Range day: Tried out my new Glocks

[Joe K]

Finally got around to trying out my new Gen3 30sf and my new Gen4 19 today. I ran 100 rounds through each without any failures.

I gotta say this though I owned a 19 and a 23 around 2000~2001 (both new since traded off) the one thing I noticed that was really different was how my new Glocks ejected spent brass they barely kick them out some hitting my arm, my shoulder, my older ones would kick them out I remember shooting at Wilbur Wright and apologizing to the shooter's next to me as they would fly several feet.

Anyone else notice this?

All in all I am glad I went back to Glocks I have a 26 that I bought my girlfriend and all three has performed well for me.

 

[Legba]

My gen3 19 and 27 will sling the brass 5-6ft. My gen4 17 not very far at all.

 

[Joe K]

I had heard about the Gen4 not going very far but I was suprised that my Gen3 26 and 30 wasn't kicking them out my old ones really kicked them out I didn't have any problems with it ,it makes me wonder what changed.

 

[mrmech]

gen 4

Hit up one oh the custom parts salesmen at the Indy 1500 show they maybe. Able to solve the wimpy ejection issue on the spot

 

[Hohn]

Wimpy ejection isn't a bad thing. It indicates the RSA is on the strong side for the load.

As long as you don't get a feeding problem from the slide not fully cycling, you have a soft enough spring.

Stiffer springs take some wear on tear off the gun from having the slide bottom out so hard. The dual RSAs on the larger Gen 4s are a big part of why they are better mannered. Rack the slide on a Gen 4 and a Gen 3 full size 9mm or .40 and note that the Gen 4s are stiffer a good bit. Nothing drastic, but it's noticeable.

That pays off in better recoil management, I'd think.


I think you want the stiffest spring that still feeds reliably with the softest-recoiling load you intend to shoot. I believe there were some reports of early Gen 4 G17s and G19s that would FTF with weaker 9mm loads like WWB or American Eagle 115. The rounds didn't kick hard enough to push the slide back all the way and strip a new round from the mag.

After a couple hundred rounds, the springs would relax a little bit a feed more reliably with weaker ammo. One can speed this up by running several mags of +p or +p+ through it and the problems go away.

The flip side with an excessively weak RSA is that the gun will go out of battery prematurely, which can let a lot of hot gas blow back into the gun and hit parts that aren't designed for that kind of exposure. This was pretty common on earlier 10mm Glocks when folks would start shooting the recently-rediscovered full-pressure 10mm loads. The factory spring wasn't a problem shooting 10mm that was basically .40SW power level. But when you step up to Norma pressure ranges and run some hot ammo, that spring was so weak that the slide would come out of battery while the bullet was still in the barrel. Thus, some G20 guys were stepping up to 18# and even 22# springs!

H

 

[slidemuzik]

Finally got around to trying out my new Gen3 30sf and my new Gen4 19 today. I ran 100 rounds through each without any failures...

It's a Glock. What did you expect?
They didn't sell all those pistols on their looks. Congrats on your new sidearms. Hope they continue to serve you well.

 

[Joe K]

Thanks for the feedback Hohn!!

 

[Hohn]

Thanks for the feedback Hohn!!

No problem. I should have mentioned that an excessively strong RSA is like the gun limp-wristing itself. The slide won't fully cycle.

You want as strong as you can go without a feeding problem.


For giggles sometime, get ahold of a G20 and shoot .40SW through a conversion barrel. Even hot .40 loads will piddle out the ejection port-- more like leaking spent cases than ejecting them. This is because the RSA is sized for 10mm, not .40. The "short and weak" doesn't cycle the heavier, stiffer G20 slide as aggressively-- hence the softer ejection.

I would err on the side of too stiff rather than too weak, but that doesn't make me right.

H