Thursday, March 1, 2012

My Glock 23 Review Part Five

'Reloads on Stock Barrel'
There has been a lot of written articles about not using Teflon reloads on the stock .40S&W Glock barrel as this would be prone to the kaBoom! or kB! issue. I thought about getting one of those aftermarket barrels which Twin Pines is selling for P7.5k, they are also recommended for shooting Teflon reloads, but then I noticed that a lot of Glock .40S&W owners also has been saying that they have been using Teflon reloads on their stock Glock barrels, so I decided just take a chance and start using reloads. Besides, I just could not afford to keep shooting brandnew FMJ ammo at P21.50 per pop.

As of this writing, I have shot around 950 rounds of Semi-Wadcutter Teflon reloads on my Glock, of which 350 rounds was fired at full auto, and so far I have had no serious issues yet. I do understand the risk, perhaps one of these days I will regret this action and ruin my precious Glock. But, then again, in my humble opinion, as long as I use quality reloads, I should have a good chance of continuing of having a good, shooting experience.

By "quality" reloads, I mean reloads from the major shooting ranges (i.e., those with multiple branches, like Jethro Dionisio, Armscor, etc.). If the shooting range is a small, mom and pop or backyard affair, I think it is worth the risk of buying reloads from major reloaders (i.e., Stronghand, Magnus, etc.), and just bringing it to the range and paying for the corkage fees.

I do make it a habit of cleaning a pistol thoroughly (especially the barrel) within 24-hours of each shooting session. My late father told me you have that amount of time before the corrossive components of the powder residue starts corroding and pitting your barrel. I don't know if that's true, but it does make for a great shooting habit.

One problem I do see with using reloads, is how dirty the gun can be afterwards, especially since I average firing 100 rounds per shooting session. The dirt gets into the nook and crannies of my unit, so I have to detail strip it every time I clean it, to remove the smell and the soot. Strangely, though, the barrel doesn't seem to be excessively fouled up after a shooting session. The barrel remains in excellent condition, with no pittings on it.