15 year old Glock 22, observations and questions

[Serpico1985]

A buddy just bought a July 98' made police trade in glock 22. We shot about 100 rounds through it and I have the following observations/questions. My experience with glock is limited to my gen 4 17. I also have quite a bit of experience with my duty gun a m&p 40 for reference.

Observations:
1. The gun seemed to recoil like a son of a bitch. I'm use to shooting 9mm (gen 4 glock) and 40 (m&p) and the glock was noticeably stouter and more jarring than I've ever experienced. Ammo was factory Winchester 180 practice ammo.
2. On the underside of the slide there were two gouge type marks on either side by the frame rails about even with the breech face. They were about 1/2 inch long. My buddy said it was shot peening and heard it was normal with 40 glocks and a "non-issue".

Questions:
1. Is the increased recoil normal? Am I just use to shooting my smith and 9mm glock? The recoil was seriously stout. I'm sure a new recoil spring is needed anyway but I'm not sure how much it would help.
2. Is the shot peening explination correct? Is it acceptable?


My friend is a stuburn prick and doesn't take critique well. He's also a cheap bastard and always thinks he can save a buck. If I thought he could get any money for it I'd tell him to sell it and get a gen 4 22 but he wouldn't do it.

Thanks for any info

[7 RING]

I own a well worn Glock 22 with a serial number starting with CN and I carried a different Glock 22 at work. The .40 S&W recoil is a bit more than the 9mm, so I am not surprised you noticed a difference. The recoil is manageable, you just have to bear down on your grip a bit more.

Some peening in the underside of the slide on a Glock 22 that has seen some use is normal. Given the age of the firearm and the condition you described, I would replace the recoil spring assembly. I would also inspect the locking block pins. I have replaced a few locking block pins when completing annual inspections of service pistols at work. The pistols ran fine and the broken pins were not evident until the pistols were inspected.

Expect 50,000-60,000 rounds of service life from a .40 caliber Glock pistol before you have to replace the pistol.

[ST911]

7 Ring got it.

Recoil and report of a 40 will be greater than a 9, esp a gen4 9. It's especially distinctive if you're shooting the latter more than the former.

I have a bunch of G22s from that time period, serial number alphas A through E which are in your buddy's time frame. They all have peening to one degree or another, esp the G22s. It is self-limiting, knock off the sharp points as they arise with a file.

I shoot one of my gen2 G22s periodically for proficiency, a retired duty gun that started life in 1994. I would calculate its round count at 10-15k based on known service record. I wore out a gen2 G23 from 1993 last year at a calculated 30k rounds.

For best results, change out the RSA at regular intervals.

[Heavy Metal]

The Gen 4 Glock 22 and 23 put the earlier Glocks to shame. Recoil is FAR more managable.

[KrampusArms]

Expect 50,000-60,000 rounds of service life from a .40 caliber Glock pistol before you have to replace the pistol.

I have heard this before. That the .40 caliber Glocks eventually wear out. Does anybody know, or have you witnessed what exactly wears out? Is it the frame? The slide?

I remember a discussion about the 9mm & .40 models from somewhere. Folks claim the 9mm never dies, but the .40 eventually does. Any truth to this?

[7 RING]

I have heard this before. That the .40 caliber Glocks eventually wear out. Does anybody know, or have you witnessed what exactly wears out? Is it the frame? The slide?

I remember a discussion about the 9mm & .40 models from somewhere. Folks claim the 9mm never dies, but the .40 eventually does. Any truth to this?

I have heard of Glock 17s with over 100,000 rounds fired through them, but I have not worked on them so I don't know first hand. The .40 calibers have more recoil and a lot more chamber pressure, so they take more beating. I have seen the dust cover flex up and interfere with slide movement on a well worn Glock 22, which induced malfunctions. It happened more often when a flashlight was attached. The pistol had over 50,000 rounds, but less than 60,000 rounds fired through it.

