Glock .40 Kaboooms

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This Glock Ka BOOOMM bisness is kinda putting the jitters in me. I have a 22
that's been mag-na-ported with a lil bit of other work done as well. I haven't
fired it in a long time, but it has never misfired or given any indication that
something could be wrong. When I clean it I also take a good look at it with
a mad glass for dirt and other crap, but haven't seen any cracks..

I guess I'll just continue to shoot it and hope for the best..Is Glock's rep
really so bad that they won't even consider a customer's problem with
their product once purchased ?
 
The only handgun I have seen blown up was a .357 Sig P229. The slide and frame were intact, but the barrel locking block had blown apart and expanded making it impossible to dissamble.

Sig replaced the firearm and it's owner opted for a .40 rather than a .357 the second time around.

I bought a .40 G27 back in 1995, but it only has approximately 4,500 rounds through it. It has always performed well for me. Ammo has always been either CorBon, Federal Hydra Shok, or Remington Golden Saber.
 
I've seen a couple of guns kb! :what: and have had a Glock 21c kb! in my own hands :what: NOT FUN!!! :eek: :eek: Traced it to some bad ammo and learned a big lesson to boot. Haven't had any problems since :cool:
 
So it looks like as with almost every weapon that ammo is the key. I'm using
a box of Federal 165 gr Hydra-Shoks for the house, but I also use a lesser
grain load, I just don't recall off hand what it is. I think in 155 or 135 grain
but it's been sooo long I just don't remember. The practice ammo is out in
the other safe in the shed. Anyway I don't fire the Federal but once in a
blue moon and no more than maybe 6 or 7 rounds..I guess it'll be alright.

I don't have much of a R/hand left from a previous exper, I'd like to keep
what's left of it. It'd be hard to hold on to something without a thumb.
 
A LEO buddy of mine went to clean his issued .40 Glock. He said the left rear frame rail - the lug on the frame itself, had broken off. This was after 4500 rounds. He says it's fairly common on the .40's, and that Glock has been settling a lot of lawsuits (quietly) out of court for the problems.
 
Wardog, the broken frame rail is a known problem with Glocks of a certain vintage. Go to glocktalk.com and search on "frame recall". Glock never issued an official recall but they do replace all frames in the series known to have this issue for free and at no charge to the customer. If you want to find out if your Glock (E series, mostly) is subject to the recall, it's best to call Glock's Customer service department (see glock.com) and ask them. If your frame needs to be replaced they will call you when your frame arrives from Austria and give you a UPS acct # to use to ship the gun to Georgia. They'll test your old upper on the new frame (which will have the same serial number prefixed with "1-") and ship the gun back to you UPS overnight. I recently bought a glock with a seriously messed up frame that had been "customized" :barf: by its previous owner at a very inexpensive price. I bought it because I knew that it was subject to the frame recall. Four weeks later I had a gun that was basically like new because Glock replaced the frame at no charge. And BTW, Glock will expedite the frame swap for LEOs.

Don't want to kB! you Glock? Then don't shoot reloads (other than the ones you've carefully done yourself) or lead or copper jacketed projectiles from your Glock. One surefire way to kB! your glock is to shoot lead out of it and then shoot FMJ ammo to "clean the lead out". If you want to shoot lead match or crappy reloads out of your glock then buy a drop-in aftermarket barrel for <$100 and you'll get a barrel standard rifling designed for use with lead projectiles and a "fully supported" chamber that doesn't always feed as reliably as the stock Glock barrel.

There used to be a gunshop in Lousiville that displayed two smith & wesson revolvers that had the top straps blown off from *undercharged* hand loads.

If it were "fairly common" for .40 or any other caliber glocks to kB! then there would be a class action suite or the "quiet out of court settlements" would be draining Glock dry. According to Dean Speir, .40 caliber weapons account for 60% of Glock's sales. SIXTY PERCENT. The fact is that a glock will run on three rails just fine if it has to. The weak-rail issue was isolated to an identified run of glock pistols. As far as I know, no one has been injured by a Glock kB! in any manner that was serious enough to require a trip to the emergency room. That's the difference between a handgun kB! and a rifle kB! When a rifle kB!s or a rifle's bolt breaks a lug, someone usually gets seriously hurt.
 
Glock 40 KB's is an AMMUNITION issue, plain and simple. Dean Spier is on a personal crusade to convince people the 40 isn't safe, and is to be taken with several pounds of salt at least. Maintain your 40, buy or make quality ammo, and go on. With the number of 40's on the market and in the hands of shooters a KB here and there is GOING to happen. It happens in every other caliber and every other make of gun too. With millions of guns out there and many many millions of rounds fired something is going to happen somewhere. A lot of hand wringing over nothing IMO.
 
There is clearly a kB! issue with Glock 2x and 3x models--even with factory ammo. There's too many documented cases to deny it (unless your head is buried sand). The real question is how significant (or meaningful) the "problem" is. For my money, the chances of having a kB! with a Glock is so low as to be insignificant (not a factor in deciding whether to carry one or not)--that being said, I do not own a 2x/3x model Glock.

