fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I am new to Glocks. I am not new to handguns. I have a CZ 75 Shadow SA, an SP-01 that I converted to SAO and two P-10Cs. I have owned 1911s and M&Ps. I just bought a Glock 34 Gen 5. When I pull the trigger on a snap cap I cannot rack the slide. To unlock the gun, I must release the slide, take it off the frame and move the tab on the striker to the rear. Only then will the barrel release. If I have not pulled the trigger, the slide racks like normal and the round ejects. Is this normal for a Glock? All my other guns will let me rack a snap cap after I have pulled the trigger. I have switched out the OEM striker spring for a Wolff 4.5 lb striker spring. Would that cause the problem? I have lighter striker springs on both my P-10Cs and they still rack a snap cap after a pulled trigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxil343 Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Does the gun function normally if you dryfire it without the snap cap in the chamber? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 45 minutes ago, taxil343 said: Does the gun function normally if you dryfire it without the snap cap in the chamber? Yes. So far, it functions just fine in live fire or dry fire, other than not ejecting a snap cap after pulling the trigger. If that is the only abnormality, I am fine with it. I won't use snap caps. However, my fear is if I have a light strike or a high or dead primer, that I won't be able to rack a new round into the chamber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxil343 Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 3 hours ago, fastlane604 said: Yes. So far, it functions just fine in live fire or dry fire, other than not ejecting a snap cap after pulling the trigger. If that is the only abnormality, I am fine with it. I won't use snap caps. However, my fear is if I have a light strike or a high or dead primer, that I won't be able to rack a new round into the chamber. I have zero experience with snap caps, I own none, so I can’t say for sure. For a brief time, I did play around with one of the laser games where you put a properly sized “cartridge” in the chamber and upon pulling the trigger see a red dot appear on the target at the would be place of impact. I removed the extractor on the gun I was using to keep the laser chambered and racked it to reset the striker between draws. Never had an issue. Is the striker dropping at all? Slide fully in battery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyGlock Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Tip of fp might be sticking or binding on the “primer” of the snap cap holding the fp forward, in turn preventing the slide to be retracted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHI Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 bent 2 firing pins on a 1911 using snap caps. I don't use snap caps anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 9 hours ago, taxil343 said: I have zero experience with snap caps, I own none, so I can’t say for sure. For a brief time, I did play around with one of the laser games where you put a properly sized “cartridge” in the chamber and upon pulling the trigger see a red dot appear on the target at the would be place of impact. I removed the extractor on the gun I was using to keep the laser chambered and racked it to reset the striker between draws. Never had an issue. Is the striker dropping at all? Slide fully in battery? Yes and yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 51 minutes ago, AHI said: bent 2 firing pins on a 1911 using snap caps. I don't use snap caps anymore. I make my own snap caps. Primer pocket is full of caulking. Nothing to damage a firing pin or striker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHI Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 5 minutes ago, fastlane604 said: I make my own snap caps. Primer pocket is full of caulking. Nothing to damage a firing pin or striker. your striker is sticking in the caulk this is what bent the two firing pins i mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, BoyGlock said: Tip of fp might be sticking or binding on the “primer” of the snap cap holding the fp forward, in turn preventing the slide to be retracted? I first thought that was what was happening. I made up a new snap cap. I loaded a sized case with a bullet to correct OAL and filled the primer pocket with fresh caulking. The first snap cap had lost the caulking in the primer pocket and as you, I thought the tip of the striker was getting hung up. I pulled the trigger on the new snap cap and same result, stuck slide. Performed my regimen to get to the snap cap and found a fresh dent in the primer pocket caulking that looked just like a dented primer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 2 minutes ago, AHI said: your striker is sticking in the caulk this is what bent the two firing pins i mentioned above. I have used these home made snap caps countless times practicing reloads and have had no problems with firing pin damage. Regardless, my slide won't rack with either a primer pocket that is empty or one that has been filled with caulking, once the trigger has been pulled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 14 minutes ago, fastlane604 said: Yes and yes. I have one of those bore lasers somewhere. I will dig it out and try it. I am guessing the result will be no different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124gr9mm Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Sounds very strange. I have a Gen 4 G17 that I've used with snap caps thousands of times with no issues. Maybe look for a Glock forum to see if it's something new with Gen 5 models? