail strip a Glock I would not recommend they do so. I would advise them to take it to a Qualified Glock Armorer.
3. The average member here is better qualified than the average member of GT.

[JonInWA]

With the possible exception of the magazine lever rod spring, and possibly the firing pin spring cups, at least the first time, I can't think of an easier gun to detail disassemble and reassemble than a Glock. Take the Glock Armorer's course, or go through the PTOOMA book, or view some of the better YouTube segments on this, and you're good to go...Best, Jon

[Kirk]

I've got to be honest, to me, those don't look like light strikes at all. Well hit and centered. I'd definitely agree with those saying it's likely bad or hard primers.

[deflave]

With the possible exception of the magazine lever rod spring, and possibly the firing pin spring cups, at least the first time, I can't think of an easier gun to detail disassemble and reassemble than a Glock. Take the Glock Armorer's course, or go through the PTOOMA book, or view some of the better YouTube segments on this, and you're good to go...Best, Jon

I'm not sure if this was directed at me, but I have no issues detail stripping a Glock.

I was only asking if it is common for people to do so on a brand new one.

[JonInWA]

I'm not sure if this was directed at me, but I have no issues detail stripping a Glock.

I was only asking if it is common for people to do so on a brand new one.

Nah, you're good. I was just making a generalized comment at those who seemed to think that there's something intrinsically difficult about a Glock detailed disassembly. (Now if it was an HK....).

Performing an initial, or early detailed disassembly of a Glock is a good idea for a couple of reasons in my opinion:

1. To remove any excess factory preservative residues;

2. To preemptively clean and lubricate-especially worthwhile is placing pervasive lubricant (i.e., Lucas Red "N" Tacky #2 or TW25B are my personal choices) on the triggerbar ad connector interface surfaces.

Other than that, field stripping is more than sufficient for normal cleaning and lubrication needs.

Best, Jon

[deflave]

Nah, you're good. I was just making a generalized comment at those who seemed to think that there's something intrinsically difficult about a Glock detailed disassembly. (Now if it was an HK....).

Performing an initial, or early detailed disassembly of a Glock is a good idea for a couple of reasons in my opinion:

1. To remove any excess factory preservative residues;

2. To preemptively clean and lubricate-especially worthwhile is placing pervasive lubricant (i.e., Lucas Red "N" Tacky #2 or TW25B are my personal choices) on the triggerbar ad connector interface surfaces.

Other than that, field stripping is more than sufficient for normal cleaning and lubrication needs.

Best, Jon

Roger that.

Thanks.

[OdinIII]

Those look off center to me. If that is true then maybe the firing pin safety is dragging on the striker due to an out of battery condition.

I had a similar issue caused by tumbling media. It’s a long story!