Bought a used Glock and some tactical questions...

[darkwolf210]

Hello all! I'm happy to report I was cleared for my second firearm in record time, only 8 hours! I bought a used Glock 17 9mm (actually because someone responded to one of my posts and told me to go with glock if I felt comfortable with them) Anyway I have a few questions if anyone cares to help me out with them!

1. I inspected the gun before i bought it of course, and its in great shape, but the barrel, on inspection in light, not store light seems to have rust. Should i be worried about this? i've taken it to the range and have had some pretty tight shot groups, and so did my friend who came with me but maybe I can order a new barrel? (this is my home defense glock with 17 round clips)

2. I have a few questions about ammunition, I heard grains doesnt refer to actual gunpowder in the round, but rather the weight. The self defense Hornady rounds i bought are a higher grain then the full metal rounds i use at the range, does a higher grain or weight equal to more stopping power?

3. Theres hollow tip self defense rounds and I guess full metal jackets I think, do they make a difference in penetrating through a wall, or even a sofa if someone is behind it? I overheard one of the gun salespeople saying "I load 1 full metal 1 hollow point" ratio per clip. Would that be wise in a tactical situation?

Thanks in advance if anyone responds, feel free to leave me a msg if anyone wants to talk! take care - Darkwolf

[woolleyworm]

Originally Posted by darkwolf210

Hello all! I'm happy to report I was cleared for my second firearm in record time, only 8 hours! I bought a used Glock 17 9mm (actually because someone responded to one of my posts and told me to go with glock if I felt comfortable with them) Anyway I have a few questions if anyone cares to help me out with them!

1. I inspected the gun before i bought it of course, and its in great shape, but the barrel, on inspection in light, not store light seems to have rust. Should i be worried about this? i've taken it to the range and have had some pretty tight shot groups, and so did my friend who came with me but maybe I can order a new barrel? (this is my home defense glock with 17 round clips)

2. I have a few questions about ammunition, I heard grains doesnt refer to actual gunpowder in the round, but rather the weight. The self defense Hornady rounds i bought are a higher grain then the full metal rounds i use at the range, does a higher grain or weight equal to more stopping power?

3. Theres hollow tip self defense rounds and I guess full metal jackets I think, do they make a difference in penetrating through a wall, or even a sofa if someone is behind it? I overheard one of the gun salespeople saying "I load 1 full metal 1 hollow point" ratio per clip. Would that be wise in a tactical situation?

Thanks in advance if anyone responds, feel free to leave me a msg if anyone wants to talk! take care - Darkwolf

1 - give the barrel a good oiling and cleaning. Kroil does wonders for light rust, just make sure you run a few patches through it so that you don't have excess oil inside the barrel before firing.

2 - Grains refers to the bullet weight, 7000 grains per pound. "stopping power" is relative. Delivered energy is the common measurement of this. It all depends on how fast the bullet is moving, but IN GENERAL for a given caliber, the heavier the bullet, the higher the delivered energy. Typically, as you load heavier bullets, your charge weight of powder lessens; since the heavier bullet occupies more space inside the case, hence less powder to build up sufficient pressure.

3 - FMJ rounds will penetrate further as a general rule; as far as the loading of clips, that's personnal preference and having an understanding of what one bullet will do vs the other. For self/home defense, load the HP defense loads and you'll be better off IMO.

Example of 45 acp loads and delivered energy.

Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy
165 gr (10.7 g) Federal Premium Low Recoil JHP 1,060 ft/s (320 m/s)412 ft·lbf (559 J)
185 gr (12.0 g) Buffalo Bore JHP +P 1,080 ft/s (330 m/s)479 ft·lbf (649 J)
200 gr (13 g) Speer Gold Dot JHP +P 1,080 ft/s (330 m/s)518 ft·lbf (702 J)
230 gr (15 g) Speer Lawman FMJ 830 ft/s (250 m/s)352 ft·lbf (477 J)

[old semperfi]

Originally Posted by darkwolf210

Hello all! I'm happy to report I was cleared for my second firearm in record time, only 8 hours! I bought a used Glock 17 9mm (actually because someone responded to one of my posts and told me to go with glock if I felt comfortable with them) Anyway I have a few questions if anyone cares to help me out with them!

