Help. Just done something very stupid with a new Glock.

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emilianoksa

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I'm having to overcome my embarrasment to admit to having done something unforgivabe with a new Glock.

I've broken one of the first rules of safety.

Having taken it out of the box, I racked the slide, pulled the trigger and then disassembled it for inspection and a clean. Looking at the frame I then saw with horror that I hadn't removed the magazine.:eek:

Now the gun is new (my second Glock) and had just come straight out of the box, and I had visually inspected the chamber. At the moment I have no ammunition in the house. However I realise that is no excuse for a very stupid action. I've only had handguns for a couple of months, and I'm still a novice, and am having to teach myself proficiency, but that is no excuse either.

Perhaps it's better that I should make that mistake now, and not later, because I will never ever handle a gun in my house again without first removing the mag.

Having realised my mistake I reassembled the gun and removed the magazine, and then disassembled it again.

It appears to function correctly, but I wonder if I have damaged something in the action as a result of my stupidity.

Should I take it to a gunsmith, or will the function not have been impaired.

I'd really appreciate your advice.

I'm normally very careful with things, but have realised just how easy it is to do something stupid with a gun if habits are not so ingrained as to become automatic.
 
Did the slide lock back when you racked it?? It should have with an empty mag.

I dont know hardly anything about Glocks but I dont see where that would have hurt anything if it came off easy and went back on easy. Check to make sure the weapon is clear, then rack and dry fire a few times. I think you could have just dropped the mag with the slide off instead of reassembling before doing it.

Definitely rack several times and visually check before disassembling. Things might have gotten ugly if you had racked fresh round into the chamber then disassembled it.

I thought Glocks were praised b/c you dont have to pull the trigger to take it down?
 
DLZ HOG,

you do have to pull the trigger to take it to field strip but any gun needs to be cleared before any disassembly, if not as a mechanical requirement as a safety precaution.

I'm sure you know that, but you did present the opportunity to restate the caution for any who may not yet know it.



editted for:why did I say that? :)
 
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I am a novice with handguns also. I bought one a couple weeks ago and I have shown it to a couple friends and I am OCD / paranoid about something like that happening. I check, then double check before handing the gun to anyone. In fact one buddy who was thinking about buying one asked to see it literally 5 mins after I had just put it up in the case and locked it, but I still check / double checked it even though I had just put it away...

I also have kids in the house, so safety is paramount (as it should be).

I think your Glock is fine... I am more glad you didn't get hurt, or hurt someone else. Just like another poster said, take this a valuable lesson and be careful!
 
Acquaintance of mine put a .45 FMJ through his leg demonstrating how easy it is to field strip a Glock. Missed bone, kneecap, and major blood vessels. Hurt a lot, and he was a long way from the hospital.
 
Sounds to me like you just dry fired it. Occasional dry firing shouldn't hurt any quality centerfire handgun, or any quality rimfire for that matter (junkers are another story).

Stupid? Yes. Although you didn't have any ammo.

When I received my new Saiga (AK) rifle and inspected it at the gun store, I locked the bolt open to inspect it. Before I packed it up to take it home, I closed the action, pulled it half open to check the chamber, announced "Checking chamber" followed by "Chamber clear", and pulled the trigger to decock it. I made my check public to ensure everyone present knew I was following proper safety procedures.

When handling any weapon, alone or with others, it is STILL good to get in the habit of announcing your inspections out loud. It helps you remember to always follow the proper checklists.
 
I was expecting worse, from that sycophantic lead in. :D No one and nothing was hurt, and you're probably more cautious now as a result. Carry on, have fun at the range.
 
1 question:
Why didn't the slide lock with the empty mag?

My own related stupid Glock story:

2 weeks ago I unloaded my Glock to take to the range (stupid local laws), but I was in a hurry and doing other 3 things at the same time. Long story short, I racked the slide, the chambered round came out, then released the mag, and then pulled the trigger.
I had a whistle in my ears for almost an hour. 3 pants have brand new holes, and the bullet ended up somewhere in my closet.

Bottomline: I did a stupid thing, unloaded my gun in the wrong order. But I followed the rules and nobody got hurt:
1.- I was in fact checking it to be unloaded
2.- The finger went to the trigger when I was ready to pull it and I willingly pulled the trigger.
3.- I pointed the gun to a safe direction (except for my pants, only a concrete wall in the way of the bullet)
 
I'm a Glock armorer and no it's fine, don't worry. Just remember for future reference the number one cause for people hearing a bang when they thought they would hear a click, is they forgot to remove the loaded magazine before clearing the weapon, then pulling the trigger to take it apart. What I suggest in future is 1. point weapon is safe direction 2. remove magazine 3. cycle slide several times (if you see more than one round come out of chamber that is a clue) 4. lock slide back physically and visually inspect chamber and sweep finger down to the magazine well not once but do this twice 5. lower slide 6. inspect magazine well again and sweep finger across loaded chamber indicator 7. point in safe direction 8. pull trigger (hope it clicks) - I know this is a lot although might save your property, your ears, your pride, or even more. And PS, new Glock leave in that copper colored grease for the break in.
 
Read the original post guys:

He said he racked the slide, pulled the trigger.

Meaning if the mag was left in, he would have had to engage the slide release to get it back to "in-battery", same thing if the magazine had rounds in it.

After that if the frame tabs are down, I imagine the slide comes off regardless of magazine status, although I've not tried it on my two glocks.

I don't believe there is anything to be damaged by doing that, just generally a good idea to not have the magazine in there, one less thing to worry about.

In fact I wouldn't have thought to try it with the mag in anyway. Accidents are meant to learn from, whether they hurt or not.
 
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