One for the Bravos

[neecheepure]

Gents,

Got a Glock model 21 SF .45 caliber that "blew up" in a guy's hands while shooting Blazer CCI ammo. I've seen the gun (pic is attached) and the hands in question; both are pretty chewed up.

Question is, is this something you all have seen before with Glocks? With Blazer ammo? Is this being addressed with these companies? Advice for my buddy for getting his weapon replaced by Glock or Blazer?

Thanks in advance from a humble Delta.

[Stingray]

I am not a Bravo, so hopefully I am not out of my lane.
I have used a Dept. Issued Glock 21 in Gen 2 and Gen 3 putting thousands of rounds through them with no problems. We have never used Blazer or the Gen 4 SF model. So i would reason it is a Gen 4 or ammo issue if not an individual weapon defect. Glock has treated us well with backing their product as well. If you would like a contact at Glock, pm me. I Will Check with our armorer and find you one.
Sincerely,

[BOfH]

My understanding(and limited experience) is that Blazer cases are aluminum, which can crack easily under stress, my uneducated guess would be over pressure(powder overload) or the cases were reloaded(Blazer CCI cases are marked "not reloadable").


My .0002, FWIW...

v/r
BOfH

[Dusty]

google Glock kb.

[koz]

Originally Posted by neecheepure

Gents,

Got a Glock model 21 SF .45 caliber that "blew up" in a guy's hands while shooting Blazer CCI ammo. I've seen the gun (pic is attached) and the hands in question; both are pretty chewed up.

Question is, is this something you all have seen before with Glocks? With Blazer ammo? Is this being addressed with these companies? Advice for my buddy for getting his weapon replaced by Glock or Blazer?

Thanks in advance from a humble Delta.

Every pistol manufacturer has had a kaboom or mechanical failure of some type. The Glock failures were primarily with the 22 (40S&W).

I'd first call Glock. They'll probably want to take a look at it.

[Miles]

Not an 18 series either, but all I do for Uncle is work on his guns .

With only the one picture to work with, we can see that the slide and barrel are still in the locked, forward position and the barrel is still visibly intact.
We can't see if the chamber area is cracked, or if the barrel is bulged from stuck bullet.

So, at first impression, it looks like the case head blew out and everything went down the grip.

Seen that before!

Single cartridge defect?
Previous cartridge undercharged, put the bullet up the barrel and the next one blew?
Barrel ramp/chamber out of spec?
Without looking at the gun, one can only speculate.
But I sure would sequester any more rounds of that ammo, if any's left.

Like others have written, contact Glock and see what they want to do.
Since it's a Gen4, your shooting buddy might get warranty service or a reduced price on a replacement.
I'd also contact CCI as well.

[PMC]

Adding to asset Miles' comments above........I had a similar Kaboom experience with a Gen 3 G21. It was a duty weapon, and saw frequent use with at least every other day on the range.

I rotated duty ammunition in 3 to 4 month cycles and shot it accordingly. At the time I was using Federal HydroShock Duty ammunition. When the Kaboom occurred, the barrel swelled, locking up the slide, while the main force of the detonation blew straight down, blowing out the magazine well, the trigger, and magazine release as well. I had a relatively lengthy shift followed by advanced training class that weekend. In the chaos, I did not get photos. Upon contacting Glock, a new LE pkg G21 with night sights and 3 hi-capacity magazines was shipped to me overnight, along with return postage for the Kaboom model.

A few weeks later, a Glock technician contacted me to inform me it was not the firearm, but rather ammunition which somehow caused the detonation. The polymer frame aided in absorbing the blast, however, brass shards were fragmented into my hand, and cheeks. I had the shrapnel removed a couple of days later, after my training class was completed.

[tom kelly]

Not my favorite when it comes to semi-auto pistols. The .40S&W Glock's DO NOT HAVE A FULLY SUPPORTED CHAMBER, This can be dangerous because the chamber pressure can reach up to 35,000 PSI depending on the ammunition being used in the weapon. Also keeping a round chambered, and Glock pistols reley on the trigger safety, It is possible to get an unintended discharge when reaching for the pistol, Remember Plexico Burris?