1. I inspected the gun before i bought it of course, and its in great shape, but the barrel, on inspection in light, not store light seems to have rust. Should i be worried about this? i've taken it to the range and have had some pretty tight shot groups, and so did my friend who came with me but maybe I can order a new barrel? (this is my home defense glock with 17 round clips)

2. I have a few questions about ammunition, I heard grains doesnt refer to actual gunpowder in the round, but rather the weight. The self defense Hornady rounds i bought are a higher grain then the full metal rounds i use at the range, does a higher grain or weight equal to more stopping power?

3. Theres hollow tip self defense rounds and I guess full metal jackets I think, do they make a difference in penetrating through a wall, or even a sofa if someone is behind it? I overheard one of the gun salespeople saying "I load 1 full metal 1 hollow point" ratio per clip. Would that be wise in a tactical situation?

Thanks in advance if anyone responds, feel free to leave me a msg if anyone wants to talk! take care - Darkwolf

[old semperfi]

i guess im guilty of recommending the glock if thats what feels good to you,as for the rust,you can use a brush and a good penetrating oil to remove as much as possible.i do not reccomend to replace barrel if its shooting good.i think it would be a waste of money.re the ammo,there are a number of good defenseive bullet configerations out there,as long as it operates good in your gun then go with that.a home defensive firearm is not likley to be used over 10 feet so accuracy at that distance is moot.i do suggest you keep to hollow points if they chamber and fire good in your gun. old semperfi

[darkwolf210]

Thank you very much for the replies, I suppose i should open this up in a new threat, but what exactly happens when a bullet strikes something? A. a wooden door, and B. A person behind a wooden door. Does the bullet just disintegrate? or does it keep its general shape and power until it hits something much stronger?

[woolleyworm]

all depends on what type of bullet and how fast it's going. HP's are ineffective if pushed too slow or if too fast, they can disinegrate in flight. Semi-jacked lead packs a good punch. FMJ tends to stay together and penetrate well, so if you need to get through a wall or door, then that would be a good choice.

There are literally hundreds of choices out there in bullet design; it would be best to define your situation and then seek specific info for what you need.

Hope this helps.

[woolleyworm]

I suppose an explaination of why a hollow point has a hollow point would be a good start. The hollow portion of the bullet is designed to "ingest" soft tissue, as the tissue compresses and is forced into the void, the increasing pressure causes the bullet to expand, thus imparting much more damage to the tissue that it has entered. ( small entry, BIG exit ( if any exit at all ))

( this a basic, 0330 in the morning explaination; there's much more to the exact science of how/why of bullet types )

[johnlives4christ]

Originally Posted by darkwolf210

Hello all! I'm happy to report I was cleared for my second firearm in record time, only 8 hours! I bought a used Glock 17 9mm (actually because someone responded to one of my posts and told me to go with glock if I felt comfortable with them) Anyway I have a few questions if anyone cares to help me out with them!

1. I inspected the gun before i bought it of course, and its in great shape, but the barrel, on inspection in light, not store light seems to have rust. Should i be worried about this? i've taken it to the range and have had some pretty tight shot groups, and so did my friend who came with me but maybe I can order a new barrel? (this is my home defense glock with 17 round clips)

you didnt mention where the rust was. on the outside or the inside. glocks are coated with tenifer. it's basically a metal treatment that is first applied before the finish is applied. it should prevent rust on the outer surfaces. so i am assuming the rust in question is in the bore. if this is the case i would guess that it's not rust but fowling. although nothings impossible i reckon. i wouldnt replace the barrel if it's shooting good. unless the rust was extreme.

2. I have a few questions about ammunition, I heard grains doesnt refer to actual gunpowder in the round, but rather the weight. The self defense Hornady rounds i bought are a higher grain then the full metal rounds i use at the range, does a higher grain or weight equal to more stopping power?

grain refers to the weight of the projectile. only in load data do you see the grain weight of the powder. bullet weight makes a difference in stopping power. in general a heavier bullet will fly slower and will hit harder. however you'll have people that have the opposite opinion. it's a subject of debate. personally i wouldnt use a 147 grain bullet in the gun for self defense and use 115 for plinking. i would get hollow points in standard 115 grain because the weight difference will change the point of impact. if the gun shoots to point of aim at 115 grain it might shoot 3 inches high with the heavier weight. you just need to see.

