View Full Version : G19 Gen4 light primer strike
Let me preface by saying my brand new G19 was taken out of the box, wiped down, and lubed per usual. I also slapped on an X300 because I didn't feel like fudging with the APL clamp screw. I normally run an APL though. I decided to run the gun through my dept qualifications last night without any prior "break in" rounds whatever that consists of nowadays.
The first part of the course consisted of drawing and shooting from the hip. 6 rounds, 2 per target facing with a reload. No issues with the first 6. On the last round of the second mag all I heard was the loudest CLICK in the world. I tapped and jacked the round out and went to slide lock because it was the last round of that particular course of fire.
The remainder of the qualifications went without a hitch. The rounds used were Winchester 147gr T&D. The course only requires 60 rounds which one did not fire. My plan is to use the remainder of the week and shoot the snot out of the gun with other ammo (target/duty) to make sure the issue doesn't pop up again before I carry it at work.
I never had an issue before with any of my Glocks.
As you can tell from the primer the strike looks off center. Isn't this indicative of the gun firing slightly out of battery? WML related? I cleaned out the striker channel last night when I got home and made sure there wasn't any gunk in there. It was dirty but there was nothing in there that would have caused the striker to hang up. Before cleaning I checked to see and could hear the striker freely move. There is also good striker tip protrusion when fully forward.
Again, I know I only put 60 rounds through it so far but I'm just curious on why I got a light primer strike. Maybe it's just a weird random hard primer.
35229
Would be nice to see the primer, but yes an off center strike means a slight out of battery.
Guess the attachment isn't showing for everyone.
Here it is.
http://i57.tinypic.com/5twj0i.jpg
Hypothetical question. Do you think the barrel fitment could be a cause for gun not going into full battery that one particular time? The barrel on my copy of the G19 is pretty tight compared to what I'm used to. I can fit a 0.003" gauge between the barrel hood and the breach face. I think I'm looking too much into it.
My G21 Gen4 is 0.005" and G22 Gen4 is 0.004"
Maybe I overreacted and the issue was a fluke and due to being a new in box gun. I went to the range this morning and blew through 290 rounds of different range ammo.
Winchester 124gr NATO, Blazer Brass 115gr, American Eagle 115gr, Winchester T&D 147gr, and Ten Ring 115gr (VERY weak ammo)
I fired support hand only and also purposely limp wristed support hand. No issues. Did a bunch of rapid strings of fire along with double taps and pairs. No issues. For grins I even did the "1911 extractor test" to see with the Ten Ring ammo. All the single rounds with no mag ejected just fine.
So total round count for the G19 is 349. Consecutive fired without issue has been 337 rounds.
Hits were solid
http://i58.tinypic.com/kbocpx.jpg
A single malfunction should not trigger some relentless tail chasing episode of searching for a cause. A pattern of them different story. You had a round with a light hit so many variables improperly seated primer not fully in battery etc etc.
Now if you came here saying you had more light hits it would be a concern but we are trained malfunction drills for a reason carry with confidence
It's a new pistol and one malfunction early in the break in period should not be cause for concern. I would rather have a tight fitting pistol that has a problem or two the first 20 rounds or so than a loose pistol right out of the box.
Personally, I won't carry any defensive pistol without a 300 round break in regardless of who made it. You could have flashing on magazine followers, etc., and the break in takes care of things like that.
You definitely passed the 300 mark.
Street Survival
10-02-15, 06:00
Maybe it was a Winchester primer. They are know for being hard.
Maybe it was a Winchester primer. They are know for being hard.
Magtech primers are harder than woodpecker lips and I have seen a few cartridges that looked like they had light primer strikes over the years. In most cases the round fired on the second attempt.
From the picture, that doesn't look like a particularly 'light' strike to me nor does it look off center enough to prevent ignition. If you have the ability, pull down a round of the same ammo and fire the case with primer only, then compare the indentation. You can't compare it to a full pressure fired case.
Could have just been a bad primer.
I got one this year in a Speer Lawman 9mm.
You get one every few ten thousand rounds...
FWIW I took a g17 gen 4 and a g19 gen 4 to the range today. Put 125 rounds through each using a can of laxammo factory reloads. Both have a couple thousand rounds through them so break in is not a factor.
The g17 had zero failures. The g19 had 15 FTF. Looked like light primer strikes to me and all fired on 2nd try. This is a large sample size so I think we can conclude the ammo wasn't the issue.
i'm going to find a glock certified armorer and figure out what the issue is. I will update when I have an answer. Best guess is I somehow got gunk around firing pin on g19. I lube both the same per manual so I can't imagine what i could have done wrong.