The left rear slide rail broke off my first generation Glock 22 at 64,800 rounds give or take 100 rounds. It had chunks broken off the frame from rolling around on the ground and stepping on the pistol to perform one hand malfunction clearing drills.

At the last Glock Armorer course I attended I was told that 50,000 rounds was the service life of a Glock 22 or Glock 23. I did not replace parts as often as recommended at the course and the instructor was surprised my pistol lasted so long with just the occasional cleaning. I wish I had not destroyed my Glock 22, because the instructor offered to give me something in trade for my broken pistol.

Based on what I have seen and have been told, the Glock 17 and Glock 19 has a service life of over 100,000 rounds and the Glock 22 and Glock 23 has a service life of 50,000 rounds.

[ST911]

I have heard this before. That the .40 caliber Glocks eventually wear out. Does anybody know, or have you witnessed what exactly wears out? Is it the frame? The slide?

I remember a discussion about the 9mm & .40 models from somewhere. Folks claim the 9mm never dies, but the .40 eventually does. Any truth to this?

My 1993 G23 wore at its front frame rails, eroding with impact of the slide. I might have mitigated it somewhat with replacement of the RSA more frequently early in life, but the wear was mostly inevitable.

There are others wearing at that location or other frame rail fracture. It is usually the frame that ultimately wears to failure, while the slides and barrels can remain in service a great deal longer. I believe it was John Farnam that reported wearing out compact Glocks in 357 Auto at or around that same ~30k round mark.

Few shoot their guns to this point, esp the 40 and 357 Autos, so most will never experience it.

I have heard of Glock 17s with over 100,000 rounds fired through them, but I have not worked on them so I don't know first hand.

I have a 1987 gen1 G17 with a reported 100k rounds on it. It came to me from a major metro PD to me and hadn't had the pre-EH upgrade kit. I installed the upgrade and have been shooting it for years. Late last year, the extractor got a chip and the (original) front pinned on sight fell off. Glock sent a replacement in a couple of days, and I put a set of MNS on it. It's back in service as a student/loaner/fun gun.

I have seen several others in excess of 100k rounds. If the owners didn't tell you the numbers, you'd never guess it.

[KrampusArms]

My 1993 G23 wore at its front frame rails, eroding with impact of the slide.

I guess the plastic eventually loses its elasticity, and repeated "smashing" eats a path through, to impact the rails.

Attachment 14992

[DireWulf]

I own a well worn Glock 22 with a serial number starting with CN and I carried a different Glock 22 at work. The .40 S&W recoil is a bit more than the 9mm, so I am not surprised you noticed a difference. The recoil is manageable, you just have to bear down on your grip a bit more.

Some peening in the underside of the slide on a Glock 22 that has seen some use is normal. Given the age of the firearm and the condition you described, I would replace the recoil spring assembly. I would also inspect the locking block pins. I have replaced a few locking block pins when completing annual inspections of service pistols at work. The pistols ran fine and the broken pins were not evident until the pistols were inspected.

Expect 50,000-60,000 rounds of service life from a .40 caliber Glock pistol before you have to replace the pistol.

This is good info and spot on. When my department switched to the Glock 22/23 (About 4,000 guns) those guns had only been on the market a short time. We soon noticed the peening issue with the barrel/slide interface. Our tactical units, who shoot more often than others, brought it to our attention. We notified Glock and so did other agencies because there were isolated instances of guns coming out of battery too easily. Not long after, Glock changed the design of the barrel to the type you see today. The top of the block has a slight angle downward toward the muzzle to help it clear the slide. The 9mm guns never had this issue, but the 40 S&W definitely brought it Glock's attention. The early Glock 22/23 guns were 9mm's with 40 S&W barrels. Things have changed a bit, but the 40 S&W still beats up a Glock.

[markm]

I shoot my old G22 rarely... The thought of having to replace it with the junk that glock makes these days worries me.

I use a clone of it in 9mm for practice. The 9mm has the current ejection problems.