Glock 21 Limp Wrist/ Unreliable

[Uncle Malice]

Incorrect. The G21 is MUCH more reliable under critical SD situations than the USP45.

You're both wrong. Both guns are extremely reliable. Enough that it's foolish and brand myopic to try and claim one of "a lot" or "MUCH" more reliable than the other.

Both guns have a track record of being very, very good guns. Both guns have had specimens fail.

[the rifleer]

I'd like to say this about jamming- all guns jam.

I always read about "I've fired thousands of rounds and never had a problem" Is this possible? Sure. Is it likely? No, its not.

I have seen high end AR's jam, Ive seen Glocks jam, I've seen ruger mini 14's jam, ruger sr 40's jam, Gas operated shotgun jam, Benelli M2 shotguns jam, I've seen an ACR jam, I've even seen a bolt action rifle jam...

Guns are mechanical devices and for some reason people on the internet make them sound like if a gun jams its a bad gun... It's not a bad gun just cause you have a malfunction. If you shoot 1000 rounds and have 10 jams, you have a 99% reliability rate. Realistically, you might have one out of 1000 jam, this means you literally have a 99.999% reliability rate (I actually did the math).



Guns jam, get over it. It happens. If guns didn't jam, military and law enforcement would not be trained how to clear a malfunction and get their gun operating again.

[jr24]

While I agree in principle

I always read about "I've fired thousands of rounds and never had a problem" Is this possible? Sure. Is it likely? No, its not.

If you shoot 1000 rounds and have 10 jams, you have a 99% reliability rate. Realistically, you might have one out of 1000 jam, this means you literally have a 99.999% reliability rate (I actually did the math).

Is not my experience. I can't count how many thousands rounds I've fired through my various autoloaders (handguns, AR rifles, M1A, etc), its well over 20K at least between them all. How many jams have I had? Maybe 10 that weren't obviously ammo related.

Obviously I'm not 1/10th the shooter many on this forum are but I generally expect a carry/defense gun to fire at least 1000 jam free rounds of various ammo before it gets declared ready for EDC.

YMMV, naturally

You're both wrong. Both guns are extremely reliable. Enough that it's foolish and brand myopic to try and claim one of "a lot" or "MUCH" more reliable than the other.

This is true, both are great unless you get a "bad" one (which will happen with ANY manufacturer). Pretty much all of the major auto manufacturers create quality, reliable, guns these days.

My opinion the Glock was correct, but mostly because I just bought a Glock 21 and its got that new gun infatuation still on it

[dgludwig]

In a self defense situation though, where I very well might be injured and be unable to hold the gun in a correct postition, I'm wondering if it might jam from all the stuff I'm reading. Am I just overthinking?

Personally, I don't think you're "overthinking" anything. In a self-defense scenario, it's very possible that you won't be able to secure a "proper" grip on any handgun for a variety of reasons. I wouldn't consider any semi-auto pistol for self-defense purposes that has a propensity for malfunctioning if not held perfectly. And, from what I've read, some pistols are more prone to malfunction than are others when gripped in a less than ideal hold.
You say that you have personally "tested" a friend's Glock Model 21 pistol, trying to induce a jam by "limp-wristing" it and it didn't fail to operate correctly. Try the same tests on your own pistol. If it works as it should, you will have the confidence you need to trust the pistol to be reliable when you need it most. But, because any pistol can fail, I suggest that you practice clearing a malfunction (stove-pipes, double-feeds, etc.) with your pistol so that you know what to do to get your pistol running again should it jam under stress.
Or you might consider carrying a good revolver...

[Axelwik]

You're worried about the wrong things.

There's a much higher probability that any number of things will go wrong during a self defense situation that don't even involve the gun or its reliability.

Good training and the ability to think on one's feet will make a much bigger difference.

With a Glock and good quality ammo you've got that base covered. Now you can focus on training and mindset.

And as others have said, if you're worried about limp-wristing then get a revolver.

[44 AMP]

How many jams have I had? Maybe 10 that weren't obviously ammo related.

EVERY jam in an autoloader is ammo related.

Many are ammo caused, but by no means all are.

If you are seriously concerned about a jam, and particularly a jam caused by the way you hold the gun, get a revolver.

NO auto pistol or revolver can be 100% under ALL POSSIBLE situations, but most are 98-99% or better, and I'd say good ones go 99.9999....%

[45_auto]

Realistically, you might have one out of 1000 jam, this means you literally have a 99.999% reliability rate (I actually did the math).

Unfortunately, you did it wrong.

1 out of 1000 is a 99.9% reliability rate.

1 out of 100,000 would be 99.999%.

[Uncle Malice]

Unfortunately, you did it wrong.

lol. I didn't want to be that guy... but you're exactly right.

[Ruger45LC]

You're overthinking it....I would imagine that you would have to REALLY limp wrist it in order for it to malfunction, you would have to be deliberately trying to get it mess up. There probably is some truth that a heavier all steel gun MIGHT not limp wrist as easily as a polymer framed gun, but of all the 21's I've owned, several Gen3 models and my current Gen4 version have never failed, and I've never limpwristed any of them.