G36 total failure on the first trip to the range

[katana8869]

Alright fellas, here's a good one for every body.

I gotta say for the fist time, I am pissed beyond belief at my experience with a Glock. I spent close to 3 weeks in research to determine which brand of .45 compact that I wanted and guess what, all logical conclusions pointed to ... what else! A Glock. To make a long story short, I hate fat handguns, no offense to the G30 folks intended. I went with the G36 because I liked the feel and man does it ride nice in a IWB carry. I thought I had found the love of my life.

Now, I am no stranger to the glock family. I have owned a G22, G17 and two G27's. For this purchase I was leaning toward a Springfield Ultra Compact initially, but the function weight and RELIABILITY of the Glock brought me back to the fold and I went for the G36.

I bought my G36 brand new 2 weeks ago, bought ammo, 2 new holsters and happily headed to the range (30 minute ride to Tampa from Brooksville) Arriving at the range, I walked in, paid my fees and headed for the firing line. I sent my target down the lane, loaded up and .... "click!" ^8 wtf?

Alright, I thought it was a light firing pin strike. Irritating but I can handle it. I held aim downrange for 10 seconds and then removed my magazine and cleared the action. Upon examining the primer on the ejected round I found not a light firing pin strike, there was no strike at all! ;P

I repeated the process with the same result. In frustration I tore the pistol down on the line and my worst fear was realized... the firing pin was broken!!!

Now I know things break, but how can a Glock escape the factory with a broken firing pin? What really makes me sick is the fact that I have happily had this thing riding on my hip for the last week thinking all was in order. ^2

Now I do know the cardinal rule, "Test it before you carry it" but c'mon folks! Five Glocks and never a hiccup! I felt pretty secure with the latest new addition ya' know? I don't think I could feel anymore betrayed and let down if my best friend suddenly crotch kicked me on the church steps on easter sunday!

Another concern that I have with this pistol is that the rear sight is set all the way to the right in the beavertail and I am afraid that once I get this mess worked out, the damn sights are gonna be off too. Any G36 owners care to comment? Hopefully it is just a result of the different ergonomics of the grip and this is just a neccesary adjustment that was done at the factory. But, we ain't exactly batting a thousand here so I don't know at this point.

G36.... GPOS is more like it so far. ;0

[seanmac45]

Hopefully you just learned a lesson you won't ever forget.


NEVER carry an untested firearm for self-defense.

[katana8869]

"Hopefully you just learned a lesson you won't ever forget.


NEVER carry an untested firearm for self-defense."

Yeah, at least I had the malfuntion at the range instead of a dark parking lot with my wife and little girl behind me... nothing like a good kick in the guts to make one review the basics. ;T

[bookman]

katana8869
Take the gun over to Eagels Tradeing Post on 19. and ask for Ken.I have a G36 and no problem and mine was bought used..

[BadLight]

My partner purchased a brand new G22 and, of course, she couldn't wait to shoot it so we went straight to the range. I wasn't shooting that day (had a crappy cold and was on all kinds of meds) but I sat in the observation area. First shot...click, no boom!. Cleared everything. Second shot...click, no boom! After making the G22 safe, I field stripped it and low and behold... a broken firing pin! Replaced said (non)firing pin, no problems since.

[katana8869]

Thanks for the tip Bookman I know exactly where Eagle's is and you are right, they are good folks over there. In fact I bought my AR-15 from them right after the '94 ban expired. (What agreat day!)I have already taken the pistol to Dow's Arms Room just north of Dade City. They are a little closer and they have a Glock armorer on staff. I should hear from them today as to the repair and hopefully get some insight as to the cause of the firing pin breakage

Since my last post, I called glock and they were pretty mystified as well, they want me to send the broken pin in to them when the repair is done. I had them run the serial number to see if there were any other reported problems with the gun and they said there were none.

Additionaly, they confirmed that the gun is of recent manufacture and was not one of the G36's that was "recalled" for any modifications.

Also it helps a little to hear that at least one other person has had this kind of problem. It is still a real let down when "perfection" is less than perfect but at least I know I am not the only one out there that has experienced this. Hopefully this repair will put this issue to rest and this little gun will be up to standard as the others have been.

[katana8869]

Well, got my G36 back today and the plot has continued to thicken.

The armourer told me that my gun is not new and that the reason for the broken firing pin was that someone had damaged the breech face around the firing pin port. He also said that the repair would not be warranteed by Glock.

The repairs consisted of replacing the broken firing pin and smoothing the damaged area around the firing pin port. As a result of which there are two noticibly dimpled areas on each side of the firing pin port. He did the repair, but did not give me the chance to view the damaged area first, which I would have liked to have done.

