Defects in NYPD handguns

Half subject to jamming

By BOB KAPPSTATTER and ALICE McQUILLAN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS  
More than half of the Police Department's handguns are subject to jam without warning, a potentially dangerous flaw that can leave the weapons as "useless as paperweights," police sources said.
Although the jamming is rare, the NYPD has been concerned enough to order a recall of 24,000 semiautomatic Glock handguns so they can be refitted.

This problem affects the Glock Model 19S - the gun carried by about 60% of the department's 39,000 officers. The flaw, in which the shell casing fails to eject, has only arisen during practice and tests at the NYPD firing range, police officials say.

"Our studies have shown this to be a rare occurrence," said police spokesman Chief Michael Collins. "In the worst-case scenario...we estimated that this has happened only once in 450,000 times when fired."

However, during an actual gun battle in Brooklyn, two Emergency Service Unit officers reported that their Glocks failed. Collins said that after an investigation of the October 2000 incident, ballistics experts said whatever problem those guns had, it was not the jamming malfunction that is the subject of the current recall.

To correct the problem, the Austrian-based Glock company has sent engineers to the NYPD's firing range at Rodmans Neck in the Bronx. Since June, they have repaired 3,200 weapons in a procedure that takes about an hour. Immediately afterward, officers tested the refitted weapons at the range, where the results have been excellent, Collins said. The process will continue until all 24,000 Glocks are fixed, he said.

There is a delay in fixing all the weapons, sources said, because cutbacks and the redeployment of officers to special details have made it difficult for cops to schedule time to have their guns repaired.

Sources also said that some of the Glocks have a different problem - locking. When a gun locks, a user can get it functioning again by removing the clip holding the ammunition and manually moving the slide to eject the stuck shell casing.

In that scenario, the source said, "You can be back in the gun battle in a matter of seconds, as opposed to the total jam where the guns become [as] useless as paperweights."

www.nydailynews.com/08-21-2002/news/local/story/12539p-11863c.html

Understand that MOST handguns are rated for a service life of 30,000-50,000 rounds.  That may help put into perspective this "failure".

It sounds like they're changing out the ejector block.  Note that a great many of the NYPD guns are 1st and 2nd Gen models...

-Troy

Ken,

That's what Lee Factory Crimp Dies are for.

-Troy

From what I understand they're bevelling the ejection posts. That's what I heard from second hand sources. I use a S&W 5946 so I don't have to worry about that crap. My off duty is a G26 though

Quoted: Quoted: Ken, That's what Lee Factory Crimp Dies are for. -Troy I was under the impression that all a factory crimp die did was to crimp the mouth of the case to prevent bullet setback.  I don't think that would do a lot of good in my situation, where the bullet base bulges the case as soon as I seat the bullet.   I guess I could buy another sizing die, remove the decapping pin, and put it in my 4th station as a last step.

You're correct about the rifle version of the FCD, but the pistol version not only crimps, but has a carbide sizing ring that's slightly larger than the one on the standard sizing die.  If your case wasn't stretched or bullet not seated slightly crooked, the FCD sizing ring won't do anything.  But if you have a slight bulge, the FCD will remove it, and will ensure that each and every round chambers properly.

It's basically the same idea as what you said, except that the FCD is optimized for the job.

-Troy