Listen to @High Exposure @AVB-AMG

AVB has proved 2 things to me that I thought were impossible 

1- liberals can be gun owners 

2- its possible to make a glock uglier 

@High Exposure:

Thank you for your sage comments based on your far more and longer experience with Glocks.  Your advice to do a more measured and sequential substitution of parts is a very logical and practical approach.  But like so many people, I was impatient and did my modifications in two phases, starting about two years after I bought my Glock 17.  The first phase was about three years ago when I made the major decision to replace the OEM Glock barrel with the Wilson Combat S.S. Match Barrel and the Tungsten Guide Rod & Spring.  It made a noticeable improvement.  I have over 500+ rounds with those components and have not experienced any negative issues or failures, so far.  BTW, at that same time, I also bought and installed a Pyramid Ultimate Trigger, which required less lbs-force, but proved to be way too finicky, even though I enjoyed it over the OEM Glock trigger.  So hence, the decision to replace it in the second round of modifications.

I just finished the second round which involved the major substitution of the OEM Glock slide for the ZEV RMR milled slide, the replacement of the Pyramid trigger with the ZEV trigger and adding the weapon light and Aimpoint ACRO red dot sight, along with the other minor additions/substitutions.  I am aware of the poor battery life of the ACRO compared to the Trijicon’s, but since I have another Aimpoint red dot sight on my rifle, I appreciate their continued reputation for using high quality of the materials and assembly and durability.  So I will definitely take your advice and carry several spare batteries for it in my gun bag.  I do agree that the more logical RMR choice would have been the Trijicon SRO, which also has received very good reviews and is a bit less expensive.

BTW, yes, I do feel the extended magazine release when I grip the gun, but have not yet had any accidental mag dumps, whereas I found the OEM mag release to be problematic.  I checked out online the TangoDown Inc. Vickers Tactical Slide Racker and it does have a much more subtle, maybe even elegant appearance, yet supposedly very effective improved grip when racking the slide.  I was interested in finding some sort of aid in racking the slide once a RDS is installed on top of the slide, since my usual left palm over the top of the slide to rack it would not be as easy to accomplish.  Yes, the Chambermax TA-1 charging handle is larger than the Vickers, I will see how I like it.  I may also try the Vickers, since it is not very expensive, and see which I prefer.

I do think that my current configuration may need to be tweaked to allow the gun to work ideally, so am looking forward to some range time with it, then take it apart and see what is wearing and may need some attention.

FYI – I have no illusions that my modified Glock should be used as my home/self defense firearm, let alone a gun for CCW.  It is intended for enjoyment at either an indoor or outdoor gun range for target practice.  Then, maybe also to enter into “who has the ugliest gun” contest, where I think my chances of winning are quite good.  Thanks again for sharing your opinion based on your experience.

AVB-AMG

Well, mine’s done. However I can no longer post pics on here. So... yeah. 

No matter what you do to a Glock... it will never be a sig.

9 minutes ago, Zeke said:

No matter what you do to a Glock... it will never be a sig.

You mean a gun with a weird grip angle and stupid high bore axis...?
 

Thank God for that then.  

Just now, Bully said:

You mean a gun with a weird grip angle and stupid high bore axis...?
 

Thank God for that then.  

Even @High Exposure dreams of the sig 320.

jus sayen 

Just now, Zeke said:

Even @High Exposure dreams of the sig 320.

jus sayen 

After a hard night of drinking...?

1 minute ago, Bully said:

After a hard night of drinking...?

I’m jus sayen! HE told me! But HE will never fess up to it! It’s this turnaround is fair play stuff 

Not gonna lie - I shot Zekes 320 and another guys 320 X5 Legion.

I dont like Sig offerings generally, but goddamn! Those guns shoot nice man. That X5 is in another world. I will probably end up buying a 320 of some flavor at some point.

8 minutes ago, High Exposure said:

Not gonna lie - I shot Zekes 320 and another guys 320 X5 Legion.

I dont like Sig offerings generally, but goddamn! Those guns shoot nice man. That X5 is in another world. I will probably end up buying a 320 of some flavor at some point.

You will pay more by the time it is together, but you can buy a bare chassis for like $30 on gunbroker pretty regularly. 

PIstol legos. Mmmmm.

Nice @AVB-AMG I too think the RMR would have been more aesthetically pleasing but if it works for you that's all that matters. I also like the milled out slides I see on these modified Glocks. They just look bad ass to me.

 

Check out this pimp glock!

24 minutes ago, carl_g said:

Check out this pimp glock!

Looks like a Playstation controller with some of the buttons missing.

1 hour ago, carl_g said:

Check out this pimp glock!

Han Solo Blaster.

That ALG 6 second mount is pretty cool

2 hours ago, High Exposure said:

Not gonna lie - I shot Zekes 320 and another guys 320 X5 Legion.