Not quite trusting this explanation, I again called Glock. As mentioned previously on my first call I was told the gun was of recent manufacture. Apparantly to the folks at Glock "recent" is a relative term. This time I asked for the date of manufacture, I was told that the gun was imported into the U.S. on 24 April, 2002!

So now I have 3 things going on. I have a gun that was sold to me as a new firearm, but has proven to have damage and was manufactured 3 years ago. I have a gun with dimples on either side of the firing pin which I am worried could cause the gun to be less than reliable. And lastly, I have worries that Glock is going to consider the warranty voided because some nimrod abused the slide somehow.

Additionaly I am out the cost of the repair.

Any suggestions or input? Any advise would be appreciated. I especially would like to know what everyone thinks about the reliability and the warranty issues.

Many thanks in advance guys

[TNRonin]

Frankly, I would be pissed! I would definitely confront the people that sold the gun as new. Get a NEW gun, which you paid for. Where did you buy the piece? If these thiefs refuse to make good on the replacement then contact the ATF, and the local authorities for fraudulent practices. To damage a slide they would have to do some serious dinging, that tinnefer coating is pretty tough stuff.

Good luck and I would not hold glock responsible for someone else's damage. And I'm not a Glock apologist.

HTH

[BLY]

Originally posted by TNRonin
Frankly, I would be pissed! I would definitely confront the people that sold the gun as new. Get a NEW gun, which you paid for. Where did you buy the piece? If these thiefs refuse to make good on the replacement then contact the ATF, and the local authorities for fraudulent practices. To damage a slide they would have to do some serious dinging, that tinnefer coating is pretty tough stuff.

Good luck and I would not hold glock responsible for someone else's damage. And I'm not a Glock apologist.

HTH

+1, Go to the FFL who sold it to you. Demand that they make it right and replace it with a NEW and NON-DAMAGED G36 free of charge to you. This time, don't get too caught up in the replacement and field strip it to examine it...

If all else fails, find someone who doesn't mind owning what you have (have the decency to make them aware of the situation) and use that money to fund a new G36 from a different dealer. I hope that since you have now found that the problem is due to a pre-owned (severely abused) pistol and not GLOCKs fault, you are still interested in the G36...? I would understand if this issue has left a bad taste in your mouth but, I'm sure you'll be pleased when you find a reputable dealer.

[BadLight]

Get a statement from the gunsmith that repaired your G36, in writing. Return the firearm to the original seller and ask for a full refund OR a brand new replacement. If they don't want to do that, tell them you're going to turn this over to the AG. Fraudulent sale seems to "ring a bell" here. Last thing a gun dealer wants is the AG breathing down his neck. Be firm!

[OXEN]

Man that all sucks.

The gun was sold to new as "Brand New"?

What was the date on the little yellow envelope with the two spent casings?

And does the serial # on the box match the serial # on the gun?

[ShootNMove]

There is a gun store here that rents it's guns for range use, and then sells it 'new' and at a really high price! I have seen some of their 'new' guns and I can tell by the markings on the barrel that they have had 1000s of rounds fired through them. Hopefully, the FFL won't claim that they never said it was new. B/c technically, if they never advertised it as 'new', they don't have to do anything. For some reason, it seems like there is a law saying that when you sell a gun, it must be in proper working condition. Maybe I'm making that up but I think I read it somewhere.

[rukh]

All of the above mentioned problems remind me of my G36...er...what used to be my G36...I traded out of it today. Last year, I purchased a G36 for much the same reasons mentioned above. Also, I use it to shoot MajorSub in GSSF matches and it fit my hand like a dream. I picked up the gun at my local gun shop, transfered from another state, where I had found the gun originally, on the way to the Statesville, NC GSSF match. It was NIB and I was confident that it would be my favorite gun. I purchased some Winchester "white box" ammo the next morning before going to the match. I shot the 36 for the first time that morning and guess what...it puked and died on me during the 5 to Glock stage of the match. I had the armorer look at it and give it his stamp of approval. Over the rest of last season and all of this season the gun continued to malfunction exactly the same way. After a dozen armorers had looked at it I sent it back to Glock for repair. All I got was new base pads on the magazines and their assurance that they had shot it 200 times with no malfunctions. Yesterday, at the Lexington, KY GSSF match, it puked and died again, exactly the same way it had from the start, all with factory ammo and with all factory parts. I am now the proud owner of a G30 and hope it works. All it did today when I function fired it was hit me in the face with the ejected brass.

