User Panel
Posted: 5/5/2024 9:41:13 AM EST
Quick back story and steps I have been through as this could be a bit upsetting.
G-19, Gen2 made probably between 1993-1997 or so. Was a New York state/City police pistol acquired through aimsurplus-my FFL in about 2012. As my CCW, training pistol and go to for 10+ years, it's been rock solid, until now. At the range, I usually pull it "as-is" and run 4 rounds through it just as it would have been if I had to use it. HST-147's in a factory 15 rnd mag. Recently, first round fired then stove pipped. I turned white as ghost as i had been carrying it for 4 weeks. The stove pipe was a perfect vertical shell stoppage. Happened several times that day with various ammunition after that. Bought a brand new factory main spring and installed it. Next range trip, had the exact same scenario happen from a cold fire with the same ammo. Then I could get the failure to reoccur with that specific mag. I tossed the mag. But haven't rebuilt the confidence on the gun. Last two trips, it has not had that stove pipe issue BUT has locked back mid-magazine. To the point of, I thought it was empty and with 3 different magazines, the pistol still had rounds but flat out did feed the rounds. It looked like the rounds were sitting below the extractor? I really like the Gen2 as a carry but I've lost all confidence in the pistol. I've got probably 20k rounds through it since 2012, I would suspect. I am 6'4 with long skinny fingers and bigger hands but the G19-G2 feels good. My shooting partner says throw it away. I've lost confidence and now not sure is there a mechanical issue going on or other? Is it something I am doing or other? |
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Change all the springs if you haven’t done so. 20k rounds is a lot of wear on them.
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The first failure was most likely mag related.
The second failure where it locked back was most likely your hand placement, though it could be a bad slide stop spring. Realistically I would send it into Glock and get some warranty service. They will inspect the gun and replace any worn parts and upgrade old parts as needed. While there, I’d buy another Glock 19 or clone. Everyone needs at least two Glock 19s. Guns need occasional service/parts, and when they do they start to have malfunctions. Yours probably does. 20k is a lot of rounds. That said the “bones” of the gun (slide, barrel, frame) are probably as good as the day they were manufactured. |
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Yep that’s a lot of rounds on the ol
Girl. Send to Glock for a refresh and buy a gen5 to carry. Same feel just new and shiny. |
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I am not an armorer, but my guess would be the slide stop release springs going bad. The spring tension is constantly pushing the lever down out of the way of the notch on the slide, and should only be overcome by the magazine follower. After all, it’s a 30 year old police trade-in. Think of all the times that the slide stop release has been activated.
I would replace it, and if that doesn’t correct the problem, I would send it back to Glock. |
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I agree on replace all springs. Also, I would detail strip it, inspect the extractor and ejector, and clean the inside of the slide really well.
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Quoted: Change all the springs if you haven’t done so. 20k rounds is a lot of wear on them. View Quote The amount of cheese that had accumulated around my extractor and in the firing pin channel after 25k rounds on my Glock was impressive. Break it down, deep-clean the frame and slide, inspect stuff for breakage. OP needs to realize that springs are wear items and while Glocks need less love than most guns, they do need it once in a while. New recoil spring (every 10 k rounds! they're $8 ea.). Extractor spring, slide release spring are optional but probably a good idea, and while one is in there, might as well change out the disconnector and firing pin springs too. |
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Great feedback. As an engineer, I struggle with “throw it away”. Most machines can be rebuilt.
Peace of mind is probably what I am also looking for. I’m ordering a few parts today I’ve got: #20/21 Slide lock Slide lock spring #27 Slide stop lever What else could/should I replace? Shipping back to Glock sounds good and all but I don’t have the knowledge to go to oat office and ship a pistol. Is there another method preferred? I’m in Palm beach county Florida. |
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I would replace the recoil spring as well and maybe the striker assembly.
I’ve never sent anything back to Glock, probably have to call them and set it up and then have your ffl ship it to them. |
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Buy a spring replacement kit. I really like Gen 2 as well, they just need maintenance at this point. Totally normal.
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Quoted: I would replace the recoil spring as well and maybe the striker assembly. I’ve never sent anything back to Glock, probably have to call them and set it up and then have your ffl ship it to them. View Quote You can ship directly to Glock for service/repair. Call them to set it up. OP, first thoughts are as others pointed out, time for refresher on springs, LCI bearing, good cleaning if the breach face and extractor channel. Check the extractor for damage and clean it well, check your striker and firing pin block for peening, replace your slide stop lever. If you send it to Glock to have it serviced, they'll do all of the above and replace any components they see with issues while they are in there, and they will do it for way less than the cost of you buying the parts yourself. |
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When was the last time you detail stripped the slide and cleaned out the striker channel and extractor?
