Ammo Question

Many guns "require" a break in period, usually 3-500 rounds. I do t believe Glocks fit into that, but every gun is unique and some need it, and some don't. You may also try a round with a little more oomph to it than just target ammo.

From my experience I think you might want Glock to look at it since I have two G42 Pistols and neither has had a single failure of any kind with cheap, reload and or quality ammo.
they eat everything.

Are the light strikes centered or off-center?

98bluewave, since acquiring that 42 have you disassembled the slide and cleaned the firing pin assy and channel?

I have read a few claims that 42s preferring their fodder to be on the warm side, but I do not know how true that may or may not be.

I have a 42 that I purchased in August, but I haven't testfired it yet. I detail-disassembled it, cleaned/polished/lubed the innards and, afterwards, dry-fired it a couple hundred times to smooth it ... but I haven't yet found the right time to setup in the backyard to testfire it.

I've found some 380s will prefer certain ammunition. The only 380s I found that eat anything is the S&W Sigma and BG380.

I have never heard if any Glock having trouble with any ammo so I agree yours probably needs to be fixed. Keep us updated please.

98bluewave said:

I didn't keep that rd. but I think it was off center.

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If it was off center, that is because the gun wasn't in full battery and the barrel was not cammed all the way up. Glocks can fire partially out of battery like that.

GRIZ22 said:

I've found some 380s will prefer certain ammunition. The only 380s I found that eat anything is the S&W Sigma and BG380.

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I should qualify my statement as I really don't have any experience with the Glock 380.

the federal ammo doesn't fail, right? the winchester ammo is "light for caliber" and "target" (probably low velocity specialized ammo).

i'm guessing the win ammo won't cycle the slide correctly, and the pistol is fine. suggest you keep shooting the federal stuff and reserve the win stuff for a lighter sprung target gun.

murf

The failure to fire with primer strikes is not related to how hot a round is because it never fired. He had 1 stovepipe which could indicate a light round but the non-fire is either ammo related or a firing pin issue. If it's 100% on other ammo and has problems with only one brand then it may be that his Glock does not like that one problem brand.

larryh1108 said:

The failure to fire with primer strikes is not related to how hot a round is because it never fired. He had 1 stovepipe which could indicate a light round but the non-fire is either ammo related or a firing pin issue. If it's 100% on other ammo and has problems with only one brand then it may be that his Glock does not like that one problem brand.

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Actually, if the slide isn't going into battery, low power ammo could be the problem.

RX-79G said:

Actually, if the slide isn't going into battery, low power ammo could be the problem.

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How is that, exactly?

rskent said:

How is that, exactly?

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If the ammo is making the slide short cycle, it won't have enough spring pressure to fully return to battery.

Which isn't to say that this is all the ammo's fault - the gun should be going into battery. But brisker ammo may make it cycle, despite what's wrong with it.

The G42 and G43 both seem to have a range of problems.

You haven't played with the trigger or springs have you? Might want to detail clean the slide and try it again. Seems like the gun is functioning, but something is holding the striker back and either not letting it build the necessary speed, or causing it to hard stop and rebound shorter than it's supposed to. My experience says crud in the striker channel.

But a failure to return to battery (FTRB) should not allow the firing pin to produce a strike on the primer. The OP said there were primer strikes on the primers but they didn't ignite. Primer problem? Light strikes? A true FTRB would not allow the firing pin to be engaged.

larryh1108 said:

But a failure to return to battery (FTRB) should not allow the firing pin to produce a strike on the primer. The OP said there were primer strikes on the primers but they didn't ignite. Primer problem? Light strikes? A true FTRB would not allow the firing pin to be engaged.

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Agreed 100%. Also part of why I asked about trigger "upgrades". Only pistol runaways I have ever seen happen have been in glocks, one broken striker jamming the broken bit in hard and slamfiring, the other disabled the disconnector and it ran hot til it was empty. If the trigger has been messed with it needs put back how it started. If not then it sounds like a gunk-in-gun issue. It's a pocket gun so could easily be crud from carry.

He said that the strikes were off center, which is classic Glock out of battery firing condition. When a Glock fires out of battery the primers aren't hit where they are supposed to and the striker doesn't hit as hard because it was released under less force because the slide, which the striker spring presses against, is further back than normal.

This condition can be caused by a striker channel gunk problem. But G42 and G43s have had a variety of trigger engagement issues. The pistols just aren't right. While a reasonable inspection for debris is reasonable, I would expect this gun needs to go back to the factory.

RX-79G said:

If the ammo is making the slide short cycle, it won't have enough spring pressure to fully return to battery.

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If the slide “short cycles” how does it pick up a fresh round ?

If it cycles enough to pick up a round, how does it not cycle with enough force to return to battery?



Seems to me that its most likely the ammo. I would try ammo with a different bullet profile.



Also, I would put on a little extra lube till the gun smooths up a bit. Call it a break in if you want.

rskent said:

If the slide “short cycles” how does it pick up a fresh round ?

If it cycles enough to pick up a round, how does it not cycle with enough force to return to battery?

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There is a distance between where the slide normally cycles and where it picks up a new round. But I already said that I don't think it is purely an ammo problem, and something else resisting the recoil more than it should. The OP is doing the right thing sending it back.

Have both the 42 and 43 and they run like the perverbial scalded dog. Glocks run straight out of the box. No break in needed or required. If they don't, they go back. Period.

OP I'll suggest that you detail strip the slide assembly and ensure the firing pin channel is clean of any grit/debris as mentioned above. On my G42 I found it a little sticky when I first got it and after a thorough cleaning it functions much better. I know that some of the 42s are more selective in the ammo they digest. A buddy of mine has one and it would continuously fail with weaker bulk box ammo and my lighter loaded reloads. Out of each five shot string we would have 3-4 failures to extract or failures to eject.
I also saw this on another G42 that a gal had at the range, though not as bad. This does improve with time after a break in period, in fact in my buddy's case, after 75-100 rounds it was a bit better, with only 2 failures out of 5. Last I spoke with him, he was going to clean it real well and try another big test and if that failed, send it back to Glock.
I know that other Glocks don't typically need break in periods, but some of the G42s do.
I'll mention that my G42 does prefer slightly warmer loads than my other 380s.