First Malfunction Ever Glock 43x

kilotanker22 · May 16, 2022, 07:50 AM

Testing a new bullet for 9mm defensive ammunition this past weekend. Loaded some 125 grain Sierra V-Crown to test in all my 9mm guns.

I have put well over a thousand rounds through this Glock, and a couple thousand through my other Glock 43x. To my surprise, I had my first failure to feed ever with these two guns. Weird too, it was as though the cartridge tilted down into the mag at the front and the edge of the hollow point hung up on the magazine or feeding ramp. Pulled slide back and released and watched it go into battery without a problem. I fired two more mags through that gun and could not replicate the failure. For now, I am chocking this up to a fluke. One failure to feed in several thousand shots is ok.

cslinger · May 16, 2022, 08:09 AM

You hand loaded the rounds. Could be any little tiny thing you may have gotten out of spec or they don’t like that particular projectile or the projectiles had a bad batch etc. etc. etc.

I would not worry unless you are able to load the same batch with repeatable results or you see the issue repeatably with factory ammo.

What is the RSA change schedule on the 43/43x models?

Siggy-06 · May 16, 2022, 08:09 AM

I've noticed over the years that most malfuctions in my pistols are due to certain hollowpoint shapes. I use mostly hornady critical duty/defense because it'll feed in all of my pistols 100%. Thanks for the testing though of the v-crown.

kilotanker22 · May 16, 2022, 09:51 PM

I am not too concerned with a single failure to feed. Especially after the guns have proven themselves. Using a new bullet is what I find to be the likely culprit. Either way, it was only one malfunction in one pistol out of a few hundred shots with the new load.

stinkeypete · May 17, 2022, 09:10 AM

It’s a machine, not magic. You tried a new bullet and the result was a failure.

It’s an interesting problem in statistics: how many rounds must you test to eliminate that single change as the source of your problem?

As a general guideline, something like the square root of the final number must be sampled. If your target is “only one failure in a million shots”, once you get no failures in a thousand shots, it’s a pretty good test. Or bet.

If you don’t have any failures in 100 shots, chances are pretty good you won’t have one in 10,000.

Perhaps it was the bullet shape interacting with the magazine lips and the feed ramp.

Or maybe you’ve got one failure in 6,000 rounds which means that your gun is reliable to something like 1 out of 6,000 or as much as 1 out of 36 million. Somewhere between there is pretty safe to say.

Buy a lotto ticket, friend. You’ve got pretty good fortune.

reynolds357 · May 17, 2022, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kilotanker22

Testing a new bullet for 9mm defensive ammunition this past weekend. Loaded some 125 grain Sierra V-Crown to test in all my 9mm guns.

I have put well over a thousand rounds through this Glock, and a couple thousand through my other Glock 43x. To my surprise, I had my first failure to feed ever with these two guns. Weird too, it was as though the cartridge tilted down into the mag at the front and the edge of the hollow point hung up on the magazine or feeding ramp. Pulled slide back and released and watched it go into battery without a problem. I fired two more mags through that gun and could not replicate the failure. For now, I am chocking this up to a fluke. One failure to feed in several thousand shots is ok.

My Glock 43x runs perfect with Shield mags. It won't shoot anything but +p with factory mags.

jonnyc · May 17, 2022, 08:36 PM

Up to 5344 rounds through my 43X...all factory ball, HST, or Gold Dot, using both Shield and OEM mags. I don't recall a single glitch. I think I'll probably do a preventative rebuild at 10000-12000 rounds.

reynolds357 · June 5, 2022, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kilotanker22

Testing a new bullet for 9mm defensive ammunition this past weekend. Loaded some 125 grain Sierra V-Crown to test in all my 9mm guns.

I have put well over a thousand rounds through this Glock, and a couple thousand through my other Glock 43x. To my surprise, I had my first failure to feed ever with these two guns. Weird too, it was as though the cartridge tilted down into the mag at the front and the edge of the hollow point hung up on the magazine or feeding ramp. Pulled slide back and released and watched it go into battery without a problem. I fired two more mags through that gun and could not replicate the failure. For now, I am chocking this up to a fluke. One failure to feed in several thousand shots is ok.

My 43x is an odd ball. With factory mags, it will only shoot +p reliably. With Shield mags, it will run any trash you feed it.

kilotanker22 · June 6, 2022, 05:09 PM

Never had any other issues with it. This 43x has cycled everything.

claydoctor · June 22, 2022, 12:59 PM

Had an interesting experience once with my Model 23. Was shooting at an outdoor range with a friend. Was on my last magazine and after what seemed like I had shot a full mag, the slide locked back. I dropped the slide and removed the empty mag. Before putting it away, I pointed it at the side berm and pulled the trigger, BLAM! My buddy looked over and said, "Did you mean to do that?" Not really was my sheepish reply.
For some reason, the Glock decided to lock back, with the last round sitting on top of the magazine and assuming it was empty, I dropped the slide, without looking at the chamber. Pulling out an empty magazine, reinforced my impression that the gun was empty.
It emphasized to me, that even though I had been around guns all my life and considered myself safety conscious, one can still make a mistake. Good thing I did follow the rule about never pointing a gun at anything you don't want to destroy. I know my buddy was glad I remembered it.