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, fastlane604 said: I have one of those bore lasers somewhere. I will dig it out and try it. I am guessing the result will be no different. No problems with a laserlyte. I inserted it into the chamber, closed the slide and pulled the trigger. I racked it like normal. The only difference I see between the laserlyte and a 9mm case is that there is no rim on the laserlyte. Edited February 19, 2019 by fastlane604 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 8 minutes ago, fastlane604 said: No problems with a laserlyte. I inserted it into the chamber, closed the slide and pulled the trigger. I racked it like normal. The only difference I see between the laserlyte and a 9mm case is that there is no rim on the laserlyte. I suppose I could take the striker out of the slide and try it with a live round. That should determine whether the striker has any part in the equation. I have never had a reason to do this before. There should be no tension on the trigger but it should still pull to rear, just like when it is pulled with the slide off. I can't think of any reason this could cause a collateral problem (as long as I take out the striker, of course). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HCH Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I would just skip using snap caps. What happens if you put a fired case in it and drop the striker? Or better yet, load only a primer (no powder or bullet) and see if it still happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoyGlock Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 4 hours ago, fastlane604 said: I have used these home made snap caps countless times practicing reloads and have had no problems with firing pin damage. Regardless, my slide won't rack with either a primer pocket that is empty or one that has been filled with caulking, once the trigger has been pulled. Home made using empty shells? Could be the caulking in the primer pockets is too soft that the fp tip goes into the primer flash hole and binds in the hole holding it there not letting it retract. I use spent primer inserted backwards to plug the holes to prevent such thing. Had same problems in 2011s and prevented me to rack the slide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, HCH said: I would just skip using snap caps. What happens if you put a fired case in it and drop the striker? Or better yet, load only a primer (no powder or bullet) and see if it still happens. Good suggestion. I will try it and report back. As I mentioned earlier, skipping the snap caps is an easy thing to do. My real concern is in the event of a high primer or a misfire. I want to know that I can rack the slide to clear the chamber without taking the slide off the gun. Edited February 19, 2019 by fastlane604 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 19, 2019 Author Share Posted February 19, 2019 14 minutes ago, BoyGlock said: Home made using empty shells? Could be the caulking in the primer pockets is too soft that the fp tip goes into the primer flash hole and binds in the hole holding it there not letting it retract. I use spent primer inserted backwards to plug the holes to prevent such thing. Had same problems in 2011s and prevented me to rack the slide. Thanks for the tip on the backwards primer. I will try it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floater Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Your snap cap has an OCL to long for the gen 5. The gen 5 glock chamber is a lot shorter. It might be the "fake bullet" of the snap cap is jamming? Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 I tried the case with only a live primer and I tried a homemade snap cap with a spent primer installed backwards. Both racked just like they should. It appears I created much adieu about nothing. Thank you all for the suggestions, especially HCH on the case with a live primer and BoyGlock with the primer backwards. You assuaged my concerns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 58 minutes ago, floater said: Your snap cap has an OCL to long for the gen 5. The gen 5 glock chamber is a lot shorter. It might be the "fake bullet" of the snap cap is jamming? Just a thought. It wasn't a problem with the snap caps but it was a problem the other day at the range. I had loaded some 124 TC Bayous at 1.10 OAL and I had a couple that were too long. Really suprised me. I have always dealt with short chambers on my CZs, but didn't think I'd have to worry about it with a Glock. Only the TCs caused me trouble. The RN ran just fine at 1.13 OAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MemphisMechanic Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 @fastlane604 gen 5 Glock “marksman barrels” have much shorter chambers than the We-Eat-Everything arrangment we’re all used to with Gens 1 - 4. Every time they improve perfection, it gets worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastlane604 Posted February 20, 2019 Author Share Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) 10 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said: @fastlane604 gen 5 Glock “marksman barrels” have much shorter chambers than the We-Eat-Everything arrangment we’re all used to with Gens 1 - 4. Every time they improve perfection, it gets worse. Back to the plunk test. Edited February 20, 2019 by fastlane604 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul49 Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 Customize, customize, customize and you keep running into reliability problems. 99% of problems I see at local USPSA matches are due to shooter modifications. Stock parts, factory ammo, stock snap caps and NO problems or at least rare. Off the shelf snap caps don’t cost very much either. If people didn’t continuously tweak things there would be fewer problems and then this Forum might even go out of business. And the aftermarket folks, too. Call me the Grinch that tried to kill the aftermarket tweaking business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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