Glocks and Limpwristing Concerns

[TCB]

The only weapons that don’t malfunction are rocks and maybe some one piece edged / pointed implements. Anything else should be carried with the expectation of remedial action being a possibility during employment, there are too many factors with firearms (ammo, environmental, positional, etc...) to think all of them will work in all situations. Know the limitations of your tool and carry on. That being said a firearm that isn’t “reliable” should be shit canned, what level of “reliability” is “acceptable” in a “working capacity” could be argued but there are some fairly well documented testing protocols out there that I’m comfortable with using as a guide to determine that.

[ST911]

Having conducted this and similar exercises numerous times. I'd like to add that you should make sure the next round in the mag is a dummy. Just in case.

Just in case of what?

[P30]

I can induce a limp-wristing malfunction on command with a brand new stock RSA in my glock17 gen4 using 130pf target ammo.

Wow! Did it take a lot of training or are you a natural talent?

[LittleLebowski]

And that's what I'm concerned about. I've never experienced having a malfunction with any of my 9mm or .45 caliber Glocks at the range or even at a class (though I've accidentally prevented last round hold open by holding down the slide stop on my Gen 5s with my thumb a number of times), but it does seem like it's something that can happen in the heat of the moment if you just have to move or shoot the pistol in an odd enough way. Years ago I managed to make it happen with my old Glock 19 Gen 3, but I guess at the time I was satisfied that it was unlikely enough not to be concerned. Now with some of the things I've seen lately, I've started to reconsider.

I'm curious whether my HK USP 9 and USP 45 are similarly susceptible. They've got lightweight polymer frames, though not as lightweight as the Glock's.

You need to stop “what iffing”.

[TheNewbie]

If Glock released a Gen 5 Glock 21, I would probably buy it even if Glock guaranteed it to limp wrist malfunction every 8 rounds. Because I want one that badly!

[edison]

Wow! Did it take a lot of training or are you a natural talent?

I'm just 200IQ like that.

[DDTSGM]

Just in case of what?

Generally when doing such demos it is on a range full of students. You are holding a pistol in a way that no one is going to say is a correct grip.

So if ANYTHING goes wrong as in pistol gets away from you and you put one into the ground (in our case concrete) five feet in front of you, or worst case, into a student, you have pretty much sawn the limb off behind you.

Therefore I use a dummy round as the second round in the mag, just in case.

I also feel that if I'm demo'ing something of that nature, someone might choose to imitate it, therefore I stress to everyone observing the next round is a dummy round, just in case, among other things.

[ST911]

Generally when doing such demos it is on a range full of students. You are holding a pistol in a way that no one is going to say is a correct grip.

So if ANYTHING goes wrong as in pistol gets away from you and you put one into the ground (in our case concrete) five feet in front of you, or worst case, into a student, you have pretty much sawn the limb off behind you.

Therefore I use a dummy round as the second round in the mag, just in case.

I also feel that if I'm demo'ing something of that nature, someone might choose to imitate it, therefore I stress to everyone observing the next round is a dummy round, just in case, among other things.

Ok, thanks for the reply. Having fired thousands of rounds fired in such demos, what you describe simply does not occur with typical class guns in my experience.

I also use that exercise mythbust and illustrate the energy in play at the shooter and how little guns actually move.

[DDTSGM]

Ok, thanks for the reply. Having fired thousands of rounds fired in such demos, what you describe simply does not occur with typical class guns in my experience.

I also use that exercise mythbust and illustrate the energy in play at the shooter and how little guns actually move.

I agree. I just knew how things would go with my admin.

[Lost River]

And that's what I'm concerned about. I've never experienced having a malfunction with any of my 9mm or .45 caliber Glocks at the range or even at a class (though I've accidentally prevented last round hold open by holding down the slide stop on my Gen 5s with my thumb a number of times), but it does seem like it's something that can happen in the heat of the moment if you just have to move or shoot the pistol in an odd enough way. Years ago I managed to make it happen with my old Glock 19 Gen 3, but I guess at the time I was satisfied that it was unlikely enough not to be concerned. Now with some of the things I've seen lately, I've started to reconsider.

I'm curious whether my HK USP 9 and USP 45 are similarly susceptible. They've got lightweight polymer frames, though not as lightweight as the Glock's.

So to summarize:

You have owned Glock .9mms and .45s for years.

In all the time you have been shooting and training with them, you have never experienced a malfunction at the range or in a class.

Based on your own input, this sounds like an extremely low probability event.

Perhaps you might want to research things that actually go right and wrong during critical incidents.

Work on those things most likely to actually happen, that you can train to mitigate, instead of the extremely rare outliers.

How good is your TCCC?

Can you apply a tourniquet one handed?

Have you ever done any vehicle based drills, both shooting and driving?


People tend to fantasize about how gunfights will be, and the very vast majority are dead wrong.

You don't get the fight you want, you get the fight you get.

Since more often than not, someone else initiated it, you are simply reacting, and conditions are not at all in your favor.

How well you handle it will determine the rest of your life (however long or short that may be). They are like a gift from a complete stranger. You don't get the gift you want, you get the gift you get, and you simply have to unwrap it and deal with it.

That is it.