Thursday, August 21, 2014

Round number one thousand three hundred and ninety two...

A day at the range. Gen 3 Glock 19 w/CTC Lightguard.
So, I started keeping track of the round count on my Glock 19 in January of last year, partly because I wanted to do that "2,000 round" thing with it out of curiosity more than anything else, and partly to help field test a part.

1400 rounds so far, and it's not been eating just the good stuff.
The round count accumulated slowly, partly because the Glock isn't my carry gun and partly because I started the affair right as the worst ammo drought in my adult lifetime hit the retail shelves. Yesterday I crossed the 1400-round mark on the gun, basically doing it fifty rounds at a time, when I remembered to bring it to the range or squeeze it in to whatever else I was doing there.

Yesterday was fifty rounds of that Sumbro 124gr FMJ, and on the second round of the last magazine, the recoil felt funny. It was too loud to be a squib and I was sure I'd heard steel get hit, so I risked my fingers and tried the trigger again, to be rewarded with a "click" instead of a "BANG!".

There was an empty case still in the chamber and when I locked the slide back and checked the bore, there were unburned powder flakes in there. I don't know if it was just contaminated or what, but apparently it fired with enough force to launch the bullet downrange, but not enough to fully cycle the slide, rechambering the empty brass.

Not counting that against the gun, then.

I'll be hesitant to use this stuff for anything other than fairly sedate slow-fire at the range for a while.

.


19 comments:

og said...

I have been buying that Italian perfecta stuff at Walmart, it's $13 and change a box, and shoots nice. Seems cleaner than White box from what I've tried. Doesn't have the commie ammo smell. I thought it was shooting way the hell off before I realized the rear sight on the volkspistole is about 1.5 mm off center. I mean, visibly off center. A little Kentucky windage and it goes where I want it to go, and that is so far my first and only criticism of the ppx. (Waiting for my non marring drift to arrive to fix)

Anonymous said...

"It was too loud to be a squib and I was sure I'd heard steel get hit, so I risked my fingers and tried the trigger again,"

A totally unacceptable risk.

You risked a permanent injury that would have impaired you in all the activities that you enjoy and put bread on your table to gain 30 seconds.

Next time take a half a minute to investigate rather than risk being maimed.

Al_in_Ottawa

Tam said...

Your concern is noted and appreciated.

Will Brown said...

Next time take a half a minute to investigate rather than risk being maimed.

Or at least get it all on HD video from multiple angles.

'Cause, professionalism ... or something.

:)

og said...

maybe sumdood works for sumbro.

Kristophr said...

Off topic but interesting:

Free military history e-books.

Drang said...

My first thought was also "Holy $h!tsnax, that's risky!" but then I thought "Pretty sure Tam knows what a squib sounds/feels like...)
As for Kristopher's link, crap,now I gotta dust off my Baen's Bar login...

Anonymous said...

Tam - I am curious - do you ever intend to reload any of those thousands of empty cases or are you independently wealthy?

Sigman said...

Og: when I 1st saw the brand name, I thought maybe Sumdood owned the company.

Kevin said...

Tam:

Please don't risk your fingers. Or we might be forced to buy you Dragon Naturally Speaking voice recognition software for your 'puter!

Old NFO said...

Not good...

DJ9 said...

Well, that explains the UziTalk guy that got the over-pressure round.

You got half-a-charge in one of your cartridges, and he got a charge-and-a-half in one of his. It all works out by the end of the shift.

And once again, the universe is in balance...

Ken O said...

Thanks for the heads up! WiveV2.0 just bought herself a 3rd Gen G19. I'll be sure to be a little picky about the fodder for the new Shooter's Gat. Newbie enthusiasm + hand shredding kaboom would be bad.

mikee said...

I just had the worst thought for a gun magazine article, ever. I give it to Tam gratis, for the chuckles and thoughts her blog has provided me.

I expect to see this article in next April's Guns and Ammo, hopefully under a pseudonym.

Comparing the KABOOMS on the Glock 19 in 9mm, vs the Glock 23 in 40.

One shot stop historical records of police kabooms?

A brand by brand ammo comparison of kabooms?

The difference between a kaboom from a partially unsupported case with a double powder charge, versus a blocked barrel and correctly loaded ammo.

Etiquette for returning a friends' gun you just kaboomed: after using your ammo versus after using some he gave you.

The mind reels at the possibilities. I can't wait for nest April's Guns & Ammo.





Sean Elkins said...

Don't risk your fingers. Use your thumb to push the slide closed if it looks like it's slightly out of battery. What's the worst that can happen? Haven't you always wanted a new nickname anyway? How's about 'lefty'?

On a related note, the thought of buying that much factory ammo makes me figuratively shiver. Why in the name of all that is holy don't you drop a few bucks on a Lee Pro 1000 or a Dillon SDB?

Mr Evilwrench said...

It's a Glock. You risk your fingers every time you hold it, never mind firing it. Discretion is the better part of valor.

Tam said...

ProTip: Squibs don't make the steel plate ring.

Sean Elkins said...

"ProTip: Squibs don't make the steel plate ring."

True, but not my worry about in this circumstance. The low powered round can occasionally cause weak cycling that fails to completely push the next round into the chamber. An out of battery discharge is something best observed rather than experienced. When firing single rounds it has become my custom to glance at the back of the slide just to make sure the slide isn't overhanging just a tiny bit. Some guns (I've been told by the internet) will manage to Ignite a primer with the slide not fully forward.

DJ9 said...

Tam said: "ProTip: Squibs don't make the steel plate ring."

For far too many folks, it doesn't ring very often with normal rounds, either.