Posted: 7/3/2005 6:10:12 PM EDT
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OK, I've shot about 1000rds through this Glock. Out of the last 300-400 rds I've had a 2 failure to fire incidents. When I ejected the round and examined the primer, notice it had a nice deep dent from the firing pin, however it was lacking the rectangle imprint that I usually see. I then chambered the same round and fired it with no other problems. What could be causing this problem? Thanks BulletTime |
Could be a dirty firing pin channel or a hard primer. What ammo were you using? I had a light strike with a stock striker spring on a S&B round during a USPSA match today. It was easy for me to cure....... slap, rack, bang. After that I switched to my Atlanta Arms Ammuntion (factory remanufactured) and had no more problems. The Atlanta Arms Ammuntion 115gr made a 134 power factor at the chrono today. |
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You may just have a weak striker spring. Or you may need to detail strip the slide and clean it out really well with GunScrubber and or replace the spring cups and spacer sleeve. glockmeister.com/slidedis.shtml |
I did detail strip the slide and firing pin the last time I came home from the range.
I did put a Q-tip coated with oil down the striker channel every time I clean it. That might be the problem, you think? BulletTime |
The only things to get even the slightest bit of oil are indicated in diagram instructions from Glockmeister.  Lubricating the field stripped firearm To properly lubricate your Glock pistol, after it has been thoroughly cleaned and dried, use a clean patch that has been slightly dampened with a quality gun oil. Wipe the barrel, the inside of the slide where the barrel hood rides against the slide and wipe the barrel lug at the bottom of the barrel. Apply one drop to each of the slide rail grooves (once the slide is moved on the receiver, the oil will be distributed to each of the slide rails). The most important drop of oil is placed where the trigger bar and connector meet. Failure to properly lubricate the junction of the trigger bar and connector can lead to premature wear and a very heavy trigger pull. Do not over-lubricate your Glock. Glock pistols are designed to operate properly with only small amounts of lubrication. Over-lubrication can cause the gun to collect large amounts of burnt and unburnt powder, brass shavings, dirt, lint and other foreign matter that can affect the proper functioning of your gun. WARNING Do not put oil inside the firing pin channel, around the extractor, on the breech face, any where near the barrel chamber or feed ramp, nor in the magazine. These areas should be kept clean and free from lubricant. Lubricant in these areas can cause contamination to primers and result in a failure to fire. Dry Firing Glock pistols can be dry fired without damage to the pistol. Do not pull back the lug of the firing pin and let it snap forward when the slide is removed from the receiver. Damage to the firing pin and firing pin safety can occur. |
Not be be a smart ass but I always oil everything on my Glocks including the firing pin and channel and I never have a problem. I was taught to do this by a long time Glock guy who has been shooting Glocks for years and he also has never had a failure because of oil in the firing pin channel. The way we see it is oil ANY metal to metal area to reduce wear. |
Gotm4, thanks for all the info. I'm gonna dry the striker channel out and see if I still have problems. I don't think it is a weak spring because every primer I looked at appeared to look normal except the 2 FTF primers (out of 300-400rds). They were missing the rectangle imprint. |
Well I've probably put somewhere around 75-80K rounds through 14 different Glocks that I've owned.....8 - 9mms, 3 - 45s, a 10mm and 2 - 357s. (I have 3 more on the way from my GSSF wins this year) I've owned and shot Glocks since 1987 and have worn out exactly 1 trigger bar (actually it didn't wear out it cracked). I've broken 3 locking blocks, 5 trigger pins, 3 trigger springs, 4 takedown lever springs. I've worn out 5 striker springs. Broken 2 slide locks, 3 slide lock springs, 4 sets of spring cups, 4 spacer sleeves yet ZERO strikers have worn out on me without lubrication. I never put oil in the firing pin channel, none is needed. On the other hand........... My dad a retired Marine still thinks you need to down load 1911 mags to 5 rounds 'save' the springs. He's wrong but stubborn and won't change. 1000 people can call a dog a horse but that doesn't make them right.  The only 'metal to metal' contact within the firing pin channel is the $1.00 striker spring against the striker. The $2.00 firing pin safety rubs very lightly on the striker and will burr it slightly but won't usually cause either to 'wear' or need lubrication. There is much more contact between the striker spring and the striker but the striker is MUCH harder and will not be harmed by the spring. If you absolutely have to lube them use a dry lube like Tuf-Glide or something out put on and then buff off when it dries. |
