LoneWolf lower for G17, rear rails disintegrated... fml.

allen-1

allen-1

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Shooting one of my favorite guns last night, a Timberwolf lower with a Gen3 Glock upper on it, and suddenly it wouldn't cycle. Was actually shooting in the dark, using the headlights of the truck to illuminate the targets, (more or less). So, I dropped the mag, went to rack the slide and it felt... weird. Went back to the truck so I could see it in the headlight and when I field stripped it I couldn't believe what I saw. Pictures are attached, the rear frame rails are simply gone. The rails are part of the frame - it can't be repaired.

I sent an email to LoneWolf's customer service last night with the same pictures attached, I'm interested in their response. I'm kind of in a quandary here. That's one of my favorite guns, but damn. I've never seen or heard of that kind of failure before. I'd understand it, maybe, if I were running super hot loads and weak springs, but I'm not. This is a gun that I carry almost daily and that I use for competition.

IMG_4729.jpg IMG_4730.jpg IMG_4731.jpg

Stripped the frame, cleaned it and took another picture:
IMG_4747.jpg
 
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Damn man. Interested to hear what they say. What's your approx round count? I have one with about 500 rounds through it.
 
sgeary said:
Damn man. Interested to hear what they say. What's your approx round count? I have one with about 500 rounds through it.
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Not sure of round count. I bought it from a friend of mine on May 20th, 2015; so I've had it for a year and nine months. When I bought it, it was still fairly new, but I've shot it a lot since then. I shoot at least once a week, and now that I'm in Georgia often two or three times a week, (the range is closer and has more opportunities).

So, all of that being said... 10,000 rounds maybe...
 
Damn! Just got my hands on the LW compact model. Loving it so far with about 300-400 rounds through it. Good luck and please keep us updated.
 
sorry to see your gun broke! i have been underwhelmed by lone wolf's frames. i briefly owned one, never built it and sold it. when it comes to frames i am inclined to just stick w OEM.

their slides seem to be solid machining and overall pretty good stuff.

LWD has pretty good CS (at least by phone). i don't bother sending mfr's emails or messages. you might want to just call them on monday.
 
allen-1 said:
Shooting one of my favorite guns last night, a Timberwolf lower with a Gen3 Glock upper on it, and suddenly it wouldn't cycle. Was actually shooting in the dark, using the headlights of the truck to illuminate the targets, (more or less). So, I dropped the mag, went to rack the slide and it felt... weird. Went back to the truck so I could see it in the headlight and when I field stripped it I couldn't believe what I saw. Pictures are attached, the rear frame rails are simply gone. The rails are part of the frame - it can't be repaired.

I sent an email to LoneWolf's customer service last night with the same pictures attached, I'm interested in their response. I'm kind of in a quandary here. That's one of my favorite guns, but damn. I've never seen or heard of that kind of failure before. I'd understand it, maybe, if I were running super hot loads and weak springs, but I'm not. This is a gun that I carry almost daily and that I use for competition.

View attachment 191847 View attachment 191848 View attachment 191849

Stripped the frame, cleaned it and took another picture:
View attachment 191861
Click to expand...

Minuteman Armament said:
I've dealt with them extensively.

never again
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What Alex said.

Waiting to hear the results, but not optimistic. Heavily invested in a G17L myself.
 
How is the slide??? Sucks about the frame. boggles the mind!! Maybe time for an OEM frame?


I also am a big fan of shooting at night, you can really see the muzzle blast!!! Generally use ATV or snowmobile lights to illuminate the situation.
 
xjma99 said:
How is the slide??? Sucks about the frame. boggles the mind!! Maybe time for an OEM frame?


I also am a big fan of shooting at night, you can really see the muzzle blast!!! Generally use ATV or snowmobile lights to illuminate the situation.
Click to expand...

The slide's absolutely perfect. I checked it, broke it down and looked at it under a light and magnifying glass to be sure. Well as sure as I can be without magnafluxing it, but seriously - it looks perfect.
 
Wrench75 said:
So have you put it in the classifieds yet? Modified, slightly used glock. Low round count. Only $900... [wink][laugh]
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[rofl]

Frame will be here in a couple of days, I'll put the internals back in it, put the slide on it and go shoot it without worrying about it. Whenever I shoot a match I take a spare gun with me, so I'll just keep doing that. The only thing that's bugging me at all is that I've been shooting my Gen4 G17 a lot lately and I like it now. It was supposed to be my backup gun, not my primary gun. First world problems.