Mikill Drengr
10-11-15, 07:18
As stated above, I would not be to concerned unless it happens on a regular basis after its had 500 rounds or so put through it.
As stated above, I would not be to concerned unless it happens on a regular basis after its had 500 rounds or so put through it.
Both of the glocks I mentioned above have a couple thousands rounds through them.
will an attempt be made to fire this round out of the same new G19?
as a reloader, I would want to know.
as someone who issues new factory ammo and instructs, I have seen new rounds that won't fire, fire on 2nd attempt, no flash hole, backwards or sideways primers.
just curious.
FWIW I took a g17 gen 4 and a g19 gen 4 to the range today. Put 125 rounds through each using a can of laxammo factory reloads. Both have a couple thousand rounds through them so break in is not a factor.
The g17 had zero failures. The g19 had 15 FTF. Looked like light primer strikes to me and all fired on 2nd try. This is a large sample size so I think we can conclude the ammo wasn't the issue.
i'm going to find a glock certified armorer and figure out what the issue is. I will update when I have an answer. Best guess is I somehow got gunk around firing pin on g19. I lube both the same per manual so I can't imagine what i could have done wrong.
Is the Glock 19 complete with factory parts?
Is the Glock 19 complete with factory parts?
Yes. The only mod done to any of my glocks has been having a larger slide stop lever installed, as the factory levers are too small IMO. No other mods.
Both glocks are a couple years old with around 1500 rounds through them, so they are well past break in. The g19 is my EDC which is very concerning.
FWIW I took a g17 gen 4 and a g19 gen 4 to the range today. Put 125 rounds through each using a can of laxammo factory reloads. Both have a couple thousand rounds through them so break in is not a factor.
The g17 had zero failures. The g19 had 15 FTF. Looked like light primer strikes to me and all fired on 2nd try. This is a large sample size so I think we can conclude the ammo wasn't the issue.
i'm going to find a glock certified armorer and figure out what the issue is. I will update when I have an answer. Best guess is I somehow got gunk around firing pin on g19. I lube both the same per manual so I can't imagine what i could have done wrong.
Did you check striker protrusion by depressing striker safety plunger and pushing striker forward? Tip intact? Bring the plunger just a little back against the spring - emphasis on 'a little' - keep the safety plunger depressed and let it go - if the striker protrudes you probably aren't too gunked up. You probably know this, but just in case, that hole on the bottom of the slide near the front of the striker channel, is not a lube point. :)
Somebody else shoot the weapon with same results with that ammo?
You said 'about 1500 rounds' could it be a little more? If so maybe recoil spring?
If you saved the cases with the double hits, visually compare to see if the primers are seated to the same depth (unless you have a gauge). A lot of time if they are a skoosh deep they will fire on the second hit.
That's all I got. Good luck.
Your light strike does not look like a standard primer strike from a Glock - it is missing the classic rectangular
"footprint" surrounding the imprint from the striker nose. What is overall case length of the offending round? I'm leaning towards ammo that was out of spec more so than the pistol.
john
You're not going to get the rectangle on the primer unless it goes off.
The other guy needs to check for a chipped/broken striker and spring cups.
Did you check striker protrusion by depressing striker safety plunger and pushing striker forward? Tip intact? Bring the plunger just a little back against the spring - emphasis on 'a little' - keep the safety plunger depressed and let it go - if the striker protrudes you probably aren't too gunked up. You probably know this, but just in case, that hole on the bottom of the slide near the front of the striker channel, is not a lube point. :)
Somebody else shoot the weapon with same results with that ammo?
You said 'about 1500 rounds' could it be a little more? If so maybe recoil spring?
If you saved the cases with the double hits, visually compare to see if the primers are seated to the same depth (unless you have a gauge). A lot of time if they are a skoosh deep they will fire on the second hit.
That's all I got. Good luck.
Update: I've always just done the basic strip and clean. Never removed the striker and checked the channel until today. I coudn't belive how much gunk was on the striker, spring, and in the channel area. Dumped the whole striker with spring and all in some hoppes 9 cleaner and let it soak for a few minutes. Then cleaned it and the channel with a clean rag and some qtips. I'm really curious how that much gunk could get in there, as I follow the manual and only lube the 6 places shown.
I'll be heading to the range again this weekend to test. I have to believe all that gunk was affecting the integrity of the striker resulting in light hits to the primer.
