can we have a non fanboy discussion about glock?

[cajun47]

im going to the gunshow in a couple hours. if i see a cheap used glock i think i'll buy it just to see whats so great. the thing about glock that i really dont like is the limp wrist thing. it exist. i have talked to several cops and they all say limp wrist is a problem with glock but they still love them.

"just hold it firmly". but what if you are injured and can't do that?

do beretta 92f limp wrist? cause i tried to limp wrist mine several times and it never did. is limp wrist just a "plastic" gun thing or is it more of a "glock" thing.

i also tried to limp wrist my kel tec pf9 and failed.

 

[JDGray]

Glocks that I've shot, are sprung very heavy, causing this limp wrist condition. Any gun will do it, if ther recoil spring is heavy, not just Glocks. My Ruger 45 is sprung too light, very hard to limp wrist, and the empties fly a good 12'-15'. Any glock will make a nice pile, 5' away, and in my opinion perfectly sprung.

 

[SouthpawShootr]

I've been shooting Glocks since '93 and never managed to limpwrist it. It's sort of an in-house joke over at Glocktalk. Some people chime in to answer limpwrist to just about any problem. I suppose I could intentionally induce a malfunction in one of my Glocks by holding it loosely, but I've not seen the point. I bought my first (G19) used just to see what the commotion was about. Now I have several and they've all been good to me.

what if you are injured and can't do that?

Good question, but if you're that bad off, you likely have seconds before you lose consciousness, so you better make that shot count. If you're thinking an injury to your dominant hand, then make sure you get some range time in with your off-hand.

 

[Navy joe]

Dunno, I've shot my 17 holding it upside down weakhand pulling the trigger with my pinky and can't make a limp wrist issue. I know that the .40s seem factory over-sprung, maybe that contirbutes. Good guns, I've owned four, still have 2, broken them several times but overall they are durable, easy to repair and get parts for, and have good factory support. Don't spend more than $350-400 on a used Glock unless it is something you just have to have like an original 17L.

 

[XavierBreath]

On the used market here, I see them selling for about $350 fairly frequently. If you want a certain caliber or model, you may have to wait until it appears.

I have owned a Glock 26 only. I had it several weeks before I traded it off. I wanted to see hat the hubbub was about, so I found one and bought it. The pistol was accurate enough, never missed a beat........but then the accuracy quickly went away. After a cursory look, I realized the rear sight was moving back and forth. Then I realized the pistol had plastic sights.

To this day, I have a hard time believing they would put plasic sights in a defensive handgun. I suppose the sights work well enough for most customers. You rarely hear of owners complaining about this. It struck me as being cheap though, cost cutting above and beyond what was needed. Cast aluminum or steel sights could not have been that much more expensive.

Frankly, I'm kind of surprised there isn't as big a market for Glock sights as there is for 1911 gizmos. I guess it doesn't matter, and the plastic ones work OK for most shooters. It just got me wondering what other cost cutting measures were done.

I found the trigger to be spongy. The grip angle was wrong for me. I'm guessing the one I owned was a second generation, but I'm not certain. It did not balance and carry on my hip well. Perhaps a Glock with a longer barrel would have. I did not have a problem with limp wristing.

I owned my Glock at the time many Glocks began to have frame rail separations. Glock was not responding to it's customer's needs during that time, and that bothered me. Glock took care of their police contracts, and told most civilians to suck eggs. Finally, I find the "Glock Perfection" advertising hype disagreeable, but that is probably because I am an old curmudgeon, and Glock owners keep bringing it up.

My Glock 26 was, however, reliable for me while I had it. One thing is certain......If you buy a used one for $350, you will get your money back if you don't like it. Try one and see!

Let's not turn this thread into a flame fest.

 

[ID_shooting]

XB, I agree on the sight issue. I am OK with plastic lowers but man, I would prefers steel sights. I am currently running through my mind if I want to replace the ones on my G17 with steel adjustables, steel trijicons, or steel fiber optic sights.

 

[CDignition]

The sights aren't that easily damaged, no more than steel really, unless youre using it as a hammer. There IS however quite the selection of aftermarket sights for them though, so no fears there.

I have a 34, and I cant shoot it for the love of god,lol. It's all me, the trigger is similar to my P7, and that thing is deadly. Gave it to my friend that shoots a G34 all the time, plenty accurate. So it is all me. I don't know what my problem it, maybe it is sight picture, I dunno yet.

