Glock Kaboom
Alexandria police officer’s Glock exploded. Looks like, as a result, the department is getting some Sigs. Most kabooms are caused by ammo problems so I don’t quite get why they’d switch all guns.
Interesting note is that this original article referred to the weapons as 45 millimeter.
April 9th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Smacking my forehead that hard is almost as good as coffee. Almost.
I would say that this is proof that cops don’t understand logic, statistics, measurement error, or the scientific method, but then that would be taking the example of one police officer and conflating that into a value judgment about the group as a whole. And that would be just as stupid.
But it would explain a lot.
April 9th, 2010 at 9:31 am
“this original article referred to the weapons as 45 millimeter.”
heh, There’s yer problem right there! The Browning Delayed blowback isn’t good for much above 20mm ; ]
April 9th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Remember, there’s apparently a history of .45 Glocks going kaboom. As tam said in the linked comment thread, they weren’t actually designed for .45 ammo.
and
I don’t know about them, but I generally prefer a gun designed for the cartridge it’s actually using.
April 9th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
It’s a trust issue. The failure on the range coupled with other reported problems isn’t going to make an officer want to put the Glock .45 between him and death. A close friend was on a high risk entry team. They went to make an arrest of a guy who drew down on them. They shot him about 10 times but he didn’t go down until someone hit his ankle, even though they put 4 rounds across his center of mass. The doctor pulled the 9mm bullets out of the guys skin with his fingers. The team switched to .40s. Sure it could have been faulty ammo or poorly designed hollow points but the fact is no one wanted to go through a door carrying a weapon that had proved ineffective.
This isn’t to slight the 9mm, the issue was psychological in that the system, gun and ammo, had failed to perform as required and the intensity of the situation seared the doubt into their psyche.
April 9th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
If folks stop using every firearm that has a KB, I guess folks are only gonna use firearms that aren’t shot very much.
April 9th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Jake, the frame wouldn’t have anything to do with a Glock kaboom.
April 9th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Compare the number of pistols of that type against actual kabooms.
Just going on personal experience, I have more than a dozen Glocks. Calibers 9mm, .357sig, .40 cal, 10mm & .45 cal, my original glock 21 has more than 10,000 rds through it & the only thing i’ve ever broke was the original spring(after about 5,000 rds).
Oh btw not a glock fanboy as i also have pistols made by colt, S&W, taurus, Rossi, Dan Wesson, magnum research & beretta.
April 10th, 2010 at 2:44 am
SteveA, I think the point is that we all know Glocks are reliable pistols. The issue is psychological.
April 12th, 2010 at 8:38 am
“so I don’t quite get why they’d switch all guns.”
So that next year they can claim the cost as a budget item and ensure they get the same money back. That is the role of government, take your tax dollars, and spend it as wildly as possible to justify greater spending next year.
April 12th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
“…why they’d switch all guns.”
CYA. If another Glock kabooms, someone’s ass is on the line for not having done anything. If a new Sig explodes, they can say they at least did something. Your tax dollars at work.