I used to own an old, somewhat beaten-up .45 1911. I was shooting some ‘old’ ammo that hadn’t seen the light of an outdoor range for aeons, so I thought I’d ‘get rid of’ the ammo by discharging it at the local club.

I’m holding the thing two-handed, with my palm *underneath*, ‘cupping’ the bottom of the magazine, my hand, and the gun.

First round, KABOOM! The KB happened in about one second or less (or so it seemed), and something felt different. For one, my left ‘cupping’ hand, was somehow ‘away’ from the gun. For another, something about that left hand felt kind of ‘airy,’ meaning I could feel air moving along my palm area a bit more acutely than usual.

The gun is still in my right hand, and I’m pointing it down range the whole time, waiting. I can see that the slide is slightly out of battery, so I’m just holding the thing there, tightly, and pointed downrange, just in case it might be a hangfire.

Well, after about 3 full minutes of waiting, I finally decided it’s not going to go off, so I carefully–while still keeping it pointed downrange–pull the slide back to eject the case.

This yielded up some interesting revelations. One, the case ejected; and when I picked it up, it did, indeed, show evidence of case malfunction; toward the back of the case was a small hole, just forward of the rear –evidence of a weak sidewall.

Having found out the root cause, I began to assess the damage: It struck me odd, at first, that I could look straight down through the opened breech and *see all the way down to the dirt!* So I thought “my magazine was blown out the bottom. “Okay,” I thought to myself, “It’s an old magazine, so it’s not a problem there, at least it wasn’t one of my Wilson Combat Stainless 8-Rounders!”

Looking a little closer at the ground, I realize that a lot of unfired .45 cartridges are ‘lying around’ near my feet, splayed all around me, circumferentially. “Weird,” I’m thinking to myself. So I look at the 1911 a little more closely, and am just dumbfounded!

Whilst being dumbfounded, I also *finally notice my left palm!* It’s covered in blood, and there’s a big gash from about the center, to the edge of my hand; not very deep, but still deep enough to warrant attention. So I bandage it up, then take another look at the gun.

It appeared that when the case burst out the sidewall, it fired the bullet downrange, but didn’t cycle the slide all the way; the force that would usually be committed to cycling the slide back for an eject, was instead redirected in the direction of the remaining 7 rounds (I was shooting 7+1), blowing off the magazine’s bottom piece (and this is a carbon steel fixed base, not a removable plastic one, like on the Wilson’s), and the entire shebang making a huge gash in my left palm!

I learned many things from this incident. One, learning to handle my 1911 the way I did was definitely from my earlier training in my youth, essentially from my father; also formative, was by reading the magazines of the day, studying the techniques of the world’s master shooters, law enforcement professionals, and military shooters.

I decided then and there to alter my handhold technique. I now make sure to keep my left palm off the bottom of the magazine, using instead a modified ‘side hold’ technique that still allows me to maintain control of the firearm, but gives the mag-base a ‘clear view’ if it ever decides to go flying again.

Because of my previous studies, and practicing for just such a ‘hangfire,’ with a ‘dry’ firearm beforehand, I automatically proceeded to hold the firearm well away from my body, keeping the barrel pointed downrange, and not moving that radius anywhere for three full minutes, before doing anything.

Also, I was listening for any telltale ‘hissing’ sounds that might indicate any type of ‘fusing,’ in which I was thoroughly prepared to hurl the thing away from me, downrange, and away from the main shooting area. Luckily, this didn’t happen.

Now, having shared this story, and having read the comments above, I can say this: Glock should have completely redesigned the Glock 22 *for the .40 S&W cartridge from scratch* from the beginning! Granted, they ‘fixed’ the issue (so I surmise from reading the comments above), but, to me, it was negligent to not do so in the first place.

Also, I remember working in 1990 at Steamboat Lake State Park, north of Steamboat Spring, Colorado, during the summer. It was a 5-day-work-week, minimum-wage state summer shindig, working in the mountains. There was a nearby quarry where informal shooting was done. I had just purchased a stainless steel Ruger GP-100 and the head ranger had just gotten the new Glock 19.

He let me shoot the Glock, and I let him shoot my GP-100. The 19 shot okay, but I really wasn’t impressed by it very much, as it just didn’t fit my hand very well. For a 9mm, it also seemed to be louder than other 9′s I had shot prior to that day–and this was outside, wearing ear protection! This, as opposed to being inside with ear protection–his 19 still seemed louder, somehow.

Since that time, I’ve owned 2 Sig-Sauer P229, one without a rail, and one with a rail. Both functioned flawlessly, and having shot many Glocks on the range (rented), and my Sig’s (now sold), I can say that, for me, the P229 rocks!

I’d also recommend the Kimber Classic II Stainless, which was the gun I utilized for my local CCW qualification, twice! That was probably the ‘realest’ gun I ever owned.

Ciao for now, folks!
Good Shootin’ To Y’All!

–Stephen, Outta Missouri

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If the extractor drops the cases the it could be the plunger that has been inserted the wrong way. The metal rod should be towards the front, and the plastic thing to the rear.

If it is stovepiping make sure you get a good firm grip on that thing and lock your wrist. I realize you are not new to shooting but if you are new to the Glock it could possibly be that simple. Because of the very light frame it needs good support from the shooter to cycle properly.

Do the FTEs happen when the magazine is towards empty or full?

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I recently bought a brand new Third Gen G22 (02/20/2010) and it has managed a FTE (Failure to Eject) three times out of about 200 rounds plus or minus 50 rounds. I had been using Speer Lawman ammo (165gr TMJ/FMJ) at the local range on two of the occasions and Blaser Brass on one of the occasions (only .40cal I can get here). Luckily for me it happened at the dealers range the first time for documentation. It (G22) is currently on its way back to Glock.

The service I have gotten so far in my Glock experience is dubious to say the least and the jury is out on the final result. The dealer was of absolutely NO HELP at all and I am very sorry I purchased the weapon at that reseller (Live & Learn). That will certainly be my last purchase/visit there (Target World: Cincinnati, Ohio) beware to all who read this about that reseller their idea of help is to tell you “There are no refunds”. Always make sure you buy from a quality dealer … I found one after I made this purchase. Thanks Shooter’s Supply: Loveland, Ohio

I was asked by Glock to send the weapon back on my dime which I did not care for (cost me $70.00 @ UPS to ship up and up) but, I was assured a minimal peace offering for the trouble. I mention this to be fair to Glock customer service (John, did his best with the Glock policies) … they were the least of the G22 bad tastes so far. FWIW

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No, it is not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_fiber_reinforced_plastic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra_high_molecular_weight_polyethylene

And even if the particular plastic of the Glock frame breaks easier than a steel frame when the weapon blows up due to an overcharged round, that doesn’t necessarily mean a steel frame will protect your hand better. If something breaks it is soaking up energy. That is why motorcycle helmets are designed to break when impacted.

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