 

[GunTech]

The limpwristing phenomenon is a problem for any auto with a very light frame. There's not enough mass so that the frame has adequate inertia to remain relatively fixed in relation to the slide. Simple physics.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I've had a Glock 19 for almost nine years, with several thousand rounds through it. I've never deliberately held it loosely just to see what it will do, but I have shot it two-handed, one-handed and weak-handed (this is arguably an approximation of limp-wristing) and can count the number of stoppages on one hand. Aside from the one disabling parts breakage (if you've never broken any part of a gun you haven't shot it enough), these have been very sporadic failures to eject, perhaps one out of a thousand, and this has always been with cheap, er, mildly loaded ammo.

Now, a FTE on a Glock is more difficult to clear than on some other guns. Instead of the fired case conveniently sticking up out of the port ("stovepiping") so you can quickly "wipe" it away, it lies parallel to and on top of the top round in the magazine. You have to forcefully flip it to one side so the case will fall out. If it doesn't, racking the slide will try to feed the next round in the magazine in behind the fired case, then you have a mess on your hands.



If you like that Glock, buy it for its other attributes, and don't be scared off by this "oh, it'll jam if you don't hold it exactly right" baloney.

(Next, watch for someone to say I limp-wristed it that one out of a thousand times. )

 

[grimjaw]

No fanboy here, but I do own a G19.

I've never experienced a problem with FTE/FTF due to limpwristing, but I probably haven't been trying for that.

I think it's an ugly pistol, honestly. Squared off and plastic, blocky, spongy trigger.

The grip for the G17 didn't fit me as well as the G19, and the G26 is just too fat compared to other concealable 9mm pistols.

There are other pistols I like better, both for shooting and for looks. But the Glock is one of the easiest to maintain (I hate maintenance), and is accurate enough for self defense purposes. I prefer a consistent trigger on a self defense gun (it's consistently spongy). There are lots of aftermarket accessories if I want them, and lots of knowledge about problems that might arise since the type is so widespread. It's a compromise gun, but every time I think about trading it or selling it, I realize I won't want to beat as hard on a pistol I actually *like*.

jm

 

[milo z]

I just bought a G19 a couple of weeks ago - I'm planning to only shoot it and my M&P9 for the next year. The grip angle is neither good nor bad, though I wish I had gotten a 17 now - what felt just right in the store feels a little small in my hand now. It would make a decent concealment option, though.

The trigger is heavy (feels heavier than the alleged 5.5#), but fairly crisp. Less spongy than the (lighter) M&P trigger.

The sights work surprisingly well despite being plastic and kind of chunky. I'm going to send my slide to Richard Heinie's shop for a set of straight-8s.

 

[KurtC]

Gun Tech is spot on.

The lighter the auto, and the more serious the cartridge, the more susceptible the gun is to limpwristing.

However, any reputable defensive handgunning instruction will teach how to eliminate this possibility when shooting one hand or weak hand.

It really has little to do with the wrist. It is your forearm that controls rearward movement when shooting at shoulder level, and your upper arm that controls rearward movement at hip level.

A weak wrist might allow the gun to torque upon firing, but should still allow the slide to function properly.

 

[TexasRifleman]

I don't like Glocks but I have shot quite a few.

Like any auto, proper stance and grip eliminate this.

Poor technique can cause this to happen with any auto.
I wouldn't say the Glock is any more susceptible to this than anything else

"just hold it firmly". but what if you are injured and can't do that?

Then you need to be looking at revolvers quite honestly.

If you are talking about what if you are injured in a firefight then you have to adapt and adjust.
Weak hand only practice is critical for a carry weapon.

 

[ewb45acp]

For a knock around workin pistol you probably can't go wrong with a glock. I owned a G31 for a while. I had wanted something to try out the (then new) .357 sig. I fell into a good deal on the glock. I couldn't say a bad thing about it. It balanced well in my hand. The sights were easy to "pick up" with my eyes. It was as accurate as any of my beloved 1911s. never a single stoppage of any kind. But after 6 months there was no love. It was just another glock. So I traded it and some cash for a Colt .38 super.

 

[.45&TKD]

I just bought a used Glock 22, my first Glock, and it is boring in its appearance and funcionality. But it works and it is cheap, $350.

