New Glock 19 Gen 3 hanging up BADLY

[sdehaven]

Ok, so I finally splurged and bought myself a new Glock 19 (it was a Gen 3 with nickel boron)
; I bought 100 rds of cheap ammo just to practice with, and I kid you not, the gun jammed every few rounds! I'm new to 9mms; always been a revolver girl but wanted a little more than 5 or 6 chances to protect myself if need be. Saying that, I know nothing about these guns other than the stellar reputation for dependability. In my first practice, I would be dead in a serious situation because it jammed the second round; then continued to jam every few rounds after that. The CHEAP ammo is a brand I"ve never heard of. Should I try with the best ammo before I run back to the gun shop screaming "junk"? I'm so disappointed because I was really excited about my first Glock! Any advice will be appreciated and valued!

 

[Tommygunn]

That would be a good idea.
Also; clean the preservative gunk out of the gun and apply light amount of gun oil.
As far as ammo, make sure you run ammo you plan to use for defense purposes through it. By that I mean hollow point rounds. Some automatics might be sensitive to a particular brand and some testing might be required.
Use ball ammo (or FMJ which is just another name for it) for target practic & plinking as it's cheaper .... but to really know you can trust the weapon run a bunch of that unfortunatly expensive hollowpoint.

 

[tarosean]

What's the date of test fire? (The brown bag with a spent cartridge)

What was the name of the ammo?

 

[LiveLife]

I have several Gen3 Glocks and when new captured recoil spring assemblies (RSA) are used, some lighter target loads will have difficult time fully cycling the slide and cause stovepipes/failure to fully extract/etc.

Keep your slide locked for a few days until you return back to the range and see if that helps with your ammunition. I would try different brand ammunition like CCI Blazer, Federal/Winchester white box, Remington UMC etc. and see how they cycle the slide.

 

[bigleverman]

Since your new to semis make sure you keep a solid grip through recoil cycle. "Limp wristing" can cause cycling problems

 

[sdehaven]

Thanks, I'll try any and all routes before getting disappointed. The date on the test fire cart. is 12/21/13 and the name of the cheap ammo I used is Ultramax. It clearly states on the box that they are "remanufactured" so maybe that's my problem? I maybe should have done more research on ammo before I started practicing. It just seems like a lot of money to have to tip-toe around ammo. My brother was practicing with his Beretta (older) with same cartridges and no issues. As far as "limp wristing", it's possible that I may have been guilty of that.

 

[ohbythebay]

And therein lies the problem...

Reloads will be okay down the road..but you have a brand new Glock...shooting those Ultramax reloads is like using 99cents motor oil in your new BMW...

Get some good Federal, American Eagle, Blazer Brass..good stuff...It is probably only a few pennies per round more...

Look here at the Federal, PMC, Remington UMC, etc.

http://www.wikiarms.com/group/9mm/2

Pretty sure your issue goes away.

 

[sdehaven]

Thanks for the link. I'm not ready to give up on it yet, lol. I just gave up after shooting 74 rds of the cheap stuff and my Glock jamming 15-20 times! With all of my google research, etc., I've NEVER come across horrible results like this. I'll retry with premium ammo and try not to "limp wrist" with my shooting! I know very little about semi's, but I DO know how to load a mag, chamber a round and shoot. Or, at least, I thought I did, lol. Thanks for the info. and advice!

 

[rcmodel]

I bought 100 rds of cheap ammo

There's your problem ratch there!

Buy some decent ammo, and in all probably, it will run 100%.

BTW: I don't thinks it's possible to 'limp wrest' a Glock 19.

I have the same gun (Model 23) in .40 S&W, and it is 1000% reliable when shot with one finger & a thumb!
No Wrest involved atall!

Rc

 

[JRH6856]

I didn't think this sort of thing happend with Glocks.

 

[tomrkba]

I will point out that this is a perfect opportunity for the OP to coordinate a range outing with other The High Road members in your area. I am sure several members would be willing to help you out.

1) Ammo

Try shooting a box of FMJ ammo from several manufacturers. The gun should not be sensitive to quality ammo.

2) Limp wristing

Your G19 GEN 3 should not be sensitive to a loose grip except if you tilt it 45-60 degrees. I think it is to the right; it has been a few years since I tested by Gen 3 Glocks. Mine jammed once or twice in a mag when doing so. The solution is to shoot while holding the gun properly.

3) Glock has let lemons out of the factory. An early G19 Gen 3 of mine would not shoot at all. Inspection of the cases revealed a line down the side of the case. I discovered a burr in the chamber. I worked on it a bit with a small file. I could still see it, so I just ran another 50 rounds through it until the brass ripped it out. The gun was fine for the next 200 rounds.

If you are unable to get it working, call Glock. Document the problem on the range with photos and video.

 

[tomrkba]

I didn't think this sort of thing happend with Glocks.

This is not appropriate for this thread.

