Have any pictures?

i can ask him to resend them to me.

Your friend lied to you.

why is it so hard to believe that just maybe, one person might have gotten really shitty luck? 

a glock is like any other machine.  all guns can break. if you want to believe he lied to me, fine.  i dont really care.  i just brought up a friend's experience.  you're glock probably wont ever explode, and while i'm wary of them, his experiences are so improbable that i dont think it would stop me from owning a glock if i was shopping around and found that i liked how it felt.

i've never even owned a pistol, so i have no opinion of them.  i just thought a thread about glocks would be an appropriate time to share an odd story.

Man. Stop the trolling already. Glocks are good guns. So are many others. Make a decision get one of them and be happy. There is never a perfect 100% gun. Other wise there wouldn't be so many choices.

why is it so hard to believe that just maybe, one person might have gotten really shitty luck? 

a glock is like any other machine.  all guns can break. if you want to believe he lied to me, fine.  i dont really care.  i just brought up a friend's experience.  you're glock probably wont ever explode, and while i'm wary of them, his experiences are so improbable that i dont think it would stop me from owning a glock if i was shopping around and found that i liked how it felt.

i've never even owned a pistol, so i have no opinion of them.  i just thought a thread about glocks would be an appropriate time to share an odd story.

The only time I've heard of any gun exploding is when someone used reloads or the wrong type of ammo in their firearm.

I've heard of Glocks going boom too but every single time it was because someone had lead bullets or reloads.

If your story were of a friend having a "kaboom" I wouldn't of batted an eye, but to say two different guns went boom on rhe same day with factory ammo, I can say without a doubt that someone is full of shit.

What happened to my friend's Glock (a 23) was that the track the firing pin rides in got peened enough so that the firing pin got stuck and wouldn't retract.  And he doesn't reload; this happened with factory ammo.

Look at the firing pin indent on your spent cases.  If it looks like a tadpole (with a tail), then the barrel is starting to drop before the firing pin has retracted, and the back end of the firing pin (which is square) is being shoved upwards against it's track in the slide.  Enough of this, and the firing pin will actually cut a groove, which will eventually stop the firing pin from retracting.  Then the gun feeds another round and BOOM.  This particular problem seem confined to .40 caliber guns, and is easy enough to prevent once you know what to look for (just polish the groove back out before it gets too deep, and round off the sharp edge at the back of the firing pin).

The only time I've heard of any gun exploding is when someone used reloads or the wrong type of ammo in their firearm.

I've heard of Glocks going boom too but every single time it was because someone had lead bullets or reloads.

If your story were of a friend having a "kaboom" I wouldn't of batted an eye, but to say two different guns went boom on rhe same day with factory ammo, I can say without a doubt that someone is full of shit.

no, it wasnt the same day

he had one, and it blew on the first shot.  he was issued a replacement, and that also blew within a few shots.  he had another glock issued to him, and that's still running today years later.

if you think he's full of shit, that's fine.  im not about to question his integrity because of your opinion, and i dont blame you for hearing a story this unlikely from someone you dont personally know and thinking its bullshit.  but i know it to be true, and that's all i have to say about it. 

no, it wasnt the same day

he had one, and it blew on the first shot.  he was issued a replacement, and that also blew within a few shots.  he had another glock issued to him, and that's still running today years later.

I'm assuming he is LE, since you said issued another firearm. Generally if this was his service firearm, the police department would investigate the reason why this happened...any firearm exploding is not taken lightly by any law enforcement agency, especially if this firearm is the standard issue for all officers. Just curious, what police department is he employed by?

I know Glock recommends using only factory new, copper jacketed ammunition and that is because the polygonal rifling they use in their barrels. Sounds like handloads, reload mistake, or wrong ammo to me. Factory double charges or hotloads are extremely rare in my experience. Either way sounds like an ammo issue, which is almost always the case when a gun goes "boom". Just saying one weapon is rare, two is one hell of a coincidence. I would suspect it's not the firearm but something he induced into the equation, and that's why I highly suspect an ammo issue.

he's Marshals.  he's a friend of some family i have in Maryland.

he's Marshals.  he's a friend of some family i have in Maryland.

Was just curious because exploding firearms would certainly raise some eyebrows and warrant an investigation in most organizations, especially federal, not to mention two in a short period of time from the same guy. I know if I was the guy issuing the replacements or his supervisor, I'd be thinking 

Was just curious because exploding firearms would certainly raise some eyebrows and warrant an investigation in most organizations, especially federal, not to mention two in a short period of time from the same guy. I know if I was the guy issuing the replacements or his supervisor, I'd be thinking 

no doubt.  its not exactly a plausible situation.

