Glock 17 80% reliability/function question

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  • lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Okay, so my first go around I had the slide stop/take down reveresed and every round that gun loaded itself was a light primer strike. I figured it out and outright replaced it with a wolf extended take down.

    Now here’s the thing about it, he other one when facing properly would allow you to just put the slide straight back on, you didn’t need to hold the take down to get the slide and barrel back on. This one you have to hold it down slightly. Not sure if that is a fitment issue or not.

    So back to the range and 180 rounds later and I had about 12 light primer strikes. Mostly early. Mostly UMC 115gr or federal aluminum 115gr. I had zero with federal 115gr brass cased, but one stove pipe. With PPU M882 124gr I had 1 light strike, 1 stove pipe and 2 rounds that didn’t quite chamber stuck about 1/4” open and I had to smack the slide (but it fired fine each time).

    Operating the slide by hand it seems really smooth, though I don’t have another Glock to compare it to.

    My best guess is it needs more wear, better lubrication (I had hit all of the points, but when I got it home it seemed kind of dry) and/or possibly taking a stone to some of the barrel/slide surfaces.

    The barrel on the rear has a rough edge, I think from where I had the thing jammed when I assembled it without the recoil spring and it jammed up hard (I had to hit the slide HARD on the edge of a shelf to get it loose). It isn’t really badly messed up, but very slightly rough now.

    There is some wear on the finish in the inside, underside of the slide. Ramp appears fine.

    I’ll post pictures of these wear points.

    Thoughts? Smooth the rough surfaces on the barrel/rail/licking block interfaces then lube ajd must run a few hundred more rounds through it? Something else going on?

    If it matters it tends to eject close to straight up and slightly right. I got about 8 casing to the forehead, but 80% of them are landing about 2-8 feet to my 3 o’clock with a few landing such that they bounce to my left and a few back behind me (or obviously to the forehead).
     

    Racer Doug14

    Thread killer
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Feb 22, 2013
    8,003
    Millers Maryland
    Check to make sure the takedown spring is fully seated. It took me three times to get it right. But, I never fired mine before I fixed it.
    Also, UMC is crap. I had issues too. I'd run NATO spec or hotter loadings.
    More..check the weight on the recoil spring.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Everything seems to function just dandy by hand. Ejects fine, cycles fine. I looked again and that rear edge on the barrel isn’t all that jagged. A few quick passes with a stone and it is nice and clean now. Ramp looks fine, but I don’t know enough with glocks
     

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    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Check to make sure the takedown spring is fully seated. It took me three times to get it right. But, I never fired mine before I fixed it.
    Also, UMC is crap. I had issues too. I'd run NATO spec or hotter loadings.
    More..check the weight on the recoil spring.

    Hmm, I’ll double check. I suppose the takedown spring might not be in there properly now. The recoil spring should be good. It is a Glock part and the baggie part number matched what it should be.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Also not sure if normal, but the take down lever takes a LOT of force to pull down. I mean, completely doable, but it does seem high (again, nothing to compare it directly against).

    Maybe I need to take it by my buddy who has a G17 and compare it directly
     

    Racer Doug14

    Thread killer
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Feb 22, 2013
    8,003
    Millers Maryland
    I had issues that I think were the recoil spring. Had a 18lb one on a compact. Got a 15lb. Have not fired it yet with it yet. It locks into battery fine.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Lighter ammo at least seems to be a contributor. Maybe? I mean, yes the take down was reversed, but when I was using Winchester 147gr HP (960 some FPS) I could usually get it to fire 2 or 3 shots in a row before a light primer strike.

    I guess a lighter recoil spring is cheap enough it is also be something I could try.

    Also as my neighbor said, years ago it used to be manufacturers said to run 500 rounds through the gun before calling to complain about an issue (IE needing to break in). I guess the plus being 9mm is that a few hundred rounds isn’t all that expensive and still fun (at least now that it isn’t single shot and I seem to get most or sometimes all of a magazine through it before it light strikes).

