Do Glocks really go Kaboom...?

[Airborne]

I was talking with a dealer (big Glock man) the other day when the subject of handload feeding problems in a G34 came up. Big time stovepipe jams. (rounds seemed fine to me, and feed/functioned fine in everything but this 34)

He told me to never shoot handloads in a Glock because the chamber is unsupported at 6 o'clock, and will blow the bottom of the gun into your hand if the loads get to hot (ouch!)

This seems strange to me because all I ever hear is how tough these guns are, etc. He said it happened to a guy while he was shooting with, so he must know what he's talking about.

Is this common? Loading my own rounds is the other half of the fun when it comes to shooting IMO, so having a gun that is not reloaded ammo friendly is of no use to me. Any thoughts on the KB issue, and the feeding problem would be most appreciated.
Best regards,
SM

[WESHOOT2]

Not 'common', but not unheard of either.

Not a problem for me; I don't care much for Glocks.

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"All my ammo is factory ammo"

[Hemphill]

KB!s can happen with almost all pistols, the Glocks get a bar rap for this because may of their owners neglect their pistol by not removing thelead buildup in the barrels. THen the guns often explode because of the excessive pressure in the chamers when trying to send a full sized bulled through a partially obstructed barrel. Also, the 40 cal gets a bad rap because it operates on the edge of its max pressure. Some people dont believe this and then load up some higher pressure loads with catastophic results. Now combine the two and you have the grat glock 40 cal. KB! phenomena. I dont put much weight in it becaus I shoot and reload for both of my 40 cal Glocks and never had a lick of trouble. Of course I clean and maintain my weapons and never use max loads, because I wanted a 40 not a 10mm or 45.

[Airborne]

Hemphill,
You just reminded me that the dealer did say the majority of the problems were with the .40's because of the high pressures. Just wanted to keep it straight. Regards,
SM

[Cawdor]

You may find this helpful - http://www.f-r-i.com/glock/FAQ/FAQ-kb.htm

[PVerdieck]

Right. It's with the .40s. The combination of reloads (high-pressure and/or multiply reused brass) and a non-fully supported chamber leads to the Kaboom.

[etc]

I have used reloaded ammo in many guns for years. Then one day it occured to me,that why do we spend all this good money on quality guns,and then try to stuff the cheapest ammo we can find into them?

Since I have gone exclusivly to factory ammo,I have had no problems of any kind with Glocks,at all. (1911's are another story,but I wont start that here)

The price is a little higher,but not so bad now the the y2k people are not able to sell fear anymore.

Plus,factory ammo is cheaper than hospital bills to fix a blown up hand,or worse---

[4V50 Gary]

We've an old thread at The Firing Line which discusses why Glocks go KaBoom. Basically, a diet of lead bullets will cause leading it the Glock's polygonal barrel. Pressure builds up (it spikes higher rather than develop a gentle curve) as you shoot. If sufficiently leaded, the Glock will go KaBoom.

Mind you, it's not Glock's fault. They tell the user not to use reloaded lead bullets in their gun and for shooters who want to shoot lead, they should consider a convential grooved aftermarket barrel.

Check out that old thread.

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Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt

[Emin]

KB!s happen not only with .40 but also with .45 Glocks.

Check http://greent.com/40Page/ and scroll to the bottom of the page to click on "Glock KB! FAQ" and "Report on .40 S&W Glock !kB". You'll also find plenty of info at Glocktalk.com

Another problem everyone's missing here is related to the fact that Glock is a polymer-made pistol and can't protect the shooting hand as well as a steel-made one. Thus if kb! occurs, the shooter's hand get injured more extensively .

[Airborne]

Thanks for the replies,
I'll check out those KB threads. I can see leading being a problem, but why shoot lead bullets? Scraping lead from gun barrels is not my idea of fun, and jacketed bullets are pretty cheap. Too each his own I guess.
Regards,
SM

[a_diamondback]

One thing not mentioned in above replies is that the Glock is known to fire with the slide out of battery. That itty bitty bit of brass at 6:00 o'clock just got bigger.

