On an Airsoft Gun What Put Tension on Slide Lock

Running my Glock 21 hard at one of Henk Iverson's classes. A rear frame rail broke off presently after the class. The whole gun was replaced past Glock. It only had 32,000 rounds through it.

OK, let me become this out of the way right off the bat. I carry a Glock pistol during almost 95% of my waking hours. My police force duty gun was either a Glock 21 or a Glock 17. A Glock 26 or a Glock 19 in 9mm are constant companions in my off-duty hours. I like Glock pistols. Simply are they perfect? Non a take a chance.

I've broken nearly every Glock I've ever owned. No manufacturer is immune from this reality: If you shoot the gun enough, it will break. A gun is a mechanical device and it can fail at any fourth dimension. I liken it to a automobile. Even if you buy the best car in the world, somewhen it will intermission down.

I've been a factory-certified Glock armorer since 1997. In my task as training officer at the police department, I inspected and maintained more than than 75 Glock pistols carried by my officers. I also taught at i of the largest shooting schools in the country, seeing hundreds more than Glock pistols in my students' easily each yr. I've seen Glock pistols suspension in every conceivable fashion. Don't tell me "Mine has never broken!" That's because you don't shoot it plenty. Put 10,000 rounds or more a yr through a single pistol and see what happens.

Yes, they volition intermission. But one of the reasons why I like the Glock then much is that they are easy to fix. Many of the mutual parts breakages tin really be prevented with some routine maintenance. In this article, I'one thousand going to explain what parts I come across break most oft, and what you tin exercise to either prevent or fix the breakages and get your gun up and running once more.

#1 Most mutual parts breakage- Trigger Spring

Glock Trigger springs. The coil ones on top suspension fairly regularly.

If you look at the motion-picture show, you'll come across the coil springs on the top row. One of those springs is in your trigger mechanism. It is what returns the trigger to the forward position subsequently the shot. They break all of the time (right at the bend on top or lesser), but not in a predictable fashion. I've had some guns go more than than 50,000 rounds on the original bound. I've as well seen a spring break within the first 1000 rounds. They are unpredictable.

When they interruption, the gun usually all the same functions, peculiarly if you lot hold the trigger to the rear and "catch the link" subsequently your shot breaks. If yous don't do that, you can even so manually move the trigger forward later on each shot. It's not a fight stopper, only it is a pain in the ass.

If you never want to deal with spring breakage, use one of the NY trigger springs (lower level on the picture). They compress rather than stretch and I've never seen one pause. Unfortunately, they will heighten your trigger pull weight to 8 or 12 lbs from the factory 5.5 lbs. I don't use them for that reason.

If you want to keep a traditional whorl bound in the gun, I'd supersede it every 10,000 rounds or so. When you practise, make sure it goes in the gun looking like an "Due south" shape (similar the photo shows) and not backwards. If you lot install it backwards, the gun volition work, merely the spring is more likely to break.

#ii Well-nigh common parts breakage- Locking Cake Pivot

The locking block pin is the top one of the ii pins above your trigger. Information technology breaks fairly regularly, especially in the .forty and .357 Sig guns. You lot'll know it's broken because your gun's slide volition randomly lock to the rear when y'all withal take rounds left in the magazine.

An armorer is using a dial to remove the locking block pin

The all-time way to cease it from breaking is to replace your recoil springs every 3000-5000 rounds. Not many Glock owners exercise this, merely I've constitute information technology to be critical in avoiding parts breakage. When the recoil spring weakens, the slide moves faster and puts more stress on many of the parts on the gun (frame rails, locking block, pins). The constant high-speed battering is a sure recipe for a locking block pin breakage. Supplant your recoil spring!

If your locking cake pin does interruption, don't just shove a new 1 into the hole. The slide stop lever (slide release) tensions on the locking block pin. If you lot drive the pin through the hole with the slide stop lever still in place, you lot could damage the spring on the elevation of the lever. Remove the trigger pivot and slide stop lever. Reinstall the locking block pivot. Tension the slide stop lever underneath the locking block pin and and then drive in your trigger pin.

#3 Nearly common parts breakage- Slide Stop Lever

This ane isn't normally a breakage. Null actually breaks. The spring just gets all aptitude up and the piece stops working correctly. See the wire spring on the left of the slide cease lever (as well called the slide release)? That's what I was talking about higher up when I said information technology tensions under (not effectually) the locking cake pin.

Those springs get thrashed from poor reassembly techniques and occasionally merely bend through normal usage. You'll notice something is wrong considering the slide will lock open randomly when firing or it won't lock open up afterward the last round is fired. If this happens, merely supersede the slide finish lever. It's around $5. I've never had whatsoever luck bending the spring back into the right position.

#4 About common parts breakage- Slide Lock Jump

The slide lock spring is the L-shaped spring that gives tension to the slide lock, that piece that you lot push downwardly in social club to strip your gun.

slide lock spring

When these break, it's a fight stopping malfunction. The slide will just fall off of the frame after you fire a shot. In essence, the gun comes apart during firing just like when you take information technology apart for cleaning. I've had some bad luck with this one.

I once carried a .45acp Glock 30. I loved the gun, but the slide lock spring broke SEVEN TIMES! I had to get rid of it. Information technology just wasn't reliable enough to deport. I've seen other Glock 30s with broken slide lock springs likewise.

The other guns I encounter with cleaved slide lock springs are the older (Generation 1 and 2) model 23 and 19 guns. There are 2 different slide lock springs for the Glock 23 (and 19). The newer one is thicker and less likely to intermission. The older ane is narrow and breaks after near 8,000 rounds in my experience. If you have the narrow one, you lot should probably upgrade to the new ane. The spring costs about $two and tin exist replaced in less than 5 minutes.

No matter which Glock you deport, you lot can cause article of clothing to the slide lock spring by improperly installing your recoil leap assembly. When yous are setting the recoil spring down into the grooves in the butt, brand certain you lot place information technology in the DEEPEST GROOVE. Not the i closer to the surface. If you identify information technology in the top groove, the edge of the recoil spring assembly volition rub on the slide lock bound every time the slide reciprocates. That will eventually cause it to pause.

I've seen lots of other parts pause, but the ones I listed higher up are by far the most common. Most of them won't really fifty-fifty take you out of the fight if you lot recognize what'due south going on.

Prevention is really pretty elementary…

If you own a Glock, regularly replace the recoil spring associates (every 3000-5000 rounds), check your pins, and take a await at the springs when yous take the gun apart for cleaning. That's not too hard. If you are concerned about parts breaking during a gunfight, carry a 2nd gun. It'south the best insurance you tin purchase.

Parts replacement is pretty easy. The best Glock gunsmithing reference I've found is The Complete Glock Reference Guide. If you aren't mechanically inclined, this volume provides excellent disassembly and repair instructions.

Are Glocks perfect? Nope. But most other guns are even less so. I'll go along carrying my Glock "perfection" until another gun maker creates something amend. I'm not holding my jiff.