LaserMax Problems in Glock 19

[Trapperbob10]

Installed a Lasermax LMS 1131P in a friends Glock 19. Had immediate problems with the gun. Prior to the install, the Glock ran like a Glock. Absolutely no problems, no failure to feed, no double feed's nothing/nada, zip. Gun ran like a sewing machine.

After install, gun experienced numerous double feeds. We also noticed that the slide did not cycle as far as previously, perhaps 1/4 to 5/16 short stroking. Slide was also much harder to manipulate when loading and unloading the gun.

The Lasermax was installed by the man who sell's them in his gun shop and we installed it on the range, followed by numerous attempt's to get the gun to run correctly.

My question is this, "Has anyone else had similar experiences with this product?" And if the answer is yes, what was the fix.

I have not spoken to Lasermax directly, but the distributor has been in constant contact with them in an attempt to solve the problem.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.


Regards,


TrapperBob10

[S&W 910]

Its a very common problem with lasermax lasers

my suggestion is to take out the lasermax and install a laser that doesnt interfere with the gunmakers design

[Lonestar49]

...

Well, having a rail mounted Laser Max on my Beretta Px4, the only problem I ran into was the light started to dim, then go bright, back to dim after each shot, but it turned out to be batteries. Replaced them, and all works fine.

I take it, your Laser Max is the type that is mounted in the front where the return spring cap was? Then it has a wire run to some point back on your frame, to where an external switch was placed via a small hole in the frame?

My only guess is it's spring related, or the wire run may need to be changed inside the slide and frame housing.


Let us know what turns out?


Luck,


LS

[combatantr2]

I believe it disrupts the flexibility of the polymer frame, totally affecting glock operation. glock has been designed to operate along with the flexibility of the frame. But I could be wrong.

[possum]

Has anyone else had similar experiences with this product?" And if the answer is yes, what was the fix.

hello there welcome to THR.
now to your question, my dad had the exact problem with his 19 and the lasermax, he is a reloader and some of his loads were to light, he just bumped up the load a little and all is well and it is running fine ever since. with 115gr it was spotty but with a tad hotter reloads not much but a tad it functioned flawlessly. you have to experiment a little. if you don't reload get a few different boxes of 50rds or so and see what it does best with. have fun and good luck.

[ftierson]

By itself, I doubt if it's a frame flexibility (or lack thereof) problem...

Many of us replace the original, floppy () plastic guide rod with rigid steel rods, both captive and not, and have no problems with the Glock reliability...

Sounds more like the Lasermax rod is too fat for the spring thats being used or that the spring is being compressed considerably more when installed with the Lasermax...

But, then again, I've never played with a Lasermax unit (although I have thought seriously about picking one up, but so far have been stopped by the stiff price) and I'm basing these comments only on common sense and having seen pictures of the Lasermax unit for the Glock...

For what it's worth...

Forrest

[S&W 910]

Plenty of glockowners on the glock forum also make threads complaining about lasermax lasers

lasermax must be a sponser over there as those threads quickly get closed or erased

i have a glock 33 that was flawless,then had all kind of problems when i installed lasermax,then ran flawless again after taking the lasermax out

i'm talking about the internal one

[Trapperbob10]

Well, first of all thanks for all the replys. My first instinct is to take the SOB out, put the original guide rod and spring back in and viola!! problem solved.

I have always questioned the wisdom of taking something that works, (ie a Glock) and changing anything about it.

With that being said, I will confess that I had the exact same laser installed in my Glock 21, and have had zero problems with it.

One would think that for the money Lasermax cost, a person should not have to worry about whether or not the gun is going to run correctly.

Anyway, thanks for the help.


Regards,


Trapper

[Mot45acp]

Being the local gun nut at the gun store, my dealer handed me a G36?(single stack 6 rd mag) that would not return to battery with lasermax installed. I am not too familiar with these. It is the kind you push the takedown bar left or right to activate.

On the rear (butt end) of the lasermax guide rod there is a red piece of plastic shaped similar to the rear of a 1911 guide rod. It took a trusting gun store owner, a wood dowel, and dead blow hammer to depress the takedown bar and disasemble.

Upon inspection the red piece of plastic had somehow rotated so the crecent cut was now in the six o clock position instead of the 12. Returned to original position and problem solved.

