G27 Not Firing - Primer strikes off center

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  • ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    My G27 seems to have an intermittent problem today. After getting my sights adjusted, I wanted to get in some practice rounds. I had 4 rounds out of 50 of factory Remington .40 S&W not fire.

    They were struck by the firing pin but what’s odd is that the strike is towards the edge of the primer. Out of curiosity I reloaded one of the rounds and rotated the round so that the previous hit was at the bottom and then fired it. I tried two of the other 4 and those fired too.

    Here is a pic of one of the rounds which failed to fire.
    d91814a1cb8a212f9cfdf7a59728d5f7.jpg


    The inter-web seems to indicate one of 4 possibilities:

    1) Weak grip
    2) Gunked up firing pin guide
    3) Weak or failing recoil spring
    4) Damaged guide or rails

    I guess it could be #1 but I think I’ve got a fairly consistent grip. I’ve put about 250 rounds through it before today and it’s never happened before. So let’s say it’s not that for now.

    I checked items 2 & 4 and don’t see any issues. Everything seems to slide as it should.

    So this leaves failing recoil spring. Do these things really fail? I don’t see anything wrong with it? Before I buy a new one, anything else I should be checking?












    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     

    KYtoMD

    Member
    Mar 23, 2017
    59
    MD
    Do you have any aftermarket parts in the G27? That doesn't look like a typical Glock primer strike, which is usually a rectangular outline with a circular indent in the middle.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    Do you have any aftermarket parts in the G27? That doesn't look like a typical Glock primer strike, which is usually a rectangular outline with a circular indent in the middle.



    No this one is all stock. I didn’t post a pic of the fired brass but those look normal with the little rectangular shape.
     

    davsco

    Ultimate Member
    Oct 21, 2010
    8,607
    Loudoun, VA
    don't see how your grip or the recoil spring would have any effect. look at the breech face, does the firing pin/striker hole look messed up (enlarged, chipped, etc)?

    pull the back tab from the slide and pull out the striker. anything look weird with that? is there any crap/gunk in the channel? there are two tiny plastic half-cups that are tensioned by the spring. does everything look hunky-dory? maybe one of the half-cups is missing, cracked, offset, or the like such that the striker isn't centered?
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    Who adjusted the sights?

    They may have crushed the slide rails. Seen it before.

    The offset strike usually happens when the gun fires partially out of battery or the firing pin is sticking forward.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    don't see how your grip or the recoil spring would have any effect. look at the breech face, does the firing pin/striker hole look messed up (enlarged, chipped, etc)?

    pull the back tab from the slide and pull out the striker. anything look weird with that? is there any crap/gunk in the channel? there are two tiny plastic half-cups that are tensioned by the spring. does everything look hunky-dory? maybe one of the half-cups is missing, cracked, offset, or the like such that the striker isn't centered?


    I took the cover off and checked the whole slide. It had powder residue, but normal. The spring and striker are good. No obstructions in the channel and no damage to the tip. When I depress the firing pin safety and hold the slide facing down the firing pin slides freely through the breech face. I actually did this before disassembly.

    In salvaged most of the spent cases and they all looked like normal glock firing pin strikes, and right in the center.

    It sure is weird. The fact that the failures are all offset strikes makes me think the out of battery condition is plausible. If the barrel was not locked fully into the slide then it would be slightly lower in the pocket and the bullet would also be lower relative to the breech face and firing pin.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    Who adjusted the sights?

    They may have crushed the slide rails. Seen it before.

    The offset strike usually happens when the gun fires partially out of battery or the firing pin is sticking forward.



    I did, but I used a wheeler sight install tool to press them in, and got them close. Then today at the range In brought a block of wood to cradle the slide along with a brass punch and small hammer. What’s funny is that I didn’t have any failures while shooting to get the rear sight perfect. I probably fired 35 rounds as I was honing in on the final position. Then after I finished I setup new targets and wanted to practice another 50 rounds. Thats when the problem started.
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    I did, but I used a wheeler sight install tool to press them in, and got them close. Then today at the range In brought a block of wood to cradle the slide along with a brass punch and small hammer. What’s funny is that I didn’t have any failures while shooting to get the rear sight perfect. I probably fired 35 rounds as I was honing in on the final position. Then after I finished I setup new targets and wanted to practice another 50 rounds. Thats when the problem started.

    You didn't damage it then :)

    Could be just your grip not allowing a solid recoil hold. Or the temperature.

