Proven Glock upgrades for competition?

[Dvrjon]

I'll likely mill the stock slide of my Glock 34 to accommodate such. I have my own CNC machine in the garage so such things are doable. I put red dot sights on a 1911 slide during Covid (among other touches) and was very happy with how it turned out.

If you don't want to sacrifice the slide, Glock is selling Gen 3 MOS slides fully built with crappy sights (less barrel and spring) for under $300.

I registered the warranty for a ten-year old pistol and got a 20% discount coupon which was used for a G19 MOS slide. I don't know if the coupon issuance is still in effect, but it cuts the price nicely and preserves your original slide. Of course, you'll have to deal with a plate for the MOS cut.

 

[Roering]

If you don't have the bayonet for your Glock it's like you're not even trying.

 

[Dvrjon]

If you don't have the bayonet for your Glock it's like you're not even trying.

Check.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

There are a few good shooters who shoot nearly stock Glocks at the RRGC in USPSA. They outshoot a few folks with all the bells and whistles on their Glocks and a few more expensive pistols too. One of my favorite Glock shooters told me to keep it as close to stock as possible and spend the money on ammo. I shoot CZ's for comp but have a G19 on my CCW. I did extended slide lock, mag release and put 4.5 lb ghost connector on. Upgraded the sights. It's fine. I'll probably get it milled and throw a Holosun EPS on it. I only have a little over a thousand rounds through it , but it's a great carry gun. I wish it were modular so I could get a 1911 style polymer grip angle.

This is my general approach. Save the money for more ammo or a training class. When I used to compete in the late 2000s, I used to use my self defense firearm figuring more trigger time with that was the best thing for me. The only thing I really changed were the sights (my personal preference are the XS big dot front sight with a v-notch rear sight). I haven’t seen anything happen since then that makes me feel compelled to want to change that. Of course, feel free to experiment as training is a good place to try different things to see if something helps.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Its becoming another fact that I have to recognize as aging.
I have been ignoring eyesight changes bc i do not want to get old man readers or bifocals.
There a few funny changes like late life loss or onset of astigmatism that I have experienced as well as heard from a bunch of irl buddies.

Makes shooting a dot different when you develop astigmatism in your non dominant eye and your dominant eye is clear. Didnt have that before.

Out of curiosity, does corrective lenses fix this issue? I’ve got a similar situation to you and my safety glasses have prescription lenses in them. Haven’t made the leap to a red dot yet but planning to put one on my range training gun just to see what it’s like shooting with it.

 

[wtf_calguns_migration]

Out of curiosity, does corrective lenses fix this issue? I’ve got a similar situation to you and my safety glasses have prescription lenses in them. Haven’t made the leap to a red dot yet but planning to put one on my range training gun just to see what it’s like shooting with it.

If you are near the Bay Area I know an optometrist that will work with you.
You have to bias your contact lenses towards near vision.
I have always been able to see 600yd steel or paper at Sac Valley or Angeles Range with irons, so I will accept less perfect +200yd correction for a 0-200yds.
I can read ingredients on food packaging out to street signs a couple blocks away driving bear bias.

Thats what I need to shoot without wearing all sort of stuff or picking corrective surgery and which glasses I feel like adding to compensate.

If you define a large dot size, and adjust your shooting to "see color/press trigger" as A/C hits youll be fine.
Problem is most people think they're shooting formal bullseye and only want to punch Xs like they're an Olympic shooter..
Worse, they use crap ammo out of a loose Service type firearm.

Think of it as treating your eyes like setting up an AR with a dot, or limits of a service pistol just hitting As.
You have to define an optimal operating envelope, and be cool with working within it.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

If you are near the Bay Area I know an optometrist that will work with you.
You have to bias your contact lenses towards near vision.
I have always been able to see 600yd steel or paper at Sac Valley or Angeles Range with irons, so I will accept less perfect +200yd correction for a 0-200yds.
I can read ingredients on food packaging out to street signs a couple blocks away driving bear bias.

Thats what I need to shoot without wearing all sort of stuff or picking corrective surgery and which glasses I feel like adding to compensate.

If you define a large dot size, and adjust your shooting to "see color/press trigger" as A/C hits youll be fine.
Problem is most people think they're shooting formal bullseye and only want to punch Xs like they're an Olympic shooter..
Worse, they use crap ammo out of a loose Service type firearm.

