Onepocket Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Anyone have experience shooting a large number of rounds through a glock .40 with a flashlight attached? The reason I ask this is that I recently put a glock flashlight full of lead shot on my 35. Shot a match Saturday and it stove piped more often than I like . Friends of mine in Law enforcement said they always had this problem with Glocks and flashlights. So much so they won't do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpaw Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 (edited) Gen 3 or Gen 4? There were problems with flashlights on Gen 3 G22s with some LE agencies, supposedly the Gen 4s work better with the lights, but if you're changing to a single recoil spring setup that might make it just as likely to have an issue as a Gen 3. Glock also changed the mag spring on G22 mags to help fix the flashlight issue. Are you using older mags? ETA: stovepipes aside, how'd you like shooting it with the frame weight? Edited August 2, 2015 by Russell92 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rugerp89ipsc Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 Anyone have experience shooting a large number of rounds through a glock .40 with a flashlight attached? The reason I ask this is that I recently put a glock flashlight full of lead shot on my 35. Shot a match Saturday and it stove piped more often than I like . Friends of mine in Law enforcement said they always had this problem with Glocks and flashlights. So much so they won't do it. I am sure this got covered, but you need the gen 2 mags. On the back of the mag, near the base plate on the spine, you will see a 2 indictating a second gen mag. Do not confuse this with the pistol generation. I don't have a pic handy, but I had the same issue on my duty gun till I got new mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onepocket Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 This gun is a Gen 3 model 35 set up for USPSA limited division.(15lb ismi) I really liked how flat the gun shoots with this heavy flashlight. These Mags are not very old and have the arrendondo extentions with there springs. I only put about 5,000 rounds through the gun in a couple of months but I went ahead and changed out the extractor, extractor spring and that little white thing today. I put 400 rds through it today (no flashlight) and it ran perfect. Next weekend I will put the 8 oz flashlight back on and see what happens. Maybe it was just coincidence that it was the first time I ran it with the light. Testing new equipment in a match might not be the smartest plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 One of my reliability tests has long been -- can I load the gun the gun to capacity + 1 and have the gun cycle when fired weak hand unsupported? That tends to show any flaws in spring choice, and wrist control..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpaw Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I'd try a stronger mag spring and see if that helps. IIRC that was the main thing that fixed the light issues on the G22. Since you've got extended base pads maybe you could try one of the mag springs from the 33rd Glock mags and cut it down some. Or see if you can find some of the springs from the 22 round .40 Glock mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onepocket Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Please esplain why a fully loaded gun would be less reliable? I tried to limp wrist it strong and weak hand today, make it stove pipe or short stroke and couldn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onepocket Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Thanks Russell. I'm going to cut a few coils off a 33 mag spring. How many rounds do you guys run in a .40 glock before you change extractor, extractor spring ect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziebart Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 The mag spring can press against the bottom of the slide more and slow it down some. I have seen it in rifles more that pistols though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Please esplain why a fully loaded gun would be less reliable? I tried to limp wrist it strong and weak hand today, make it stove pipe or short stroke and couldn't. Drag on the slide. Try it with a ten round mag some time -- when that's fully loaded there's really no room to compress the stack, and top of the round drags on the slide a bit....... But trying it with a 140mm mag and +1 should simulate that pretty closely -- so if you can't get that to fail to cycle by shooting weak hand or limp writing, then odds are it'll run in a match.... ....unless you have a great spread in velocity of your rounds. then a round on the low edge of velocity loaded into the chamber with a full mag, might produce that same jam...... Basically trying to run a gun, with an extended highcap, spring changes, and downloaded closer to power factor ammo, presents a few challenges. You've got to get the gun and mags and ammo sorted out, so that they'll play nicely with each other, even when you're shooting from a weird position, or weak hand only.