FTR, it took threatened legal action to force Glock to replace the defective frames (frame rail breakage), and Glock never officially admitted they had a problem, nor did they make any efforts to advise their LE customers (or private customers) of a potential problem. There were no legal actions because Glock eventually fixed the problem to the extent to keep the issue out of the courts.

Again, FTR, when you a "1-" prefix in front of a serial number, it is NOT "the same serial number."

Again, FTR, there have been legal actions involving kB!s with Glock handguns, but Glock has settled before going to trial with legally binding "gag orders" as part of the settlement. The absence of class action suits does NOT mean the absence of kB!s as stated (though it is an indication of the absence of serious injuries involving kB!s).

The proportion of kB!s among 357 SIG, .40 S&W, 10mm and .45 ACP appears to be roughly proportional to sales (with the 9x19 models fairly immune to the kB! phenomenum).
 
JC2, I did not, as you indicated, say that the absence of class action suites indicated that there are no kB! issues. I said that if the kB! issues were, as some foolish and rather dramatic people have assered, "fairly common", that there would be class actions suits.

FTR, factory ammo (even that produced by major "premium" manufacturers) is not immune to defects. My local range has seen entire cases of WWB .40 that were undersized. In most cases involving kB!s with factory ammo, the ammo's manufacturer has either paid to replace to gun or come to an agreement with Glock to pay for half of the cost of replacement.

It sounds to me like Glock employs effective lawyers. Let the free market reign.

What happens when a Glock kB!s? The barrel splits at the chamber the slide pops a rail or two and the mag blows out of the bottom of the gun and your hands get a sharp sting and perhaps some minor lacerations or powder burn. As far as I know, no slides have flown in people's faces a la Beretta. As far as I am concerned "them glocks blow up real good", just like the trunk section of the a Saturn Sedan collapses upon impact and minimizes transference to the passenger section.

And FTR, remember to wear your eye protection regardless of the make of pistol that you're shooting.

And FTR, the 9mm models were long thought to be "immune" to kBs! and yet some kBs! involving 9mm models have been recently documented.
 
I really wasn't picking on you Dominic. Like I said, I don't see them occurring with enough frequency to be considered significant or meaningful.

The factory ammo remark to remind people that Glock kB!s do indeed occur with factory ammunition from major manufacturers--not shooting "reloads (other than the ones you've carefully done yourself) or lead or copper jacketed projectiles from your Glock" is not guaranteed to prevent kB!s.

Frankly, I rather they employ good engineers than good lawyers--to each his own! ;)

You are right in that the Glock 9x19 models do occassionally kB!, but they are fairly immune from the kB! phenomenum compared to the 357 SIG, .40 S&W, 10mm, and .45 ACP models. The 9x19 doesn't experience kB!s at the same rate as the other calibres.

I really don't think the thread was about the injuries sustained in a kB! (or wearing eye protection) though like I said there doesn't seem any serious injuries assorted with a kB!. THAT doesn't mean I want to experience one, does it? :p (BTW, I just don't ever see myself saying, "Pardon me, Mr. Bad Guy, I carry a Glock 22. Will you please stop stabbing me while I put on my eye protection. YMMV :cool: )

My concern with the kB!s is with the reliability aspect--not with the safety or PITA aspects, but . If I ever have to use a weapon to defend my life or the life of somebody else, I could see where kB! at the wrong time could really ruin my day (even if I sustained no injuries from the kB! itself). If you carry a weapon for self defence, you need to always remember a kB! is not necessarily something that can only happen on a range.
 
Dominic, good info. Sounds like they have good cust service.

The buddy of mine didn't have a KB, just the broken frame rail. The broken frame rail is what he said was fairly common.
 
Glock 40 Ka Booms

Where there is smoke there is usually FIRE ! My Glock 22 and 23 gave me no problems, but both were sold and replaced with a G 37 [and a G 38 in 2005]. The Glock 37 has 45 ACP power and accuracy, is a soft shooter, and factory ammo is loaded at pressures from 19,500 to 20,500 psi, simular to the 45 ACP, compared to the .40 S&W at 35,000 psi , which is sensitive to bullet setback and other problems. I personally like the 45 GAP better than the .40 S&W. To each his own, we have a lot of choices. Make mine a 45 or 9mm. {check out 45GAP.com
 
Glock 40 S&W ka booms

PS: Speer developed the 45 GAP case for Glock, it has a beefed up shoulder area, that shows "no noticable expansion" with factory ammo - or Hot Handloads !"
 
Frankly, I rather they employ good engineers than good lawyers--to each his own! :rolleyes:
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Frankly, I'm glad that they employ both good engineers and good lawyers. The good engineers keep the cost of production low, leaving more money for advertising and creating greater profit for the company. The good lawyers keep the idiots-who-shoot-crap-ammo-and-complain-when-it-splodes from suing the company out of existence. When the rest of the American sheeple have sued all of the American firearms companies into bankruptcy and made it unaffordable for European manufacturers to sell to the civilians in this country, maybe we'll all wish that the firearms manufacturers had employed better lawyers.
 
