HELP! Weird issue with my G19

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Still alive

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Before you guys lay any smart quips at me, I've had my G19 Gen2 for 25+years.
The gun has been super reliable till lately. Rund count is about 5000 so pretty fresh for Glocks.

The problem first came up shooting cheap commercial reloads ( forgot the brand...wasn't my ammo) and during a IDPA match. The gun would stovepipe with the empty case facing downwards and the mag would fall out! Happened a couple of times. Very Embarassing!
I initially thought it was the ammo as I checked the mag release for tension and I could not pull out the mag by hand force without pressing the button.

I KNOW I did not bump the mag release either. I know where my hands go!
It happened again today with CRS reloads ( which have never failed before) It's not the first round so I know the mag is seated fully.

I can't see any problems with the extractor or the mag catch. All the mags are a year old so brand new and have never had a problem.
I love this gun and I'm wondering what is going on here. Anyone else have similar issues?
And don't slam Glocks, please! Is this an issue of an aging gun or something else?
Thanks guys!
 
Yeah I agree. Replace the extractor but check the ejector too. The empty case is not being fully extracted and/or ejected properly.

The other possibility is inconsistent powder charge not allowing the slide to go all the way back. A similar condition could result.
 
I looked at both the extractor and ejector. The extractor is still sharp and the extractor looks fine also. Besides, how does that account for the mag falling out on its own? Malfunction clearing is part of the game but a mag dropping out without touching the release is just weird!
 
"12 to 16 inches behind the gun." Never fails, does it?

There are literally thousands of guys on here with Glock 19 pistols. I'm sure there will be more, helpful posts on this thread shortly.

After 5000 rounds, I would probably replace the recoil spring. The ejector could be bent, the downward facing cartridge with a consistent "reverse stovepipe" suggests to me that the case is bouncing off the ejector harder than usual, possibly at a new and unplanned angle, also the slide might be coming back a bit quicker than it used to. If the recoil spring isn't up to snuff, the slide will be "over driven" and can slam back before the cartridge can clear the pistol. If this happens with multiple magazines (?) then I would start with the recoil spring. There are probably some close-up photos of the G19 ejector (top view) on the web, if not, I'll post some for you to compare your pistol to. Ejector damage can definitely happen when the recoil spring gets tired.

I only have about a dozen Glock 19 pistols and have never taken any Glock armorer's courses. There will no doubt be some smarter people by shortly, who may have formally learned the cause(s) of this.

The mag releasing when the cartridge is driven downward ... again, I'm sure someone will chime in. Does this happen with all your mags? If the empty cartridge is driven into the mag with enough force, I'm sure it can bounce the mag loose. Or, the mag falling out could be part of what's going wrong, before the empty even arrives there.

You may want to invest in a new mag and try that. Is it the last round doing this, or a random round, with the mag partly loaded?

I will add the very unhelpful information that none of my Glock 19 pistols do this, or ever have. I have Gen 1 to 4, varying ages and round counts. I have run Glock 19s with Glock 23 mags (usually by accident), with the Glock 19 .22 kit, with a .380 conversion barrel, and with several aftermarket recoil assemblies as well as weird or even compensated slides. It's still my favorite pistol, and try as I might, I haven't managed to screw any of mine up yet. I do not shoot reloaded ammo, though I have several buddies who do so successfully. If you can go through 100 factory rounds without duplicating the problem, I'd probably suggest you switch ammunition, though again, other people here will almost certainly disagree. I have a bias against the reloads.
 
^ Maybe a stupid question... but why do you own a dozen Glock 19's?

I'm not trying to be a smart ass, I'm generally curious. I personally would rather have a small number of amazing pistols rather than 12 Glocks... but that's just me :)
 
Thanks for the thoughtful reply gunzik!
To answer your queries, I have recently ( a year ago) replaced the recoil spring and guide rod. If you remember, the Gen2s had a plastic rod and mine started warping so I got the self contained spring/rod assembly from Lone Wolf.
The unit appears intact and the spring tension is tight.
As for the mags, i think the mag has dropped about 4 times and honestly, I cannot say if it's the same mag(s) as it happens so seldomly, I'm more focused on clearing the malfunction than checking to see which mag it was, esp. in the middle of a stage.
So far it's been random rounds in the middle of a mag. It happened to my friend who was shooting my pistol today so it wasn't just me.
As mentioned, the mags are new as of a year ago and all 3 have worked well so far.
Should I be having extractor troubles at such a low round count?
This isn't a constant occurence (yet) to sound off huge alarm bells but enough to make me go hmmmm!
The CRS reloads have not failed me so far but I will take your advice and try factory AE 115/124 the next time.
 
Still alive said:
To each their own. Why do some people own crates of SKSs? Or 10 1911s?
Click to expand...

No, I was asking Gunzik... the guy who owns a dozen Glocks. I'm actually curious what his answer it. Not just a random guess. Thanks though :)

Ps.

People own a crate of SKS rifles either because they think it is a good investment or want to arm their friends in a WROL situation

10×1911's can be very different from one another... not like 12 glock 19's
 
Still alive:

The extractor does hold the shell in position until it hits the ejector.

There are pistols which will run entirely without the extractor, though people do blame the extractor for FTE problems on the Glock 19. If your extractor is clean and correctly shaped, and the spring allows it to flex (channel not solid with gunk) then the extractor isn't it.

Clearly, it isn't you.

It could be something bizarre like a worn magazine release or under-sized magazine, and the failure could be happening while the round is loading from the dropping/auto-releasing magazine.