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The vertical stovepipe was most likely magazine feed lip wear. You remedied that with a new mag.
Locking open mid mag(or conversely failure to lock back) is almost always a thumb interference issue. I had a friend that had that as a chronic issue with his 19 that developed over time as his grip and focus changed. His right thumb was riding his left in a thumbs forward grip and too close to the gun. Your sudden onset could simply be due to the anxiety caused by the bad mag causing you to grip differently. Record yourself shooting to see if you can catch it. The gun definitely needs to be detail stripped(simplicity itself) and deep cleaned. Oil, carbon and belly button lint can migrate into the gun over time. We had a case where an officer's Glock misfired during a gunfight. At the range it kept doing it. A detail strip revealed a compacted wad of dried oil, grease, carbon and lint behind the breech face stopping the striker. Plus 1 on training for clearing jams. Your specific issue aside, most autoloader stoppages are operator induced, often due to the surprise and speed of violent encounters resulting in fouled grips, misplaced support hands, or simply firing the gun while it is unsupported due to a body position or movement that essentially floats the gun in zero G. This was recently illustrated in the video of the Brazilian motorcycle cop shooting a guy in the taint. |
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Recently, first round fired then stove pipped. I turned white as ghost as i had been carrying it for 4 weeks. View Quote When you got that stove pipe malfunction you should have been able to clear that malfunction and continue shooting like nothing had happened, not even a burp in your focused aggression application. Clear the malfunction quickly and continue to press the the fight. It sounds like you did nothing about this real time. I would suggest training with that G19 specifically to do malfunction drills. Learn the steps to clear different malfunctions and practice until you can do it in your sleep. Then replace the springs and fix it. If you have a mag or 2 that induces malfunctions, label it so you dont carry it, and use those mags for malfunction drills for continuing malfunction training. If you ever have to use your weapon to defend yourself and your family, you need to be confident on malfunction clearing because once the shooting starts, you can't just take a time out because you have a failure to feed or a stove pipe. Those are essential skills. Confidence in your weapon is important but no mechanical device will work perfectly especially in adverse conditions, confidence in your ability to use that weapon under all circumstance and getting it back in the fight is more essential than confidence in your weapon. |
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Quoted: It certainly is. If you froze and went white when it happened, that is very bad juju. Tap-rack-bang needs to be automatic. As you side step. Much great advice above also. View Quote train tap-rack-bang a lot, I've done it at the range when I didn't even realize I was doing it, so that's a good habit to learn. also it's a wear item with other wear items inside it. Replace what needs it, then move on with life. |
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If you can get a G19 carry piece and another to train with. Train with one and carry the other after it is broken in. A gun with 20,000 rounds in it is going to be prone to parts breakage or wear. If you are spending $4800 on 20,000 rounds you can buy another $500 Glock.
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The easy button if you are unable to send direct to Glock is to get the return label from Glock, go to your trusted gun store, have them enter into the gunsmith log, ship to Glock and when it returns, released to you via the log, no 4473.
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Quoted: I would replace the recoil spring as well and maybe the striker assembly. I’ve never sent anything back to Glock, probably have to call them and set it up and then have your ffl ship it to them. View Quote Recoil spring, every 5-10k rounds. They're cheap. And they stop the slide from making contact with the frame of the gun, which breaks other stuff. And no, gucci metal recoil springs don't make the spring itself last longer. The shorter the spring, the shorter the life btw, so on a PPK quality springs last about 3-6k before the slide contacts the frame, and other micros are probably around the same. You can generally UPS or Fedex a firearm directly to a manufacturer. Without a RMA number they're guaranteed to lose it when they receive it though. |
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Quoted: If you can get a G19 carry piece and another to train with. Train with one and carry the other after it is broken in. A gun with 20,000 rounds in it is going to be prone to parts breakage or wear. If you are spending $4800 on 20,000 rounds you can buy another $500 Glock. View Quote Great thread. Lots of fantastic advice which I will take action on shortly. It's not about the money. I've got a 48 and a 19-G5 with RMR too. |
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I've had a slide stop lever spring break and the gun did exactly what yours is doing. Premature lockback while firing. If you lift the slide stop lever and release it does it snap back down?
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I would change all the springs or send to Glock, they’ll do it. I have a gen 2 17 1996 era with over 30k rnds and only replaced the rsa a couple times, runs like a Swiss watch.
