Glock 21 Pistol Explodes In Deputy's Hand

[Ranger353]

I had not heard anything on this story last week, a friend sent me the link to the local TV station in W.VA. Interesting story, I wonder if Glock will release the results of what went wrong to the public.

http://www.wtov9.com/news/21866969/detail.html

"The Glock 21 Marshall County Chief Deputy Kevin Cecil was handling looked like any other gun. But he pointed out there was no trigger, the gun was cracked and the small metal pins were missing. “The firearm that one of our officers was using exploded on him," Cecil said. Cecil said a Marshall County officer was shooting at the range Tuesday morning when his service weapon literally blew up in his hand during a round of fire. "The weapon went to the ground, the range officers were yelling for cease-fires," he said. Cecil says it was the first time the .45-caliber pistol had ever been used. "All that energy blew out on the top of his hand. And that's where his injuries are," Cecil said. The deputy is now recovering at home. He's still undergoing testing to find out the severity of his injuries. The chief believes bad ammunition caused this bizarre accident, but he's looking into it further. "We have talked to the pistol manufacturer, the distributor, the ammo manufacturer and distributor," he said. The chief has never seen a weapon malfunction this serious and he said he hopes to never see anything like this again."

Copyright 2009 by wtov9.com. All rights reserved.

[Irving]

Haha, slow news day West Virgina?

[BigBear]

Says it could've been the ammo... reloads or a 20 year factory stockpile?! lol. There are SO many Glocks out there that it's bound to happen sooner or later. I've heard of a few 1911 platforms having this sort of failure as well. I'm also interested in what the conclusions both the CLEO and Glock will come too. Hope my 21 never fails like that, lol.

[sniper7]

That is why I don't own a glock. I hear about 10:1 blowup stories of glocks compared to other guns.

[BigBear]

That is why I don't own a glock. I hear about 10:1 blowup stories of glocks compared to other guns.

Don't think it's cause there may be a 10:1 ratio of glocks versus other firearms on teh market?

I usually hear the same story just twenty times. I wonder if there are states for firearm malfunctions listings somewhere... Time for some googlfu.

[sniper7]

Don't think it's cause there may be a 10:1 ratio of glocks versus other firearms on teh market?

I usually hear the same story just twenty times. I wonder if there are states for firearm malfunctions listings somewhere... Time for some googlfu.

There are more 1911's I am sure. you don't hear about them blowing up all the time.
It is usually a monthly thread on ar15.com about a glock blowing up.

[iamhunter]

That is why I don't own a glock. I hear about 10:1 blowup stories of glocks compared to other guns.

What you "Hear" is largely unfounded and the spread of misinformed, biased, and otherwise idiotic Glock haters.

The TRUTH is that glocks are some of the most street tested and reliable guns on the market. If you don't like them, you don't like them, but it don't say they're not reliable or they don't shoot well, because they do.

The number of glocks used and shot on a daily basis probably exceeds that of any other pistol by a factor of 10 or more.

People say "Oh I saw my friends glock jam" or "oh my friend this.." or whatever.

Until you have personally held a glock that has "blown up" or had a FTF or FTE in your hand, please stop saying "Oh i hear so many glock horror stories blah blah blah" because they are just that.

STORIES.

Accidents like this are bound to happen from time to time. They (and I) suspect bad ammo. but who knows, it could've been poor forging or a bad frame. It's bound to happen with the millions of guns you have on the market, and glocks tend to go under alot more stress and use than your typical handgun due to their widespread LEO application.

I don't own any glocks, and typically prefer other manufacturers for certain cosmetic and functional features, but I grew up shooting my Dad's glocks, and it upsets me to see people unwarrantedly bashing what truely is a great pistol.

[Irving]

I've had a Glock 17 FTE on me a bunch of times. It was just from limp wristing though, so it doesn't really count in my opinion. Even though my own gun wouldn't FTE under the same scenario. The owner of that same Glock said it best when I sent him some picture of an exploded Glock, "It's a man made machine, you can't really expect it to never break or malfunction." This goes for all guns in my opinion. When ever I see a thread about a gun blowing up, the brand never matters, because you can find a similar thread for a gun of literally every manufacturer out there. I do get a kick out of the closet haters that crawl out of the wood work and say silly things though like, "That right there is why I'll never own a Smith & Wesson. Every single model is a ticking time bomb!" <- I got that from the thread where the guy blew up that revolver on the second shot.

[sniper7]

What you "Hear" is largely unfounded and the spread of misinformed, biased, and otherwise idiotic Glock haters.

