gun people..question..

I have noticed a huge difference in performance when using Glocks that are used by the public - either belonging to the range or to an organization offering training. When I used to visit the range on a regular basis and use their guns, I had to make my selection based on SERIAL NUMBER. Truly. I had a little notebook and kept track of which of their Glocks behaved better.

Most notably, there were two Glock 17L - one jammed frequently when using the reloads, the other one was fine on reloads. So if the "good" gun was already in use when I got there, sticking me with the "bad" gun, I knew to buy new mfg ammo that day. Same thing with their 19 and 23C. All of them were abused on a daily basis and some wanted new ammo, some were fine with reloads. Occasionally a "good" gun would go "bad" and start jamming up with reloads.

Something to keep in mind when dealing with used Glocks that jam.

I've had my glock 9 for quite a while it shoots period, under water in the sand in the mud it shoots. I've had it jam only once and that was when it was new had maybe 25-30 rounds through it never since then. also have a desert eagle .44 thay is the cats pajama's.

Rather than all this wild speculating, it might be a good idea to learn the laws of your state. Some of us live in "castle" or "make my day" states. I live in Florida and it is a "castle" state. I believe Texas has similar laws.

There are stories in the news everday about a homeowner or resident shooting an intruder and no charges are filed because it was self-defense. These stories are posted, with the appropriate links, all the time over on arf.com. The NRA magazine has a column called The Armed Citizen, more stories on good citizen shoots. It seems many times these shoots involve people with drug, assault, or B/E records breaking in and often they are aware that the building was occupied.

Also disposing of all the evidence might turn a good shoot into a crime.

Yeah, if you shoot, you are going to have interaction with the police. "I was in fear of my life, I thought they were gonna kill me, . . ."

If one is going to take the time and expense to arm oneself, also at least take the time to learn the state laws. If one is not going to arm oneself, it still might be nice to know the state laws. Just saying.

Never shoot reloads or remanufactured ammunition in a Glock. Never. The peculiarities of the Glock are that it doesn't support the cartridge case as other pistols generally do. This makes it dangerous to use reloaded ammunition in it. You also never use lead bullets or copper washed bullets. Only jacketed bullets.

Google "Glock kaboom" or "Glock kB". There is a page and faq that goes into the issue in detail. In fact, I'd print out the whole thing and give it to the owner of the range or whoever responsible for safety there. Handing out Glocks and reloaded or remanufactured ammo is a very bad idea.

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Respect The Cactus!

It's a great gun,Isreali made.I've had it for around 4 months now so far i've had no problems it's very accurate,no problems with jamming.

Right on.

Although I would amend this to read 'never shoot reloads unless you did the reloading and are sure you know what you are doing'. I would never shoot anyone else's reloads in my Glocks but I so shoot mine regularly.


If you have Glock that regularly malfunctions it should be fairly simple to diagnose and fix the problem. They are very simple in their design which is much of their attraction as an all day every day self defense hand gun.

I still must point out a semi auto, even in the hands of some well trained, should not be the first choice for self defense. There are just too many ways for them to malfunction. A revolver can fail for very few reasons. Recoil can cause a bullet to slid forward out of the case, mechanical failure, an attacker is close enough to block the hammer or to grab the cylinder hard enough to prevent it from turning.

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Remember, when seconds count. . .
the police are just MINUTES away!

Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. . .Davy Crockett

Wow, thanks! No, I had never heard of a stricture against using reloads - and certainly no one at the range ever mentioned that, oh, maybe it wasn't a good idea.

I'd only do that if I was using brand new brass of known origin. The problem is the way that the glock supports supports the cases. Reloaded brass has been stretched and stressed and the glock chamber doesn't support the brass like others do. The brass ends up failing and the gun pretty much blows apart in your hand.

If you're going to shoot reloads use new unfired brass of known origin. I suppose it technically isn't called reloading then but you know what I mean. If you're gonna roll your own use new brass.

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Respect The Cactus!

Mamita:
I'm sure your brother was suggesting something that you could handle and carry, but If you are not an experienced shooter I would not suggest an automatic. Especially I would not suggest a 9MM. You might as well carry a .22 mag.

As several others have suggested, go for a revolver. There are small-framed six guns in .38 up to .45 calibres, but .38 special/.357mag is more than enough for self defense. These (the .38/.357) are small enough to carry on your person and powerful enough to be effective, especially when loaded with copper jacketed hollow points.

The revolver has an added advantage in that there are no surprises; even with minimal training you are not going to fire several shots in succession from sheer nervousness.

As with all handguns you need only a little practice to learn that when you put the front sight in the middle of your target the rear sight will come into its natural position and you will hit the target kill zone. I think this is easier to do with a revolver than with an autoloader and that you will become a better shooter in less time than with an automatic.

Practice enough to hit what you aim at; when you really need the weapon only reflexes and muscle memory will be working.

Above all, if you buy a handgun for self defense make up your mind that when you must, you will fire. If you are going to hesitate you are better off without the weapon.