# New Glock fails to shoot, any idea?



## JorgeI (Jul 7, 2009)

Hi, I´m new here, hope someone can guide me with this problem.
I bought a new Glock 23 .40. I´m new to Glock, choose it for its known reliability. Fired 4 boxes of different ammo and had 15 failures to fire with a light, off centered, primer strike. Everything looks good, pulled the tiger, no boom. Failures happened also in the first round, manually cycled.
Failure rate:
Magtech (factory) 180 grs failures: 8/50
Gunsmith told me this was very strange and gave 3 boxes to try with a different lot ammo:
Magtech hollow point 180 grs failures: 0/50
Magtech 180 grs: 1/50
Reloaded ammo: 6/50
That´s a 7.5 % failures, way too much, something is wrong. It doesn´t look like an ammo problem, it must be me or the gun. I invited a friend to shoot and have the same problem, but he is not used to firing glocks. It´s my first glock, I haven´t had any problem with other pistols.
Glock Armorers Manual says this could be because a tight extractor, a slide lock reversed or not beveled, an unlocked wrist or a slide slightly out of battery.
I most likely would have to send the G23 back for a repair, but before doing so I would like to be certain that is not a user related problem. 
Someone has any idea of what could be wrong with this new glock? How can I know if the problem is with my shooting or with the gun? Thanks.

Some pics of the primer strike (left one fired, the one on the riht didn´t):


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

Looks to me like something is wrong with your striker. If it's hitting good they will leave a square print with the pointed center in the middle of it. I see that in some of the spent primers but not all of them. Look at the striker and the spring. That's the best place to start I would think. 

You said you bought it new? Take it back with some of those failed cases to look at. Tell them they need to make it right.


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## fkenyon (Apr 14, 2009)

There is definately something wrong! From the lightness of the strikes, I'd guess there's some foriegn matter in the firing pin channel. Bet you're problem is solved if you remove and clean that mechanism.

I've fired a 1000rnds thru my new 17 without even 1 problem of any kind. You are having a VERY unusual experience. 
Let us know how it turns out.


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## SaltyDog (Jan 1, 2009)

DevilsJohnson said:


> Looks to me like something is wrong with your striker. If it's hitting good they will leave a square print with the pointed center in the middle of it. I see that in some of the spent primers but not all of them. Look at the striker and the spring. That's the best place to start I would think.
> 
> You said you bought it new? Take it back with some of those failed cases to look at. Tell them they need to make it right.


+1 DJ and if you look close at the cartridges that did fire it looks like the firing pin is resting against the primer and the cartridge is moving after firing.

Definitely a take back and make it right.

Just curious - did you clean it before firing?


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

I've seen problems like this before, and the cause was related to SaltyDog's last question.

The Glock manual specifies the weapon must be cleaned and lubricated BEFORE it is fired for the first time. I believe this is to remove the anti-rust coating, which may LOOK like oil, but is not necessarily a good lubricant. If a Glock is fired without lube, it may work for a while, but then the slide begins to fail to close all the way after some shots. If the slide is not closed completely after the last shot, when the trigger is pulled for the next shot, some of the striker's energy is redirected to closing/locking the slide the rest of the way, and the amount of energy remaining may not be enough to fire the cartridge; so, the shooter often gets a light primer strike and a misfire. Because the shooter does not know the slide was partially open/unlocked when he pulled the trigger, and when he checks it AFTER the misfire, the slide is closed/locked, the shooter rarely diagnoses the problem/cause/effect correctly. 

I'd recommend cleaning the gun completely, in accordance with the instructions in the manual. Lube it correctly, again, using the manual as a guide. Then re-test it with the same ammunition, making sure you are using a firm grip, high-up on the frame, with your shooting-hand wrist locked (when the gun fires, your entire ARM rises, not just your hand pivoting at the wrist). You don't have to death-grip it, just make sure everything is solid (like a good firm handshake). Please note that Glock says to leave the copper-colored compound on the bottom of the slide in place for the first few firings; don't clean it off, and if you do so accidentally, then add a small smear of lube to this area (but not inside the slide assembly).

If, after implementing the guidance above, the weapon STILL does not function correctly, then send it back to Glock for a checkup. But I think the above will solve the problem, as it has in the past with a few other folks.


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## JorgeI (Jul 7, 2009)

Thanks for you replies. 
Does the primer strike print in the rounds that fired look like a normal glock primer strike? I din´t undestand right what DJ and Salty Dog ment, the ones that did fire look all the same to me.
I was told in the range the problem could be a little pice of polimer from the new frame interfering with the firing pin. As the light strikes look off-centered I would rather think its firing slightly out of battery.
DJ Niner, I didn´t clean the pistol because it was new and had the copper colored lub in it. I have now cleaned and lubricated it by the manual. I will try it with different ammo and let you know.
Have you heard of this problem with a new gun before?


