Why does our Glock 19 (gen 4) jam when our 20 yr old daughter shoots it?

[Neo-Luddite]

Thanks for your kind & timely replies everyone...you guys were going to be my source of Professional Pistolero testimony to present her with if she'd pushed back on my sending her off with the Ruger!. Fortunately she saw the reason of the choice. Plus, at school in MO she can have a CCW on her person and that Ruger is a handier size for that option than the Glock, too (she likely won't do so, but it's nice to know that she can). Have a Great Weekend Everyone!

 

[W.E.G.]

It would help if there were a description of what constitutes a "stoppage."

I can think of at least a dozen types of stoppages.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

It would help if there were a description of what constitutes a "stoppage."

I can think of at least a dozen types of stoppages.

Failure to eject spent case caused by slide not making it back completely before rebounding.

 

[Hikingman]

My wife did that, until I corrected it.
Not my wife, but leaned back like this is not good.
View attachment 1140309

A young Marine that helps beginners (and others) at our club will often attempt to correct someone's leaning back stance.

 

[Tallball]

I always have to have my head leaned back now to shoot a pistol carefully because of my vision/glasses.

 

[trackskippy]

Do you run around like that when you do? Im gettin this picture in my head now.

 

[chaim]

I'm with those who say it sounds like limp wristing. If her hands are too small for the gun, she may not have a solid enough grip. You can probably have her practice it away, but it is probably better to get a gun that fits her better. My first suggestion would be to have her try other 9mms you, your friends, and the rental counter have to see what works best for her. Then I ready your post on post 49, if she wants a Glock, then maybe the single stack Glock 43x or 48 will have the form factor she wants but a small enough grip that it fits her hands better and she won't have the reliability issues she's having with the G19.

 

[chaim]

I always have to have my head leaned back now to shoot a pistol carefully because of my vision/glasses.

I have to look ridiculous when shooting these days. I'm constantly adjusting my head position to try to account for my progressives (unlined bifocals), it can be hard sometimes to settle on quite the right position. When practicing for self defense, I'm combat accurate if I'm not worrying about it, but when shooting for fun and trying to tighten my groups, I am constantly moving my head a bit, and yes, a slightly raised and tilted back head position seems to work best (just barely looking out of the reading portion of the lens).

 

[InTheSwamp]

Limp Wrist. It's a Glock.

 

[45/30-06OKIE]

Had our oldest college-age kid home on break out to shoot her emergency "trunk gun" Glock 19, Gen 4 yesterday. She's 5ft tall, smaller hands...very comfortable around guns, been shooting since age 5. I have the smallest factory grip swells on the pistol. It shoots fine for me, but about once per mag she will have a stoppage. I've given the usual advice; grip it higher, don't limp wrist it, pair your thumbs up on the grip, etc. Tried having her hold it one handed, too with same result. I had her work out with my regular edc, Ruger LC9s and she had absolutely zero issues whatsoever. So for now, my little sub-compact 9mm will take the place of the Glock as her "in case" pistol if the car breaks down (school is 500 miles away in MO). I know I'll need to get her to work with an experienced Glock coach to really nail down any issues, but any thoughts that come to mind?

Could it be the grip size is simply too big for her to hold properly? Can she shoot a thinner grip 9mm just fine? Like a 1911? Or a shorter and thinner grip like a Sig P365?

 

[mljdeckard]

I am curious, with the explosion of `Glock-offs', if there are some options that work better for some people? RIA makes one with an aluminum frame and a different grip angle.

 

[drobs]

I pocket carry a Ruger LC9s Pro in the summertime and occasionally belt carry it during the other seasons. When I shoot it, I note I have a tighter grip on it than on my Glocks - 19, 26, and 43X. I'm curious if she does the same thing - uses a tighter grip (squeezes harder) on the LC9?

That might be something to look into next time she's home. I'm also curious where in the magazine she is experiencing a stoppage on the Glock? Is it a few shots in or is it around round 8 or greater. It could be she is experiencing hand fatigue with the larger grip. Figure the Ruger is a 7 shot pistol that she is probably squeezing hard on the grip. Try downloading your Glock magazines to 10 or less rounds for her. Or have her shoot 7rds take a break (holster) and shoot 8 more.

Going back to her stance. This is an example of the fighting stance and leaning into the pistol. I've been teaching some of the women in my Jeep club to pistol shoot and this is the stance I recommend most folks use.


Good article to pass on to her:
https://winchester.com/Blog/2018/03/stance-grip-for-a-new-pistol-shooter

Another article:
https://www.nrawomen.com/content/pick-a-position-3-handgun-shooting-stances-you-should-know/

 

[JTQ]

American Handgunner recently had an article on shooting stance. They make a point of how you may need more forward lean to compensate for less body mass or strength.

https://americanhandgunner.com/discover/better-shooting-what-a-difference-a-stance-makes/

 

[Spats McGee]

Ya know, if her hands are too small for a G19, that clearly means she needs a 1911.

 

[12Bravo20]

I am curious, with the explosion of `Glock-offs', if there are some options that work better for some people? RIA makes one with an aluminum frame and a different grip angle.

I have a few different Glock clone frames and they all have a different grip angle and size when compared to a Glock frame. One of the best I have used as far a the grip goes is the Strike Industries Strike 80 80% frame. The grip is slightly narrower and more rounded. I use one with a G23 slide and the felt recoil is the same or less than a standard G19. Unfortunately the Strike 80 frame was discontinued a couple of years ago.

With that being said, SCT Manufacturing must have gotten the rights to the Strike 80 design and are making their version of that frame in a finished frame. These frames are for Gen 1-3 slides only.

https://sctmfg.com/sct-frames/

Here is the SCT frame

 

[1KPerDay]

What ammo are we talking about here?

 

[TonyAngel]

Yeah, her problem could be a combination of things. I do believe that you should be able to shoot a handgun with one hand. It is a handgun and not a handsgun. Lol

When she shoots, is she controlling the recoil or just letting it recoil? The tightest grip in the world could still lead to what appears to be limp wristing when in combination with under powered ammo and a physically small shooter. You can't cheat physics.

I know this is common, but many aren't aware, so I'll mention it. When she assumes her stance, if she doesn't already do it, just have her tweak her elbows out slightly. It will cause her to clamp down on the gun more and aid in recoil control. Posture is also very important.

 

[peeplwtchr]

90% chance she's limp wristing. The slide needs to encounter opposing pressure to eject the case and load the next round, hence the "Post ignition push". you can make almost any pistol jam or stove pipe by limp wristing.