Then again, most Glocks are not subjected to the stresses of the rate of fire of a G18. Who knows how many rounds of full-auto fire that slide has been subjected to? I've never seen a Glock failure of this kind and almost certainly never will.

Yeah, going through rounds at that rate is the ultimate torture test. Easy to go through a thousand rounds in no time on full auto. Something us civilians will most likely never see.

I've always thought that little ring at the front of the Glock slide for the RSA looked like a weak point compared to some other designs, but I've never seen or even heard of one breaking until now.

It's hard to be mad at it, though. A lifetime of full-auto fire on what I assume is a T&E gun...just think about all the heat and rapid impacts that that thing has been subjected to. It's like taking an impact gun or air hammer to the front of the slide, over and over again .

This wouldn't scare me off, and I'd still buy a G18 if I could afford it. I've never shot one, but Hickock makes it look downright controllable!

What really sucks is that's a real Glock 18 and not a 17 with a full auto switch on the back. If it was, swapping slides would be easy. Does Glock do replacements on Glock 18 slides as long as you're legal to own one?

A year or so back, I was at the range and overheard two dudes talking and one said he dropped his G17 slide onto a concrete floor and the "ring that holds the recoil spring in" broke off even with the slide. He went on to say he thought it might have happened due to it being very... Cold outside! I did not join in the conversation.
The failure may due to the 18 having a stronger, more powerful recoil spring that supports full auto fire and thus stresses the slide more?

I've shot a Glock 18 and did not come even close the accuracy of Hickok 45..

Even though I'm not a Glock fan I'm not going to put it down.... as said, no telling how many rounds went through that pistol or even what kind of ammo, Metal does get fatigue over time. My only question, and I really don't know how the auto fire works on a Glock but could he have taken a slide off a 17 and used it?

quote:

Originally posted by Blume9mm:
My only question, and I really don't know how the auto fire works on a Glock but could he have taken a slide off a 17 and used it?

No

That’s actually a common failure point on glocks, not just 18s. The models that have thicker rings (35,34,47) are theoretically less susceptible to that kind of failure. Still not impossible, but less likely.

Isn't the selector switch built into the slide? If so, that would be the reason he simply did not try switching slides. Even if he could swap slides, not sure that BATF would like that.

quote:

Originally posted by randyman:
Isn't the selector switch built into the slide? If so, that would be the reason he simply did not try switching slides. Even if he could swap slides, not sure that BATF would like that.

17 and 18 slides do not interchange. This is a problem only Glock and Cash can solve.

An interesting failure that I read about in the last 10 years with Glock was with Kyle Defoor - former DevGru SEAL who runs a reputable training company.

He has cracked a breechface on a Glock. I believe that his thought was not only a high round count, but also quite a great deal of dry fire that contributed to it.


photo link

Makes me scratch my head

I've seen this type of failure in a Glock before, so not unheard of. I sent one similar back to the factory for slide replacement. Had another that cracked right in the middle of the ejection port on the right side. Hair line, very hard to see, but the gun was a jam-o-matic. Never saw that failure again or since.

quote:

Originally posted by mercedes560:
That’s actually a common failure point on glocks, not just 18s. The models that have thicker rings (35,34,47) are theoretically less susceptible to that kind of failure. Still not impossible, but less likely.

Weird. Never heard of it. One Sig P320 goes off and it is all over the internet for eternity. You would think the same would happen to the Almighty Glock. Not even addressed in the 4 Glock Armorers classes I have taken. It would be all over hell and gone if this was a “common” problem as you describe.

I guess the simple answer is when the front of the Glock breaks it doesn't accidentally shoot anybody. Hell half the Glocks made could break and it would not really make the news like one 'going off on its own' and poking a hole in someone.

Just for kicks watch this Youtube video of me in my 'Claxton Fruit Cake Suit' (thank you for the description Para), shooting a Glock 18 a good number of years back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfV8HnRDH70

quote:

Hickock makes it look downright controllable!

They are not. Hickock45 is some kind of freak of nature. The cyclic rate is insane and after the first couple of rounds I found myself more of a threat to low flying aircraft than the target downrange. They are an absolute hoot to shoot however and I highly encourage anyone who gets the opportunity to do so. Just be ready for the chaos.

quote:

Originally posted by copaup:

quote:

Hickock makes it look downright controllable!

They are not. Hickock45 is some kind of freak of nature. The cyclic rate is insane and after the first couple of rounds I found myself more of a threat to low flying aircraft than the target downrange. They are an absolute hoot to shoot however and I highly encourage anyone who gets the opportunity to do so. Just be ready for the chaos.

He's not a freak of nature (with the exception of his height) he is simply one of the finest shooters on the planet. I suspect that if he were of a mind to challenge some of Jerry Miculek's speed records all it would take is a couple of months of practice.

I don't know about a real 18, but we confiscated an autosear equipped glock off a guy and we did some test fires. It's controllable.

let me see if i can upload some videos after i remove our faces.

I did two quick bursts then finished off the mag. The other guy just dumped it.

We let FATF know about it and they said they're not bothering to come out. So it's just sitting in evidence now.

One of my Glock 34s cracked along the right side rail after 72,000 rounds. Glock replaced the slide for free.

In my experience, the most common failure points for Glock pistols are the trigger spring and the wire spring on the slide stop lever. They fail after around 20,000 rounds. The solution to that problem is to replace the trigger spring and slide release annually. That costs about $20 and takes a few minutes.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JackBlundell,

quote:

Originally posted by JackBlundell:
One of my Glock 34s cracked along the right side rail after 72,000 rounds. Glock replaced the slide for free.

Yes, when we talk about the failure we see in this G18 as being a "common failure point" we must be clear: catastrophic failures in Glocks are rare, but if they do fail catastrophically, the flange on the slide of the nose is a likely failure point.

Bottom line- if you're considering a Glock, don't let this thread spook you.

Para -

I found out about the crack in my Glock 34 slide at an IDPA match. The gun did not go to battery a couple of times while I was on the clock. I tapped the slide forward and finished the stage. I field stripped the gun and found the defect after the match was over.

The remarkable thing was not that the cracked slide caused cycling problems, but that my Glock kept running and I was able to finish the match with a cracked slide!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JackBlundell,