View Full Version : Evaluating Glock's Maritime Spring Cups (Video)
Quiet Riot
08-17-12, 07:43
I finally got finished my research and video evaluating Glock's maritime spring cups. Among my research for this, I interviewed three different people at Glock, the top aftermarket producer of maritime spring cups, and a well-known, highly regarded gunsmith who modifies standard spring cups for use in his competition Glock triggers.
I cover the most common reasons that shooters install maritime spring cups, and just for fun, I even tested two different rounds on Sim-Test when shot from one to seven feet underwater. I was pretty surprised by the results.
Let me know what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COea9JqJ7SM
Straight Shooter
08-17-12, 08:04
Thats a hellava good video, sir. I really enjoyed that. I have wondered for sometime about the maritime cups....questions answered. Good job.
Great video and info! Thanks!
Psalms144.1
08-17-12, 09:21
That is GREAT work, and great information, thanks!
Kevin
CarlosDJackal
08-17-12, 09:40
Excellent video. Very informative. Thanks for sharing!!
Superb - top notch video!
99.9% of what I know about maritime spring cups; I just learned from your video. :D
I always wanted to see proof of just how well these things work. Awesome experiments and data.
Thanks!
Rayrevolver
08-17-12, 12:15
Thanks for the video.
Why wouldn't you run them since you get more "envelope" without any associated performance/reliability degradation?
For $15 it seems like a win-win.
Why wouldn't you run them since you get more "envelope" without any associated performance/reliability degradation?
For $15 it seems like a win-win.
Agree 100%. I live in western Washington, which is famous for getting several months of rain every year. I'm not going to fight off sharks with my Glock, but it could fill up with rain during a long day in the field.
I have maritime cups in every Glock I own.
Okie John
Quiet Riot
08-17-12, 14:06
Thanks for the video.
Why wouldn't you run them since you get more "envelope" without any associated performance/reliability degradation?
For $15 it seems like a win-win.
Thanks to everyone for the kind words.
I realize that I was not very clear here, and I think I'm going to do a follow-up video in part to clarify this point. The thing is that there is no evidence of this "envelope" that you're thinking about, and if there was one, the people I interviewed would know. The standard spring cups seem to give all of the cushion needed for every condition other than repeated firing while fully submerged. Even then, most Glocks will still cycle just fine with standard spring cups.
I used the phrase "hypothetical scenario" in the opening clip for a reason. What I demonstrated has never happened to any Glock in the real world that anyone has heard of that has been attributed to properly maintained standard spring cups. It apparently has happened with other guns, but not with Glocks.
I had to cut some of my video out because YouTube limits me to 15 minute videos for now, but the story about why Glock even decided to produce maritime spring cups got dropped. Basically, and I'm taking a little license here, they seem to have originally been a marketing tactic to win their first really big LEO contract. It worked, and then they realized that they actually had some benefit for underwater use. All of the AWG stuff came later.
So, there wasn't a compelling reason to even make these based upon the performance of the existing spring cups. Based upon every bit of digging and pushing that I could do, nobody could demonstrate any difference in reliability between the two types of spring cups as long as they were installed correctly.
If you want them or already use them because they give you peace of mind, great. If you don't use them, in millennia of collective experience of Glock users, there is nothing to suggest you will realistically end up wishing you had them in a moment of crisis.
My personal default is to always follow the numbers, and for me, that means the standard spring cups.
Quiet Riot
08-17-12, 14:12
Agree 100%. I live in western Washington, which is famous for getting several months of rain every year. I'm not going to fight off sharks with my Glock, but it could fill up with rain during a long day in the field.
I have maritime cups in every Glock I own.
Okie John
That is the reason Glock still recommends maritime spring cups for such circumstances. However, if your Glock gets wet enough to flood the firing pin channel, you still need to detail strip the slide and dry it out. Even with maritime spring cups, that water will sit in there for days, and yes, it can lead to corrosion over a long period of repeated wettings.
That said, there is every indication that even your well-maintained-but-flooded Glock will be 100% reliable with standard spring cups.
Did you make any attempt to fire the Glock underwater with the regular cups? If so, I'd be interested in how it worked out.
Magic_Salad0892
08-17-12, 19:46
In Oregon we get tons, and tons, and tons of rain.
Drying out my pistol is not an uncommon occurance.
I always use the maritime cups.
ETA: I just watched a few other videos on that channel. Cool shit, man. :)
I don't have a YT account, but I'll be tunin' in.
Quiet Riot
08-18-12, 07:36
Did you make any attempt to fire the Glock underwater with the regular cups? If so, I'd be interested in how it worked out.
I didn't because of what I learned from those I spoke to. There are plenty of Glocks that seem to be able to fire just fine with the standard spring cups while fully submerged- there are plenty of YouTube videos showing exactly this. However, there are some perfectly good Glocks that won't pop a hard NATO primer unless the maritime spring cups are installed.
So, even if my particular Glock could do it, that wouldn't mean all Glocks could do it. I was more interested in evaluating the maritime spring cups directly, and with about 75 total underwater shots, I didn't have a single failure of any kind. The slide even locked back with every empty mag.
I would absolutely install maritime spring cups on any Glock that would be worn while diving, whatever your reason for doing so might be.
Outstanding work, informative on all fronts.
I'll also have you know, the opening sequence of the video has me rethinking maritime spring cups in my duty pistols; I believe the scenario you paint lay within the realm of possibility.
