The test takes place on Grantham’s range in Idaho, using a Glock 19 Gen 6 as the subject. The pistol is first thrown from an embankment about 45 feet high onto gravel and aggregate, then repeatedly run over by an ATV. After these impacts, the frame shows dirt and scuffing, but the stock plastic sights remain in place and the magazine stays intact. The pistol is loaded with a magazine but kept with an empty chamber for safety during setup. When fired after the drop and vehicle passes, the Glock experiences a briefly hung first round but otherwise continues to function, indicating that the initial durability portion does not stop the gun from operating.
The next phase focuses on mud exposure. Instead of a simple puddle, a bucket is filled with thick, soupy mud containing aggregate. The Glock 19 Gen 6 is inserted and worked around in the mud to ensure full coverage, including the slide, frame, and magwell. With a loaded magazine and empty chamber, the pistol is retrieved completely coated and extremely slick, making the finger grooves difficult to use. When the host attempts to rack the slide, it will not move fully to the rear. While trying to clear the slide by racking it against a surface, the plastic rear sight shears off and becomes the first clear casualty of the test. The mud and grit inside the gun and magazine appear to induce a malfunction when the magazine is removed and reinserted.
To further stress the pistol, it is dunked again into the same muddy bucket, which is described as extremely soupy with a lot of aggregate. The gun becomes so clogged that the slide cannot be fully retracted, and the finger grooves offer little purchase with muddy hands. The team decides to rinse the Glock in water, working the slide while flushing out mud from the barrel, slide, and frame. After rinsing, the pistol can be racked and a round chambered. When fired, it ignites a round but exhibits a mushy trigger and failures to fully return to battery, including a failure to extract followed by a round feeding but not seating completely. Additional love taps on the back of the slide and more manipulation in water eventually restore function, and the pistol finishes a magazine, though it still does not lock back on empty and remains gritty.
For the next durability step, a string is tied to the Glock 19 Gen 6 so it can be dragged around the property. The pistol has already survived the 45‑foot drop, multiple ATV passes, and two mud immersions. After being towed across the ground, it returns heavily abraded and packed with grit, though the magazine remains in place. When firing resumes, the slide repeatedly stops slightly out of battery, requiring taps on the rear of the slide. The trigger feels mushy, and the gun experiences failures to extract and failures to go fully into battery. The magazine becomes so contaminated with grit that it appears to contribute to the stoppages. Swapping to a cleaner magazine improves performance, but the pistol still shows clear signs of internal friction from debris.
After cleaning out some of the worst grit and reassembling the pistol, the original Gen 3‑style guide rod system is noted as still functioning. The front sight is visibly chewed and rounded, resembling something a dog might have gnawed, and the rear sight is missing entirely. Despite this, the gun is loaded with the three magazines supplied in the box and fired in succession. The trigger initially feels extremely rough and inconsistent, requiring multiple presses that feel like pumping the gun before each shot breaks. As more rounds are fired, the trigger movement gradually becomes more normal, though it remains gritty. Even with the damaged front sight and no rear sight, the shooter is still able to achieve hits on target, and the pistol completes the three magazines without catastrophic failure.
Back in the studio, the Glock 19 Gen 6 is inspected after cleaning. The frame texture is still intact and structurally sound, though it shows clear signs of stress and additional roughness from abrasion, almost like extra stippling. The rear sight is completely gone, having broken off during attempts to rack the mud‑clogged slide, and the front sight remains heavily chewed yet was still usable for aiming during the final shooting segment. The pistol is now functioning again after the range crew cleaned it thoroughly. The host notes that many of the stoppages, especially the slide failing to return fully to battery, were likely caused by the specific aggregate and debris forced into the slide, barrel, and magazine during the mud and dragging tests, rather than a simple light dusting of dirt.
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