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Quoted: I've had a slide stop lever spring break and the gun did exactly what yours is doing. Premature lockback while firing. If you lift the slide stop lever and release it does it snap back down? View Quote Not so much a snap but a slow soft spring down. Pushed out the pin and it semi fell out. Attached File Is it supposed to be that curved and bendy? Gen2. I’ll order a new slide stop and spring combo. Anyone got a good link to the actual part? Midway or other? |
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Quoted: Not so much a snap but a slow soft spring down. Pushed out the pin and it semi fell out. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/32390/IMG_7267_jpeg-3207433.JPG Is it supposed to be that curved and bendy? Gen2. I'll order a new slide stop and spring combo. Anyone got a good link to the actual part? Midway or other? View Quote Also, make sure the slide stop lever goes in AFTER the locking block so the spring pushes the lever down. |
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It's the right shape, but it looks like the tip may have broken off. In this pic, the top one has the broken spring. The gun exhibited premature lockback when the spring broke. These are Vickers slide stop levers, by the way. I've never broken an OEM one.
Attached File |
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Since you’re replacing it, might as well upgrade to the Glock factory extended slide stop..
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New OEM slide lever and spring will be here Monday.
Very odd question, can I remove the original today and will the pistol run without it? I’m trying to figure out why it wouldn’t? |
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The only concern I would have is that the trigger pin is secured by the slide stop lever so it may walk out.
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It might, but obviously it won't lock open on empty. Won't lock open at all, in fact. Might need it to. Also, on the gen2, the lever helps lock the trigger pin in place.
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New springs, it’ll be like new again.
Don’t forget to change out mag springs if their original Add: I have two of those G19’s that Aim sold from NYPD trades. I think that was 2014-15 I wanna say. Gen 2’s. Mine are AFLxxx and APExxx which places them early 90’s timeframe if memory serves |
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@dalle0001 wild and i've never seen anything like it on a pistol. I didn't run it without the slide lever as the new one came but:
Tossed the suspect mag then replaced the slide lever and spring with new in wrapper. The pistol was MUCH stiffer using the thumb, as can be imagined. Then I swear I thought a swapped out to a new recoil spring and guide rod. Ran 100 rounds through it, no problem Then problem: About 75 rounds in, my guide rod spring goes flying out of the front of the pistol and the guide rod is sticking out the end of the pistol! I was semi-horrified and lmao at the same time. Had a AIM new in wrapper guide rod and spring in my back and installed that on the spot. Ran well for the rest of the day, ~150 rounds. Now do I have a gremlin pistol or is it good? That is the real question. (I am resistant to shipping back to glock just with logistics and time.) Most of my gear, holsters, carry stuff is all built around my Gen2 so that's also a pause from swapping out the pistol with just an off the shelf Gen5 etc. Thoughts? |
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If I were you, I would have bought a Gen 5 a month ago. Good luck OP.
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Replace the small parts/ springs and you’re gtg.
Glock has 600k on a 17 so you should be good at 20k.. |
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Quoted: If I were you, I would have bought a Gen 5 a month ago. Good luck OP. View Quote Same thing here. OP, if you question the reliability of your carry gun even after replacing parts, retire that thing and get a gen 5. I can’t think of anything that works with the gen 2 that won’t work with the gen 5 other than internal parts. Holsters and mags will be compatible and you will even be able to mount a light. Get the gen 5 and retire the gen 2. |
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Quoted: Same thing here. OP, if you question the reliability of your carry gun even after replacing parts, retire that thing and get a gen 5. I can’t think of anything that works with the gen 2 that won’t work with the gen 5 other than internal parts. Holsters and mags will be compatible and you will even be able to mount a light. Get the gen 5 and retire the gen 2. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: If I were you, I would have bought a Gen 5 a month ago. Good luck OP. Same thing here. OP, if you question the reliability of your carry gun even after replacing parts, retire that thing and get a gen 5. I can’t think of anything that works with the gen 2 that won’t work with the gen 5 other than internal parts. Holsters and mags will be compatible and you will even be able to mount a light. Get the gen 5 and retire the gen 2. Gen 3-4 holsters set up for the rail will work w/ the Gen 2 non-railed dustcover? |
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When I bought my gen.4 G22 several years ago, the spring did the same thing after vy little use.
Glock sent out a new rsa immediately, free-of-charge. |
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I’ve got a gen5mos with red dot and no light I’ll test with holsters tomorrow afternoon?
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Send back to Glock and have them rework it for free then see if you still have problems.
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When you say guide rod and spring, do you mean OEM recoil spring assembly, or aftermarket guide rod and spring?
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Glock will replace every part on the gun except the slide, frame, and barrel. They will also replace any mags you send with it. For free. When you get it back, concentrate on keeping your hand away from the slide stop lever. Shoot 500 rounds through it to test reliability. I bet this will cure your issue and restore your confidence in the gun.
Just be aware your milled extractor will be replaced with a mim extractor (this bothers some people) |
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