glock 19 gen 4 slide too tight?

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jimbombo

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Hello I have a gen 4 g19. First off I shot at the range last weekend 70 rds no malfunctions. When the slide is in the forward position there is no side to side wiggle between the frame and slide, when racking the slide and slowly lowering it the the forward position the slide sticks about 1/8 inch before tapping the slide closed all the way. I have the newer spring that says left to right 0 3 4. As long as the gun is not malfunctioning while shooting it is this anything to be concerned with? Will the slide to frame loosen up after some shooting?
Thanks...
 
...when racking the slide and slowly lowering it the the forward position...

That's a no-no for pretty much every semi auto firearm in existence. Grasp the slide tightly with your weak hand, then push forward as hard as you can with your strong hand. "Problem" solved.
 
Keep the slide locked back when you store it...this should help loosen the spring up. Plus the more rounds thru the more it will loosen up
 
If you fully retract the slide and let it fly under spring pressure, does it return completely to battery?

As long as the gun is not malfunctioning while shooting it is this anything to be concerned with?
No. The forces generated by firing the gun are far greater than anything you can apply with just your hands.
 
Forces are much greater under firing, yes. But the OP's question was if the pistol was "too tight" because the pistol didn't return to battery if he rode the slide, it seems. Easy fix is just let the slide fly home on its own.
 
Sling shot the slide. Dont depend on the slide release and dont be afraid of being a little "rough" with it.
I have a custom slide for my G17 and had a break in period with it and it's tight, but works fine. A little grease on the rails never hurts either.
 
Yes, it would be a problem for me. When my gen3 Glocks no longer close all the way while riding the slide AND pointing up AND with a full mag, then I change the spring. But sounds like the solution would be to shoot it some more. Did you clean out the copper anti-seizing stuff in there when you first got it, by any chance?

I find it curious that it's only tight at the forward position. That means the rail cutouts on the slide aren't parallel. I wonder if they did that on purpose to improve accuracy.
 
I'm sure it'll loosen up after a few hundred rounds and its nothing to worry about. Just about any pistol needs the slide to be pulled back and just let go, not "ride" it into battery. I think you should be fine and shouldn't worry unless it doesn't go into full battery while shooting.
 
It might be a little tight from being brand new. I'd shoot it some more and see if it will go into battery on it's own. If not, you might want to call Glock or see a Glock Armorer.

The test to check your recoil spring is to point the gun straight in the air and let the slide go really slow. If it doesn't return to battery you replace the spring.
 
I'd shoot it some more and see if it will go into battery on it's own

Yeah, maybe. Not necessarily though.

My old Ruger P90 had tens of thousands of rounds down it, but if rode the slide in it would always do teh exact same thing this gun does.

As others have said, don't ride the slide. Pull it back, let it go. I don't know if your a new shooter in general or not, and if your not, I am not trying to insult you, but I find that people new to shooting/semi-autos have this feeling that they are going to break something if they just let it go. A similar affliction happens to people learning to shoot a pump action shotgun.

Don't worry about it. Racking a slide doesn't have to be violent, but being gentle is, as you have experienced, actually counterproductive. Like I say, pull it back, let it go.
 
I also sense this general dislike of using the slide stop / slide release.

I think Kahr recommends only using the slide release when loading a new magazine on the PM9/CM9.

I've never had any problems with my Glocks except when I've accidentally ridden the slide.

When I just hit the slide stop lever, it's always loaded fine.
 
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