I wonder why Glock doesn't put MSC's in all their pistols right from the factory... :confused:
good video, I guess next time I go swimming I will use 147 gr lol.
Quiet Riot
08-18-12, 10:26
Outstanding work, informative on all fronts.
I'll also have you know, the opening sequence of the video has me rethinking maritime spring cups in my duty pistols; I believe the scenario you paint lay within the realm of possibility.
I wonder why Glock doesn't put MSC's in all their pistols right from the factory... :confused:
I wouldn't sweat it too much. Glocks are frequently subjected to exactly that test with standard cups, and they NEVER fail that particular test. Keep in mind that Gaston designed a gun with trench warfare in rainy Europe in mind.
That scenario was presented by the RFP of the LE department searching for a new pistol. The maritime spring cups seem to have been developed simply to allay any doubts that particular agency might have had in their relatively new pistol.
Glock is unaware of any real world or simulated scenario like that in which one of their pistols failed to fire because it had standard cups.
I finally got finished my research and video evaluating Glock's maritime spring cups. Among my research for this, I interviewed three different people at Glock, the top aftermarket producer of maritime spring cups, and a well-known, highly regarded gunsmith who modifies standard spring cups for use in his competition Glock triggers.
I cover the most common reasons that shooters install maritime spring cups, and just for fun, I even tested two different rounds on Sim-Test when shot from one to seven feet underwater. I was pretty surprised by the results.
Let me know what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COea9JqJ7SM
Great vid. Thanks for sharing
ETA: I just watched a few other videos on that channel. Cool shit, man. :)
I don't have a YT account, but I'll be tunin' in.
+1 Quiet Riot - your stuff is some of the smartest, high quality and entertaining stuff I've seen; not produced by more significant commericial concerns (VTAC etc). VERY well done.
Great video. I learned a lot!
Cool video! I often work around a maritime environment and teach the subject and while I might run maritime spring cups, I found the ballistic info very interesting. I also do a lot of basic video and I can highly appreciate the effort put forth to doing this particular video of yours. Great job!
Excellent underwater video!
I’m glad you wore hearing protection. Sound travels more efficiently in water than in air so the pistol would be much louder. I read somewhere that the Glock maritime spring cups were intended for underwater use only with the G17 in 9mm shooting ball ammo. A .40 S&W or a .357 SIG caliber pistol might be damaged if fired underwater.
Magic_Salad0892
08-18-12, 16:40
Excellent underwater video!
I’m glad you wore hearing protection. Sound travels more efficiently in water than in air so the pistol would be much louder. I read somewhere that the Glock maritime spring cups were intended for underwater use only with the G17 in 9mm shooting ball ammo. A .40 S&W or a .357 SIG caliber pistol might be damaged if fired underwater.
They should be fine shooting any 9x19mm Glock, with any ammo.
Informative video. Thanx!
Excellent underwater video!
I’m glad you wore hearing protection. Sound travels more efficiently in water than in air so the pistol would be much louder. I read somewhere that the Glock maritime spring cups were intended for underwater use only with the G17 in 9mm shooting ball ammo. A .40 S&W or a .357 SIG caliber pistol might be damaged if fired underwater.I also have heard this about the 40's, but no mention was givin on the Lone Wolf package with the ones I purchased(I dont think so at least:)). I too would like to know about the 40's and maritime cups.
In bear country I have always carried a 629 MT Gun, but many of my friends have switched from wheel guns to Glock 20 for back country. Reason: consistent with their carry guns, ease of carry, ability to USE A LIGHT at night, etc. and the bears in the lower 48 tend to be well under 600lb. I won't go into caliber choice and derail things, but will just say that I have often thought about how well my 629 would run after multiple submersions running with waders trying to get away from a bear in an environment like this below. The 2 people I know personally from the town I lived in MT that were mauled both ended up fighting on their backs which would suck if doing so in a river. :eek:If I go to a Glock 20 I will probably look real hard at the Maritime Spring Cups.
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/45Fundi/photo_8.jpg
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/45Fundi/photo_6.jpg
http://i491.photobucket.com/albums/rr280/45Fundi/photo_4.jpg
or this could happen also:p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh7bYNAHXxw
...
Dayim M4Fundi, livin' the dream!
Quiet Riot
08-20-12, 09:24
Dayim M4Fundi, livin' the dream!
^^^
This! M4Fundi's backyard stream is much nicer than my backyard stream.
:D
Quiet Riot, as many others have said, outstanding work on the video. Very professionally done and was very clear. I definitely learned a lot more about the the maritime cups from this.
Great video, answered all my questions about spring cups.
Your "trick shot" video was hilarious. Nice work, Sir.
I also have heard this about the 40's, but no mention was givin on the Lone Wolf package with the ones I purchased(I dont think so at least:)). I too would like to know about the 40's and maritime cups.
There is a practical way to find out if a .40 Glock can be fired underwater without damage. That would be to load one up and hold it under water while shooting it. I wonder if the pistol would be okay, or if it would bulge the barrel?
I suppose it may even burst.
:help:
Quiet Riot..... really well done! Like Surf said the Maritime Spring Cup info was interesting, but the ballistic info was VERY interesting! Thanks for your efforts!
Next time I am shooting Sharks with Friggin Laser Beams attached to their heads I will be prepared;)
For those of us who seem to taunt Murphy in this life it could be a legitimate concern such as the flyfishing in bear country scenario demonstrates. Thanks again!
Marine spring cups notwithstanding, if I thought I might have to fire my Glock under water I would at least install an extra power striker spring.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.