Glock striker tension?

[pangloss]

It will fire if the safeties have been bypassed.

I did an experiment a few years ago with a Glock 17. The results are posted somewhere on PF.

I removed the firing pin safety and installed a trigger housing that had been improperly modified and did not prevent the trigger bar from dropping down before it was far enough to the rear. The trigger safety was the only one working. I installed the armorers back plate that is partially cut away. I stuck a screw driver in and moved the trigger bar down so it let the striker fall and it fired a WW primed case several times.

Still safer than some others brands.

That's some good info! Thank you for sharing.

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using Tapatalk

[JTQ]

Yeah, we had a big thread or two when folks were smacking Walter PPQ's, HK VP9's and some other striker guns with mallets to see if their strikers would drop.

I do recall posts like BN's where the safeties were removed/by-passed and the Glock would ignite primers.

I also recall Tom Jones comments regarding the safety features in the Glock were the firing pin safety and not the partially cocked striker, and if you were messing with the factory parts - trigger/striker spring/etc, all bets were off.

[Texaspoff]

It will fire if the safeties have been bypassed.

I did an experiment a few years ago with a Glock 17. The results are posted somewhere on PF.

I removed the firing pin safety and installed a trigger housing that had been improperly modified and did not prevent the trigger bar from dropping down before it was far enough to the rear. The trigger safety was the only one working. I installed the armorers back plate that is partially cut away. I stuck a screw driver in and moved the trigger bar down so it let the striker fall and it fired a WW primed case several times.

Still safer than some others brands.

What he said. I have done the same experiment, and despite what Glock says it can happen. I did my experiment with several commercial brands. Removed the bullet and use primed cases. I did not try any Mil brands, and some have harder primers, so they may not be as prone to going off.

The odds are defiantly against it happening on a normal functioning weapon, but it doesn't mean it can't ever happen based on the design.


TXPO

[TicTacticalTimmy]

Yeah, we had a big thread or two when folks were smacking Walter PPQ's, HK VP9's and some other striker guns with mallets to see if their strikers would drop.

I do recall posts like BN's where the safeties were removed/by-passed and the Glock would ignite primers.

I also recall Tom Jones comments regarding the safety features in the Glock were the firing pin safety and not the partially cocked striker, and if you were messing with the factory parts - trigger/striker spring/etc, all bets were off.

I wouldn't say it is just the firing pin safety. The fact that the trigger bar (which acts as the sear on a Glock) is physically preventing the striker from moving forward is what (in my mind) makes Glocks more mechanically safe than other (fully tensioned i.e. single action) striker designs. And then the trigger safety prevents the trigger bar moving backwards from inertia such as in a drop which insures both the other safeties function as intended. The trigger bar blocking the striker in this way is only possible with a partially tensioned striker, so its more like the partially tensioned striker is something that enables the other internal safeties to function, rather than the design feature which prevents an accidental discharge in and of itself.
However, an aftermarket trigger may achieve a "better trigger pull" by making the trigger bar position more rearward/downward when the gun is cocked. This means there is physically less of the trigger bar holding back the striker, and that safety may no longer function as intended. Excessive polishing of the trigger bar can potentially cause the same issue.

Also note that all these "safeties" function only to prevent an accidental discharge due to an internal parts failure or the gun being dropped, they don't have anything to do with preventing a negligent discharge due to a finger or other object touching the trigger at the wrong time, unlike, say, a manual safety.