'been shooting my first Glock (19) for a week, got two problems. The first one - several failures to lock a slide on empty mag - I’ve been able to sort out myself. I am engaging the slide stop with my strong arm thumb.
The question here is whether this is a common problem and if there is a solution besides changing my grip.
The second problem happened only once - a stovepipe. I was doing ball and dummy drills, so this was the first and only round in magazine. I am non sure why this happened. Failures to eject usually indicate bad extractor and, at times, ejector. This is a rather new gun, all parts seem to be OK, although it is my first Glock so no frame of reference here.
I’ve read somewhere that Glock 19 can be sensitive to strength of grip. I shot 10 rounds with as loose grip as I could make it and had no malfunctions.
I’d appreciate any advice.
P.S. Re-reading my post, it doesn’t seem to convey why I am perplexed. I am not sure how stovepipe happened, but I am absolutely confused how it is possible on last round in magazine.
so you’re holding the slide stop with your thumb keeping it from popping up at the end of the mag? you’ll have to change your grip i think for that. if it’s doing it without you hitting the stop, you may need some new magazine springs. when the spring gets weak it can have trouble engaging the stop.
did you have a mag in the gun doing ball and dummy drills? i’ve had some stovepipes shooting without a mag in my G19, but never with a mag in place.
Yep, I am sure I was pressing the slide stop with my thumb.
On stovepipe during ball & dummy, the magazine was in. Since it was last round, the slide should’ve locked back, unless I inadvertently pressed slide stop again. So, I guess, I could’ve had two unrelated malfunctions with one round: operator-induced failure to lock the slide, and unrelated stovepipe at the same time. Weird, eh?
The slide stop problem is common with shooters with big hands or who have grips that place the thumb in that position on the Glock.
Having shot a Glock competitively since I was 12, I’ve found that the stovepipe jam comes from one of three possibilities:
limp-wristing…or
a fresh, tight slide spring that hasn’t broken in yet
3)or “light” reloads with not enough powder to cycle the slide properly.
My guess is that it’s most likely number 2. The slide springs are tight in new guns, and they tend to cycle a little too quick at first, thus causing a stove pipe jam. Shoot a bunch of factory loads through it and it’ll loosen up just fine.
If I recall correctly, you stated that you had the T2 stoppage only onec right? OK, don’t give it another though unless the problem continues over time. If there is not pattern, it may have been you. Shoot the pistol and drive on, don’t stress about it. The only way to keep a pistol from having a stoppage every now and then in to keep it in the safe.
As far as the slide stop issue goes- I’m only assuming you are using a thumbs forward type grip. If you are depressing the stop with you shooting hand thumb, try rocking your that thumb slightly out board. There should be a gap between the thumb and the slide. Doing this won’t adversely effect the grip but will give both your slide and stop more clearance. The bottom line, and not trying to be a smart ass, if you are depressing the slide stop…try not to do it anymore.
I’ve had the thumb-ride/slide-lock problem on other guns (notably Beretta and H&K P30) that had very wide slide-lock levers set way back, and that got sold as a result. I would have had to actually pull my thumb away from the frame to rectify the situation, which to me would be too great a compromise from the best possible grip.
Never with any Glock though. Their levers are about as low-profile as you can get. For this to happen, I respectfully submit that you are likely pressing your thumb actually against the frame, which is somethng to avoid just in terms of good shooting form. You don’t need any pressure there to control the gun, and quite the opposite, it will set-up sideways stress that can throw off sight tracking during recoil.
I would advise just relaxing the thumb so it naturally points forward, but without any inward pressure. The Glock’s lever is so close to the frame that I expect you will no longer be engaging it, and overall handling should improve as well.
And I agree with the others on the one-time stovepipe – probably a short-term fluke.
Since the OP acknowledged from the start that the failure to lock back was shooter induced, I think we can take him at his word for that.
YVK, by chance are you a recovering 1911 shooter? Not at all uncommon to see 1911 shooters have this sort of issue since they are so used to riding the safety lever with their thumb. It’s worse on SIGs (the slide release lever is much farther towards the rear, almost exactly where a 1911 thumb safety would be!) but if your hands are large enough it can certainly happen with a Glock. Just by being aware it’s happening and adjusting your grip consciously for a while, you should see the problem go away.
The stovepipe on the last round may have been exacerbated by this same issue. Without another round to feed beneath it, the spent case can move around more and may not clear the ejection port as soon. If the slide closes (rather than staying locked open) you can get a stovepipe. It’s very common, for instance, to see a stovepipe when firing without a magazine in the gun.
I wouldn’t worry about the stovepipe for now. Work on making a small adjustment to your thumb position so you aren’t blocking the slide stop. Unless you have more stoppages after fixing your form, I’d write it off as a shooter-induced (or at least shooter-contributed) stoppage.
Gentlemen, I truly appreciate your responses as they have been very helpful and reassuring.
I think I am pressing against both frame and slide stop. I can’t emphasize enough how big my hands are. And ears. And nose. And …:D.
Seriously, you bring up a huge point. I know that thumbs should not exert any pressure on frame, and I know that I am not doing it quite right in this regard. For a short second, I thought of cutting down the slide stop a bit, and then decided against it. I am going to use this pistol as a diagnostic tool. Once I stop having failures to lock, I’d consider my thumb truly neutral in regards to grip.
Todd, I am afraid I continue to suffer from that illness, so “recovery” is not a best term; perhaps, “short remission” is better. The fact that my only other pistol has no slide stop at all made me really frivolous with my thumb position. I do have to say, I really enjoy that Glock. I wonder if a bit of work done by David Bowie and Briley has anything to do with my affection
Anyway, I am glad to see that consensus opinion on stovepipe is “probably shooter-assisted fluke”. I’ll be shooting it lots more, and see what happens. Again, thanks to all for input.
You are far from alone. I shot mostly 1911 for ~10 years, although almost entirely in competition rather than carry (and never had a thumb-ride/slide-lock problem with this design). Tried many, many others along the way though, with varying results.
Nowadays I have only the Glock 19, both for matches and everyday carry. I don’t think it is cool looking, sexy, hot, “venerable”, or any of the other qualities so often attributed to other designs. But after handgunning in one form or another for 20+ years, there is no doubt that – as a real-world self-defense tool – the G19 is the best solution for me (others may have different results).
So obviously my recommendation would be to do as you indicate, and continue working with the G19. Maybe it will work out, maybe something else will come along and be better. It takes some time and experience to make a sound judgement, along with careful, open observation and critical thinking, which it sounds like you are doing a good job of.
Good luck with however it turns out.
PS – what is your “only other pistol has no slide stop at all” ?