| Do not oil the firing pin or the channel. Make sure they are clean and dry. The hits on the primers you describe are due to the primers being hard, or high ie; not seated all the way. The rectangle imprint is made when the round fires and sets back against the breech face. The imprint is from the firing pin hole in the breech face. I'm a Glock armorer and I'm responsible for 25 Glocks and 4 of my own. All the firing pins and firing pin channels are kept clean and dry. Hope this helps. |
Me too. Oil attracts dirt. Dirt and oil make sludge/gunk/mud/glue. Sludge keeps the components in the channel from moving properly. Does your firing pin move freely in the channel? You can always replace the channel liner. And if you've oiled this one a lot, its probably worth doing. |
XM17SBullpup, great post. I was thinking about it all wrong, somehow I thought the firing pin was leaving the rectangle imprint. |
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Hmmmmm, ya got me thinking now. I love oil and probibly oil my guns to much to much. That has never caused me problems with any gun's proper funtion. My Glocks run great with oil in the firing pin channel and never miss a beat with about 300-500 rounds a week. I will try not to oil the firing pin area and see how it goes. How do you guys keep the firing pin channel clean. I blast some type of aerosal "action blaster" break cleaner in there. Then I spray the whole slide down with 91% Isopropal Alcohol to rince it clean of any resadue and the Iso drys fast. Is there a better way of cleaning this area without taking it apart every time you shoot it? |
I'm anal and just detail strip it each time I clean the gun. I clean my Glocks with Slip2000 725 cleaner and then lube with either Militec or Slip2000 gun lube. I clean the channel out with Qtips after letting the cleaner do it's work. |
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Don't use solvent or oil in the area of the firing pin channel. If you use a toothbrush that you've used for cleaning already, there's plenty of solvent left on it. You don't want solvent and oils going into the channel, they attract and hold carbon,brass etc. Wipe the area dry. If you know how to detail strip the slide, do so and blast it out with brake cleaner etc. If you can't, take it to an armorer. Once you clean it out, keep the solvent and oil away from that area. Several years ago, one of my guys,(who had been taught better) was cleaning his S&W 9mm and getting solvent and oil into the firing pin area. The solvent and oil would run down and sit on the primer of his holstered pistol. One night he needed to put a deer down from a vehicle accident. Draw pistol, pull trigger, click. Tap rack, pull trigger, click. This happened 3 times. The fourth round fired. He had been rotating rounds in that magazine, and they had all been rendered inert by the solvent and oil. Lesson learned, and he was lucky. |
Good points. And that's why I use Slip2000 725 cleaner because it isn't a solvent, it's a water based cleaner that will removes all oil, grease and carbon. And it wipes completely dry with a cloth or Q-tips. www.slip2000.com/725.html I buy it in the concentrate because I get it for almost cost $20 per gallon and it's a 4 to 1 mix (just add 4 parts water). I use it on all guns now. It's similar to Simple Green but works better and isn't as concentrated nor as soapy and it's doesn't stink up the house. |
I too use Slip 200o products. The 725 is good stuff! I have only used it in the spray can so far. How do you like it mixing it yourself with water? Ever have a problem with rust? You should look into Mil-Comm products also, they are just like Slip 2000(nontoxic/no smell) and they work great! MC-25 cleaner is just like Mpro7 but MUCH cheeper and more effective! mil-comm makes TW25B grease also. www.mil-comm.com |
No rust problems. I completely dry everything before reassembling it and I properly lube it all up. I use the TW25 grease on my SIGs. |