[MoNsTeR]

So during the last stage of last Sunday's match, I started shooting way left all of a sudden. Like, a foot left at 15 yards. I chalked it up to it being the end of the day after a full weekend of shooting, took my licks in the form of several Mikes and No-shoots and went on my way. Then at today's match, the left-ness continued. An entire day of plugging No-shoots and having to aim clear to the right of poppers and I was convinced I'd somehow managed to bump my sights (Heinie/CGR) out of whack or somehow re-developed a newbie's trigger flinch.

Welllll I'm putting together my practice gear for a trip to the range to test my sights and so on, and I notice a crack, vertical down the far edge of the ejection port just to the right of the serial number, all the way through. No wonder it stopped shooting straight! I guess it's a testament to the strength of the design that it kept working at all.

I'm sure I'll get more than one scolding to the effect that I brought this on myself shooting N310 under 147's, but in my defense I bought the gun used from another competitive shooter with no idea of how many rounds it's seen.

At any rate, anyone know what kind of traction I can get with Glock in terms of repairing my poor baby? I assume I ought to remove my custom sights and any other aftermarket parts before even thinking about sending it in...

[RangeHooligan]

Monster, I had this same thing happen to me a few years back except the crack was on the left side of the slide, opposite the ejection port. It's a crazy sensation to know your shot execution is correct and your missing a target by about 6 feet! I did the same thing and started inspecting my sights and was able to see the crack on the slide. Glock finally replaced the entire pistol after having it for several months. I know of other shooters at our club that have had the same experience and they also had Glock replace their pistol or provide them with a slide replacement. You might want to give them a call and see what they can do for you. Admitting to having shot reloaded ammo may void your pistols warranty. Definitely take off all of your add ons before sending it in. Good Luck.

[Pharaoh Bender]

GLock is a VERY reasonable company. Give them a call today and see what they can do for you.

[Bacon]

I'm sure Glock will stand behind their product. Let us know how You make out.

[Bill Nesbitt]

We had a G-17 slide crack like that. I handed it to Chris Edwards at the IDPA Nationals and 2 weeks later we had a new slide.

[dirty whiteboy]

Cracked a 17 in the same place, Glock put a new slide on free of charge. Your load isn't an issue.
Just a note, the only Glocks that seem to have held up well for me has been the G-21. The G-20 also, but have not put that many rds through one.

[MemphisMechanic]

Local shooter did the exact same thing. Nothing but 100k of reloads at minor PF were fed to it. No factory ammo. Don't mention it, and it'll be a non-issue.

They'll replace the slide, and all of your parts will come back in a plastic bag - gun rebuilt with factory parts. Hope you have better luck than him in one way: Two weeks after getting his 34 back, the left-rear rail/lug ripped out of the frame. Had to send it back again, and get a new frame.

So now he's one G34 barrel away from an entirely new pistol.

This post has been edited by MemphisMechanic: 01 June 2009 - 10:51 PM

[Lars]

I've never heard of so many problems. Was there a certain batch that failed?

[Cy Soto]

Lars, on Jun 3 2009, 04:17 PM, said:

I've never heard of so many problems. Was there a certain batch that failed?

IMO I don't think that these cracked slides can be traced to a particular batch of pistols. Both the G17 and the G34 are incredibly popular firearms. When you consider how many of these have been sold over the years and how few have failed, we have to conclude that this sort of problem is really not a common occurrence.

[Nik Habicht]

Lars, on Jun 3 2009, 06:17 PM, said:

I've never heard of so many problems. Was there a certain batch that failed?

This is nothing more than unsubstantiated theory --- but I think that if you look at a Three pin G-34 and a Two pin G-34, you'll notice that the new locking block changes where force is transferred to the slide during cycling. That may indicate that two pin guns are more likely to crack slides or it may indicate nothing of the sort --- I'm not an engineer....

The guns are not only hugely popular --- as Cy alluded to --- but in the hands of competitive shooters also get shot a lot. Both of those factors will probably drive up the number of anecdotes you'll hear of cracked slides.....

[Lars]

I totally agree. If lets say there are 5 times as many Glocks and only a quarter of the problems that would be good.