Think of it as treating your eyes like setting up an AR with a dot, or limits of a service pistol just hitting As.
You have to define an optimal operating envelope, and be cool with working within it.

Thanks for all the feedback. Would love if you could send me a private message for an optometrists that specializes in this (my eye doctor does shoot - more on that later). I don’t wear contacts; I tried them in my 20s but didn’t care that much for them. Now older, eye doctor advised against them. I can see close up just fine and only need eye glasses for long distance vision. In fact, I don’t wear them when at work (desk job or watching TV). At age 56, I broke down and got progressive lenses because I could no longer read my phone up close with long distance glasses on. For shooting, I can see the front sight just fine with my glasses on. I am like you for a red dot. It’s not a bullseye competition - it’s self defense. The red dot (really a green dot) I want to get is the dot in the circle (I think some folks call it the donut hole type site). That way, I can quickly get the big circle on target and press the trigger for center mass shots. The only potential want for a fine center dot would be for a 25 yard hostage rescue type drill but I don’t think I would ever take a shot like that in real life as I’m not law enforcement.

 

[packy14]

I have a Glock 34 I'm considering 'dressing up' for competitive service.

I have some experience fitting Bar-Sto barrels to Glocks and have one on order for my model 34. I appreciate the time and effort needed to wear them in and get reliable service.

I'm mostly interested in learning from those with experience with making Glocks both competitive and reliable. What works, what breaks, and why.

Case in point: Trigger upgrades. Zev Technologies has some interesting items (if you can find them for sale). But then someone in a class I recently took had an aftermarket firing pin fail on him.

I eagerly await your stories, your advice. I'll even accept your scorn for tinkering with 'Glock Perfection'. As long as I learn.

Thanks in advance.

Get an optic. Dry fire. All u need

 

[packy14]

Hey everyone, thank you so much for your insightful replies. Clearly a lot of experience here and some really detailed suggestions I can run with.

The point made by Joker67 about priorities and practice is dead-on right. I'm an engineer by training and love playing with the toys; of course the shooter is what matters when it's time to get busy.

Thank you ZChaosFactor for the video and tutelage on recoil springs. The video is quite interesting. But it's not clear to me how you know when you've gone too low on spring weight? Use of shock buffers or the like is important, and the "feel" of the slide cycling would be informative. The video host mentioned failure to strip fresh rounds from a fully loaded magazine could become an issue. Any other guidelines?

There's an almost unanimous vote for grip tape. Is there a specific brand and texture that you've found particularly suitable? RustVendor recommends Talon grip tape, "get the rough stuff". Everyone agree?

I've electronic dot sights on both my CCW guns; I'm fully sold on the concept. I started with Trijicon RMR and found them very capable. Holosun green dot sights stand out even better, and I've one on my S&W M&P Shield. I'll likely mill the stock slide of my Glock 34 to accommodate such. I have my own CNC machine in the garage so such things are doable. I put red dot sights on a 1911 slide during Covid (among other touches) and was very happy with how it turned out.

I like Bar-Sto barrels just because I like the idea of custom fitted machinery. I'm ordering one with four ports in the top of the barrel, to coincide with the opening at the top of the G34 slide. I'll crown the muzzle to be flush with the slide at maybe an 11 degree angle. 'Cause I like how it looks. If it becomes an issue for competition I can swap the original barrel in less than a minute.

The Radian Ramjet/Afterburner looks pretty cool, I would like to try such a thing on one of my Glock 19's. But I think the compensator would need to be sliver soldered to the barrel, or otherwise "permanently" attached to avoid creating a Category 3 assault weapon. Yes, I'm in California and it's a stupid law. That's why I like the ported Bar-Sto barrel. The muzzle is not threaded, and by the time it's properly fitted will be flush with the end of the slide. No legal issues there.

Radian is legal but would make you open class in uspsa. Not where you want to be.

 

[Experimentalist]

Radian is legal but would make you open class in uspsa. Not where you want to be.

Appreciate that advice. I installed a Barsto ported barrel into my Glock 34.3 and very much like how it turned out, soft recoil and quite accurate.

It's of course easily replaced by the stock barrel. I'll run that stock barrel for now.