Glock Gen 5 "Issues"

[Tokarev]

Good morning.

I've just finished helping out NLEFIA with a pistol instructor course. The class was held at the HERO indoor training facility in Woodbury, MN. Nice place!

Anyway, we saw a couple things with an agency's Gen 5 Glock pistols. One is a somewhat "known" issue while the other is probably not.

First up, the guns may develop a tendency to go to slide lock unexpectedly. This is caused by a slight deformation to the little shelf the slide catch spring contacts. Glock seems to be aware of the problem and has increased the diameter of the spring so that it doesn't interface with such a small area. It sounds like the problem is fixed on the latest guns but it is something to keep an eye on especially for those who may have older production guns.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20201010/5a640a701331bd97e8f818814bf0c75f.jpg

Hopefully the image above is clear enough to show the issue. Look just above the tip of the punch at the semi-circle cutout. There's a little bit of deformation to the edge of the shelf. If this area gets worn enough the spring may no longer have enough strength to lower the slide catch fully and/or keep it fully down as the slide cycles. This may lead to premature slide lock.

The other issue relates to the new firing pin and "snap caps" with an empty primer pocket. Once the striker is released and fully forward, the tip of the firing pin extends through the breech face into the primer pocket. Attempting a "tap rack" with the muzzle down or slightly depressed with the firing pin extended into the primer pocket results in the pin snagging and making the slide hard to retract. Tipping the barrel up allows the pin to fall back out of the pocket. Once the pin is back the slide will open without undue force.

One officer had a tendency to slightly lower the muzzle for malfunction clearance especially while working behind cover. This is when we noticed the gun(s) binding up. Elevated muzzle and gun up in workspace is likely the best choice when working malfs, reloading, etc so this turned into a teaching point. Still, it is less than ideal that the gun doesn't really like primer-less dummy rounds.

Just a couple things to watch out for for those who are issued or carry G5 guns.



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[Erick Gelhaus]

Thanks for that info.

[TC215]

I’m guessing that’s why Glock changed the angle of the firing pin on the re-designed M guns.

[ST911]

The other issue relates to the new firing pin and "snap caps" with an empty primer pocket. Once the striker is released and fully forward, the tip of the firing pin extends through the breech face into the primer pocket. Attempting a "tap rack" with the muzzle down or slightly depressed with the firing pin extended into the primer pocket results in the pin snagging and making the slide hard to retract. Tipping the barrel up allows the pin to fall back out of the pocket. Once the pin is back the slide will open without undue force.

One officer had a tendency to slightly lower the muzzle for malfunction clearance especially while working behind cover. This is when we noticed the gun(s) binding up. Elevated muzzle and gun up in workspace is likely the best choice when working malfs, reloading, etc so this turned into a teaching point. Still, it is less than ideal that the gun doesn't really like primer-less dummy rounds.

Saw this early with ST Action Pros as gen5s came online. Remedy is muzzle elevation and the extent needed varies. Unintentionally helpful to condition "workspace" manipulations. In time, if you get a gen5 with the revised breach face, a beat up ST Action Pro case, and a weak efforts, cases can stick pretty good.

Glock OEM dummies work fine and I've mostly switched to those. I have some of the first and they've held up well:
https://store.teamglock.com/glock-dummy-rounds-9mm-package-50-rds.html

[Tokarev]

Glock OEM dummies work fine and I've mostly switched to those. I have some of the first and they've held up well

How are they after repeated firing pin strikes?

I assume these are more "flexible" than some other inerts on the market? The other orange plastic inert rounds should be treated as readily disposable in my experience.

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[GyroF-16]

Thanks very much for posting about these issues.
Subscribed, as I expect to be issued a Gen 5 sometime ext year, and want to know what to look out for.

[ST911]

How are they after repeated firing pin strikes? I assume these are more "flexible" than some other inerts on the market? The other orange plastic inert rounds should be treated as readily disposable in my experience. Sent from my SM-A505U using Tapatalk

I have several hundred with lots of use, they're fine. No deformation, indentations, or rim fractures like on budget plastic models. There is a very small shallow mold divot in the center of the base that hasn't grown. I didn't expect them to do as well as they did, having poor experience with the other non-metallic models.

For clarity, the gen5 and ST Action Pro issue is one of compatibility, not function or quality of either.