Bardstown police replacing Glocks after cracks found

[wassup61]

I bet the damage comes more from round about abuse rather than round count

 

[Denny347]

I called a friend/LEO in Russellville, KY who put me in touch with an officer on Bardstown PD. He told me that they aren't concerned about the pistols, they've been rode hard and put away wet. The frames are cracking near the muzzle, the slide stops are worn and not locking the slides back reliably. A few of the pistols will allow the slide to come off of the frame without depressing the slide lock, I'm guessing the slide lock springs are shot or broken.

Having shot on more than one range with officers from various departments in KY I have no doubt these guns have seen some use. You don't want to be anywhere downrange of a good ol boy from KY if he's got you in his sights. Those boys can shoot.

Oh man, you go and TALK to the source and get the facts straight....how can we conjecture and hypothesize under these conditions?

 

[BugI02]

I'll be taking this gun out to shoot tomorrow, it's more that 100 years old.

But its made entirely out of what you call yer METAL. No miracle plastics atall! Hmmmmm.

 

[Mgderf]

I'll be taking this gun out to shoot tomorrow, it's more that 100 years old.

Beautiful.
I have a Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless in .32acp that is a joy to shoot. Soft shooting, yet accurate, and solid. No comparison to the "plasticrap" pistols of today...

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Oh man, you go and TALK to the source and get the facts straight....how can we conjecture and hypothesize under these conditions?

Sooo, he Denny'd the thread?

 

[Grelber]

So will a glock I own be no good in 15 years?

It ain't like they cocoon and then turn into something useful.

 

[Robjps]

I called a friend/LEO in Russellville, KY who put me in touch with an officer on Bardstown PD. He told me that they aren't concerned about the pistols, they've been rode hard and put away wet. The frames are cracking near the muzzle, the slide stops are worn and not locking the slides back reliably. A few of the pistols will allow the slide to come off of the frame without depressing the slide lock, I'm guessing the slide lock springs are shot or broken.

Having shot on more than one range with officers from various departments in KY I have no doubt these guns have seen some use. You don't want to be anywhere downrange of a good ol boy from KY if he's got you in his sights. Those boys can shoot.

So it sounds like they were never maintained.

 

[indiucky]

I shall refrain.........

 

[BE Mike]

I'm not a Glock fan. I once owned one. All things mechanical are subject to wear and breakage. That this department was actually shooting their guns to failure makes me think that their training program is aggressive. Kudos to the chief!

 

[Robjps]

I'm not a Glock fan. I once owned one. All things mechanical are subject to wear and breakage. That this department was actually shooting their guns to failure makes me think that their training program is aggressive. Kudos to the chief!

It sounds like they never inspected or repaired their firearms in 15 years. I don't think congratulations are in order.

 

[indyblue]

Being an armorer for a few different manufacturers one thing i heard echoed over and over again was "40 cal is hard on the guns". Just the way it works. Not so much that it's a high pressure round just that it is hard on the guns. This is proof of it. Certainly a round count would be great to see just how hard these guns have been ran in the last 15 years.

I fail to understand this. Aren't .40cal guns DESIGNED to fire .40cal reliably? If .40cal is hard on the weapon, shouldn't the gun have been designed handle whatever "hard" stresses are put on them?

Sounds like under-engineering to me.

I know nothing about firearms design, so maybe I am missing something.

 

[Robjps]

I fail to understand this. Aren't .40cal guns DESIGNED to fire .40cal reliably? If .40cal is hard on the weapon, shouldn't the gun have been designed handle whatever "hard" stresses are put on them?

Sounds like under-engineering to me.

I know nothing about firearms design, so maybe I am missing something.

No they usually aren't they are 40 stuck in a 9mm frame.

 

[Grelber]

I fail to understand this. Aren't .40cal guns DESIGNED to fire .40cal reliably? If .40cal is hard on the weapon, shouldn't the gun have been designed handle whatever "hard" stresses are put on them?

Sounds like under-engineering to me.

I know nothing about firearms design, so maybe I am missing something.

A lot of times you see a gun designed and refined at a given size & caliber, and then later tweaked to work with a different caliber or to be a different size but to maintain common parts/feel/shape as is possible.
Dropping a 40 in a 9 platform I think can support your case for under-enginnering (but engineers would have a great case for blaming it on marketing and the bean counters upstairs).

 

[Denny347]

Sooo, he Denny'd the thread?

Yeah

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Yeah

 

[Drail]

15 years of use resulting in failure is absurd. I have numerous guns that I have used heavily for 35 years and they were used for many years before I bought them. They still haven't failed yet. Of course they are made of chrome moly steel - not plastic. I never have been a fan of disposable tools.

 

[VERT]

$12000 to replace 15 year old guns. That is $800 per year to equip the department. Plus the old guns still have some value. 9mm was mentioned as being easier to shoot. Plus 9mm ammo costs less. I would say the department will switch to Glock 19 or 17 so that most equipment is compatible. Makes a lot of sense to me.

 

[avboiler11]

I wonder how many times Bardstown PD has recapitalized their patrol cars in 15 years...

 

[GNRPowdeR]

I fail to understand this. Aren't .40cal guns DESIGNED to fire .40cal reliably? If .40cal is hard on the weapon, shouldn't the gun have been designed handle whatever "hard" stresses are put on them?

Sounds like under-engineering to me.

I know nothing about firearms design, so maybe I am missing something.

Which is why the M&P and XD series were designed for the 40 and then adapted to the 9mm... Just Sayin...

 

[Mike Elzinga]

I didnt mean to dispute whatever failures they may have, I don't doubt they have legitimate problems. My point was that I have personally had and have known many others who had, they exact same models and they have faced far more use and abuse and still have a long life ahead of them. I would be curious if this was another situation of there being a bad lot of guns that was all delivered to the department, as its happened before, or if there is some other still unknown factor that is contributing. Im definitely a Glock fan, so perhaps my opinion is biased, but Ive also got 3 Glocks with over 100k rounds through them and never had any type of issue. There is no viable excuse for guns with this low round count and age to be breaking in such extreme fashion.