    Also yeah, the striker appears to be free in the channel. I feel no binding or issues with it and it comes out full depth. 99.99% the issue is not with the striker.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Oh. Apparently non-standard weights are a little more pricey than I thought. Wolff is $30. ISIM (I think that was who), though with SS guide rod, is $25.

    What is the standard weight? You mentioned 18lbs. I’ve seen 17lbs and I’ve seen a lot of places mention early non-captive ones were 10lbs (seems super light) and the later captive ones are 16lbs for the g17.

    Makes me think a 14# might be the way to go. Or no clue. Maybe just leave it locked back for the next month and put another couple of hundred rounds through it as well as again try some of the hotter ammo I have for some of it.
     

    Racer Doug14

    Thread killer
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Feb 22, 2013
    8,003
    Millers Maryland
    A new spring is cheaper than all that ammo, IMO. I got a ISMI spring for $9. I got a SS rod with spring for $19. Glock factory rate is 17 for a g17. So a 1-2lb lighter one might be ok.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    A couple things to check:
    1. The firing pin safety and spring. (https://us.glock.com/technology/safe-action).
    2. The striker spring assembly.

    It would also be helpful to know whether you're using stock springs or not.

    Yup. All Glock parts except a wolf extended take down, swenson slide and barrel.

    The slide safety seems to function correctly. I push it in and shake the slide and I can hear the striker rattling around. I release it and the striker is held in place.

    I did swap the take down back to the Glock part from the lone wolf. Dimensionally eyeballing it they appear the same other than the lone wolf being about 2mm longer. Though the serrations are a little tougher on my fingers oddly. Also that bit where the Glock part I can push the slide back in place without having to hold the take down, down. The lone wolf I have to.

    Again, I’ve shot a couple of glocks before, but never even done maintenance on one. But the videos I’ve seen, it looks like you should just be able to put the slide back on and pull back. You shouldn’t have to pull the take down, down to get the slide back on.

    Anyway, since my light strikes before were that the lever was reversed, maybe some linger issues are that the lone wolf is off in spec just enough that it is causing some kind of issue (no idea, grasping at straws).

    Sadly I probably won’t get back to the range for at least a week. Could be a month (having eye surgery...soon? I find out tomorrow and I’ll be out of commission for 3-4 weeks afterward. PRK on my left eye. Right has LASIK, left had to be aborted. Heal up a few weeks and redo as PRK).
     

    Bountied

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 6, 2012
    6,888
    Pasadena
    Make sure your takedown tab isn't in backwards. I had this issue the first time I installed one, and as mentioned check your recoil spring weight.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Make sure your takedown tab isn't in backwards. I had this issue the first time I installed one, and as mentioned check your recoil spring weight.

    Yeah, I did as well, which had every self loaded round a light primer strike. This trip I had an extended one in, the correct orientation and only had about 7% light strikes. So I am back to the original Glock take down (in correctly). As the wolf wouldn’t allow me to reattach the slide without pulling down the take down. Which doesn’t seem correct. The Glock OEM part does allow me to just slide on the slide.

    My neighbor has a G17. So what I may do if our schedules match up before I go next time is see if he can bring his G17. Run some through mine and see if the different take down and very light polish I did on a couple of parts solved the issue.

    If not try his slide on my lower and see if the problems disappear. That would at least narrow it down to an issue with something in my slide/Barrel. I’ll also try his RSA on my slide and lower to see if the issue is there.

    Other than trying a different RSA I am not sure how to check the spring rate. It was a Glock part that is spec’d for the G17 gen 3. I guess I could just get a 14 or 15# RSA and drop it in to see if that solves things.
     

    erwos

    The Hebrew Hammer
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 25, 2009
    13,866
    Rockville, MD
    I would pull the entire striker assembly. The striker face that impacts the primer is worth taking a look at. I guess it is _possible_ that it could be out of spec, but it seems unlikely if it's a new factory striker. The cups could also be having problems.

    It _could_ be the barrel. The Swensons are known to have problems from time to time, and it could be the chamber was an iota too deep and causing light strikes. Again, seems like it should be more consistent if that were the case, though.
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    I have done both a version 1.5 and version 2.0 using all OEM Glock parts except for Swenson slides. One has a Lone Wolf barrel and one has a Swenson barrel.

