Glock 26 -- failure to extract

[Rule10b5]

Well, it finally happened, after 9 years of shooting Glocks, and tens of thousands of flawless rounds fired, I finally had one choke for a reason unrelated to faulty ammo. The only previous failure I can recall was when a round of 9mm failed to seat in the chamber of my Glock 19. The reason? The bullet was pushed at an angle into the case, rolled the edge of the case down, and the round simply wouldn't fit in the chamber. (I was zoned out while loading mags and didn't notice the bad round)

Anyway, the G26 failure was round 7 of a 10 round magazine of Remington UMC 115 gr. standard pressure ammo. It failed fully to extract, and I ended up with a partial feed of the following live round into the ass end of the partially extracted case.

And I have no clue why. The ammo was fine, two handed stance, and the gun was cleaned the prior evening. I'd just run through about 35 rounds without a hiccup (weak and strong hand only shooting).

I probably only have about 3-4k rounds through the gun, so I don't think it's spring related. That said, I'll probably replace the extractor, recoil, and magazine springs before carrying it again.

I really, really HATE that no gun is 100% reliable, even my beloved Glocks.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

What the hell? This is the second thread I've seen about a G26 malfunction since I bought my G26 this past Friday. All the other months before, I've never come across such a thread.

Not that it makes me feel any differently, but it's a strange coincidence.

[pyld]

Gotta ask: no possible way you limp-wristed it, right?

Only time my G26 ever FTE'd was when it was being used to acclimate a female shooter to centerfire pistols and she limp-wristed the shit out of it.

[Rule10b5]

Gotta ask: no possible way you limp-wristed it, right?

Only time my G26 ever FTE'd was when it was being used to acclimate a female shooter to centerfire pistols and she limp-wristed the shit out of it.

Nope. The failure occurred with the same aggressive two-handed isoceles stance I've been using for years. And I had just finished a run of one handed shooting that went fine.

The funny part is I've spent a lot of effort to actually try to get this gun to malfunction. I've shot it holding it one handed, weak hand, with a limp wrist, elbow, and shoulder with just my thumb and middle finger (pulling the trigger with my index finger, obviously) and couldn't get it to fail. I tried it about 30-40 rounds like that one day just for kicks and it ran fine.

I'm baffled, honestly. It felt like a full charge load, too -- it didn't feel weak or sound odd or anything. It makes me want to go back to revolvers.

[TonyF]

I probably only have about 3-4k rounds through the gun, so I don't think it's spring related.

3-4K? I bet it is.

[pyld]

3-4K? I bet it is.

For comparison purposes, I've got about 30k rounds down a G19 which is entirely original parts (including the mag springs), and I know the only time that sucker FTE'd was early in life on a limp wrist.

I take better care of my 26 in terms of changing mag springs and such because it's carried often enough that I want the piece of mind.

[Rule10b5]

3-4K? I bet it is.

Never had to change the springs on my G19 -- easily 15k plus rounds on that one.

I suppose the shorter gun would be more sensitive, I just didn't think it'd be THAT much more sensitive. Plus, it passes a 12 O'clock test with flying colors.

It's only a few bucks, so it can't hurt to swap them.

Do you concur on replacing: (i) recoil spring; (ii) mag springs; and (iii) extractor spring?

Anything else you think I should swap out?

[TonyF]

For comparison purposes, I've got about 30k rounds down a G19 which is entirely original parts (including the mag springs), and I know the only time that sucker FTE'd was early in life on a limp wrist.

Never had to change the springs on my G19 -- easily 15k plus rounds on that one.

Just because you "can" doesn't mean you "should".

I take better care of my 26 in terms of changing mag springs and such because it's carried often enough that I want the piece of mind.

I suppose the shorter gun would be more sensitive, I just didn't think it'd be THAT much more sensitive. Plus, it passes a 12 O'clock test with flying colors.

Point is, if it's a firearm you're betting your life on, we shouldn't tempt fate (or Murphy). The story goes that Chuck Taylor ran something like 100,000+ rounds through a G17 without fail.

But when you add up all the variables in a lethal threat encounter, especially tactical mistakes on our part, it's just best practice to swap parts that are most likely to fail at regular intervals, optimizing our chances that the weapon won't fail. Recoil and Mag springs in particular at 3K and no more than 5K.

Do you concur on replacing: (i) recoil spring; (ii) mag springs; and (iii) extractor spring?

That's a good start.

Anything else you think I should swap out?

Not unless the problem persists.

[LittleRedToyota]

every once in a great while, i will buy one of these:

http://glockmeister.com/product_info...roducts_id=234

and replace everything that comes with it.

on the other hand, i have before gone at least 20,000 rounds without replacing anything.

but, generally, i just kinda figure for $20 and 15 minutes, why not replace it all once a year? (which, prior to the ammo scare, used to be 10,000+ rounds per year...never had any issues. imho, every 3k to 5k is a little overkill for a glock, but it can't hurt.)

(i also keep one of those kits in my range bag...but have never needed to use it.)

[synergy]

Rule, you probably just limp wristed it.

We need to get together and shoot again sometime...

Did it feel different in recoil?

I'm surprised if it was springs, that early on....you know those rentals go almost 10x that with no new springs....

Oh well...you just know how to break everything, don't you?
1911's, revolvers, now Glocks... you should think about switching to blades or clubs.