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onepocket Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 The gun runs perfect without the flashlight! Then again it may not be the light. Could have been weak spring tension on my extractor. How do you guys check the extractor, put an empty case in and see if it holds it? I went ahead and changed all the extractor parts, the Perks of shooting a glock (cheap parts). How often do you replace your mag springs, recoil springs ect? I think my 34 spoiled me because when I was shooting production I shot 50,000 rounds through that gun and never change a thing, from the initial work I did when I got it. Cleaning it was running a snake through it after shooting. Thanks for everyone's input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 My son and I both shoot G34's with flashlights in night matches and they run perfect. No issues using factory and reloads. Make sure when you tighten the flashlight on the rail you don't over tighten it and squeeze the rail where it could slow the spring down. Just a thought. Mine is a Gen 3 his is a Gen 4. Both running captured ISMI springs. gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrimaryBruce Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) I believe Streamlight has actually gone as far as to put a disclaimer on their website talking bout how for whatever reason Glocks in .40 S&W can have some major issues with jamming and overall reliability running lights. They say some are just fine and some are horrible. Edit: Here, strait from Streamlight. They don't mention the 35, but I believe it's a caliber specific thing more than model: Q: Are there Issues Using Tactical Lights on Glock® Pistols?A: Some Glock® .40 caliber pistols, models 22 and 23, exhibit feeding malfunctions, either nose down or nose up (stovepipe), when used with tactical lights. The problems tend to occur with individual guns, with some pistols becoming totally unreliable while other identical, even close in serial number sequence, guns have no problems. Most models 22 and 23 are reliable.A sensitive gun may malfunction with any tactical light - the TLRs, the older M models, and even Glock®’s own brand. There is evidence that the problem sometimes develops with use, and may progress until the pistol is unreliable even with no light attached. On the basis of testing by Streamlight, we believe the problem is magazine related. It appears that the rounds are unable to rise fast enough for proper cycling. We have observed proper feeding for the first few rounds, consistent failures at mid-magazine capacity, and a return to proper feeding of the last few cartridges in the magazine. We have tried both stronger and weaker recoil springs, and compound-action recoil buffers, all without success. Sometimes new magazine springs, either new Glock® or Wolff, will cure the problem. In one case of a pistol which was totally reliable when new but progressed to malfunctioning on every magazine, even with no light installed, we found two solutions which restored reliability, but which might not be acceptable to some users. The first was using 10 round capacity Glock® magazines. The gun will not cycle reliably with 15 round mags with their steeply stacked columns but works flawlessly with 10 round mags. The second solution was a new magazine follower from Brownells®, their part number 069-000-006. When used in a 15 round magazine with a new spring, reliability was restored. However, the follower would not lock the slide open after the last round. Ammunition is also a factor with any weapon. Some brands and weights may be totally reliable while others jam repeatedly. Make sure your gun is thoroughly tested with your duty ammo.Brownells® is a registered trademark of Brownells®, Inc.Glock® is a registered trademark of GLOCK Gesellschaft mbH. Edited August 3, 2015 by bruceg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onepocket Posted August 3, 2015 Author Share Posted August 3, 2015 Put 200 rounds through it this afternoon with the light and a new 13lb ISMI spring. Ran perfect, who's to say what the cause was but so far so good. I tried to get it to jam, light wristed it both strong and weak handed. Match this weekend will be the real test!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipper046 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 How much lead shot do you have in it? What is the weight? I run a TLR-1 on my duty G22 and haven't had any issues with it... It did shoot a bit lower than normal, but I attest this to the additional weight up front and my getting used to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onepocket Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 8.5 oz of number 9 birdshot. Like anything it's taking me a little getting used to. I think in the long run it will be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipper046 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 8.5 oz of number 9 birdshot. Like anything it's taking me a little getting used to. I think in the long run it will be better. If total weight is equal to a standard TLR-1, you should be ok. I have seen very few malfunctions with the TLR or M3 lights on Glocks, and we have quite a few running them at my PD. If it weighs more, try removing some of the lead shot. The other fix would be what others suggested...changing recoil spring weights. Trial and error...welcome to the world of "tweaking for competition"...LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onepocket Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 It's running great now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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