Update: I've always just done the basic strip and clean. Never removed the striker and checked the channel until today. I coudn't belive how much gunk was on the striker, spring, and in the channel area. Dumped the whole striker with spring and all in some hoppes 9 cleaner and let it soak for a few minutes. Then cleaned it and the channel with a clean rag and some qtips. I'm really curious how that much gunk could get in there, as I follow the manual and only lube the 6 places shown.
I'll be heading to the range again this weekend to test. I have to believe all that gunk was affecting the integrity of the striker resulting in light hits to the primer.
I hope that fixes it.
Update: I've always just done the basic strip and clean. Never removed the striker and checked the channel until today. I coudn't belive how much gunk was on the striker, spring, and in the channel area. Dumped the whole striker with spring and all in some hoppes 9 cleaner and let it soak for a few minutes. Then cleaned it and the channel with a clean rag and some qtips. I'm really curious how that much gunk could get in there, as I follow the manual and only lube the 6 places shown.
I'll be heading to the range again this weekend to test. I have to believe all that gunk was affecting the integrity of the striker resulting in light hits to the primer.
I believe you are onto something. Have you ever cleaned the slide by laying it on it's end and cleaning it with the breach face upward and cleaning it with solvent?
Sorry been away for a bit and as mentioned an off center strike can be indicative of an "out of battery" situation, however since you have posted a picture the strike in the picture shown does not look "off center", but is not a full Glock strike as mentioned by others. The Glock has a definitive pattern. Again as other have suggested as an isolated incident, I would be more inclined to think it to be an ammo issue with the primer seating and not the pistol. Many things are possible. If you have comfortably run enough rounds to vet the pistol than even better.
I believe you are onto something. Have you ever cleaned the slide by laying it on it's end and cleaning it with the breach face upward and cleaning it with solvent?
I clean the breach face using toothbrush and hoppes 9 solvent. But never actually removed the striker before to clean it and the channel.
I clean the breach face using toothbrush and hoppes 9 solvent. But never actually removed the striker before to clean it and the channel.
We covered this issue at work after hearing about a malfunction caused by solvent and debris entering the firing pin channel of a service pistol. A LEO (not from my agency) was in a bad position and could not return fire due to gunk in the firing pin channel of his service pistol. While cleaning, he routinely laid the slide on it's end with the breach face upward and cleaned the area with a toothbrush and a generous amount of solvent. The solvent and debris found it's way into the firing pin channel and the gunk caused light firing pin strikes at a most inopportune moment.
Since this occurred, we asked our people to lay the slide on it's side while cleaning the breach face and to use only enough solvent to get the job done. We conducted annual firing pin inspections on our S&W pistols, then later on our Glock pistols, to avoid this sort of issue. Some pistol firing pin channels would really get gunked up. I used solvent and compressed air to clean the firing pin channels. Be careful if you use long cotton swabs, you want to make sure you don't leave anything inside the firing pin channel.
Psalms144.1
10-13-15, 11:38
I've also had shooters have light primer hits/FTF using Glocks that were simply over-lubed, and the lube got down into the firing pin channel. As a reminder, for the Glock to work properly, the firing pin, spring and channel are all supposed to be clean and DRY. The holes in the "bottom" of the slide are NOT grease fittings - don't put lube in there.
I know that's not what you did Bang4Buck - just something I'm seeing on the line - especially with former .mils who were taught to aggressively lubricate their M4 bolts and the works of their M9s...
I've also had shooters have light primer hits/FTF using Glocks that were simply over-lubed, and the lube got down into the firing pin channel. As a reminder, for the Glock to work properly, the firing pin, spring and channel are all supposed to be clean and DRY. The holes in the "bottom" of the slide are NOT grease fittings - don't put lube in there.
I know that's not what you did Bang4Buck - just something I'm seeing on the line - especially with former .mils who were taught to aggressively lubricate their M4 bolts and the works of their M9s...
I only lube the 6 points shown per the manual. My guess is I had the slide on end rather than side when using a toothbrush to clean the breach, and debris built up on there over time. My g19 is just over 2 years old and I clean it after every trip to the range, which is every month or two. Lots of chances for debris to build up. The gunk was gray with a small green tint and looked almost like a clay or gum. All over the striker and striker spring, but a buildup in the channel as well. Clearly it had an impact on the force the striker was hitting the primer. I will now clean this area relgiously after every trip to the range.
My g19 is my EDC and the thought of a light strike resulting in FTF in a SD situation doesn't sit well with me. Hope others learn from what I experienced.
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