I have herd that the U S Army is leaning to replace the current Berette M-9 pistol with the Glock G-19....Tom Kelly

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by tom kelly

The .40S&W Glock's DO NOT HAVE A FULLY SUPPORTED CHAMBER, This can be dangerous because the chamber pressure can reach up to 35,000 PSI depending on the ammunition being used in the weapon. Also keeping a round chambered, and Glock pistols reley on the trigger safety, It is possible to get an unintended discharge when reaching for the pistol, Remember Plexico Burris?

Respectfully, nearly all semi-auto pistols don't have a fully supported chamber, it's the nature of the beast. The large % of KB's over time have been shown to be over-pressure due to faulty ammo - quite often out of Federal/ATK (who also do Blazer) which is what alot of LE agencies purchase in huge quantities.

Contacting Glock directly is always the best way; they will ideally want to examine the gun and would want a sample of the ammo used. I've even seen a couple instances where they replaced the gun when it was clearly the ammo's fault.

Negligent or 'unintended', I personally know someone who has managed to remove a piece of their butt cheek with a 1911 which has alot more external mechanical switches to flip than the 3 internals on a Glock. It can happen, and has happened throughout history with revolvers as well.

This Plaxico Burress?

The criminal complaint, released by prosecutors Monday, said that an onlooker then saw Burress near the V.I.P. area of the club holding a drink in his left hand and fidgeting his right hand in the area of the waistline of his pants. The witness then heard a single “pop” sound before hearing Burress say, “Take me to the hospital.”

Burress was on the ground, with his legs shaking, when a bloody gun — a .40-caliber Glock pistol — fell out of his pant leg and onto the floor, the onlooker said. Investigators believe that [Giants linebacker Antonio] Pierce was standing next to Burress when the gun went off. The bullet, which broke through the skin of Burress’s right thigh and pierced muscle tissue, traveled through the leg before lodging itself somewhere in the club.

Sounds like the young man should've had a proper holster and refrained from mucking with the goods.

[Streck-Fu]

The Glock chambers are even less supported than most.

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Streck-Fu

The Glock chambers are even less supported than most.

What do you mean by "most"?

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by tom kelly

Not my favorite when it comes to semi-auto pistols. The .40S&W Glock's DO NOT HAVE A FULLY SUPPORTED CHAMBER, This can be dangerous because the chamber pressure can reach up to 35,000 PSI depending on the ammunition being used in the weapon. Also keeping a round chambered, and Glock pistols reley on the trigger safety, It is possible to get an unintended discharge when reaching for the pistol, Remember Plexico Burris?

I have herd that the U S Army is leaning to replace the current Berette M-9 pistol with the Glock G-19....Tom Kelly

lIf they do, they'll have an exponential increase in ND's unless they totally revamp handgun training. Or have Glock install mag disconnectors.

[Badger52]

Originally Posted by Dusty

lIf they do, they'll have an exponential increase in ND's unless they totally revamp handgun training. Or have Glock install mag disconnectors.

QP Dusty you have my curiosity piqued. Do folks routinely perform only half a clearing procedure or something and rely too much on their disconnector? From a transition-training perspective just trying to understand what behavior you've seen that you'd want to overcome with a mag disconnect?

[Streck-Fu]

Originally Posted by Dusty

What do you mean by "most"?

Pistols from other brands.

I had a G23 and shot it for years with no problems and I, personally, do not think that it is a problem with quality factory ammo.

I did compare the Glock barrel to a Sig .40 barrel and the chamber on the Sig had greater coverage over the base of the cartridge.

The Glock has a longer less angled feed ramp and it is where this feed ramp meets the barrel that leaves the lower portion of hte cartridge exposed.

I never reloaded .40 brass but know a few people that had issues resizing .40 brass fired from Glocks because a bulge forms.

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Badger52

QP Dusty you have my curiosity piqued. Do folks routinely perform only half a clearing procedure or something and rely too much on their disconnector? From a transition-training perspective just trying to understand what behavior you've seen that you'd want to overcome with a mag disconnect?

Most of the ND's I've seen and heard about with Glocks happen when the mag is released, but the round in the chamber isn't extracted. That's why Browning put a disconnect in the BHP. Most people, including myself, don't like that function, but it has, I'm sure, prevented many negligent discharges.

The other problem is the "safe" trigger. I leave that to your imagination.