I love and hate my new Glock - advice

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SkiLune

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I just added a Glock 22 to my (modest) collection. I shot it straight from the box, and scored bulleyes on my first two shots (from 12 yards out). I kept shooting it the rest of the day, and was more accurate with it, with all kinds of ammo (Winchester, some Wolf steel jacketed stuff, some Cor Bon, and some Remington Golden Speer), than with my other pistols. Not a single hiccup after about 300 rounds thru. I'm not an expert shooter yet, and I really liked the consistent trigger pull. That's the love part.

Now for the hate part.

First, the gun seems to have a nasty habit of spitting some red hot cartridge shells at my face. At least 3 or four either bounced off my safety glasses or my cheek. Does anyone else have this experience with Glocks? I'm reluctant to make it my nightstand gun right now because of this issue.

Second, my other handguns have external safeties. As far as I am concerned, the Glock has no safety, despite the advertising. I'm a little hesitant to keep one in the chamber in the Glock: even though I know it is pretty difficult to accidently pull the trigger, I'm still a little worried about an AD.

I'm torn. Does anyone know of a handgun that feels and shoots like the Glock, but has a safety/decocker? Has anyone gunsmithed theirs to add an external safety?

http://www.tarnhelm.com/GlockSafety.html

Or am I just being a knucklehead for being cautious with the gun that I hold/shoot the best?
 
First, the gun seems to have a nasty habit of spitting some red hot cartridge shells at my face.
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Sounds like you have an extractor problem. Try to find a gunsmith to look at it. extractor problems are usually pretty easy to fix.

I'm a little hesitant to keep one in the chamber in the Glock: even though I know it is pretty difficult to accidently pull the trigger, I'm still a little worried about an AD.
Click to expand...

In that case, perhaps you shouldn't have bought a Glock. Go buy the cheapest kydex holster you can find and keep the gun in it. Just something to keep the trigger covered when the gun's not being used. I believe Glock sells a basic kydex holster that's only about $10.
 
Primary safety considerations are no different with a Glock than any other gun. Keep your finger out of the trigger guard until on target and ready to fire and use a good high quality holster that covers the trigger guard. The Glock is a safe pistol as long as you have safe gun handling practices.

Now, that being said.... if after a while it is still a concern, either keep it as a range only gun, or sell it and look for something that eases your mind. There a few poylmer framed guns that are relatively glockish that have both passive saeftys and/or manual safetys. The XD and the Taurus 24/7 come to mind. You will have a hard time finding another polymer framed gun that has the short trigger reset of the Glock though....
 
Q: "Or am I just being a knucklehead for being cautious with the gun that I hold/shoot the best?"

A: Yeup. :)

The "extractor" problem may well not be a problem at all. There have been times I thought that my empties were hitting me directly. In fact, they were bouncing off the safety wall, and sometimes they were coming over the safety wall from my neighbor shooter. Serious! My daughter noted it when she stood behind me and watched.

You have a good pistol...use it.
 
I consider the trigger-covering holster to be one of the "safeties" on mine. Uncle Mike's makes a nice one for $20.
 
Second, my other handguns have external safeties. As far as I am concerned, the Glock has no safety, despite the advertising. I'm a little hesitant to keep one in the chamber in the Glock: even though I know it is pretty difficult to accidently pull the trigger, I'm still a little worried about an AD.
Click to expand...

I just obtained a Glock 30 in a trade, and it is my first Glock (though I've fired many at various ranges--I finally gave in to the fact that Glocks are one of the gun types I shoot well). I think your concerns will abate as you achieve a level of comfort with the gun.

I see nothing wrong with exercising caution until you're familiar and comfortable with the weapon (comfortable, not complacent!). For instance, I don't plan to carry my G30 until I've used it and become comfortable and completely familiar with it.
 
I hear ya

+1 on the extractor issue.

I feel the same way about Glocks. I shoot them well, but the things just don’t have any personality. I just find them, well… Blah. That said, I do respect them as a well made, accurate, and dependable firearm. They just are not for me.
 
Doc: I like your style - direct. And I think you're right: Knucklehead <---Me.

Amigo: Thanks. I'll check that product out.