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## SaltyDog (Jan 1, 2009)

*Does the primer strike print in the rounds that fired look like a normal glock primer strike?*

No that is not normal. As stated before it looks like the firing pin was resting against the primer as the cartridge moved leaving a large gash on the primer with brass sticking up. A normal strike will look like the primer of the unfired rounds only with the dimple very close to the center of the primer.

DJ Niner is right - a dirty weapon will cause all type of weird things to happen. I have a Sig P239 new that I even cleaned before first firing and the slide would not lock back after the last round fired. I tried it with an empty mag and it worked fine. Cleaned it again and the problem has went away.

Let us know how it goes after cleaning. You're gonna like that G23 - I sure like mine.

Ahhh! Another 40 S&W fan on the way.:smt023


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## DevilsJohnson (Oct 21, 2007)

I'll wager there's some metal filings in the channel wher the striker is. And the move around not allowing the striker to travel correctly. 

A good cleaning can help. No weapon fired until it is cleaned and lubed...By You. Just because it's new does not mean that they cleaned it out for you. THey make them, pack them so they can travel and not rust. And then you buy them, clean them, lube them, and have fun making them dirty again.:smt023


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

JorgeI said:


> Thanks for you replies.
> Does the primer strike print in the rounds that fired look like a normal glock primer strike?


The fired rounds all look fairly normal to me, given the caliber. What you are seeing on the fired rounds is sometimes called "primer wipe"; it is caused by the slide moving and the barrel beginning to drop down and unlock BEFORE the striker/firing pin can fully retract back into the slide. As the barrel drops, the tip of the striker/firing pin is dragged across the primer by the movement of the barrel in relation to the slide. If you were to mark the case with a felt-tip marker before firing, and check it after firing, the wipe mark will always point up in relation to the case's position in the chamber. Primer Wipe is VERY common with guns chambered in 10mm, fairly common in .40, and sometimes seen in .357 SIG and other calibers, depending on the intensity of the load. I even see it in my 9mm Glocks when I use high-pressure +P loads.



> As the light strikes look off-centered I would rather think its firing slightly out of battery.


Well, it is TRYING to fire out-of-battery, but the disconnector and firing pin block are doing their job of preventing a full hit on the primer because the barrel isn't fully locked into the slide. When the slide is closed far enough, it is firing; when it's not quite closed, you get a partial hit, off-center. The same thing can happen with poorly assembled reloaded ammunition, but for a different reason; if the bullet is too far forward in the case, it will prevent the round from going all the way into the chamber, the barrel will stop before it fully locks into the slide, and you'll get the same problem and symptoms.



> DJ Niner, I didn´t clean the pistol because it was new and had the copper colored lub in it. I have now cleaned and lubricated it by the manual. I will try it with different ammo and let you know.
> Have you heard of this problem with a new gun before?


Yes, it's common enough that I hear about it semi-regularly on another web site for Glock fans. A good cleaning and lube takes care of the problem in most cases; the rest of the time, it's a combination of operator error and/or poor quality ammo (bargain-basement gun-show reloads, usually).


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## JorgeI (Jul 7, 2009)

Thanks you all. DJ niner, you where crystal clear.
I hope it´s cause is a limp-wrist, I could resolve it after a few shooting sessions.
So the possible causes are:
Limp wrist: My problem to resolve.
Lack of cleaning and lubricating: Done
Poblem with the gun:
Something interfering with the firin pin
Tight extractor
Other

I´ll shoot some boxes this weekend, trying to firmly lock my wrists and ask some well capacitad to try it. I hope the problem resolves or at least decreases. If not I´ll send it back. 
I´ll post the outcome.


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## JorgeI (Jul 7, 2009)

Thanks for your ideas. Although it is new I cleaned and lubricated it by the manual. I went to the range today with 2 boxes of Winchester 180 grs and two of magtech 180 grs (different lot from the one that failed). I tried to correctly lock my wrist. Result: I didn´t have any failure!
I hope the problem is gone, I´ll try it some more.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

:smt023

Sounds like you're good-to-go! Enjoy that Glock!


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## mike310 (Jan 3, 2008)

Your dirty problem is gone. Thats why glock asks that we clean them good first.


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## SMann (Dec 11, 2008)

Glock says for the owner to only field strip their weapon. Kind of hard to remove any debris in the firing pin channel only breaking it down that far. I chose to detail strip mine and found some little pieces of something in there upon inspection. The debris was keeping the striker from moving freely in it's channel. Taking it completely apart, cleaning, lubricating and reassembling the weapon let me know there was nothing in there that was going to interfere with proper operation. Based on my experience I recommend a detail strip (performed by a certified Glock armorer of course) for new Glocks before they are used for any kind of personal protection.


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