I took Shirley and Lou, brand new gun owners, to the range with their brand new Glock 19 Gen 3s. They were very anxious to try out their new guns, but when I suggested they disassemble and lube their guns before shooting, they just did not have the time.
At the range, with new FMJ 115gr ammo, they both experienced about 6 "Failure-to-Feed-the-Next-Round" during the first 20 or so rounds.
The brass ejected, but the next round was not picked up, and the slide closed on an empty chamber. They pulled the trigger but nothing happened.
I was puzzled that they both were experiencing the exact same failure with new guns.
I had them pull the magazine, saw that they still had 4 or 5 rounds left in the mag but the chamber was empty, re-install the mag and continue to shoot until it happened again a few rounds later.
I fired both of their guns with NO failures. And I told them to grip the guns harder to avoid limp-wristing the guns.
This seemed to solve the problem, and they shot off their 100 rounds without any more failures. And they both did VERY well with their targets for new shooters. (No ingrained bad habits).
When we took the guns apart later for cleaning, they were bone dry except for a tiny bit of copper lube near the striker inside the slide.
I am convinced that they could have avoided the initial feeding failures if we had lubed the rails, barrel and the inside top of the slide where the barrel runs.
The lack of lube and the slightly weak grip during recoil was just enough to keep the slide from travelling completely to the rear to pick up the next round, even though the brass did eject ok. We chalked up the failures to the guns being new, dry and tight, and don't expect any more trouble at the next range session.
At the range, with new FMJ 115gr ammo, they both experienced about 6 "Failure-to-Feed-the-Next-Round" during the first 20 or so rounds.
The brass ejected, but the next round was not picked up, and the slide closed on an empty chamber. They pulled the trigger but nothing happened.
I was puzzled that they both were experiencing the exact same failure with new guns.
I had them pull the magazine, saw that they still had 4 or 5 rounds left in the mag but the chamber was empty, re-install the mag and continue to shoot until it happened again a few rounds later.
I fired both of their guns with NO failures. And I told them to grip the guns harder to avoid limp-wristing the guns.
This seemed to solve the problem, and they shot off their 100 rounds without any more failures. And they both did VERY well with their targets for new shooters. (No ingrained bad habits).
When we took the guns apart later for cleaning, they were bone dry except for a tiny bit of copper lube near the striker inside the slide.
I am convinced that they could have avoided the initial feeding failures if we had lubed the rails, barrel and the inside top of the slide where the barrel runs.
The lack of lube and the slightly weak grip during recoil was just enough to keep the slide from travelling completely to the rear to pick up the next round, even though the brass did eject ok. We chalked up the failures to the guns being new, dry and tight, and don't expect any more trouble at the next range session.