[Curvewrecker]

"all it did today was hit me in the face with empty brass"

Too funny, as my G30 also has this quirk. Not every time, mind you, unless I'm shooting under a shelter. Usually the brass flies straight over my head, but under a shelter it sometimes bounces off the cieling and hits my noggin.

As for the orignal issue, being sold a 'new' gun with issues, I'm a firm believer in the notion that you can acoomplish a lot more with a kind word and an attorney, than with just a kind word alone. The AG suggestion was a good one.

[army_eod]

If the store won't replace, take em to small claims court. They will usually settle because it costs them more than the Glock to go to court.

Then advertise the bad business everywhere...bad press is bad.

There was an FFL in my hometown who had what looked like a decent gun shop. He sold to LEOs often. In fact, that is where I picked up my G-21.

A couple of weeks later, he was arrested and shut down because he was selling without doing background checks. Just shows that there are bad dealers out there.

BTW, most new G-36s are great. May need 200 rounds of Cor Bon shot before they get broken in.

I did just trade mine for a .357 Mag Smith 686 Plus with 2 1/2 bbl.

[katana8869]

Hey all.

Many thanks once again for everyone's help and suggestions. I have finally been able to put this situation to rest after a fashion. Today, after a couple of weeks of legwork and aggravation, I returned the used/ sold as new gun to the shop where it was purchased and picked up a brand new G36 as a replacement;). However I do want to say that the owner of the shop flat out refused to do anything about the gun when I approached him initially. In fact, after he nearly carried this to a point of confrontation with his belligerence during a telephone conversation, he then decided to give me the name of his supplier after we were face to face. He suggested that I call the supplier to verify that the gun was new. Before calling the supplier, I called Glock again and asked if the gun had ever been returned to them for any repairs or rebuilds. By the way, I have found that one must ask very specific questions of Glock if one wants the whole truth. THIS time I was able to find out that in addition to being manufactured in 2002, the gun was rebuilt at the factory in 2003 and sold to the above mentioned distributor in June of that year. Armed with this information, I then called the distributor who openly admitted it was a rebuilt gun and stated it had been sold as such to the shop that sold it to me.

I then called the shop and basically advised them of what I had learned and asked if they would like to settle with me, or explain their position to the Better Business Bureau and the Attorney General's Office. After dragging this out 2 weeks the owner finaly agreed to replace the gun stating that it was "mislabled" in the store. As to the cost of the repair, I was offered $25.00 store credit as a settlement. (Cost of the reair, $90.00). Anyway, I decided it was better to show character than temper at that point and walked away with two boxes of magtech ammo in lieu of the $25.00. (Total $31.00).

Went to the range from there and put 150 rounds through the new gun. I'll post the results of that later, but I will say that the new gun performed flawlessly.

Since the name of the shop was requested in a earlier post, all of this took place at Sportsman's Attic on U.S. 19 in Spring Hill, FL.
I will say also that the guys that work in the shop are the nicest and most professional guys you will ever meet, the owner however is your typical slick talkin' a-hole. If you have a problem with a purchase there, do not expect anything in the way of customer service from this guy unless you have knowledge, alot of determination and are able to totally pin him to the mat. Otherwise, do not expect even the slightest hint of a resolution.

Sorry this post drug out guys, but I had alot of steam to vent. Thanks once again for all the replies!;Y

[Dandapani]

Originally posted by katana8869
and happily headed to the range (30 minute ride to Tampa from Brooksville)

I read this entire thread. Glad you got things worked out. I'm still stuck in your first post. How the hell do you get from Tampa to Brooksville in 30 minutes? I live 2 miles from the Suncoast Parkway at Rt 52 in Pasco County and it takes me 35 minutes just to get to Tampa Airport. You must fly down the tollway to make it to a Brooksville Range...

[katana8869]

Heh! Heh!

I didn't realize I had said that in the first post. It should read "from Brooksville to Tampa". I'm at Hwy 50 and I-75. The range is at I-75 and Fowler right next to the Big Top Flea market. The range is called the Indoor Shooting Company. It's just a little hole in the wall place, but I like to test new handguns there because it is easy for me to get to. I'm lucky because it is literally interstate the whole way so yeah, it takes 30-35 minutes, except in rush hour! :)

[Bernoulli]

Glad it worked out - I wonder how many rebuilt and used guns are out there sold as "new" by crooked dealers.

How can a buyer (like me) tell from looking at a Glock if it has been fired at all or fired much? There must be some sort of tell-tale sign somewhere the first time it fires and cycles. Anyone know?

[uz2bUSMC]

Katana8869,

Did they give you the two test fired rounds with the gun when you bought it?