The other common problem contributing to ejection failures is barrel damage. I would check the chamber with a magnifying glass, and make sure there is no damage or impacted material. You also want to make sure the chamber is still correctly round: in early failure, a pistol barrel will distort or stretch before it fails completely. Is there any obvious damage or distortion of the ejected (and unejected) brass?

Not all Glock barrels got hardened or heat treated the same way, though Glock is far from the only manufacturer who has inconsistent barrels. I have had SIG and Walther 9mm barrels which weren't hardened, also made about 25 years ago by people who may have had too much to drink. The Walther (P88) barrel was actually failing, my unhardened SIG (P226) barrel was just easy to machine, no failure yet, or expected.

Where are the armorers?
 
I really like them, and wanted to see the difference between G1, G2, G3, G4 ... I have a 12(6) so I have both prohibited and restricted pistols. The factory barrel seems to make a difference. Just a quasi-scientific study, though to be statistically accurate 19 times out of 20 I would probably need 400 more of them. Or 400 more of each version? So no need to be statistically accurate.

I was also experimenting with different sights, and still have several types I haven't even installed yet. I'm pretty sure I prefer the factory sights, but if you don't have your three or four favorites to try side-by-side, on the same day, how will you know for sure?

There are many interesting pistols. I haven't let my affection for the Glock 19 keep me from any of them, don't worry. I just don't want to run out...

ChromeArty said:
No, I was asking Gunzik... the guy who owns a dozen Glocks. I'm actually curious what his answer it. Not just a random guess. Thanks though :)

Ps.

People own a crate of SKS rifles either because they think it is a good investment or want to arm their friends in a WROL situation

10×1911's can be very different from one another... not like 12 glock 19's
Click to expand...
 
Gunzik, we clearly think alike!
Extractor is definitely clean with no gunk! I clean all my guns thoroughly after every range session. I doubly inspected it today after the malfunctions. All looked normal.

" and the failure could be happening while the round is loading from the dropping/auto-releasing magazine" - this is what I'm thinking too! It feels like the mag drops while cycling so the fired brass as it is cycling drops down due to gravity and the ejector somehow flips it so it stovepipes upside down! So I think the FTE is caused by the mag releasing issue and not the extractor/ejector.

So why is the mag auto dropping??
 
OldFrankHog said:
You are getting closer and closer :)

OP, shoot it one handed, keep your left mit in your pocket and report ;)
Click to expand...

I did! We were doing the Dot Torture drills which requires strong and support hand only shooting. So I shot it right AND left handed with no problems.
I think gunzik nailed it too. What is the issue if you are playing the "Getting warmer" game?
 
If you are adamant that your shooting grip is without reproach and your friend that it is without reproach aswell... What I think it is, is your magazine catch is not protruding in the magazine notch enough. To the point that pulling on the mag doesn't release it, but the lightest touch of your palm or thumb on the release button is enough to drop it. It could be a worn magazine catch, a worn magazine notch, a smaller tolerance magazine, a worn magazine catch spring... you get the point right?
 
Ok Frank, I got out the gun and tried all 3 of my mags. I pulled and tugged, tried to put any pressure, short of actually ejecting the mag, banged the gun in each direction and tried pushing with my left palm to hit the mag release and nothing happened.
My friend is admittedly a new shooter and I did not see what he actually did except see the mag fall out. I have shot this same gun and other guns for over 25 years and this issue has never happened, that's why I'm curious to hear what it could be.
And yes, I would say my grip is pretty solid!;)
 
Is the magazine well worn on your gun to the point that magazines are loose? Pulling the magazine down by hand and it holds firm is one thing, but can you move the magazine to the side (away from the catch) and down? After 25 years of magazine changes the gun itself worn?
I agree, the stovepipe is no doubt a result of the magazine falling from the frame while firing.
 
I can't believe all those guys who took all those expensive courses are keeping quiet.

Out of spec ammunition and wear and tear is all that's left, since you have eliminated everything else.

It sounds like this may only happen when you are firing lots of rounds in close succession, and you probably only notice the mag is down when the pistol has failed to eject.

Bullet seating, either too long, too short, too tightly crimped ... so many possibilities. Regardless, the ammunition is at some point hitting the magazine where factory ammunition doesn't, and I'll further speculate that your magazine release spring is marginal, and that your magazine release itself is probably worn a bit. Maybe the mag well is worn, or the mags are a bit smaller ...

Regardless, I think the failure is multiple causes combining. You are a smart and capable guy, you would have found and fixed anything obvious, and it's not you.

The easy fix is to change ammunition, since this didn't happen before you got these reloads. If you have the time, you can take digital calipers and check the length of your bullets, compared to factory, and see if there are variations in each box. I suspect there are. The projectiles themselves might also vary, with reloads, it's a "who knows" scenario. How many times has the brass been used? Factory ammo: once. By you. But I digress.

If you change everything, you won't know what the reason was, but that would be my approach. I would change the magazine release and spring, the ammunition, and then discover that my pistol worked flawlessly again. I'm not a real scientist.

After 25 years and 5000 rounds, I would suspect the magazine release, and spring, have gotten some use. They are inexpensive, and readily available, another reason to like Glocks. I don't have that kind of mileage on any of mine, as far as I know, and again, only factory ammo...

+1 on the magazine well test. Let us know about lateral movement.

Thank you for die Wurst, that always makes me smile! If you can't find the magazine release and spring, let me know. I probably have spares...
 
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