Glock 23 Reviews

[Beachbumm]

Hi, everybody:



I've been reading this forum for a couple of years, and I joined tonight so I could post my 2 c on the Glock 23.



I have bought and traded a number of semi-autos becuause they were not 100 percent reliable (1 Taurus9 mm, 2 Walthers, P22 and PPS 9 mm, 3 Beretta mouseguns). I about gave up on automatics. Then I read and heard about Glock, shot one and liked it.



About 6 mos ago I bought a new generation 3 Glock 23. I have not modified it in any way (figured the Glock engineers know best). I shoot Wally World ammo. So far, have had it to an armorer once for light strikes (I was over-oiling it.) Returned it to the factory when it started misfeeding all brands of ammo. (About 500 rounds through it at that point)Glock replaced the recoil spring, the firing pin and the locking block pin , test fired it and stated "Meets factory specs".

When I got it back, it immediately would not feed Federal Champion 180 gr flatnose. (5 misfeeds per mag). Called Glock and was told to shoot hotter ammo. They assured me it would go bang every time with hotter ammo.



I also asked why the nose of the bullets seem to feed up the left side of the feed ramp (leaving a copper streak to the left of center) rather than up the center of the feedramp. I was told that underpowered ammo does not cycle the slide enough and the bullets do not feed straight as a result.



Tonight, (about 250 rounds since the repair), I had what I thought was 3 jams with Remington UMC 180 gr hollowpoints. On closer inspection, I discovered the slide was locked back, with more rounds still in the mag. I shoot left-handed and I do not push on the slide release when I shoot. No visible problems with the follower or mag, and the spring on the slide lock still holds it down.



My choice is to trade it, or to send it back to Glock and then trade it, because no matter how they fix it now, I do not trust it.



If this is the best, most reliable semi-auto ever made, I will probably join John Dillinger and stick with revolvers.



I bought this pistol to shoot. In the short time I have owned it, I have spent over a hundred dollars in extra ammo (extra shots to see when it is going to malfunction), plus 60 dollars for shipping to Smyrna GA.



I bought this pistol partly on the reputation that it would shoot anything I fed it. The techs at Glock now are telling me that a pistol that will shoot all ammo is a fairy tale, and I should use premium ammo.



I always try to learn everything I can about how a gun operates. But every semi-auto I have ever owned, I have to be a gunsmith to get it to work part of the time. I think that should be Glock's job, not mine, in maintaining the Glock Perfection image.



I really hoped that this would be a reliable pistol. I wanted to like it. I don't think I will ever completely trust it when I need it. This Glock is just another temperamental semi-auto. What I have learned is, the bigger the hype, the greater the disappointment.



I wanted to like this gun, but I give it one bullet. Thanks for listening. And thanks for a great forum.

[whitehood]

Let me guess. You like revolvers till you picked up a Sigma. It is kinda funny that all the people that denigrate Glocks are newbies. Sounds like total BS.

[Beachbumm]

Nope. I've been shooting for years. I'm just relating my experience with Glock. The techs have been great, and as I said, I wanted to like this gun because every person I have ever talked to has put thousands of rounds thru their Glock with no problems.



Maybe I just got a lemon. Any suggestions to get it working right?

[JustBen]

When I started shooting my Glock under stressful situations at the Tactical Defense Institute, it malfunctioned multiple times. Once I got used to handling the gun differently and after several thousand rounds (cheap walmart ammo) in stressful scenarios did it start performing flawlessly. In my case, it was operator error.

[campgrafton]

The only reason I don't like this gun and Glock is because I had one go KaBoom. Glock would not help.

[jvrose]

I have read these post reviews and others on Glocks, I am an old tanker from the the late 70 to the end of the gulf war and got out in then of 91. And have not had a gun in my had for over 18 years.

I had give the thought of buying a hand gun for a while now. I have just bought the G23 the other week and went out to the desert and shot 300 rounds of the cheep wally world ammo ,that white box of ammo, and had only 1 miss fire, I do understand if you use crap ammo you would expect some issues, But all in all I was very impressed with the G23, The recoil was not as bad as what i was reading, the shot grouping was very good for me, all with in the kill zone, and most in a 6 inch radius, not shooting a weapon for over 18 years.

[Steellife2003]

Beachbum you have had some good iron to have that many problems I feel bad for you!!!

[Beachcomber]

Thanks, Justben and Steelilfe, for taking my posts seriously. (This is Beachbumm. I am now registered as Beachcomber).



I did not give up on Glock.



Update: In spite of what the techs told me about underpowered ammo feeding to the left of center of the feed ramp and jamming, I decided that the G23 I had was in fact a lemon, and was jamming because of ammo not aligned properly with the feed ramp. I suspect there was too much play in the mag lock, allowing the mag to twist out of position. Just my guess, but it was not reliable.

Then, I had slide lock problems on top of that.



I traded the gen 3 G23 on a gen 4 Glock 22, and I'm not looking back! 300 rounds so far, cheap and expensive ammo, it all works fine, like I expected any Glock to do. I give the Glock 22 5 bullets. The interchangeable backstraps are a plus, the double recoil spring actually does reduce recoil. I will not be buying another G 23.



And the amount I "lost" in trade will quickly be made up for not having to shoot the hotter ammunition recommended for the picky G 23 I had.

[JustBen]

Beachcomber:

Glad to hear you like the Gen4. Would'nt mind having one myself.

I have been in manufacturing for 34 years now, and I can tell you that it is not always repeatable. Even the best manufacturing processes and companies have variation. On critical features, the good companies identify them and track their "process capability" to ensure the parts are held well within the tolerance. Most companies shoot for a Cpk of 1.33 on criticals. But even if you acheive a 2.0, statistically you can still expect 3.4 defects per million parts. I know Glock makes millions of guns, but the statistics are there, and "shit happens" (that's the technical term for a defect - LOL).

Still one of the best companies and guns on the market though,

Happy Shooting now that you are not part of the 3.4 parts out of a million.

Ben

[Beachcomber]

Thanks, Ben,



Yeah, a friend of mine said I had a collector's item: a G23 that jams.



The Gen 4 G22 is still working fine. My wife shot it and she noticed the low recoil compared to a 38 snubbie.



Further update: Now have about 400 rounds thru the G22 with no malfunctions. The only problem I've had, I was expecting. The pistol I have is an early Gen 4, without the counterbored slide, and the recoil spring assembly is already looking like it will come apart. I had read about those springs on line, and I called Glock. They are sending an updated spring assembly, which has a reinforcing washer or bushing between the larger spring and the plastic guide rod end. The bushing helps keep the spring centered in the slide end, and reduces wear, and spring failure.



Fred, the tech I spoke with at Glock, admitted re the G23 that "sometimes you get an individual pistol that is finicky, and it will drive you crazy".



In my opinion, the main reason the G23 jammed was that bullets tended to feed toward the left of center of the feed ramp, in spite of "meeting factory specs." I'm currently waiting for Wal-mart to restock the Remington UMC .40 in 180 grain HP. That was one of the bullets that jammed the G23. I expect it will feed fine in the new pistol, because bullets feed centered in the new pistol. And so far, it has shot everything I have fed it, including Tulammo.



Again thanks for the feedback and encouragement.