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Roshi wrote:

glockowner wrote:still concerned with the metal flaking

Likely this is a tiny bit of material coming off the cartridge case when the extractor grabs it.

What color is it? How big are the flakes?

glockowner wrote:yeah, i've been actually experimenting with my grips and havn't settled on one yet. in practicing my draw, the left finger in front of the trigger guard comes naturally. i know it may not be the best but my buddies have been using that grip for many years. still learning and yes i do need some personal private instruction.

That method is not mechanically strong. When it was new, quite a few folks, including law enforcement officers and the top guns on the competition circuit tried it and found it wanting. You'll rarely see it used among well trained armed professionals today, even though some guns like the Glocks still carry the squared off trigger guard that was made to accommodate it.

If you're willing to give something else a try, I'd suggest the Ayoob Wedge for the off hand:

Grip the gun normally with the strong hand.
Wrap the middle finger of the off hand directly against the underside of the trigger guard and around the strong hand, with the ring and pinkie fingers immediately below it.
Then wedge your first (pointer) finger between the trigger guard and your middle finger.

The link here gives you a better explanation, along with a lot more information on grip and stance. Focus on pages 153 - 165.

If you're using the Weaver stance (shown on page 164 on the left), you may benefit from switching to the isosceles stance shown on the right side of the same page. It's less complex and works extremely well for many folks, including me.

I think you'll find this will feel like you've got the gun locked in a vise and may well help resolve your smokestacking issue. I'd be willing to bet it will improve your scores as well.

[quote=TheAnnoyedMan]Maybe your Glock could use a little something to make the grips "grippier" for your hand.[/quote]

Try the A Grip material from Brooks Tactical. It's custom fit for the individual weapon, goes on extremely easily, and makes the Glock's hard plastic grips feel as if they're covered in suede leather. I use them on all my polymer framed guns.

glockowner wrote:smokestack, everytime.

This suggests that on those occasions the slide is not reaching its full rearward travel and beginning the return stroke before it should. The grip issue is a very likely candidate. One way to test this is to have another experienced Glock shooter run a couple of boxes of the ammo you've had trouble with through the gun. It's a relatively cheap test - if the issue doesn't recur, the grip problem is a real good bet and very easily fixed. Here's a good article that might be helpful.

Another possibility is a worn recoil spring. From your post, you haven't shot it enough to reach that point, but it still could be the problem (or part of it) if you bought the gun used.

glockowner wrote:its about 3 months old. i'm shooting blazer fmj for targets and hydra shock for carry. first trip to the range with brand new gun fired about 150 rds with 1 jam. 2nd trip was the same, 1 jam. 3rd and 4th and 5th no jam. todays trip 100 rds and about 5 jams with the blazers. every trip i'll fire 1 mag of the shocks just cause and those have been 100% but of course am not firing as many. i did notice some of the metal flaking away on the center of the locking block and the tip of the firing pin safety. don't know if that has anything to do with it. ill change target ammo for one and make a trip back to the dealer. i'm relatively new and take advice well, thanks.

What type of "jam" are you experiencing? Failure to eject the empty shell? Failure to feed the fresh round? Smokestack (empty shell stuck in the ejection port?)

Check your firing grip. If your wrists aren't consistently locked, you can absorb some of the energy the slide depends on to operate properly in your arms and cause failures. If you experience fewer incidents with more powerful ammo, this could well be the cause. (More powerful ammo produces more energy, so the loss of a bit of it isn't as critical as with the relatively low powered blazers.)