Glock 17 malfunction

[Ojala67]

I'm a relatively new owner/shooter and have a minor annoyance with my Gen 3 Glock 17.

It operates just fine with various ammo types and loads, and hasn't had any issues through roughly a 1000 rounds. Those being a mixed bag of WWB, FAE, Blazer, PMC and Fiocchi target loads and Hornady Critical Duty, Defense and Guard Dog defensive loads. Mostly 115gr with some 124 and 147 sprinkled in. No failures of any kind, etc.

During my last two trips to the range I have tried warming up with the 'load one, shoot two' drill where I chamber one round, remove the magazine, fire, and then dry-press the second 'round'. Variably, I will get a stovepipe or an extraction failure. So I rack the slide which drops the casing down and out the open mag well, and then proceed with the press. On the next go it might function just fine.

This will occur despite the ammo or load. I've tested with both 115 and 124 grain target loads, and with the aforementioned defensive rounds.

It occurs roughly 1 out of 5 times, or so. I'm reasonably sure it's not a limp-wristing issue due to not having any issues with the magazine left in. I've tried the same drill with the magazine in place with no issues, slide locks back, etc. I've run my magazines with varying number of rounds loaded, again without any trouble.

The gun is kept reasonably clean and lubed. It is box-stock except for Trijicon HD sights. Any thoughts?

[Germ1]

I get failures without a magazine in the gun as well. So does my cousin, don't know why it happens but it does. I do the same accuracy drill as well. Chamber a round, and drop the mag. Fire the round and dry fire on the reset. It doesn't malfunction every single time for me without a magazine, but it does happen. Same malfunction also, a stovepipe. My Glock 19 is modded and I run it dirty. Also have 10k through mine. So the only constant between us is the problem.

[Stanze]

Are you saying you load a round in your Glock through the ejection port?

That's bad for the extractor. If you do it enough times; the extractor could be damaged.

[Crazed_SS]

What is a dry press? Manually putting a cartridge in the chamber? What is the value in practicing this?

Doesnt sound like a malfunction to me. I think the pistol is designed to load cartridges from the magazine..

[Germ1]

Are you saying you load a round in your Glock through the ejection port?

That's bad for the extractor. If you do it enough times; the extractor could be damaged.

No, you insert the magazine rack the slide and drop the mag. But I do load a round through the ejection port every week when I put my gun away in my safe and it hasn't caused a problem yet. so that I have 11 rounds instead of ten. So I'm not buying it.

[Germ1]

What is a dry press? Manually putting a cartridge in the chamber? What is the value in practicing this?

I think the pistol is designed to load cartridges from the magazine..

It's dry firing.. You insert a magazine, chamber a round and then drop the magazine. You fire the chambered round and then dry fire on the reset. It's a accuracy drill.

[Matt P]

Potentially without the magazine in there is no support for the fired case from below.
This could conceivably allow the case to drop away from the breech face and extractor. Having nothing to pull it away after striking on the ejector, it could easily stovepipe.

[Matt P]

External extractors can be dropped forward on a cartridge in the chamber.
Internal extractors like the 1911 series should only be fed into the chamber from a magazine.

[SkyHawk]

No, you insert the magazine rack the slide and drop the mag. But I do load a round through the ejection port every week when I put my gun away in my safe and it hasn't caused a problem yet. so that I have 11 rounds instead of ten. So I'm not buying it.

Buy this: repeatedly chambering the same round can cause a primer failure that is not apprent by external examination. It has nearly gotten several LEOs killed when they needed the gun to go bang and it went click while staring down the muzzle of a bad guy's gun. So hopefully you dont load the same round over and over.

And yes, it is well known that dropping a round down the tube and releasing the slide into battery is not good for the extractor. The proper way to get 10+1 is load a round from the mag, then drop the mag and top off. And don't keep loading the same round, I never load the same round more than three times before it goes into the range bag for target practice. And even after one loading of any given round, I cycle that round to the bottom of the mag so worse case I get click on the last round not the first.

[Germ1]

Buy this: repeatedly chambering the same round can cause a primer failure that is not apprent by external examination. It has nearly gotten several LEOs killed when they need the gun to go bang and it went click while staring down the muzzle of a bad guy's gun. So hopefully you dont load the same round over and over.

And yes, it is well known that dropping a round down the tube and releasing the slide into battery is not good for the extractor. The proper way to get 10+1 is load a round from the mag, then drop the mag and top off. And don't keep loading the same round, I never load the same round more than three times before it goes into the range bag for target practice.

Been doing it for 4 years in two different pistols and never had to replace a extractor in either of them. My Glock has 10k through it( in six months) with the original extractor. Plus I bought the Glock used. No it's not the same round every single time. I unload my HST when I go shooting and then load it when I get back home.

[bluesmoke9]

If you really feel this dry-press? drill is helpful to you (I'm not sure I get it myself) I'd suggest buying some dummy rounds on eBay and load at least one in your mag under the one live round. Then you don't have to drop the mag. And on extractors, I got out of the habit of dropping a live round in the chamber after I had to replace the second extractor on a Sig Sauer P220 I used to own.

[Germ1]

If you really feel this dry-press, or whatever you call it, drill is helpful to you I'd suggest buying some dummy rounds on eBay and load at least one in your mag under the one live round. Then you don't have to drop the mag. And on extractors, I got out of the habit of dropping a live round in the chamber after the second extractor broke on a Sig Sauer P220 I used to own.

Just another reason to not own a SIG. I'll stop taking this off topic now. Well I'll stop helping this go off topic.

[m850168]

Accuracy drills and loading methods aside, is a Glock not supposed to function without a magazine inserted or is there an issue here?

My understanding (mostly based on 1911's) is that guns should extract without a magazine present, and a failure to do so indicates an extraction problem. The presence of a magazine can often mask such a problem, which is why it's worthwhile to periodically shoot 10-20 rounds without a magazine present to test the gun's extraction.

[chonkey]

Normal behavior when firing a Glock without a mag inserted.

[Germ1]

Accuracy drills and loading methods aside, is a Glock not supposed to function without a magazine inserted or is there an issue here?

My understanding (mostly based on 1911's) is that guns should extract without a magazine present, and a failure to do so indicates an extraction problem. The presence of a magazine can often mask such a problem, which is why it's worthwhile to periodically shoot 10-20 rounds without a magazine present to test the gun's extraction.

Don't know I'm just as curious about getting a real answer as the OP is probably. Because I have the same issue, and there's nothing in common between me and the OP except we both shoot Glock. I kinda just dismissed it as whatever, because the gun functions fine with a magazine inserted.