[taozeo]

Hello everyone,

We machine Glock slides (from billet) and I wanted to get a general Glock user consensus on what you think as a consumer about an aftermarket Glock slide with a round striker hole instead of the factory rectangular hole? The factory striker tip would be able to pass through it normally and (as far as our testing has shown, the pistol fires as good as factory).

Reason for this is quicker manufacturing lead times and eliminating add costs--since we can CNC drill the round striker hole in-house instead of sending it out to EDM the rectangular striker hole.

Your opinions would greatly help us decide on whether to pursue this route.

Thank you in advance!

-N

 

[I am Groot!]

Obvious that the round hole would have added empty space that sits behind the primer.
What do you think about this particular fact sir?

 

[Cali.Glock]

I am not an engineer, and I may be wrong, but as a layperson I would be concerned that a larger opening would increase the risk of debris entering the firing pin channel and interfere with the free movement of the firing pin.

 

[ChillyB]

Groot is right on. Hot loads already cause primer cups to extrude into the tiny space of a rectangular hole. A round hole will flow more metal, and perhaps lead to primer ruptures.

Easy to test. Drill out a hole and see what happens.

 

[I am Groot!]

With a high psi round loaded hot by Buffalo Bore or Underwood Ammo.

 

[Mike-M]

You should be aware that the Gen5 models ALL have a modified SLIDE and FIRING PIN that use the conventional round FIRING PIN tip.

Almost everyone else has used the round point for the last 140 years. Mechanically it's stronger than the flat Glock FIRING PIN point.

Arguments that some danger is created by such a change appear to be made up of whole cloth and have no basis outside imagination. Apparently Glock agrees 100-percent.

But...the Gen5 SLIDES will not accept pre-Gen5 FIRING PINS, so a mismatch can not easily be concocted.

BTW, is there a reason you use part names that differ from the ones that Glock uses?

 

[Mr Meeseeks]

I’ll beta test the **** outta a 17L slide for you. Preferably with a rectangular hole.

 

[Karambit777]

Round firing pin tip needs a round hole. Rectangler firing pin tip needs a rectangular hole.

 

[cciman]

Round firing pin tip needs a round hole. Rectangler firing pin tip needs a rectangular hole.

That's what I think, too.

 

[cciman]

You should be aware that the Gen5 models ALL have a modified SLIDE and FIRING PIN that use the conventional round FIRING PIN tip.

Almost everyone else has used the round point for the last 140 years. Mechanically it's stronger than the flat Glock FIRING PIN point.

Gen 5 Saves on production costs for round holes and pins.

Just because it was done for 140 years.... Back then making precision rectangular holes/pins in large quantities would have been a challenge. The spring loaded striker concept also did not exist 140 years ago- most hammer fired pins impact with much more force than needed in ammo of modern society (simple pencil launching tests I've done on multiple pistols prove this). Apparently the lighter spring loaded striker impacts with rectangular pin heads are good and reliable enough.

Yes mechanically stronger, but functionally, how strong does it have to be? -- obviously the massive statistical ownership and usage of Glock fp's indicates that it is strong enough.

 

[ronin.45]

As long as it works without issue, I don't care what shape the hole is. I imagine most Glock owners feel the same.

 

[danbocog]

I have a Gen3 G35 that started to have failures to fire. Good indent on primers. I blamed it on my reloads having high primers as most would fire on second attempt. Not the problem. Replaced firing pin spring. Nope. After several thousand more rounds with the failures happening almost every mag I was at and end.
Removed all internals and sent the pistol to Glock for refurbish with letter explaining my problems. Received the Glock and went to the range. Not a single failure in several hundred rounds.
I got to thinking that maybe Glock had fixed a problem with the gun. Removed all the new parts and reinstalled the old. The problem returned. This Glock had been fired about 35,000 rds. with most being reloads with CCI primers. And yes I tried different primers before sending it to Glock.
Detailed stripped and started comparing the old with the new. Fortunately I started with the firing pin. It was only then that I could see the very fine point on the firing pin was rounded. Primer strikes had looked good but comparing those with the rounds fired with new rounds with a 10X jewelers lupe you could see that there was a definite deeper, sharper imprint. So Glock firing pins can wear out. A round firing pin should be even more robust.
I have not wanted a Gen 5 but when they make G27 in black I will have one.