But I had a spare shotgun that I dropped off yesterday at the LGS on consignment - they've got some used Glocks in their case, so this might all work out. Definitely first world problems.
 
allen-1 said:
[rofl]

Frame will be here in a couple of days, I'll put the internals back in it, put the slide on it and go shoot it without worrying about it. Whenever I shoot a match I take a spare gun with me, so I'll just keep doing that. The only thing that's bugging me at all is that I've been shooting my Gen4 G17 a lot lately and I like it now. It was supposed to be my backup gun, not my primary gun. [STRIKE=First world]First world[/STRIKE] American problems.

But I had a spare shotgun that I dropped off yesterday at the LGS on consignment - they've got some used Glocks in their case, so this might all work out. Definitely [strike=first world]First world[/strike] American problems.
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FIFY

I'm pretty sure this isn't a problem in lots of first world countries.
 
One brand new replacement frame, warranteed.
My entire out of pocket cost was to ship them the damaged frame. I'm okay with that.
 

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Glad you got CS satisfaction and in a timely manner no less. Since I own one of their g19 frames I'm curious if they had anything to say about the failure or did they just just honor the warranty without comment?
 
Gimlet said:
Glad you got CS satisfaction and in a timely manner no less. Since I own one of their g19 frames I'm curious if they had anything to say about the failure or did they just just honor the warranty without comment?
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Honored warranty without comment. They did ask if I could tell them how many rounds I'd put through it, but that wasn't to attempt to discredit the claim, rather more to add to their knowledge. They were quite pleasant.
 
Gimlet said:
Glad you got CS satisfaction and in a timely manner no less. Since I own one of their g19 frames I'm curious if they had anything to say about the failure or did they just just honor the warranty without comment?
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no need to panic, there are thousands of these frames out and about in use. this is the only one i've heard of that failed. despite what you hear, i've had good luck with these people over the years and i see no reason to change my mind now. and i also bought a compact frame from the group buy and in the first batch of people to get them. put a gen 2 slide on it as well as one of their .357 sig conversion barrels. i have 5-6k rounds into it and see not even the slightest sign of trouble.
 
I'm actually really surprised they were that good to you, they were pretty terrible actually delivering product to a local dealer who had already paid.

Also, their recoil springs are bad, as are the springs they use for strikers.

I have a Lone Wolf 17L ported slide and ported barrel, and I had to replace parts to make it work.

The recoil spring has too many coils, so it binds to soon and isn't strong enough. It also is too small in diameter, so the "T" on the back end of the guide rod catches in the frame and gets stuck.

The striker springs are... "wrong", (a little too big OD?) such that they bind up in the striker guide sleeve and can take the gun out of battery when you pull the trigger. (and makes the trigger pull like eleventy-seven pounds)

I replaced the striker spring with a Wolff (note the extra "f") and the recoil spring with OEM Glock and the upper works fine now.
 
milktree said:
I'm actually really surprised they were that good to you, they were pretty terrible actually delivering product to a local dealer who had already paid.

Also, their recoil springs are bad, as are the springs they use for strikers.

I have a Lone Wolf 17L ported slide and ported barrel, and I had to replace parts to make it work.

The recoil spring has too many coils, so it binds to soon and isn't strong enough. It also is too small in diameter, so the "T" on the back end of the guide rod catches in the frame and gets stuck.

The striker springs are... "wrong", (a little too big OD?) such that they bind up in the striker guide sleeve and can take the gun out of battery when you pull the trigger. (and makes the trigger pull like eleventy-seven pounds)

I replaced the striker spring with a Wolff (note the extra "f") and the recoil spring with OEM Glock and the upper works fine now.
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Ouch. I can't speak to any of that. I have a LoneWolf FRAME, mated with a Glock Gen 3 upper, (matched slide/barrel), with Glock internals for the slide. I don't know what trigger it had when I bought it, I replaced it a couple months ago with a Glock Triggers "Hybrid".

I have purchased a bunch of magazines, several sets of sights and an excellent Glock service manual from them. This is the first product from them that I've had any issues with, and they stood behind their warranty.
 

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