[Ford]

If I remember right, I thought you were not supposed to shoot lead bullets out of a Glock, Period.

And another thing. Since I have my first 1911 coming why do they have so many problems feeding the round into the chamber??
I am sure I will only shoot factory ammo so I shouldnt have a problem with reloads.

[Emin]

Ford,

To make 1911 highly accurate (which they are, BTW), one has to make them tight. Hence the feeding prombems.

[petej88]

For .40 caliber Glocks, use an aftermarket barrel. The standard Glock barrel not only is unsupported in the 6 o'clock position, but the chamber is too loose. This is a bad combination and a Glock will blow faster than other brands that are using the same ammo.

With a good aftermarket barrel, feeding still works great and the cases are not destroyed like with a standard Glock barrel.

I just bought a glock 35 and shot some rounds with the standard barrel. It created major "fat ass" brass that expanded from .421 to .433 -- this is scarry for a reloader. A good aftermarket barrel just expands to a normal .428 aprox., which is safe as long as the ammmo is decent.

[KOG]

Glocks can go KB and seem to a little more often than others, but they can happen to others as well. I think it's usually an ammo problem rather than a gun problem but ditto what others said about the .40 Glock and it's barrel design and the firing out of battery thing; not good. I know of one person who had a KB in a Glock 17 with a factory load and the other was a Glock 21 with an undercharged handload. Someone mentioned the 1911. It was designed with loose tolerances for reliability in dirt, mud, etc; thus, accuracy isn't as good as can be unless tightened up. With the tightening up, you lose some of your reliability. Plus, it was originally designed to shoot FMJ, not JHP or other bullet designs. When people started shooting those, they called it an unreliable gun.

[Chad Young]

For the record, the composite material used in Glocks is stronger and lighter than steel and is quite capable of protecting the user from dangerous gases that are released from a case failure.

Frankly - if you shoot current, factory-loaded, FMJ ammo in your Glock, the odds of you experiencing a kaboom are not significantly greater than with most other designs.

For my part, I never shoot lead, and my reloads are lightly loaded. I am willing to accept the risks that reloading my own ammo implies, but, if you are concerned about a KB, shoot only factory ammo.

[.357SIG]

Check out the April 2000 issue of Handguns magazine. They've got some nice pictures of a blown up SIG 220, Walther P99, and a S&W Airweight revolver. They all had problems with high-pressure cartridges so it doesn't only happen to Glocks.

[Russell92]

a kb can happen in ANY gun. only the .40 glocks have the unsupported chamber and thats because it needs to feed reliably. all you have to do to avoid a kb in a glock is to:
not use lead bullets
don't reload your cases more than 8-10 times
be careful to put the right amount of powder in when reloading
clean your gun after each time you shoot

kbs rarely happen with factory loads and if your careful then you should be fine.

[WalterGAII]

I blew up a perfectly nice Glock 21. Had nothing to do with the design of the Glock; had everything to do with the fact that I was trying to feed .400 Cor-Bons from a hi-cap mag. I fired a round that had jammed on the feedramp. Was using fast powder and heavy bullet...pretty bad combination.

Split the ss aftermarket barrel right through the middle of the locking lugs, all the way out to the muzzle; also another split on the bottom of the barrel out to the muzzle. Another wide split on the ejection-side of the chamber. The slide was pealed back from the front frame slide rail inserts.

Despite the damage to the barrel, nothing flew off the gun and I wasn't hurt, other than my pride.

Glock, being the wonderful company that they are, sold me a brand new G21 for $250, plus taxes. They also sent me back the barrel (for a spare) from my original G21; sent the blown-up barrel back, and returned the 3.5# aftermarket connector that had been in the blown-up gun.

I'm the proud owner of other brands of handguns. I'd doubt, however, if any of the other major companies would do anything in the gunowner's behalf, should the gunowner blow up a gun through his own negligence, as I did.

BTW, I'm still shooting a bunch of .400 Cor-Bon through both my G21 and my 70 Series Gold Cup. However, I have gotten a lot better at it.