[katana8869]

Absolutely! I went over this gun with a fine toothed comb. I tore it down at the shop, checked to make sure there were no wear marks, verified that the copper grease was present, checked the breech face, barrel, ect. and verified that the serial number on the box matched the gun. The date that the fired cases were collected was 20 Oct, 2005. ;A

[Lotsa Glock]

Just purchased a G36 two weeks ago, first shot out the barrel and el jammo! Then I realized I was bleeding from my left thumb at the base, I now shoot one handed...it doesn't jump too bad so one handed it is.

Anyway, second time at the range I had three casings jam in the action, I was using Remington at the time and then switched to Federal with no problems, I then tried a box of PMC with good results also, then to round things out I blasted 20 rounds of Honady 200 grain, seemed like a bit less recoil. All in all after 300 rounds it's a very satisfying gun to shoot, I also like the muzzle flip, it makes me feel like I'm doing some real damage to little paper targets!

So in closing.

1. I shoot one handed to avoid the bleeding thumb syndrome
2. I stay away from Remington for now.

[rukh]

So in closing.

1. I shoot one handed to avoid the bleeding thumb syndrome
2. I stay away from Remington for now.

I have never heard of the bleeding thumb syndrom! Please tell me how you were holding the gun that it caused your thumb to bleed.

BTW - nothing wrong with avoiding Remington ;)

[Co_Outdoorsman]

So in closing.


1. I shoot one handed to avoid the bleeding thumb syndrome
2. I stay away from Remington for now.


My bet is he shoots with the support hand wrapped around the dominant hand with the thumb braced around the firing hand and resting under the slide... saw a guy do it last week at a shoot... good thing his 1911 rode real high in his hand... seen a few thumbs broken from this kind of hold also... and the slide reciprocating through flesh slowed it's recoil impulse to the point the gun jammed...

[Lotsa Glock]

Co_Outdoorsman nailed it! Slide caught me good.~sd

[Co_Outdoorsman]

Note that the thumb is not visible as they are both locked together on the far side of the gun...

also note how close the slide is to the top of the hand during full recoil...

[JoeG19]

I'm glad things worked out for you. I've read this post from beginning to end too. When I rented a 36 at the range to see how I would like it, it malfunctioned on every other round. That tore the sheet for me and I mentioned it to a GT friend who lives in the area. He suggested I shoot his. We met and I did. Bought one as soon as I could get my hands on a new one.

I've never had a FTF (fire or feed) and I shoot Winchester White, Rem UMC, Federal and carry Rem GS230gr. The 36 is SLICK. The only add on is Heinie Straight 8's nite sites. - 'ole joe :cool:

[echo]

<SNIP>
Also it helps a little to hear that at least one other person has had this kind of problem. It is still a real let down when "perfection" is less than perfect but at least I know I am not the only one out there that has experienced this.others have been. [/B][/QUOTE]

'The Partner here'...I'm pleased that you found some comfort in someone else having had the same prob. However It's misplaced comfort. It was not the same problem. I bought it used from a MA, FFL.. I think it was a questionable sale, in that he was taking a risk as our Tyranical AG had not difinitavely cleared GLOCK for sale here in MA. The AG did for about two days and quickly rescinded the Ok. Our AG is a notoriousa P***k! I think that FFL knew that the firing pin was inoperable and sold it to me anyway. He simply did not want to get stuck with them. Just my opinion. and a reluctant one at that. I hate to think anyone who had managed to stay in business here in this godforsaken state would deliberately screw a gun owner. But there it is. It's what I beleive down to the soles of my feet.

As for the 36, I don't like the damned thing. Unlike you, I prefer a larger/thicker grip. My problem with the little beast is the damn flip! *Bleck, Huck Ptooey* I'll take recoil any damned day of the week.

Good Luck, you'll probably Love the little beast after you get to fire to it. As for me I'll stick with the 30.

[TLHelmer]

I had a G-36 once! I miss it!;1 ;1

I hope the new G-36 works well for you.

[ColoradoGlocker]

.

[Curvewrecker]

Thats a great Idea, ColGlocker...

[OXEN]

Originally posted by ColoradoGlocker

Then, contact the gun shop owner and tell him you'll stop pressing the issue with the AG if he will provide you with a cash settlement as damages. I'd ask for a certified check for $5,000, that should be enough to make up for his fraudulent acts and make him think twice about trying to screw someone else.

I agree with getting the AG involved in this so this guy, if this is a scam of his, gets stopped but telling him you'll stop if he pays you $5,000 sounds way to much like blackmail.