    Using Glock 17 round magazines, I have fired both 115 and 124 grain FMJ ammunition with no problems from each of them. The 124 grain NATO is what I stockpile and both of my P80-G17s eat it up!

    I recommend polishing the feed ramp on your barrel. Compress your recoil spring and lightly lube the guide rod. You may also want to put some lube on the barrel and inside the slide on the top. It is normal to see a little wear in that area and on the barrel. A drop of lube rubbed into each rail and you should be good to go.

    With the number of light strikes you are experiencing, you may want to check the firing pin channel liner to be sure it is fully seated. One of my Swenson slides came with it pre-installed and one did not. I was expecting to install them both myself, but did check to be sure the pre-installed liner was done correctly. With the problems I have experienced with AR upper assemblies, I take everything apart and reassemble them now to be sure the final assembly was not done by an idiot! I have had too many that require something to be realigned or tightened and do not like discovering it when at the range. I would imagine that with the popularity of the P80, slide makers can mess up too.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I’ll just go ahead and replace the channel liner. Not sure I got it in properly to be honest. It stuck out just a hair and was really hard to get the slide rear cover on.

    However the striker assembly is loose in there when I push in the safety detent. The striker appear to have the proper depth from what I can tell.

    I’ll also probably try polishing the ramp. It isn’t the smoothest. Not sure if that comes through in the pictures.

    No issues lubing the guide rod a little?

    Also on the frame, it’s a v1.5 with the plastic rear rails. Nothing appears to bind or rub with the rails though.

    Suggestions on getting the channel liner out? I saw using a brass cleaning brush, jam it in there, rotate and pull back. I’ve also seen using a screw/bolt to thread down in to it (but of course small enough not to damage the metal)
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    I use Tetra Gun Lube and Grease for my polymer builds. It is safe to use and does an excellent job. On my Polymer G150 AR build(not an endorsement), it makes a huge difference being able to lube the springs and detent pins.

    To lube the guide rod, I just put a couple of small drops on my index finger and thumb and rub it into the exposed guide rod once the spring is compressed. Just a light coating will do the job. No need to have things dripping with lube.

    On both of my G17 builds, the spring was noisy when racking the slide until I did that. No more squeak!

    On the rear rails, I used a little water and wet sanded the rails using 2000 grit Emory paper until they were as smooth as the un-milled surfaces. My slide fits tight, but moves freely and does not bind. Too much play is not a good thing on the rear rails. I doubt if it would cause light strikes, but may cause cycling issues. When the slide is forward, grab the rear and see if it moves around in the channels. It should be tight.

    The channel liner should not "stick out" at all. It should be driven to the bottom of the channel. I think you are referring to the firing pin spacer sleeve. It needs to be depressed to install the slide cover plate. The channel liner is the plastic tube that is slightly tapered on one end. You should not have to replace the channel liner unless it is damaged. Just check to be sure it is fully seated. This can be done using a wooden dowel and tapping it with a hammer. If it moves a little, it was not fully seated!

    If no channel liner was ever installed(should have been in the slide parts kit) you would be lucky if it fired at all. One of my Swenson slides came with it already installed and one did not.

    If you have to replace it, the screw method looks to be the way I would go. I have not yet had to remove one.

    Are you sure that you installed the trigger spring in the correct orientation? The loop should be open on the top in the rear.
     
    Last edited:

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I think the channel liner I installed backwards. The striker is lose in there, but maybe that is causing issues. I did order a new one, so I’ll yank the old one and install new. In the rear, there is no play in the rails and I sanded with 400 grit. I could go higher, but I feel like that probably isn’t the issue.

    I suspect channel liner being borked and or the take down causing some kind of issue. Or something being a fraction out of spec in the slide/Barrel. The couple of feeding issues I had I am willing to chalk up to magazines (KCI 17 and 33 round tested as well as PMAG) and or feed ramps. Polishing the feed ramps I’d imagine would also help get properly back in to battery and faster.

    Thanks guys. I’ll try that stuff and hopefully I can get it back out in a week to test it.
     

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