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9.3X62AL
01-16-2010, 11:23 PM
Der Governator Ahnold blessed the transfer of my newest acquisition, a used Glock 23. The price was too good to say NO to--the pistol, 3 mags, and an airline-approved camera/pistol case for $375. I also scrounged a Storm Lake aftermarket barrel for it, since OEM Glock barrels in 40 S&W can have issues with reloaded ammo and cast boolits.

Once home with it, I saw that "used gun" was a barely applicable description. Field-stripped, it showed zero wear, maybe 50 rounds' worth of firing. The SL barrel fit and functioned perfectly. I established a bit of lube on the slide rails and locking surfaces, and headed to the desert with 100 rounds of factory FMJ and 100 rounds of cast Lee 175s atop 5.0 grains of Bullseye.

The G-23 showed its new status by being a little "sticky" on slide return with a full magazine at first--the slide would stop just short of fully home with 9 or 8 rounds in the mag, then function normally and flawlessly through the balance of the magazine contents. New Glocks that the deputies qualified with at my old agency did this same thing for the first 100-200 rounds, so I wasn't real alarmed at the anomaly. Just gotta SHOOT 'EM. So, I did. GLADLY. The factory barrel and the factory ammo got along very well after the 3rd magazine-full, and ran like water through a downspout.

One variable I wanted to check for with this lot of fired brass was how distended it got with the 3rd Generation barrel's chamber and supposed lack of support therefrom. Not bad at all, compared to some earlier-series Glock-fired 40 S&W brass, which had looked postively pregnant.

I swapped barrels to the SL tube, and it had the same draggy slide issue at first--then hit its stride and ran flawlessly. I was out of ammo before I was done having fun! The brass from the fully-supported chamber had zero malformation, and the barrel had zero leading. One wet patch of Hoppe's cleaned it completely.

As is my wont, I'm going to run 200-300 more rounds through the pistol before it goes in harm's way with me, but I don't anticipate any reliability problems taking the pistol out of consideration as felon repellant.

mikeyd499
01-16-2010, 11:50 PM
I also have a Glock 23. I love it. I have heard all the bad talk about Glocks, but I still will stake my and my families safety on it. I still need to get the aftermarket barrel so I can cast and shoot lead. Now I just find cheap fmj for practice.

9.3X62AL
01-17-2010, 12:25 AM
Glocks WORK. They might not be aesthetically very pleasing to traditionalists (like me, for example), but I give credit where it's due--and Gaston's Dishwasher-Safe Gas Pipe is a rugged, reliable, service pistol.

S.R.Custom
01-17-2010, 12:49 AM
OK, I can't resist...

So you buy a gun that you knew you had to replace the barrel on before you even shot it, and had a reputation for failure to go into battery as well. A reputation that is, as you freely admit in this case, deserved. And yet, your final judgement is that "Glocks WORK."

Stop qualifying your effusion and admit it-- you just like Glocks. :-P

exile
01-17-2010, 05:41 AM
As far as I am concerned, no better pistol exists today for concealed carry than the Glock 23. Mine is actually a Glock 32 (.357 Sig) but the factory .40 barrel sits in it right now. Glocks are not pretty, I enjoy my Smiths more now as I get older and get tired of chasing brass, but the Glock 23 works and is a great size and weight for carry. I have a Storm Lake barrel for my Glock 26 and think that they make a great product. You will not be sorry.

How is the ammo situation in CA since the new law? Talk about infringement! Anyway.

exile

9.3X62AL
01-17-2010, 01:36 PM
SuperMag, yer a trouble-making pot-stirrer......a thing I generally appreciate, and offer encouragement about. :) Keep up the good work.

Glocks are certainly NOT alone in being a little balky when new--most autopistols take some shooting-in before they should be relied upon. Same goes for AR-15s, and the much-ballyhooed H&K MP-5 or G-3/HK-91. That's how they roll.

Exile, I don't think the last chapter in that ammo legislation has been read yet.

S.R.Custom
01-17-2010, 05:25 PM
I try to do a good job, and I'm glad I don't disappoint. And it's comforting when someone appreciates the effort.... :D

9.3X62AL
01-18-2010, 12:21 PM
Duly noted, and always appreciated. I was the same way about sexual harassment at work--I wouldn't tolerate it, but was known to rate the efforts and offer critiques on effectiveness.

Dframe
01-18-2010, 02:28 PM
Who keeps repeating the myth that factory glocks can't use reloaded ammunition? I've fired thousands of reloads (yes including lead) and have never had a problem of any kind. My favortie is a Ranier 155 grain copper plated bullet over a charge of Clays.

9.3X62AL
01-18-2010, 04:37 PM
I don't buy The Myth either, but earlier-series Glocks in 40 S&W used to "guppy" brass badly. The bit about cast boolits will never die, and I wish it would. The brass I fired in the OEM barrel was only slightly distended, the brass fired in the Storm Lake barrel looked like it could be reloaded as-is. The aftermarket barrel was a lot more about brass life than about cast boolits, but may have been gilding the lily.