Strange day at the range.....

[Ionic]

I have a Glock 30sf and a Glock 21. Both guns are stock and I put about 100 rounds or so through each of them per week. Last week at the range everything was just fine, I shot my 200 rounds without a hitch. I went home and started cleaning the guns as usual, and when I tested the safties before putting them together I noticed that the firing pin on my 21 was a little grimey and sluggish. I have owned the 21 longer and I have about 2000 rounds through it, so I decided to detail it. I put everything back together and tested again, this time she was smooth. I even tested the extractor with some dummy rounds. The 30sf served nightstand duty until I could verify that everything was ok at the range.

Took them to the range today, and that's when I had a couple problems: 2 light primer strikes with the 21. I have been shooting reloads through it, and have never had a problem with the ammo, but in the first 2 magazines I had one in each FTF. I thought it couldn't be the gun since I just cleaned it, so it must be the ammo. Fine. I then ran 200 rounds of Blazer and they ran without a hitch. I did shoot those 2 light primer rounds and they went off. So, I have 2 questions....

Is there any chance that there is something wrong with how I put the slide back together? or is it just the ammo? Is it safe to put the 21 back on nightstand duty?

I've never heard anyone talk about it, and I've never had a light primer strike or FTF myself. Is it safe to attempt to fire a light primer strike round again? I did it twice today without thinking about it, but should I have destroyed those rounds?

Your feedback is more appreciated than you know. Thanks in advance.
(yeah....I know thats more than 2 questions:upeyes:)

[GlockMonster30]

Usually with an FTF I'll wait about 30 seconds, eject the round and then throw it away from me. Better safe than sorry. It sounds like you're experienced with reloading. Were the primers from the same box or lot. I might be wrong but maybe you got some hard primers. Run some more factory ammo through it and see how she does.

[dsmw5142]

You said both guns are stock? If you purchased them new, and haven't changed anything, you know all the springs are factory spec. correct? I would replace the recoil spring and striker spring with new factory standard weight springs, just to be on the safe side. Some ammunition brands are known for harder than standard primers. But your G21 should have no problem if it is up to factory specs.

A weak recoil spring could cause the slide to stay a hair out of battery and cause a light primer strike. Also, examine your striker for any signs of damage and make sure (with a flashlight or bore light) that your firing pin channel liner looks okay and the channel is clear of debris. You can use an appropriate diameter wood screw to screw in and grasp the firing pin channel liner and remove it for replacement in the very unlikely event it is damaged (THIS WILL SCREW IT UP AND IT WILL INTANTLY BECOME GARBAGE SO BE PREPARED TO INSERT A NEW ONE).

[another okie]

Might just be some solvent or grease in the firing pin channel. Run a pipe cleaner through there. Replacing the springs is always good, too, if you've got a few thousand rounds through it. I've only replaced one on any of my Glocks, and it was up to about 15,000 rounds.

[G30 Sidearm]

The primers may not have been seated. The first time you tried to fire the round may have seated the primer. Then the second time it fired. Trying the round a second time is not a problem.

[ecmills]

What G30 said. A high primer is the most likely cause. If much of the force of the striker is required to fully seat the primer BEFORE it can be dented, the striker won't have the force required to set it off.

Check the remainder of your loads. Run your finger across the back of them, FEELING for protruding primers.

The fact that your factory ammo ran perfectly points me strongly toward the ammo. I wouldn't hesitate to put that gun back on nightstand duty.

I usually will attempt to fire the round a second time, and it will pretty much always work if it's a high-primer round. If it's been 30+ seconds since the round was struck, I won't hesitate to reload and fire it.

I'm still waiting for the 'you shoot reloads. Of course your gun doesn't work' crowd to chime in. They're usually here by now...

[SGT45]

Do you have the "New" trigger bar???? Glock did replace some trigger bars a few years ago due to light primer strikes. New bars have a "-1" on them.

Also-Break her down completely. Make sure there is not any debris or oil in the firing pin channel. Check the Sleeve and springs while you are at it. Sometimes oil and debris will contribute to light primer strikes. BTW- Try factory ammo too. Don't tell Glock you are reloading.

*****Wait- I just finished reading the thread. You don't have problems with factory Ammo????? Check your ammo and the above cleaning inspections!

[Ionic]

Some of you have chimed in and said that I should clean the firing pin channel. That is what I meant when I said I detailed it. I took the gun apart, clean and dried everything, and put it back together. Very carefully.

Those of you who have explained issues with ammo problems are more on the money in my oppinion. All of the factory ammo ran just fine through the 21, and it even shot the other 100 rounds of reloads I fired through it. Yes, the guns are 100% factory. How often do the recoil spring and firing pin spring need to be replaced? I'm wondering now if I should do that as a precaution.

Thanks for all the replies so far!

[another okie]

The reason we mention the firing pin channel is because people sometimes lube it, which leads to light primer strikes.

If that's not your problem, then a high primer is a good guess. I just loaded up about 250 .38s without cleaning the primer pockets because I've never needed to for the rounds to work in my Ruger, but when I tried to shoot them in the Taurus I got about 30% failures. They look fine and measure fine, but I guess it's just enough to fail.

[Garlon]

I had the same problem with my first G30 some time ago and did the research and found out that the problem had been identified by Glock because some police departments had problems with them when using reloads. They replaced the trigger bar with a slightly lengthened one. Like a previous poster said, they went from a #4256 to #4256-1.
I only had the problem with Winchester WLP primers. They are hard but very good. I never had any problem with factory ammo. I replaced the trigger bar and never had another problem with my reloads.

[GhillieGlock]

Soft primers maybee? Did you lube up the firing pin channel? If so how much? I decided not to use lube anymore but Tetra gun grease, which is rubbed into the pores of the metal and works really well:cool:

[clarence2005w]

You haven't trimmed the brass have you? You might want to use a case check device to check your loads. A roll crimp instead of a taper might allow the loaded round to seat too deep in the chamber.

[jack76590]

All good ideas. In addition you might want to get a case gauge to check your reloads. And be sure to check that your primers are fully seated. If your cases are much reloaded there could be crud in primer pocket preventing full seating of the primer.

[Ionic]

Hehe.... I did not oil or lube up the firing pin or the channel. I can understand how it could work its way in there after 2000 rounds, which is why it probably needed cleaning. The firing pin runs smooth in the channel, and falls by its own wieght when I press the firing pin safty in.

You guys have put my mind to rest on it being a gun issue, so I've put the 21 back on nightstand duty. I've never, ever had a problem with any ammo I've put through her. It could be factory, my reloads, my friends reloads (Yes, I trust him, he has more experience and is more picky than me!!) or double tap loads. My 21 has eaten them all until I cleaned that firing pin and its channel up. So I am forced to look at my loads.

I have noticed that a couple more of my reloads have primers that arent quite seated. Some of my brass that looks a bit older does in fact have some crud in and around where the primer should seat. I took the questionable rounds to the range today, and put them all through the 21. I'm happy to say she ate all of em without a hiccup. I must have had two strange rounds or primers I guess. :dunno:

Thanks again for all the responses..

[another okie]

The poster above who mentioned the trigger bar is right, as well. Sorry I missed that the first time through. My Glock 21 has the -1 trigger bar, which is designed to fix a light strike problem allegedly encountered out west somewhere. Glock may or may not send it to you - they may want you to send the gun in. It may depend on whether you are an armourer or not.