    You got grease in the gun?
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    You didn't damage it then :)

    Could be just your grip not allowing a solid recoil hold. Or the temperature.

    You got grease in the gun?


    I keep the slide slightly oiled. No grease. Usually 1-2 drops spread around the rails with a swab. I wipe any oil on my fingers onto the recoil spring before reassembly.

    It could be my grip, I wont rule that out. I’ve only had it for about a month. Never had the problem on the G34 or G30 but they are larger.

    I do have some X-Grips to use 15 round mags but I didn’t have them with me today. I may try a test next weekend

    Just curious. Do recoil springs actually go bad?
     

    clandestine

    AR-15 Savant
    Oct 13, 2008
    37,031
    Elkton, MD
    I keep the slide slightly oiled. No grease. Usually 1-2 drops spread around the rails with a swab. I wipe any oil on my fingers onto the recoil spring before reassembly.

    It could be my grip, I wont rule that out. I’ve only had it for about a month. Never had the problem on the G34 or G30 but they are larger.

    I do have some X-Grips to use 15 round mags but I didn’t have them with me today. I may try a test next weekend

    Just curious. Do recoil springs actually go bad?

    It will take several thousand of cycles to wear out the recoil spring.

    Perhaps it was underlubed? Glocks like to be lubed, just have to be careful to keep excessive lube away from the fstriker assembly unless you have Maritime Cups installed.
     

    inkd

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 4, 2009
    7,512
    Ridge
    Try a different brand of ammo. I got a faulty batch of Hornady Revolution ammo several years ago that had the primer pockets reamed too deep which let the primer move forward when struck which resulted in misfires.

    I also had some recent reloads with high primers that would misfire but the primer strike looked just like yours, only not offset (at least I don't think so).

    If it misfires with other brands of ammo, give it a good cleaning and lubing and try again, you can bring a cleaning kit to the range and do it on the spot.

    If it keeps misfiring, I would have someone else try it to see if they have the same problem.

    Lastly, I have a Glock 27 and can send you the slide and you can swap out parts one at a time to see if you can narrow it down. I believe its a Gen 2 though, not sure if that's compatible or not? Hell, I'll break the pistol down and send you the guts if you want to try swapping parts out? If the Generations will interchange.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    It will take several thousand of cycles to wear out the recoil spring.



    Perhaps it was underlubed? Glocks like to be lubed, just have to be careful to keep excessive lube away from the fstriker assembly unless you have Maritime Cups installed.


    Ok good advice. I really appreciate the help. I don’t know how many rounds were fired, as I purchased it used. For now I’ll lube the slide rails more and I’ll probably get back out to the range next weekend. Even if there were a problem with the recoil spring they are fairly inexpensive.
     

    inkd

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 4, 2009
    7,512
    Ridge
    I keep the slide slightly oiled. No grease. Usually 1-2 drops spread around the rails with a swab. I wipe any oil on my fingers onto the recoil spring before reassembly.

    It could be my grip, I wont rule that out. I’ve only had it for about a month. Never had the problem on the G34 or G30 but they are larger.

    I do have some X-Grips to use 15 round mags but I didn’t have them with me today. I may try a test next weekend

    Just curious. Do recoil springs actually go bad?

    If that is all the lube you are using, you're missing a few lube points. I'm guessing lack of lube could maybe keep it from going completely into battery?
     

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    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    If that is all the lube you are using, you're missing a few lube points. I'm guessing lack of lube could maybe keep it from going completely into battery?



    Thanks for the pic. I might have understated my lube process but there was clearly one area in that diagram that I had not been oiling. That was the underside of the slide right in front of the chamber. I can see that as the slide moves back it wipes a little oil into the little notch right at the front top of the block.

    However I took it out this morning and had two failures out of 100 rounds. I was making paced and deliberate shots with a very firm grip when it happened.

    At this point Im going to replace the recoil spring. They are cheap enough so I might as well try.
     

    ToolAA

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Jun 17, 2016
    10,499
    God's Country
    Bro, sperm is not a gun lube. LOL


    I guess, sometimes you have to improvise. I was shooting tight groups at 25ft, with a compact, so maybe I’ll stick with it.

    e91868ab68987a0beb2aaa9b3bbc7f78.jpg


    I’ll post back after I replace the recoil spring and see if that solves the problem failure to fire issue.
     

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