Problems with the Glock 19

Hello Fernando.

I am your subscriber for a few years now. I enjoy your videos and really grateful that you share your experience.

I think I started watching your videos during sad events that took place in Ukraine in 2014 (with our peninsula being annexed, war in the eastern part of Ukraine, currency devaluation, etc.) I always hoped that I won't end up using valuable information gained from your videos, well, for obvious reasons. I wasn't really a fan of aforementioned events, so I moved to Canada.
So, with that being sad, I would like to share my story of buying my first firearm — a Glock, and a malfunction(!) which occurred the first time I was shooting my Glock.

But at first, allow me to share my shooting background. In Ukraine people are not allowed to possess a handgun, but since my father is in military, he always takes me to drills, where I can shoot firearms (Makarov's pistol, AK-74, PK machine gun, Dragunov's Sniper Rifle and even RPG-7). I shot few thousands rounds in my life, and I was relatively good at it. Nothing fancy, but I managed to hit my targets while having descent groupings. So when I came to Canada, I decided to buy a Glock19. It was my dream pistol since I, as a kid, saw it in a hollywood movie. I had a lot of arguments as to why I want specifically this pistol. You know all that arguments and you even have a video about it. Fast forward to my first experience with my new Glock19.

I shoot my first magazine with 10 cartridges and... I have a jam on my third shot. This is weird — I said to myself. And continued shooting. I had another jam in my first magazine. I was desperate and I did not understand what was happening. I though there's something wrong with my glock. I had malfunctions (failure to feed and jams) in approximately 30% of shots, which is definitely not normal.

I took it back to the store where I bought it and explained my situation. Store owner took my Glock and shot 40 cartridges with no issues whatsoever. And he told me that the problem might be in me. I smiled at him and left. You probably know where it's going now, right? That day I started browsing the internet and I learned a new term "Limp wristing". I could not believe that Glock can and probably WILL malfunction depending on how firm is your grip. I couldn't believe since police use it, military use it — surely sometimes people there are under stress, being shot at, or even injured — how the hell are they supposed to constantly control their grip? But still, it's a fact. Police use it, military use it. I never ever had an issue like that while firing Makarov's Pistol. I told my father about it — he was really surprised. As well as his colleagues in the army. How come the reliability of your pistol depends on you, not on your pistol?

Of course after I learned the cause of my troubles, analyzed and changed the pressure of my grip, I shot about 200 cartridges with no issue. I'm not selling my Glock, no. I will train with it, and keep shooting with it.

But still, I really can not believe that polymer framed pistols have this issue, especially, that Glock has it. Now I have this thought, that maybe CZ pistol (or similar with a steel frame) might be better for a person who is concerned with self-defense. Especially if it's a weak guy or a small woman.
I would really appreciate if you share any thoughts about this matter.
Thank you, Sergey
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Hello Sergey,
Yes, limp wristing can be a problem, but its not just Glock, any auto pistol is likely to fail when allowed to move in the hand.
I cant say I ever had this problem. A good grip and maybe a little workout with dumbells will help you a lot.
Unless you have a specific weakening disability, you shouldn’t have any problem as long as you hold your gun firmly.
A good alternative for people that have this problem (for whatever reason) is a good revolver.

I suggest though that you work on holding your Glock 19 firmly, it really is a fine, reliable firearm. Hold it aligned with your forearm as shown in the pic below, and a good firm grip, as high as possible.

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”