 

[sdehaven]

And that's why I came here! For tips, advice, etc. from folks that are more experienced in such matters. When I asked about ammo, the guy at the gun shop handed me two 50 rd boxes of this junk and I didn't know any better. Now I do. I'll practice with good ammo this weekend and hopefully be amazed at the outcome! One 50 rd box of cheap ammo was cheaper than a 25 rd box of Remington Golden Saber. I'll try the Remingtons tomorrow.

 

[tarosean]

The date on the test fire cart. is 12/21/13 and the name of the cheap ammo I used is Ultramax.

Great it should have all the latest upgraded parts.. (They had issues with late 2010 3rd gens)

Can you describe how the jams were happening? Did the bullet ever enter the chamber(barrel)? Did it fail to get extracted (pulled out). Etc etc.

 

[JRH6856]

I'll try the Remingtons tomorrow.

Don't do that. Try some good ammo, maybe Speer or Federal.

All Remington ammo I've measured in the past few weeks has been underbore (0.347-0.351). It won't give you a good read (but it works great in an R51).

 

[sdehaven]

It's quite possible that I got a rare lemon, so I should not badmouth the cheap ammo just yet. I'll try all the tips and helpful advice submitted and see what the outcome is. Thanks. (BTW, we don't have a public firing range close, so our firing range is on private property with range targets mounted on tobacco sticks embedded against a large hill, lol). It's actually where we took our concealed carry classes) However, it would be very easy to video the problem if it persists. Never thought of that!

 

[Bill_Shelton]

It's quite possible that I got a rare lemon, so I should not badmouth the cheap ammo just yet. I'll try all the tips and helpful advice submitted and see what the outcome is. Thanks. (BTW, we don't have a public firing range close, so our firing range is on private property with range targets mounted on tobacco sticks embedded against a large hill, lol). It's actually where we took our concealed carry classes) However, it would be very easy to video the problem if it persists. Never thought of that!

Well...I hope it gets resolved.

BTW, there are people here that could probably talk you through the problem - but it will be a relatively long and wordy affair because in order to diagnose a problem, a lot of questions need to be asked.

 

[sdehaven]

The bullets were hanging up half in the chamber; at an angle. It seemed like the rim of the shell was getting hung up on something preventing it from fully chambering. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar enough with any kind of semi, much less a glock, to describe accurately what was happening. I wish I had thought to take pictures and video of what was going on.

 

[sdehaven]

Thanks. I'll get it figured out eventually. I was just hoping to find a few tips; it was soooo disappointing for my first run.

 

[conw]

I didn't think this sort of thing happend with Glocks.

Trolling a female shooter asking for help, very high road.

 

[conw]

The bullets were hanging up half in the chamber; at an angle. It seemed like the rim of the shell was getting hung up on something preventing it from fully chambering. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar enough with any kind of semi, much less a glock, to describe accurately what was happening. I wish I had thought to take pictures and video of what was going on.

That sounds like a stoppage called "failure to feed."

Google failure to feed and failure to eject plus the word Glock. Look at the various examples and see if you can find a pic that resembles your issue.

It's very ammo dependent so I wouldn't worry too much. Looking forward to hearing the results with new ammo.

 

[Bill_Shelton]

Thanks. I'll get it figured out eventually. I was just hoping to find a few tips; it was soooo disappointing for my first run.

I think you had a good idea when you mentioned taking some photos of the failures. Also, have you considered keeping a log book?

Personally, I keep a log book on on my guns while they are new and I'm learning their limitations. I have found that a good log book can help me quickly identify a problem. For an autoloader, I typically record for every magazine I shoot:

1. Ammo Brand and Spec (e.g., Brass, Lead, Grain, New, Reload)
2. Number of Rounds loaded in the magazine
3. Whether or not the ammo ejects consistently (and which round(s) was it)
4. Whether or not ammo ejects far out...or like barely ejects and hits me in the forehead, or something.
5. How I cleaned the gun before I got to the range - and with what lubes and solvents
6. Ammo consistency on target if/when bench rested
7. Whether ammo seemed "Dirty" or "Clean" (i.e., residue)
8. If the firing cycle just "feels different'. (and which round(s) was it)
9. Who was shooting the gun (if it wasn't me)
10. And whatever else that might be a "performance variable".

 

[Bill_Shelton]

You said you used Ultramax rounds in your Glock. If I am not mistaken, the Ultramax round is a lead bullet that has been reloaded: a no-no as far as the Glock Corporation is concerned. I don't know why, but here is the webpage that says it: http://us.glock.com/customer-service/faq

 

[Potatohead]

Also, if you still have problems after trying better ammo, you will probably have more success contacting Glock instead of the place you bought it. That's always worked best for me, YMMV.

 

[sdehaven]

It's certainly a "failure to feed" issue, according to demos I've watched online. It sounds more and more like it's the ammo; a log book of firing practices sounds like a pretty good idea too. I will get back on here with results of quality ammo. Since I only have Remington left (and I was advised against those), I'll wait until I can get Federal, etc. Maybe get different kinds of quality ammo and see what I like. Thanks.