Author Topic: Glock Life Expectancy (Read 16149 times)

Lawndart · « **on:** September 03, 2009, 03:13:52 PM »

At what point would ya'll start to expect problems from a Glock? 2000? 5000? 10000? I know it's a hard question, with a ton of variables, I just was curious.

Graybeard · « **Reply #1 on:** September 03, 2009, 06:33:14 PM »

Prolly around the second or third generation of owner if used fairly regularly. Might last a few more generations for most tho.

Rustyinfla · « **Reply #2 on:** September 03, 2009, 07:44:44 PM »

I think I've seen extended torture tests that have gone one for 10,000 rounds. I think they stopped the test because the pistol was still going and the supply of ammo wasn't.

Savage · « **Reply #3 on:** September 04, 2009, 02:09:39 AM »

Can't find any specific information on longevity. Seems that no one has worn one out yet.

Seriously, many generations of average shooters. I am told that there's a Glock 17 down in Georgia at the Glock facility that has over 100k rds through it and still running. If that's what I can expect from my production class 17, it should last about 14 yrs at the current rate of about 600rds a month before needing an overhaul. It is wise to keep spare springs and replace them regularly.
Savage

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #4 on:** September 04, 2009, 02:52:43 AM »

It would depend on use and storage . I say this because i have seen 3 Glock factory mags split while loaded . All three were in trucks where the temp. was hot . They will replace them no charge . One has to wonder how the gun would do it left exposed to the sun and heat for any length of time as it is the same material . Its one thing to shoot 2000000 rounds thru. a gun in a couple of years but what will time do to it ? We install plastic pipe everyday and all of it and other plastic products we install get britle with age .

Savage · « **Reply #5 on:** September 04, 2009, 03:30:45 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on September 04, 2009, 02:52:43 AM

It would depend on use and storage . I say this because i have seen 3 Glock factory mags split while loaded . All three were in trucks where the temp. was hot . They will replace them no charge . One has to wonder how the gun would do it left exposed to the sun and heat for any length of time as it is the same material . Its one thing to shoot 2000000 rounds thru. a gun in a couple of years but what will time do to it ? We install plastic pipe everyday and all of it and other plastic products we install get britle with age .

Good question. I would suspect direct exposure to sunlight would be the biggest concern. I kept a Glock with several loaded magazines in my war bag in the trunk of a patrol car for a few years without problems. I would really like to see someone take a Glock frame and expose it to direct sunlight until if/when it becomes brittle.
Anyone heard of a Glock frame failing due to fatigue/imbrittlement?
Savage

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #6 on:** September 04, 2009, 04:16:39 AM »

the other side of the coin is i also saw a new 10 mm Glock come apart when a over load was fired , the case split - rupturing the next two rounds in the process . the slide came off the frame , the mag came out and exploded into parts . Everything but the follower was found . No injury to shooter or anyone else . We put the gun back togather added a new mag with factory ammo and it worked perfect . So as new they do take a beating and keep on working .

Rustyinfla · « **Reply #7 on:** September 04, 2009, 08:32:41 AM »

...or as John Cameron Swayze used to say, "They take a lickin and keep on tickin."

Lawndart · « **Reply #8 on:** September 04, 2009, 12:39:49 PM »

Good point on the plastic issue....I never really considered that.

Ak.Hiker · « **Reply #9 on:** September 05, 2009, 07:37:07 PM »

I have never had any problems with any of my Glocks. I have had a Model 29 10MM for many years and run tons of hot 200 grain loads through it. Of course the 10mm and 357 Sig. will not last as long as a Model 19 or 17 9mm. Chuck Taylor has had an on going test with a Glock 17 and it is pretty impressive.

Savage · « **Reply #10 on:** September 06, 2009, 03:20:45 AM »

Happened to run across this link. The gentleman professes to having an estimated 750,000 rds through his Glock 19.
http://www.kellymccanncombatives.com/?itemCategory=34163&siteid=314&priorId=0
Scroll down to near the bottom of the page.
Savage

WL44 · « **Reply #11 on:** September 07, 2009, 09:47:15 PM »

This depends on loads and calibers. You can probably assume that a 10mm will not last as long as a 45 for example.

I heard of original 9mm 17's doing something nuts like almost 100k and I think Chuck Taylor got to over 30k before even getting a malfunction (jam).

I know of several IPSC shooters who have done high volume without any problems, but a friend has a slide crack through the ejection port area at under 10k in a 17.

I've heard that the Glock in 40 is not great at standing up to IPSC major loads (170 PF) for extended periods, but that a 40 barrel in a 20 platform is better, but that is hearsay.

My 23 has done under 3000, but I bought it for carry and not high volume shooting.

PhilinAZ · « **Reply #12 on:** September 08, 2009, 04:41:33 PM »

My Glock 22 (.40) has well over 10,000 rounds through it and it is still going strong. The only thing I've changed is my recoil spring.