I have 3 Glocks (21 and 27) and have put about 4500 rounds through them with zero problems.  I use Federal ammunition, FMJ for practice and JHP for carry, with some test firing of JHPs of course.

I have 3 Glocks (21 and 27) and have put about 4500 rounds through them with zero problems.  I use Federal ammunition, FMJ for practice and JHP for carry, with some test firing of JHPs of course.

Same here...never had any issue with any of mine...never a jam or misfire and I put a lot of rounds through them. I have always used high quality ammo too, usually Federal or Cor-Bon JHP or FMJ.

Basically, know your firearm and ammo, keep it clean and well maintained, and the likelihood of a major issue is negligible.

Same here...never had any issue with any of mine...never a jam or misfire and I put a lot of rounds through them. I have always used high quality ammo too, usually Federal or Cor-Bon JHP or FMJ.

Basically, know your firearm and ammo, keep it clean and well maintained, and the likelihood of a major issue is negligible.

I have a 17 Gen 2 with over 9k rounds of military ammunition and approximately 1k reloads through it. I started having FTFeed issues due to my wearing out the return spring. Once I replaced it I stopped having that issue. And now I am getting light strikes so it is time to replace the striker spring. Other than worn out springs this gun has been rock solid in feeding, firing and ejecting. Best gun under $400 I have ever purchased.

well, he probably wasnt using hand loads, it was a duty weapon.  both were .40's if it matters. 

ammo seems like the likely culprit.  this happened a couple years ago.

but it is true.  he had some nasty looking shrapnel wounds in his hand and wrist from the first one.

OK, not saying it wasn't true, but even you admit that ammo seems to be the likely culprit.  Having 2 separate weapons experience catastrophic failures in such close proximity tells the majority of rational people that bad lots of ammo made it out the door and that the ammunition was more than likely the issue and not the weapon.  Top notch ammo manufacturers make mistakes from time to time and while a rarity, do the manufacturers may even admit it.  I have sent back pallets of bad ammunition to a major manufacturer.  It happens.  But to attempt to lay blame on a weapon for being faulty due to bad ammunition is irresponsible and hating just to hate and does no one any good.  Lets not vilify the weapon as most weapons can go Kaboom when it is an ammo related issue.

Anyone own the glock 34 gen 4? I know the barrel is longer but other than that how does it compare to the glock 17?

Anyone own the glock 34 gen 4? I know the barrel is longer but other than that how does it compare to the glock 17?

I have a Gen 4 34 and two Gen 4 17s. Longer barrel and the 34 has a cutout in the top of the slide. The 34 is supposed to have a slightly lighter trigger, I think 4.5 lbs compared to 5.5 lbs for the 17/19/etc. The 34 also comes standard with an extended slide stop.

I use the 34 for competition and the 17s for everything else. The 34 is typically $80-100 more than the 17 as well.

Just curious, why are you interested in the 34? I think the 17 is one of the best all-around Glocks. I used to compete with a 17 when I first started and I felt that it was just fine.

Just wondering cause the LGS only had the 34 gen 4 in stock and didn't have the glock 17 gen 4 in stock.... I guess everyone purchased all the 17's since there were no assault rifles....

Still deciding whether to wait for 17 gen 4 or just purchase the 34 gen 4....

They did say the longer distance between sights make's it slightly more accurate (assuming shooter does his job) and less recoil....

Just wanted to get opinions from experienced shooters and owners....

Don't get the 34 unless you're competing with it.

In my experience, it's much harder to find holsters that fit it properly.

The 17 is a much more versatile firearm than the 34.

The 19 is great too.

I'm with KK.  I'd wait for a Glock 17 to come back in stock unless you are interested in the gun primarily for competing.  I didn't realize the demand on 17s were that high, but I would imagine that the LGSs would get them back in stock regularly. 

The Glock 17, or even 19, are better all-around guns than the 34 IMO.  While I do very much like and enjoy shooting my 34, I don't think you lose much if you had the 17.  Two of my Glock 17 holsters can accommodate the 34, but they are open bottom designs from G-Code.  That said, accessories, including holsters, are readily available for the Glock 17 whereas the selection gets a little more limited with the 34. 

I wouldn't say the 34 has any less recoil than the 17.  It might, but I never really compared the 34 against the 17 in that regard.  It's not like recoil is a significant concern with either the 17 or the 19 with a solid grip. 

I just got off gun broker and guys are asking $599 to $800 for the 17 gen 4, but they have higher cap mags than allowed in Hawaii....

I'll check around the LGS's for the 17....

When I checked before the answer was "it's on backorder and they are not sure when the 17 will be back in stock"

I'll keep calling every so often, hopefully prices have not jumped up too bad....

Is the 34 the newer version for glock?