RNB85: But I like how the Glock shoots, and there's no way I'd sell it, though it may be a back of the safe gun if I can find one that I shoot as well with an external decocker. I'll have my smith check out the extractor function.

Dog Bonz: "Blah" yes. But I like boring consistency when I am shooting...
 
SkiLune ~

Get your hands on an XD. Very similar to the Glock, but has a grip safety (not a thumb safety or decocker, just a grip safety).

pax
 
ski

Dog Bonz: "Blah" yes. But I like boring consistency when I am shooting...
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I was talking about the feel of the gun, not its accuracy or reliability when I said Blah. That is what I love about my HK’s. Boring accuracy and reliability, but they feel better in my hand. I also like the manual safety and having DA/SA. As I said, I respect Glocks, its just that I don’t like them personally.
 
After reading this:
Second, my other handguns have external safeties. As far as I am concerned, the Glock has no safety, despite the advertising. I'm a little hesitant to keep one in the chamber in the Glock: even though I know it is pretty difficult to accidently pull the trigger, I'm still a little worried about an AD.

I'm torn. Does anyone know of a handgun that feels and shoots like the Glock, but has a safety
Click to expand...

I knew it was only a matter of time before...
Get your hands on an XD. Very similar to the Glock, but has a grip safety (not a thumb safety or decocker, just a grip safety).
Click to expand...

But... +1 :evil:
 
I just had the exact same problem with my Glock 26. It's back at glock getting a new extractor. I had hot cartridges burn both my upper & lower eyelid, and hit my face & forehead. hard to hit your target on followup's when you're dodging your own spent shells. Mine is with Herbert Armorer #7. He said to expect it to take 3-4 weeks before I see it again.

The good news is if you UPS it to them they will send it directly back to you, NO FFL. I did use my dealer to send it to them free of charge they will send it directly back to me. NO FTF, NO FTE, Terrific accuracy,just a bad extractor.
 
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Pax: I will definitely check out the XD. Thanx for suggestion

DogBonz: I was just ribbin' ya. It is a bland gun. When I brought home the Glock, I told my wife this is the most uninspiring looking gun that I own, then I took it to the range, and when I came home I showed her a target I shot up .... very little red left in the bullseye. I have an HK too -- USP Comp .40. Its my carry piece right now. I really love that gun, but can't shoot it as accurately as the Glock. I really WISH I could shoot the HK as surely as the Glock.
 
Doc

I would like to respectfully disagree. The part that I would do away with would be the grip safety. Grip safeties are more likely to cause the gun to not fire when you want it to than the thumb safety malfunctioning. The thumb safety is disengaged on the draw. The grip safety can interfere if you are in a hurry and not holding the pistol correctly. I know that the bottom line is that the only safety that is 100% is to keep your finger off of the trigger, but I like the manual safety. The USP line (most of them) have no grip safety but a manual safety. I think that this is the best design for most purposes.

PS sorry for thread drift
 
*shrug*

Personally, I prefer a Glock-type manual of arms and believe it to be the safest option for new shooters (so they never develop the habit of saying, "It's okay, the safety was on..." when they've done something stupid). I'm very comfortable with my Glock and its mode of operation worries me not a bit.

But that's me. Everyone's different and stuff that scares one guy might be just fine for the next. The only real universal is the safety rules, which apply to every gun, whether the gun has external safeties or not.

As for whether a grip safety or a thumb safety is more likely to get in your way under stress, that entirely depends upon how practiced you are and the details of your encounter. Again, a personal thing, not a universal.

pax
 
Second, my other handguns have external safeties. As far as I am concerned, the Glock has no safety, despite the advertising. I'm a little hesitant to keep one in the chamber in the Glock: even though I know it is pretty difficult to accidently pull the trigger, I'm still a little worried about an AD.
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You better never, ever consider a revolver then.
 
Doc

Yeah, its pretty cool. I think it's called "The Solution" or something along thoes lines. The one that I saw has more of a beaver tail look to it though, not so much like the HP.
 
