Sunday, May 25, 2008

Glock KaBOOM! - Major Nine

At the Dundee Club Match (May 24, 2008) and on the very last stage of the match, Evil Bill Blew Up His Pelican Gun.

Bill was shooting the last stage of the day, and I was his RO. About 5 shots into the COF the gun failed to go back into battery.


Bill racked the slide to chamber the next round, pulled the trigger, and as I was watching the gun split into two pieces, attached to the grip, in a configuration reminiscent of a half-peeled banana.

Bill's later theory was that he had a squib, which was not obvious to the observer because the bullet got into the compensator before it was stopped. (He had been recently made aware that his powder measure was randomly loading lighter than normal charges; as much as almost 20% lighter than normal.) In fact, in this scenario it would not be a 'squib', per se, as much as a 'light load'.


Nevertheless, he suggests that the round which split the barrel and pulled the slide away from the frame did in fact result in excessive pressure which split the barrel from just behind the compensator to the chamber of the pistol.

I don't know that I accept that explanation. I counted the rounds, I think that the round he designated a 'squib' actually hit the A-zone of the target he was engaging. I could be wrong, he could be wrong, we both could be wrong.

I'll be interested if, when he disassembles the Glock, he can provide more information to describe the actual sequence of events.


Oh, yeah, I forgot one detail of the damage. It appears that the slide has also bulged, just forward of the chamber. Well, that's not surprising.

(Click on any picture to Super-Size it)

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