May 16, 2022, 07:50 AM	#1
kilotanker22 Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2012 Location: North Central, PA Posts: 2,117	First Malfunction Ever Glock 43x Testing a new bullet for 9mm defensive ammunition this past weekend. Loaded some 125 grain Sierra V-Crown to test in all my 9mm guns. I have put well over a thousand rounds through this Glock, and a couple thousand through my other Glock 43x. To my surprise, I had my first failure to feed ever with these two guns. Weird too, it was as though the cartridge tilted down into the mag at the front and the edge of the hollow point hung up on the magazine or feeding ramp. Pulled slide back and released and watched it go into battery without a problem. I fired two more mags through that gun and could not replicate the failure. For now, I am chocking this up to a fluke. One failure to feed in several thousand shots is ok. __________________ “We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace. Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace. – St. Augustine

May 16, 2022, 08:09 AM	#2
cslinger Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2002 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 2,045	You hand loaded the rounds. Could be any little tiny thing you may have gotten out of spec or they don’t like that particular projectile or the projectiles had a bad batch etc. etc. etc. I would not worry unless you are able to load the same batch with repeatable results or you see the issue repeatably with factory ammo. What is the RSA change schedule on the 43/43x models? __________________ "Is there anyway I can write my local gun store off on my taxes as dependents?"

May 16, 2022, 08:09 AM	#3
Siggy-06 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2014 Location: Florida Posts: 1,148	I've noticed over the years that most malfuctions in my pistols are due to certain hollowpoint shapes. I use mostly hornady critical duty/defense because it'll feed in all of my pistols 100%. Thanks for the testing though of the v-crown. __________________ Flicks just like a lighter, just a different kind of fire.

May 16, 2022, 09:51 PM	#4
kilotanker22 Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2012 Location: North Central, PA Posts: 2,117	I am not too concerned with a single failure to feed. Especially after the guns have proven themselves. Using a new bullet is what I find to be the likely culprit. Either way, it was only one malfunction in one pistol out of a few hundred shots with the new load. __________________ “We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace. Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace. – St. Augustine

May 17, 2022, 09:10 AM	#5
stinkeypete Senior Member Join Date: July 22, 2010 Location: Madison, Wisconsin Posts: 1,292	It’s a machine, not magic. You tried a new bullet and the result was a failure. It’s an interesting problem in statistics: how many rounds must you test to eliminate that single change as the source of your problem? As a general guideline, something like the square root of the final number must be sampled. If your target is “only one failure in a million shots”, once you get no failures in a thousand shots, it’s a pretty good test. Or bet. If you don’t have any failures in 100 shots, chances are pretty good you won’t have one in 10,000. Perhaps it was the bullet shape interacting with the magazine lips and the feed ramp. Or maybe you’ve got one failure in 6,000 rounds which means that your gun is reliable to something like 1 out of 6,000 or as much as 1 out of 36 million. Somewhere between there is pretty safe to say. Buy a lotto ticket, friend. You’ve got pretty good fortune. __________________ My book "The Pheasant Hunter's Action Adventure Cookbook" is now on Amazon. Tall tales, hunting tips, butchering from bird to the freezer, and recipes. Last edited by stinkeypete; May 17, 2022 at 09:16 AM.

May 17, 2022, 08:36 PM	#7
jonnyc Senior Member Join Date: July 20, 2009 Location: PA Posts: 1,731	Up to 5344 rounds through my 43X...all factory ball, HST, or Gold Dot, using both Shield and OEM mags. I don't recall a single glitch. I think I'll probably do a preventative rebuild at 10000-12000 rounds. __________________ 2024 PA Cartridge Collector Show; Aug. 16-17, 2024!!! Buy...Sell...Trade All Types of Ammunition & Ordnance PM or email me for 2024 show details.

June 6, 2022, 05:09 PM	#9
kilotanker22 Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2012 Location: North Central, PA Posts: 2,117	Never had any other issues with it. This 43x has cycled everything. __________________ “We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace. Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace. – St. Augustine

June 22, 2022, 12:59 PM	#10
claydoctor Senior Member Join Date: August 26, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 450	Had an interesting experience once with my Model 23. Was shooting at an outdoor range with a friend. Was on my last magazine and after what seemed like I had shot a full mag, the slide locked back. I dropped the slide and removed the empty mag. Before putting it away, I pointed it at the side berm and pulled the trigger, BLAM! My buddy looked over and said, "Did you mean to do that?" Not really was my sheepish reply. For some reason, the Glock decided to lock back, with the last round sitting on top of the magazine and assuming it was empty, I dropped the slide, without looking at the chamber. Pulling out an empty magazine, reinforced my impression that the gun was empty. It emphasized to me, that even though I had been around guns all my life and considered myself safety conscious, one can still make a mistake. Good thing I did follow the rule about never pointing a gun at anything you don't want to destroy. I know my buddy was glad I remembered it.