Its a miracle they can get a hunk of plastic to perform like that.

For a good deal used check out
http://www.summitgunbroker.com/1966886.html

 

[comeandtakeit]

I have seen the limpwrist twice, once with a Glock 30 and once with a Glock 21. I have never seen it with a .40 or a 9mm. It has never happened to me with any Glock. And yes I'm a fan but even I can answer objectively.

 

[craig_o]

I don't like the grip angle, I don't like the styling, I don't like the trendiness, I don't like the irritating "GET A GLOCK" and "NICE GUN; TOO BAD IT ISN'T A GLOCK" mantra SOME people in the Glock community adhere to.

On the other hand it's reliable, durable, proven in any situation you could dream of and quite frankly it isn't going anywhere, ever.

I don't own and don't plan on ever owning a Glock, which isn't to say I NEVER will. I don't care for the ergonomics, which is the fundamental problem I have with the gun, and as to Glock's hallmark if I wanted something that could function reliably in a sandstorm/alien invasion I'd just use my AK anyway. For every civilian scenario I can think of, I'm much better off with the gun that fits me, and Glock ain't it.

 

[Blarelli]

I've had a glock 23, and it was pretty easy to get it to limp wrist. I didn't like the trigger, grip angle, and block-like-feel. If you held it firm, it was reliable, and decently accurate. Will I get another one? No, there are plenty of other guns that are reliable in any situation I will ever be in, more accurate, and more importantly, comfortable for me. Go ahead and get one though. Get it out of your system.

 

[GunNut]

Never had a Glock or any gun give me limp wrist problems with either hand.

If you are worried I would suggest just going with a revolver, then you won't have a problem.

 

[Rexster]

I am not a Glock fan. Until the "3rd generation" models were released, they did not point well for me. The current models point OK, and when circumstances compelled me to stop carrying a 1911 as a duty pistol, I carried Glocks for about two-and-a-half years, but that mushy trigger never won me over, and I could never shoot a Glock nearly as well as a 1911 or a sixgun, and the grip was large enough that I never felt I had a good, controlling grip, which is important in law enforcement. When the DAK trigger became available in the SIG P229, which was on my agency's list of approved duty pistols, I switched, and never looked back. (We buy our own duty weapons down here.) I am not saying Glocks are bad, but definitely not my cup of tea.

 

[Slugless]

I have seen the limp wrist thing on a Glock 17, 3rd time he had ever shot a pistol. The man locked his wrist and it went away.

 

[David S]

used to have a first gen glock 17..... reliablity only equaled by its ugliness...
never had a problem..... just ugly.....
didnt much care for the grip angle either...

i might get another one day just as a beater

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

I don't like the grip angle, I don't like the styling, I don't like the trendiness, I don't like the irritating "GET A GLOCK" and "NICE GUN; TOO BAD IT ISN'T A GLOCK" mantra SOME people in the Glock community adhere to.

Quoted For Truth. When I went searching for my P99, I had multiple salesmen try to convert me to the Glock. One ever went as far as to ask me why I would even consider ordering a Walther when I could get a Glock right then.

I'll be honest. I think they are the ugliest looking guns I have ever seen. I'm sure they work great. But so does my P99, and it looks good to me. People will say that the Glock is the best made, best functioning, easiest to clean, most reliable gun out there. Those people are wrong. The Glock is one of the best made, best functioning, easiest to clean, most reliable guns out there. There are others. If one of those others feels, shoots and looks better for them than a Glock, than that's the way it is.

 

[RobMoore]

If my weakling wife can shoot her Compact .357SIG Glock 32 without ever having a FTE (and she doesn't even hold it right like I tell her to time and time again), than any Man with properly functioning limbs shouldn't have a problem with a 17 or 19.

 

[W.E.G.]

I once observed a female shooting a new G19, and having something along the lines of limp-wrist failures. I'm not sure whether it was so much limp-wristing as it was weak-gripping. If there is any mechanical difference.

In any event the pistol would fail to go into full battery. The gun would be 99% in battery, and enough for the striker to fall and causing weak, off-center impacts on the primer and mis-fire.




I've shot thousands of rounds though Glocks of various flavors, including the young lady's G19. I can't recall ever having a malfunction of any sort. She stopped having malfunctions after I brought it to her attention that she needed to grip the pistol firmly.