While the "pulsating" laser had a cool factor, it seemed to be a cheaply made product, and it cured me of wanting one.

[Onmilo]

I bought my Glock 19 real cheap because it wasn't functioning properly.
It had a laser pointer mounted to the front of the triggerguard and wires running through the inside of the pistol to a pressure pad on the front of the grip.
I gutted all this stuff and filled in all the extra holes with Accra Glass gel epoxy.
Cleaned the gun and added new tritium sights and haven't had a problem with it since.

[slewfoot]

Thanks guys, I have had a lasermax in my g23 for some time now and have had no problems. Every time I take it to the range now, I will be expecting problems.

[Trempel]

A little OT, but since this has been brought up, I'll ask the following question. Have any of you had problems with Lasermaxes failing after extended firing sessions? I'm wondering how well the internals of these things are protected from heat that's generated by the barrel sitting right on top.

[gandog56]

That's one of the reasons I got a Crimson Trace Laser Grip instead. I don't like stuff that can disrupt a pistols internals.

[TexasP226]

I installed a lasermax in my Glock 17 several years ago and I haven't had any problems with it! The recoil spring the give you is very stiff and still, several years later and a couple thousand rounds, it is still much harder to rack the slide than it is on my brand new Glock 20.

[.cheese.]

I have 3 lasermax lasers in 3 different Glocks (22, 23, and 27). I only had a problem with the 22 and I figured out what was wrong.

Check the user-installable metal spring for the take-down switch, make sure it's all the way down. Use a needle-nose pliers to push it in firmly. For some reason, if it's not in place properly, it messes the whole thing up.

Also, check to make sure the lasermax unit is seated properly in the moon shaped cut. If not, that also causes problems.

I've found the units to be great personally.

[picurn1]

I too have recently had problems with a lasermax guide rod. After installing everything worked perfectly... 300 rounds or so. Brought the gun home and cleaned it. Went back to the range yesterday and had some rounds hanging up, and the switch would move to the off position sometimes upon firing. I sent the unit back so they could take a lool at it. They even payed for shipping. So far the customer service seems top notch.... but I'm concerned this thing will never fucntion correctly. My question is this... Has anyone ever gotten their money back without complications just because " they didnt like the product?"

[jamesbatiz]

I've purchased two lasermax sights. One for a Glock 36 and the other for a Glock 19. Both where bad out of the box. Lasermax sent me a different "upgraded" switch and battery cap for the glock 19 but the problem got worse. I put the original switch and battery cap back in the Glock 19 because they worked better than the upgraded replacement parts. Now neither one works. It seems that the upgraded switch and battery cap did something to the gun and now both the original and the upgraded parts are useless.

I would not recommend this product other than for fun at the range. In a self defense situation, the Glock will never let you down! This device renders one of the most reliable weapons ever built into something that may or may not work when you need it.

James
Las Vegas, NV

[EHL]

Mine works just fine. Although I got mine sitting in a 1911. The Lasermax springs are a bit stiffer than the factory springs, so ammunition has to be considered. Like another member already mentioned, a lighter grain bullet may not be producing enough energy recoil to move the slide back sufficient to eject the casing. The problem could be made worse with Glock's propensity to fail to eject when limp wristing.......

[LancerMW]

if its not a LAM sitting on a HandK Mark23 its garbage :P

[G27RR]

Hmm. No problems with mine in a Glock 27. Several hundred rounds through it. The install can be slightly tricky, so I suspect some issues may be related to that. They started including a little tool with the units a while back that helps quite a bit. Once it's in place, there shouldn't be any problems field stripping or anything like that. The tricky part is just related to the tiny spring mentioned above. You don't need to mess with it after install even during a field strip.

From the posts above I wonder if there are more problems in the larger Glocks than there are in the 'baby' Glocks.

[theotherwaldo]

The LaserMax in my G27 has worked flawlessly for the last couple of years. The only time I had a problem was when I assembled it incorrectly after cleaning - see .cheese.'s entry (above).

[Dwrice]

I used a LaserMax on my duty weapon for five years fired it regularly and never had a feeding problem. I did find that after a 100 or so rounds that soot got on the lens and it was hard to see the dot. However, wipping the soot off fixed the problem.