Phil

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #13 on:** September 09, 2009, 02:23:41 AM »

its not how many rounds you fire in a few years its how the plastic holds up over many years which only time will tell .
If someone had an extra Glock and placed it in direct sunlight for several or more years then we would have a good test

Savage · « **Reply #14 on:** September 09, 2009, 04:56:25 AM »

Realistically, a concealed carry polymer pistol wouldn't have enough exposure to sunlight in a century to prove anything. Same would be true as well with open carry. It's unlikely anyone is going to leave their pistol on the roof long enough to test it. Soooooooooooo, at this point it becomes a non issue.
Savage

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #15 on:** September 09, 2009, 05:03:28 AM »

unless you have one in a truck , in a boat , maybe on a tractor , strapped on a four wheeler , snowmobile , canoe or on the night stand with the curtian open . Heat and age can also effect plastic along with vibration . Like i said i have seen the mags split when left in a truck for a couple mos. so as far as I'm concerned it is still an un resolved issue that only time will tell .
Even the old nylon 66 stocks get britle as do the plastic stocked savage 311 from the late 60's

Keith L · « **Reply #16 on:** September 09, 2009, 03:26:02 PM »

Plastics have been constantly improving since the sixties (or fiftys in the case of the Nylon 66). My bet is that Glock applied some of the tech that makes plastics UV resistant. My bet is that my Glock will outlast me, and maybe even my son as well.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #17 on:** September 10, 2009, 01:33:38 AM »

Maybe it will but keep in mind resistant is not UV proof .

Dee · « **Reply #18 on:** September 10, 2009, 02:45:28 AM »

Let us start with some facts. The barrel and slide of the Glock are finished in TENEFER, a chemical hardening process that were the EPA to allow it into the United States would change the gun manufacturing industry forever. Why? Because it gives the outside finish a Rockwell hardness 1 point below a diamond. Glocks claim not mine. In other words, it (the barrel and slide) will never wear out, and I have only seen one with any corrosion, and that was after an officer left a Glock in the trunk of his car where he had also left a car battery which had turned over. Did it ruin the pistol? No it was still in operating condition but, UGLIER!
When I went to the Glock armorer school in about 1995 in Dallas Texas, the instructor had a Glock 17 which had fired a little over 250,000 rounds, which he invited us to shoot on breaks and lunch, AND would furnish the ammo. Requirements? Record rounds fired. It (barrel and slide) had at that point I believe, gone thru 3 lower receivers, and between 3 and 5 trigger assemblies. At that time, lower receivers were about $37.00, and other parts to me were free because I was also an instructor. Does that answer your questions?

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #19 on:** September 10, 2009, 07:59:02 AM »

yep they wear out ! if two frames had to be replaced . But its still a bargan !

.Dirty-.30 · « **Reply #20 on:** September 11, 2009, 06:47:23 AM »

The thing is not worrying about how long that it will last, It is just being happy knowing that no other will last as long.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #21 on:** September 11, 2009, 09:09:46 AM »

Wouldn't bet on that ?

Mohawk · « **Reply #22 on:** September 11, 2009, 03:01:07 PM »

Life expectancy is until it breaks. All things break, including Glocks. I have had 27's and 22's fail on the rental range, with daily cleaning, mostly due to weak mag springs.

uncowboy · « **Reply #23 on:** September 14, 2009, 10:43:51 AM »

I own a pile of Glocks-1 Ea model except for 5 I have yet to get and 2 of them are not legal in the USA G25-G28. The split mags were most likely the Early military mags. They were made to be disposiable. The newer mags are much tougher, The ONLY think I know to ruin a Glock is DEET INSECT REPELLANT it damages the plastic so it melts in your hands. This is slight black residue not Like in a microwave. So keep it out of DEET and keep pulling the trigger! It will hold up it's end!

J.Michael

m1key · « **Reply #24 on:** September 18, 2009, 02:58:59 PM »

FBI tested several Glock 40s for reliability and service life. They took ten G22s and fired 20,000 rounds apiece without a hitch, and promptly authorized them for official use.

Mas Ayoob did his own destructive test with the G22, trying to make it fail. Using full service load 40 S&W ammo, they ran the pistol 80,000 rounds without a jam or failure. The test was halted...

Competition shooters claim round-counts anywhere in the 40,000-100,000 range for 9mm, 40, and 45.

Soldier of Fortune magazine editor Chuck Taylor has documented his tests on his G17 and run 100,000+ rounds through it....and that was back in 1995.

Glock museum has an early G17 with a reported 347,000 rounds.

If I owned a Glock, I would be more worried about how I was going to continue to feed it at today's ammo prices.

His lordship. · « **Reply #25 on:** September 20, 2009, 08:21:20 AM »

How do Glocks compare to other brands, SIG, Ruger, FN, Smith and Wesson, Springfield, Walther, etc, in terms of longevity? Glock was the original, but the other makers had the advantage of doing their own thing with the polymer frame and improving on it.

Keith L · « **Reply #26 on:** September 20, 2009, 08:46:15 AM »

Don't assume that Glock stopped working when the others started.

This is kind of silly. Nearly no one uses their guns to the test numbers, so they will outlast many owners.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #27 on:** September 28, 2009, 08:25:31 AM »

Shooting a 100000 rounds in a short period is a great thing to be sure . But what i am concerned about is how the plastic will hold up for the long haul , with the known changes time , heat , chemicals in the air etc. make on plastic . I have a Glock and over the years have had several . I saw one blow up - slide came off the frame , mag had 2 rounds discharge from the case rupture in the chamber and blow the mag out of the gun and apart . The gun was put back togather and worked fine , a feat not many guns can match for sure . It was a 10 mm.
I really hope they last forever but one must face reality .

Savage · « **Reply #28 on:** September 28, 2009, 11:34:29 AM »

I can vouch for a Mdl 17 that was bought in 82 (About) that seem to be no worse for the exposure of everyday open carry here in the sunny south. Realistically, that translates to several generations of normal exposure. As interesting as an exposure test might be, It's doubtful many of us would be around to learn the result.

Savage

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #29 on:** September 29, 2009, 08:26:21 AM »

They may have it worked out ( hope so i have one ) just bring up some areas not always thought of with a gun . I mean plastic who would have thunk it .