3. Theres hollow tip self defense rounds and I guess full metal jackets I think, do they make a difference in penetrating through a wall, or even a sofa if someone is behind it? I overheard one of the gun salespeople saying "I load 1 full metal 1 hollow point" ratio per clip. Would that be wise in a tactical situation?

Thanks in advance if anyone responds, feel free to leave me a msg if anyone wants to talk! take care - Darkwolf

hollow points dont make much of a difference in penetration through a wall normally. but in people it makes a lot of difference. in a soft or fleshy material the hollow point will expand. but if it has to travel through thick clothes or a couch or wall it might clog up the cavity and not expand. there is nothing wrong with using fmj for self defense if thats what you have and you what you're comfortable with. a FMJ to the head will not work any less well then a hollow point. what a hollow point does is limit the penetration so that the full kinetic energy is transferred into the person instead of the bullet passing through. a wall or couch will not stop a 9mm. unless the wall is brick or concrete. for that matter a fridge wont stop a 9mm most of the time. it is not a bad idea to mix fmj or hollow points although i dont. i normally keep a full mag of hollow points and spare mags of fmj. if i were going to mix ammo i would go 3 hollow points and the rest fmj

Originally Posted by darkwolf210

Thank you very much for the replies, I suppose i should open this up in a new threat, but what exactly happens when a bullet strikes something? A. a wooden door, and B. A person behind a wooden door. Does the bullet just disintegrate? or does it keep its general shape and power until it hits something much stronger?

when a bullet hits a door it will lose some energy. it most likely would go through the door and hit the person behind it. although it wouldnt have much energy left after it went through the door it could still kill easily. depending on the angle and the hardness of the material a bullet might deform a lot or a little. but in wood it doesnt deform much. if it was to hit rock face on it would disintegrate. but if it was hit at much of an angle it would glance off and keep going. a 9mm can glance off a hardwood floor depending on the angle.

it depends on what what caliber you're talking about if the bullet will disintegrate when it hits a foreign object. a 223 will disintegrate easily. but a 45 acp wont. its all a factor of power, bullet weight and speed.

in general a 9mm or 40s&w will not disintegrate unless it hits rock straight on. i would suggest taking some boards with you and shooting them to see how the bullets react. place a plank in front of a milk jug filled with water. shoot both hollow points and fmj into a milk jug filled with water then try again shooting through the plank.

[thomas44]

As far as what happens when a bullet strikes something, that is called terminal ballistics. You might want to google that phrase and read about it. That's a science in and of itself and it's pretty darn fascinating. Once you get into firearms and ammo and start asking the questions that you are asking, it opens up a whole wide world of knowledge !! It's fun, interesting and fascinating. I hope you enjoy your new pistol. I'm sure it will provide years of shooting enjoyment as well as personal protection from bad guys.

[rocklinskier]

Glocks (which by the way are very dependable defense weapons) have a VERY tough coating on them. I would be surprised if it is actually rusted. If So, someone did their best to ignore regular maintanence. A good cleaning may prove that it is only surface degredation and it may not be as bad as you think.

2) It's a defense weapon, not a piece of art. If it feeds dependably, and groups well, don't "fix" it. Just maintain, oil, maybe replace the recoil spring, know and get comfortable with it aka. range time, shooting class, etc.

Ballistics, as mentioned above, is a quagmire of information that you can spend the rest of your life trying to figure out. Most of us find that to be somewhat a 'fun' endeavor.

Here is just one link, to one manufacturer with some good basic data on defense ammo:
http://www.speer-ammo.com/ballistics/ammo.aspx

Here is another:
http://www.shopcorbon.com/Self-Defense-JHP/100/100/dept

There are dozens more.

I usually check my local suppliers, see what they have, and then do my homework based on what is available in my area. Otherwise, you may get yourself all geared up and then find that what you wish to have is not readily available in your local.


Have fun!!

[darkwolf210]

Thank you so much for all of your replies, i'll def look into the science of ballistics. Take care and be safe all i'm off to the range! (also that idea to shoot wooden planks and milk jugs seems like a great idea) Its legal to shoot anywhere outside of city limits right? I think ill check with my local law enforcement .

[glocknut]

I am partial to Winchester 115grain Silvertips.

mike
gn