The TRUTH is that glocks are some of the most street tested and reliable guns on the market. If you don't like them, you don't like them, but it don't say they're not reliable or they don't shoot well, because they do.

The number of glocks used and shot on a daily basis probably exceeds that of any other pistol by a factor of 10 or more.

People say "Oh I saw my friends glock jam" or "oh my friend this.." or whatever.

Until you have personally held a glock that has "blown up" or had a FTF or FTE in your hand, please stop saying "Oh i hear so many glock horror stories blah blah blah" because they are just that.

STORIES.

Accidents like this are bound to happen from time to time. They (and I) suspect bad ammo. but who knows, it could've been poor forging or a bad frame. It's bound to happen with the millions of guns you have on the market, and glocks tend to go under alot more stress and use than your typical handgun due to their widespread LEO application.

I don't own any glocks, and typically prefer other manufacturers for certain cosmetic and functional features, but I grew up shooting my Dad's glocks, and it upsets me to see people unwarrantedly bashing what truely is a great pistol.

I have shot glocks, handled them and they functioned alright, but they are still working on old polymer technology. the new SA XD series are much better IMO from a shooters standpoint, a feel in the hand standpoint and overall reliability standpoint.

Even Rugers new line of pistols are better than a glock IMO.

that is just me though, it is my opinion and I am not out to bash glocks but you do hear a lot more stories of a glock blowing up, especially the .40 cal versions.

[Bailey Guns]

What you "Hear" is largely unfounded and the spread of misinformed, biased, and otherwise idiotic Glock haters.

The TRUTH is that glocks are some of the most street tested and reliable guns on the market. If you don't like them, you don't like them, but it don't say they're not reliable or they don't shoot well, because they do.

The number of glocks used and shot on a daily basis probably exceeds that of any other pistol by a factor of 10 or more.

People say "Oh I saw my friends glock jam" or "oh my friend this.." or whatever.

Until you have personally held a glock that has "blown up" or had a FTF or FTE in your hand, please stop saying "Oh i hear so many glock horror stories blah blah blah" because they are just that.

STORIES.

Accidents like this are bound to happen from time to time. They (and I) suspect bad ammo. but who knows, it could've been poor forging or a bad frame. It's bound to happen with the millions of guns you have on the market, and glocks tend to go under alot more stress and use than your typical handgun due to their widespread LEO application.

I don't own any glocks, and typically prefer other manufacturers for certain cosmetic and functional features, but I grew up shooting my Dad's glocks, and it upsets me to see people unwarrantedly bashing what truely is a great pistol.

I agree about unwarranted bashing of Glocks or any other brand of gun. But for you to simply pull numbers out of the air (or somewhere else) is just as bad. I doubt Glock numbers exceed "any other" pistol by a factor of 10 to 1. There are handguns out there that have been in continuous production for nearly a hundred years. Let's try to keep the issue in perspective

I own and frequently carry a Glock 17, I've owned several Glocks in the past and I've carried them on duty for a number of years. They are generally extremely reliable guns. But they've also got a history of problems. Granted, most firearms companies do. But some of Glocks issues are, as of yet, unresolved. Glock also tends to keep a pretty tight lid on issues with their guns. Many police agencies, some large, some small, have in the past transitioned to Glocks with bad results. It seems the biggest problems have been with the .40SW Model 22.

My personal experiences with Glock problems:

• Got rid of a Model 21 carried on duty after a year because it wouldn't feed in cold weather. I tried various methods of lubrication, ammo etc... It was terrible when the temp got below freezing. Since it was a duty gun, it went bye-bye in favor of a Sig P220.
• Had a Model 22 empty a magazine on a qualification day. First round fired on the qual course with 15 rounds loaded. Dumped the mag completely full-auto. We never could duplicate that. I just replaced the trigger w/trigger bar and never had any other issues.
• I also owned a gun store for 8 years and experienced a few issues with Glock pistols...mostly minor.

Here's a link to "The Gun Zone" and a page devoted almost entirely to Glock problems. And before anyone says Dean Spier is anti-Glock, he isn't. He just documents the problems and makes fun of the "Glocks are Perfection" zealots.

http://www.thegunzone.com/glock/gt2004.html

There's a lot of information there so it may take a while to work through everything. Don't ignore the sidebars, either....lotsa good stuff. And it's not Glock bashing. Spier generally just reports the facts and has plenty of documentation to back up what he says. When an issue arises and it's not the fault of the gun or design, he'll be the first to say so.