The Glock seems to be one of those pistols that you either love or hate. The 1911 is deep in my heart but I also love the Glock. I carried one throughout my law enforcement career and for about three years more until one day I realized I did not have department regulations preventing me from carrying my Combat Commander.
One of the things I like about the Glock is that it does not need much in the line of modifications to go straight to work. It is plain, simple and utilitarian. So just what modifications are needed, wanted or avoided?
In the needed department is that the factory plastic sights have to go. There are many options here, but it is important to put some type of steel sight on there. I am a fan of tritium sights front and rear. Options include the rugged Novak design that is smooth and slick. Trijicon offers basic standard steel sights with tritium inserts. They also offer the very popular HD sights that include a wide rear notch that has no color around the tritium and a front sight that has a large, easy to see, bright colored ring around the tritium. These make the front sight very easy to pick up but don’t forget to look at the sight instead of the dot. Also popular are the fiber optic sights, but personally I am not a big fan of these on a fighting pistol. They are just too fragile for me. If using fiber optic look for one that does a good job of encompassing the fiber such as the Novak sight.
In the wanted section, I do like to do a trigger job. The Ghost Evo connector that needs to be fitted does a good job of lightening the trigger pull weight but a great job of shortening the over travel allowing for a faster reset. For many this is the part that will convert a non Glocker into a Glocker. While still not a 1911 trigger, this makes it close and is very positive on the reset. I have installed a couple hundred of these with great results and only one exception. I did have one pistol that for some reason would not accept this modification without failing to fire. I was never able to determine the reason for this but I have not had any other problems with this modification as long as good factory strength springs are maintained.
Some find that the factory magazine release can be difficult to engage so a longer mag release can be a good idea. Personalized slide cover plates are fun. Make sure you know how to change these or go to someone who does. Hint – you don’t pry it off with a screwdriver. If a color change is interesting consider Cerakote.
A couple complaints about the Glock are the grip angle, finger grooves and lack of a beaver tail. All of these things can be modified and this will completely change the feel of the gun. Some of these modifications I do in house. Others I refer to my friend, fellow Gunsite Instructor, Lew Gosnell. Lew does a great job of grip modifications, especially when he adds that beloved beaver tail to prevent slide bite. If you choose to have Lew do some work for you, you can send it through me or contact him directly at 626-833-3730 or on his website www.glockgripreduction.com. If you contact him directly, let him know I referred you.
Keeping in mind that we are discussing personal protection fighting pistols (rather than competition) I would avoid super light trigger conversions. I would avoid the fiber optic sights. Slide cuts to lighten are unnecessary. Ported barrels can be downright dangerous when fired from retention. I have personally seen where what appeared to be part of the jacket embed itself into the face of one of our officers during retention training. Even if no hard particles leave the port, the gas definitely is directed straight into your face.
I’m sure there are other modifications available and if you have any questions give me shout or contact me by email. If in doubt, KISS (keep it simple stupid), because that is what a Glock is all about.
For you AZ residents remember that I am an authorized dealer for Gemtech and do have a few new as well as demo suppressors for sale. The ATF wait time is significantly shorter than it was even six months ago.
Any questions or comments can be directed to me at:
Mike
Tacdrivers LLC
928-636-6182 (direct line to my shop)
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