[MemphisMechanic]

The 34 that failed WAS a 3-pin gun.

It's just plain a gun that had a crapload of rounds shot through it for about a decade. It's eventually going to break, and the factory fixed it for free. I see zero cause for surprise, or alarm.

[MoNsTeR]

I just spoke with Glock and they said send it in and we'll fix you up.

I'll take some pictures before I ship it off.

[Flexmoney]

BOO-YAH!

[RangeHooligan]

Outstanding! Glock comes through once again. Definitely, among the reasons why we shoot em.

[9x45]

I've busted 3 G17's in the same location. Weird, but true.. Glock always replaces them. All of them were running 4.4 grains of TiteGroup behind a 115 FMJ at 1.155" OAL and failed between 50K and 75K. Dave Sevigney told me it may be a little to warm. Changed to 4.0 grains, thinking about going to 3.2 grains....

This post has been edited by 9x45: 10 June 2009 - 07:03 PM

[MoNsTeR]

Here's a view of where I first noticed it.
 assembled.jpg (173.15K)
Number of downloads: 295

The crack is a little harder to see from this angle, but you can see the mark on the rail where it hits the locking block.
 underside.jpg (61.1K)
Number of downloads: 213

This shot shows the crack very well, plus the locking block mark on the left rail. It's hard to see by comparing the two pics, but the right side mark is MUCH more pronounced, suggesting the slide was hitting the locking block unevenly.
 right_unas.jpg (84.97K)
Number of downloads: 232

And one more view from the top.
 top.jpg (35.58K)
Number of downloads: 146

[fritzthemoose]

Did you ever shoot Hirtenberger rounds with it by any chance? If yes that might be the reason although I dont know if they got ever sold in the US

[dirty whiteboy]

9x45, on Jun 10 2009, 10:00 PM, said:

I've busted 3 G17's in the same location. Weird, but true.. Glock always replaces them. All of them were running 4.4 grains of TiteGroup behind a 115 FMJ at 1.155" OAL and failed between 50K and 75K. Dave Sevigney told me it may be a little to warm. Changed to 4.0 grains, thinking about going to 3.2 grains....

TG also seems to heat up a slide pretty easy. I don't know if it would be enough to cause the problem though.

[Noah Gladstone]

My G34 slide just cracked at the ejection port. It happened during a local match causing the gun to lock up. When we got the slide open I noticed the crack in the slide. It is an early G34 I got it when they first came out. I have about 100,000 rounds of production loads though it. Never put any heavy loads though it. I was shocked. I am sending it back to Glock for replacement.

Noah

[SA Friday]

100,000 rounds on a slide is damn good. You are getting to the end of the life expectancy of the gun at that point. Some might get more, some might get less, but most semi auto production guns are manufacturered with a life expectancy of about 60k. Realistically, that is a huge margin, a lifetime of shooting, for the average shooter. USPSA shooters are not average.

Personally, I think it's a huge testiment to manufacturers willingess to back their product when they fix a cracked slide for free. I also think it's a huge testiment to the manufacturers product when it survives 100,000 rounds of any ammo. The violence committed to the metal on each firing sequence is extreme even at minor levels.

Oh ya, stuff breaks....

[BR]

I think we need a statistical analysis to determine whether there is a significant correlation between people named "Noah" and cracked glock slides.
-br

[MemphisMechanic]

joker22, on Jun 15 2009, 07:25 PM, said:

People named "Noah" and cracked glock slides.
-br

Okay. That's just damned weird.

[crabby]

A number of guys at our club shoot Glocks ... and I've never heard of a single problem. I have put about 50K through a G-34 ... and nearly that through a G-35. But I suppose when most any pistol gets to 75K ... or approaches 10 years of heavy use ... problems may occur.

The great news is that Glock will repair virtually anything ... regardless of whether or not they are at fault. Sadly, I know this from personal experience (enought sad).

[MoNsTeR]

Got it back today. The replacement slide is the newer style with the relocated lightening cut. On top of that, it looks like the rest of the internal parts (except for the barrel and locking block pin) were replaced as well, just for the heck of it I guess. Gotta give Glock USA two thumbs up for service!