I own an XD9, XD40, and a Glock 17. I like the grip safety on the XD's and wish the Glock had one also. I don't worry about an XD going off if I stick it in my back pocket while investigating a bump in the night. Carrying a Glock with an uncovered trigger does make me a bit nervous.
 
I bought a Glock 19 for my CCW gun some time back, along with a Kydex IWB holster. At first I was a little nervous about having one 'in the pipe" so I followed some sage advice that would probably work for any gun: Carry WITHOUT one in the pipe, then observe how many times the trigger is to the rear at the end of the day. When you're confident it will always be zero (barring any irresponsible finger-on-the-trigger gun handling incidents), start carrying with one IN the pipe. :)

As for eating hot brass, it's happened maybe a few times with mine. Also happened with my Kel-Tec P3AT as well, and maybe my Bersa Thunder .380? Either way it's been an oddity rather than the norm, don't really know what to make of that.

Oh, as for 'no safety?' Well, I got more confidence in mine in a way I'd rather NOT have. I've dropped it...:eek: ...twice. :eek: :eek: :banghead: Once on gravel, once on a tile floor. Both times one 'in the pipe.' Neither time, a 'boom.'
 
Re: 'don't ever buy a revolver if you don't like the glock manual of arms' - it's an interesting comparison but I think a bit flawed - if glocks had 12lb triggers, that'd be a good direct comparison. I don't know of any factory revolvers that come with 5lb or 3.5lb DA triggers on them. The only glocks with close to 12+lb pull i know of are modified to be 'new york compliant' or some nonsense from what i've read.

I feel comfortable carrying my 642, for example, in a soft holster, as it would take 12+lb's of pressure to accidentally fire it, and when it's holstered the pressure on the cylinder makes the trigger pull even higher/harder...no such situation with the Glock. 3.5 or 5lb's every time depending on the model.

Though i do shoot glocks quite well... my view on that particular aspect mirrors this one:

Trigger Variations
Glock's trigger action is probably the most addressed area of the pistol's design. The "Safe Action," as it is called, is neither double action nor single action, hence the new term-Safe Action. The only visible safety is installed in the center of the trigger and must be depressed before the trigger can be moved to fire.

The trigger movement breaks down as follows per the. Glock Armorer's Manual: trigger slack covers .4 " while the total movement to fire equals .5" which translates into 1/2 inch of trigger travel from safe carry to firing. This is certainly long enough to preclude inadvertent discharges, for the movement re-quires a conscious effort against a trigger weight of five to eleven pounds. Conversely, the longer a trigger has to be moved against increased force, the more difficult it can be-come to deliver precision, bullseye-type shots.

The Glock pistol is accurate and the factory trigger action can be learned in a relatively short period of time. Operating the Glock trigger as if it were more double action than single action, with a straight-through, steady pull has given me good results.

Be this as it may, the quest for a lighter trigger pull has been addressed by several aftermarket manufacturers. As I previously mentioned, Glock will not sell their 3 1/2-lb. "connector, " the part that controls the bulk of the trigger-pull weight. They correctly think that this is too light a pull to have on a duty or self-defense arm (and they attempt to preclude yet more gratuitous lawsuits by incompetent gun handlers).

I've had experience with both the Glock 3 1/2-lb . factory pull in my 17L gun and also with a 3 1/2-lb. connector sold by Alchemy Arms Company of Port Orchard, WA. They shipped me a connector and a replacement trigger spring which I installed in a Model 22 (.40S&W) pistol that I've reserved for IPSC competition. It does decrease the trigger pull. Depending on where the trigger-pull gauge is placed on the trigger, the weight does break the action at exactly 3 1/2 pounds. (OK, I did pull the light-weight connector out of the 17L and put it into another gun. It does work, but I don't use it for defense. ) The bottom line is-heavy is better for defense. Light is OK for games.
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http://www.arotek.com/Articles/Articles Glock Goes Custom.htm

Just my opinion of course :) The more comfortable I get with my guns, the more I think I'll end up with a Glock or S&W M&P (nicer grip!) but for now, SA/DA w/ external decocker&safety is present on all of my defensive guns except for my 642...
 
You can buy heavier connectors for the Glock.

Or better yet, get some training. Sounds like it'd be useful.
 
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