 

[cciman]

I have a Gen3 G35 that started to have failures to fire. Good indent on primers. I blamed it on my reloads having high primers as most would fire on second attempt. Not the problem. Replaced firing pin spring. Nope. After several thousand more rounds with the failures happening almost every mag I was at and end.
Removed all internals and sent the pistol to Glock for refurbish with letter explaining my problems. Received the Glock and went to the range. Not a single failure in several hundred rounds.
I got to thinking that maybe Glock had fixed a problem with the gun. Removed all the new parts and reinstalled the old. The problem returned. This Glock had been fired about 35,000 rds. with most being reloads with CCI primers. And yes I tried different primers before sending it to Glock.
Detailed stripped and started comparing the old with the new. Fortunately I started with the firing pin. It was only then that I could see the very fine point on the firing pin was rounded. Primer strikes had looked good but comparing those with the rounds fired with new rounds with a 10X jewelers lupe you could see that there was a definite deeper, sharper imprint. So Glock firing pins can wear out. A round firing pin should be even more robust.
I have not wanted a Gen 5 but when they make G27 in black I will have one.

Anecdotes are great....but lets be not so accepting here...just to throw some questions into the mix. How do you know that 35k rounds of your reload 40SW ammo won't do the same to a round FP, or even sooner...and if so will you update this thread? What if some other individual posted that he/she competes and has fired over 100K round through his/her gun and has never had a problem? Whose story has more power? Other factors too?

Very few Glock owners even see 10k rounds. My Honda Tranny gave out at 159K miles, is that bad design?
35k rounds at $0.15/round (conservative) = $5250 spent or close to 10x the cost of the gun. Just some bits to add to the perspective salad.

 

[danbocog]

Just relating my personal experience. I have a 1992 Gen2 G22 with 65,000 rounds, that was sent to Glock for refurbish at 60,000 rounds. The original firing pin is in the gun now and I keep the new one as a spare.
If you look closely at the Gen1 thru 4 Glock firing pins the thin blade has a fine point that would be more likely to wear [shorten] than a round one. Not an engineer but simple physics would lead you to believe that a firing pin with more mass/surface area would tend to wear less. If no one else has ever had a Glock firing pin to wear down to the point of unreliability then I guess I got a Honda tranny.
I have posted previously about these two guns that Glock refurbished for me without charging a dime including return shipping.
I do reload to feed my seven Glocks, about 200,000 plus rds. by my guesstimate. For about twelve years I was shooting as many as seven matches monthly. I don't play golf, cannot play tennis any more, and I only fish when I go to the coast.
So this is what I do, shoot, reload, shoot, reload, shoot...................

 

[cciman]

So with so many round fired, is that not the expected norm rather than the exception? You are just assuming round FP points won't wear out at the same at that volume in your hands, I don't know, nor do you (also we are assuming all other variables are equal-- like material and processes to make FP, and using the same ammo for comparison).

My work is in ***** so the size of the population (denominator) is what makes DATA either strong or weak. Since there is limited internet groundswell on Glocktalk on worn FP's (compared to complaints about cosmetics), I suspect (assumption) the true prevalence of worn out FP in the Glock owner population is very, very low...But if you are training for a marathon and running 15 miles a day, you do need to (and expect to) buy more shoes-- finding the right rubber sole combination that will last longer for you is going to take some intensive study....(very few in the population run marathons, another assumption).

Back to the OP: maybe, maybe not. But if you intention is only to save manufacturing costs, sure...but make sure the pin matches the hole, and your users are aware of the diff. I personally do not want to put a square pin through a round hole, unless you can point to the advantages.

 

[danbocog]

I am assuming that Glock engineers identified a less costly manufacturing process for the slide and firing pin and saw no downside and possibly greater longevity. It may have the military trials that promoted this change. But what experience do the have?
If the OP has the machinery and talents to make a slide I don't think that making a round firing pin would be very difficult.
I have 'assumed' that you are very defensive on this subject. I merely related an instance of a failure that had me perplexed as I did not think that a Glock firing pin would wear to unreliability with my 60,000 rd Glock as an example of one that had not. I have another Gen2 G24 with 25,000 plus rounds that has not malfunctioned, but I will keep a close look when I do my 5 -6 thousand round detail strip.
I stand by my belief that a round firing pin will be stronger and more wear resistant than a narrow thin blade unless an engineer can post differently.
CCI primers are generally thought to be the hardest of the readily available primers. If federal primers were available to me I might never have had a problem. I do know that I had a worn firing pin and a new one solved the problem.
You also seem to have decided that I would buy one of these slides an install OEM parts.
Of all the things that I have changed and modified the slide is not one of them.

 

[cciman]

Unfortunately, the OP does not have the resources that Glock does, nor the nec data to help him with his question. (Asking here, only gets opinionated responses from idiots like me).

You, nor I, do either.

If I were making a product to compete with the OE, those are the concerns. Liability would be my own personal concern.