[Ben]

Sure... Glock 40's go kB!
Berettas suck unless they're built in Italy, and their locking blocks are always breaking. They also get dirtier than most.
Sig frames crack.
Colt sucks.
Ruger is in bed with the anti's.
HK barrels rust.

Don't believe EVERY rumor you hear. The Glock 40 S&W is just about the most popular firearm for police agencies EVERYWHERE in the USA... They wouldn't adopt them if they were explosive... or would they?

hmm,
Ben

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[Sarge55]

NOPE.........

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DAH BIG DAWG'S ON DUTY

[WESHOOT2]

........and a 1911 does NOT have to be tight to be accurate..........

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"All my ammo is factory ammo"

[BrokenArrow]

Glocks (all guns) do kB. Some, with less case support and thinner chambers (like the Glock 40/357/45) will do it at lower pressure levels, and with more catastrophic results than some with more support and thicker chambers (SIG, HK). That's common sense, not rocket science. BTW, I do know some real rocket scientists, and they agree.

Glocks (and other guns) have kBd catastrophically (ruptured barrels, cracked slides/frames) with factory ammo in well maintained guns too BTW. Injured LEOs too. Contact the Amarillo Texas PD and Bernalillo County Sheriff's Dept (NM)among others.

I don't think it's worth worrying about as much as some do. I wouldn't. Even the guys I mentioned above don't.

Hey Ben, most cops (according to Win, Rem, Fed LE ammo sales) wouldn't have switched to the 147 9mm, and still be using it, if it wasn't the best, would they?

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[petej88]

Getting a good aftermarket barrel for your Glock will hedge the bet in your favor.

As we all know, the standard .40S&W Glock barrel has a very loose chamber (very bad) and a huge unsupported 6 o'clock chamber opening (a very bad combination). This is the most ideal situation for case ruptures which is the typical kaBoom! On the other hand, having a thinner chamber wall should not be a problem unless there is a metallurgy defect, which apparently has happened, according to some people.

Also, the standard Glock barrel uses polygonal rifling, which is really the cherry on top, for causing kB!'s. That's because the bullet is squeezed even tighter than a typical standard rifled barrel. Yes! That means pressures can be even greater! This fact, combined with the loose chamber and unsupported 6 o'clock chamber opening, is absolutely the worst case scenario. This is why a Glock will kB before other gun models using the same defective ammo.

A well built aftermarket barrel for your Glock solves all three of these Glock engineering defects. Yes. Even a good aftermarket barrel can blow with a bad factory load or especially with bad reloads, as will any pistol.

I'm currently using a Glock 35 with KKM barrels and it works perfectly in the feeding departement. One reason for the excellent feeding is because I use 357 Glock magazines that were designed specifically for the 357 SIG. If the magazine does its part correctly, then ramming a 9mm bullet into a 10mm chamber is a piece of cake. And the brass is not brutally destroyed as it is with the standard Glock 35 barrel.

As you can see, I have a little disagreement with "Glock Perfection" engineers when it comes to their barrel development I do wish Glock well and hope that they keep making safety improvements. Giving customers the option of a well supported chamber would be quite helpful

cheers,
pete

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[Gabe Suarez]

Any weapon can have this problem if the ammunition is not of good quality. I own ten Glocks and have never had a problem.

I did have a S&W go "boom" on me once...very exciting, and with factory ammo no less.

On any pistol having polygonal bores (HK, Glock, etc.) I'd stay away from lead ammo. I'd also make sure the ammo was loaded to spec (not some gun show deal). If you can afford it, go with factory ammo. This way, there is a recourse if you have a problem.
If you insist on lead bullets and loading your own, get an aftermarket standard rifling barrel.

I have a good photo of an HK that is broken in two. It wasn't a KB, but its interesting to look at. Its available on the halo group site under newsletter. I think it s isue three - Some Guns Won't Do.

Gabe Suarez
HALO Group http://www.thehalogroup.com