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View Full Version : Glock 31 life expectancy


Super-Dave
May 13, 2010, 11:20 AM
Due to the high chamber pressure, what is the life expectancy of a glock 31?

That is how many rounds can you fire before you damage the barrel or other major parts?

Brian Pfleuger
May 13, 2010, 11:46 AM
I've never heard (or read) so much as a whisper that you should expect any less life than any other Glock. In others words, thousands upon 10's of thousands of rounds.

Besides, it's not really all that high pressure. 9mm operates at 35,000psi, +P at 38,500 and 10mm at 37500. 357sig is 40,000 SAAMI and 44,000 CIP.

AK103K
May 13, 2010, 06:43 PM
I'd be interested in hearing from some 31 owners myself on this, and specifically, on the battering of the slide on the underside.

I bought my gun used, but it looked to be new, and I doubt it was shot very much. When I got it, the underside of the slide looked just like all my other Glocks, with no damage. As I started to shoot it, I quickly noticed the underside of the slide was starting to show wear from the locking block impacting it. I've been told this is common with the .40 guns, and that it will stop at some point. So far, it doesnt seem to be, but then again, its not terribly worse.

One thing I find somewhat puzzling is, I've shot a good bit of +P+ 9mm (which is loaded at about the same pressure range as the 357SIG) out of one of my 17's, and it shows absolutely no signs of this occurring.

Super-Dave
May 20, 2010, 06:25 AM
Anyone with actual experience shooting alot of rounds through their Glock 31?

How much damage has occured?

Don P
May 20, 2010, 07:08 AM
I doubt the majority of TFL members could not afford the ammo to wear out and cause wear damage to a G31 that you are inquiring about. I know I couldn't afford that quantity of ammo

jmr40
May 20, 2010, 07:41 AM
Chuck Taylor has over 250,000 rounds through his G17 and still counting. That would be $50,000 in ammo if he could get it @ $10.00/ box. I don't think I can afford the ammo to wear out a G31.

John76248
May 20, 2010, 09:01 AM
If you buy a quality weapon and take care of it, it should last several lifetimes.

I'm not saying it's possible to wear out a gun with enough use but the money you would have to spend on ammo would be an insane amount of cabbage that the average Joe could not do.

Crapulence
May 20, 2010, 09:36 AM
I have about 3000+ rounds through my g31. The last I checked there is no obvious wear on the underside of the slide. Now I feel the need to run home during lunch and have a better look. :)

Crapulence
May 20, 2010, 11:14 AM
I guess there is very slight wear on the tennifer on the bottom of the slide near the rear end of the recoil spring. There is no peening of any of the parts that is can detect.

http://www.us-storage.org/images/g31wear.jpg

IanS
May 20, 2010, 11:21 AM
The slide peening can vary from gun to gun. Yes, its more common with the .40 and .357 SIG. models though Crapulence's G31 seems to be the exception Full size 9mm and .45 caliber Glocks exhibit it less but the shorter the slide even the 9mm ones start doing it eventually.

I've never heard of slide peening ever becoming an issue to function or durability.

AK103K
May 20, 2010, 06:12 PM
Mine is definitely peening, and so far, it continues to worsen when shot with 357SIG ammo. (I have a LWD 9mm barrel for it, so its not always 357SIG fired in it)

At this point, I probably have around 500 rounds of 357SIG through the gun.

This isnt the best pic, but if you look close at the ejection port, you can see where the peening is occurring. Its actually worse than it looks in the pic, I just havent been able to get a decent close up. If you run your finger along the inside of the slide, you will feel a sharp burr on each slide of the slide, and they readily catch cleaning patches when cleaning the gun. Its also left some wear marks on the side of the factory barrel where contact was made.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a0db01b3127ccefa7c0bce83ad00000030O00CYuWbdo5bsQe3nwk/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

I have seven other Glocks besides this one, all 9mm's, and not one shows any sign of the locking block impacting the slide, even with a couple of guns that have had a good deal (more than 500 rounds) of +P+ ammo through them. I've also shot around 750-1000 rounds of 9mm through the 31, and it doesnt seem to be increasing the peening.

IanS
May 20, 2010, 07:34 PM
.357 SIG and .40 has increased slide velocity compared to 9mm. The G22 and G31 share the same recoil spring as the 9mm G17. The .40 and .357 is a bit harder on the guns overall. Perhaps the heavier dual recoil springs on the Gen4 G22's may have alleviated the slide peening or perhaps not.

I know it looks bad and might give you an icky feeling but the G22 and G31 have been around a long time and again I have yet to hear of slide peening causing issue in function or reliability. Current SIG P226 and P229 slides cause the frames rails to chip and cause excessive wear on the barrels whereas older stamp steel slides did not. It too doesn't affect function. Its merely unsightly.

One thing for sure if it does cause a problem Glock will take care of it. Don't worry and shoot your G31.

AK103K
May 20, 2010, 08:35 PM
It is kind of strange that they all seem to use the same recoil spring. You would think the .40/357SIG would use one somewhat heavier. Then again, you'd think that a steady diet of +P+ 9mm would also show similar wear, but so far, that doesnt seem to be the case with my guns.

I have P226's as well as P229's in 357SIG, and havent noticed any more wear with them than that of my my older "stamped" guns. No chips on the frame rails or other problems, at least as of yet. All my SIG's in 357SIG have a lot more rounds through them than my Glock too.

Hopefully, the peening does stop at some point. The fact that its starting to show contact with the barrel at the point of the peening concerns me somewhat. Its progressed to a point its not just some dings on the slide. I'll just have to see how things continue. Maybe it does warrant a trip back and see what they say.

As far as Glock ''taking care of it", I'm a little skeptical there. I've only recently returned to Glock after a bad experience with them back in the late 80's, early 90's ( I swore I'd never have another). Multiple trips back with the same gun for the same problem and cocky responses and comments about how the gun was maintained, which were not true, just added to the annoyance. They knew they had a problem, but tried their best to make it seem like I was at fault. Hopefully, their CS department is doing better now than it did then. So far, the new guns seem to be 100%, and I'm hoping I dont need to deal with them again.