There's little doubt they employ good lawyers (and very good PR people)--the other is open to question (or maybe they are just unwilling to listen to their good engineers--'fraid it might cost them some money). :p
 
The broken rails are far from fairly common and are in fact quite rare.
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How about, more accurately, the broken rails were far too common on what is billed as a LE/personal defence weapon--particularly in the late D, E and early F prefixes)--and Glock should have done a much better job "owning" the problem and notifying customers (particularly LEAs) of potential problems.
 
Glock 40 KB's is an AMMUNITION issue, plain and simple. Dean Spier is on a personal crusade to convince people the 40 isn't safe, and is to be taken with several pounds of salt at least. Maintain your 40, buy or make quality ammo, and go on. With the number of 40's on the market and in the hands of shooters a KB here and there is GOING to happen. It happens in every other caliber and every other make of gun too. With millions of guns out there and many many millions of rounds fired something is going to happen somewhere. A lot of hand wringing over nothing IMO.
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Who is Dean Spier

There is clearly a kB! issue with Glock 2x and 3x models--even with factory ammo. There's too many documented cases to deny it (unless your head is buried sand). The real question is how significant (or meaningful) the "problem" is. For my money, the chances of having a kB! with a Glock is so low as to be insignificant (not a factor in deciding whether to carry one or not)--that being said, I do not own a 2x/3x model Glock.
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Is there really a problem though? Shouldn't it be defined not by the total number of incidents but rather by the percentage of guns in the market that experience an incident? While I would agree that no gun (or any product) should ever fail, I realize that utopian scenario is unlikely to ever really occur. Rather, what we are left with is a perception that Glocks KaBoom. How many times? I have no idea. . .I've never seen one KaBoom, nor know anyone who has personally witnessed even a single KaBoom (inlcuding the folks who work at my local range). Rather, the only reports I've ever seen are second and third hand (or worse) reports over the internet (though in truth, I have seen pictures of a couple of KaBoomed guns).

So, are they really happening? I don't know. If they are, are they happening in significant numbers? I don't think so (and I don't think I have my head in tyhe sand). Am I afraid my G23 will KaBoom - nope, and I shoot lead reloads through it too - though I am a stickler for cleaning it.

Actually, the only verified problem I've ever heard about concerning Glocks is the propoensity of police officers to shoot themselves with them while cleaning their guns . . . and that has more to do with the cops not following basic rules of gun safety such as making sure the gun is unloaded before pulling the trigger. (This is verified through my cousin, a NY City Detective who has had a number of folks in his department shoot themselves. The Washington Post also did a story on it a few years ago).
 
Is there really a problem though? Shouldn't it be defined not by the total number of incidents but rather by the percentage of guns in the market that experience an incident?
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There definitely appears to be kB! issue ("problem" was your word) with the Glock. There is a fairly well documented history of Glock kB! issues with the G2x series. Glocks do indeed appear to fail at a higher rate than similar models by other manufacturers, but documenting it (one way or the other--to prove or disprove) is probably impossible. FWIW, many of the reports are through LE channels to which most non-LE personnel do not have access.
So, are they really happening? I don't know. If they are, are they happening in significant numbers?
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Yes, they are really happening. As previously stated, they are probably not happening in significant numbers (unless, of course, it happens when someone is shooting at you). It does appear to be happening at a higher rate for Glock than other manufacturers.
Actually, the only verified problem I've ever heard about concerning Glocks is the propoensity of police officers to shoot themselves with them while cleaning their guns . . . and that has more to do with the cops not following basic rules of gun safety such as making sure the gun is unloaded before pulling the trigger.
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Of course, as you admit it is higher with Glocks than with other designs, there is obviously a design element (as well as a personal element) involved.
 
I've never had an issue with my 24P even when I made some ammo that turned out to be over-pressure. KB!s Occur with near equal regularity based on ammo consumption. The fact that there are a lot of Glock 40 KB! is a result of:

A) There are a lot of 40 KB! because it's a "most for the least" round with less margin for error.
and
B) There are a lot of Glocks in .40 shooting a lot of rounds.

I've never heard of a KB! in a Glock that could be traced to in-spec ammo and was the fault of design or manufacturing.
 
Kaboooms?

The simple fact is that *any* gun can KB. You can see pics of KBs from other manufacturers on Dean Spiers own site. From what I gather, Spiers issues with Glock don't stem from a problem with the design so much as a problem with the way the company itself.

Have their been several documented Glock KBs? Obviously...but what nobody cares to look at is the number of documented KBs as a function of units sold. How many documented KBs have their been? I can't find more than perhaps 20 or so unique stories on the net (though they keep getting regurgitated). For arguments sake, lets say there have been 1000 documented KBs. Glock has sold somewhere around 3M pistols. If the .40 accounts for 60% of sales, that's 1.8M. Of course, the .40 hasn't always been the best seller, so lets just call it an even million. That's a .1% failure rate...statistically insignificant. These are obviously "guesstimated" numbers, but people need to be a little more realistic about their estimation of the "problem"
 
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