I dont like Sig offerings generally, but goddamn! Those guns shoot nice man. That X5 is in another world. I will probably end up buying a 320 of some flavor at some point.

I don’t know if we can continue to be acquainted. 

1 hour ago, carl_g said:

Nice @AVB-AMG I too think the RMR would have been more aesthetically pleasing but if it works for you that's all that matters. I also like the milled out slides I see on these modified Glocks. They just look bad ass to me.

 

I don’t care so much about looks. My recommendation for an RMR (a Holosun 507/508 would work as well) had more to do with the ability to learn how to properly use a red dot with the same speed and accuracy abilities you have with irons.

Shooting an RDS on a pistol has a steep learning curve. Part of that curve - and IMO the hardest part to overcome and the biggest stumbling block when transitioning to a RDS from irons - is that the dot is significantly higher above the bore/slide than the irons are. On presentation, the dot is higher then where you expect it to be, often times outside the window entirely, making you hunt for the dot - which slows you down and is frustrating.

It takes many hours of practice - both dry fire and live fire - to overcome that presentation skill that you  and build a new body position when presenting the gun. Having the RDS lower in the slide brings the dot closer to the iron sights allowing a faster learning curve - which translates to less time, less frustration, and less money (ammo) being spent on learning the new setup so you are at least as skilled with the dot as you are with irons.

I'm curious about the utility of the charging handle with the RDS installed. Why not grab the nice, big, clearly sticking out RDS rather than try to get behind it to grab a smaller handle?

1 hour ago, Mr.Stu said:

I'm curious about the utility of the charging handle with the RDS installed. Why not grab the nice, big, clearly sticking out RDS rather than try to get behind it to grab a smaller handle?

Part of it is probably tradition in that the first rds setups on pistols involved frame mounted mounts that obscured the slide serrations on most pistols. 

I'm guessing they stick around because with mrds setups, you can smudge and push around soot potentially making the sight less clear. 

 

Using the optic, you could hit the power button or change the brightness setting.

7 minutes ago, High Exposure said:

Using the optic, you could hit the power button or change the brightness setting.

I didn't think of that - I run a DPP which has only 1 button and that's placed where it won't get hit by accident.

On 1/31/2020 at 2:03 PM, High Exposure said:

Using the optic, you could hit the power button or change the brightness setting.

I rack my gun using the dot all the time in a match with no such consequences. 
Ine if the YouTube gun guys did some torture tests on dots and most passed his “slam the dot into a wall to rack” test. No change in zero, brightness, or turning the dot off. 

On 1/30/2020 at 6:45 PM, High Exposure said:

AVB - I have found that when messing with Glocks it can be a journey of frustration if you change a lot of parts at once. I find it is a more efficient process to change A part at a time and see if it runs. Hard to diagnose an issue with so many non-standard parts being added all at the same time.

Finally, check out the Tangodown/Vickers slide racket instead of that crazy charging handle you have on there. The TD/V does a great job while being much lower profile.

Quality parts overall - well done. I hope it runs well for you.

Good luck!

@High Exposure:

Now that I have put 200+ rounds through my “Frankenstine” modified Glock 17, Gen4, I realize that your point about making too many modifications at once can be problematic in diagnosing separate issues and snags that require tweaking.  During my testing the modified gun on the range, I discovered that the Magpul GL Enhanced Magwell really did not work as advertised and would occasionally, (approximately once every five times), prevent a secure set connection of my loaded magazine inside and within the receiver grip.  So I just removed the Magwel. 

Also, it was apparent very early on that the Chambermax TA-1 charging handle was impeding the full sliding back and forth motion of the slide when firing the gun, preventing the slide from returning to its loaded and ready position.  I also just removed it and put the original slide cover plate back on.  I have now placed a purchase order online for the Vickers Tactical Slide Racker GSR-03, to take its place, which I hope works better and will ultimately make racking the slide easier with the Aimpoint ACRO red dot on top of it.

The Aimpoint ACRO P-1 red dot sight is cool and once zeroed, makes accurately aiming at a distance over 10 yards quicker than just using the iron sights, (Trijicon Suppressor Night Sights).  It does make the handgun much bulkier than without it.  While I am glad that I did this addition, satisfying my curiosity, as well as joining the trend of contingent of gun owners who are jumping on the growing bandwagon of adding a red dot sight to a handgun, it also has been quite a revealing and learning experience. 

As I stated in an earlier post, my modified Glock is intended to be used as a recreational gun for target practice and not as a basic, dependable firearm for home/personal defense.  In my opinion, other than being an added benefit for competition gun events, I think that red dot sights on handguns may be somewhat of a fad or novelty as a new technological accessory.  The fact that it requires batteries is just one more thing that needs to be monitored and serviced.

From what I have read, I understand that for almost all personal/home defense scenarios, the distance between you and the threat will be less than 15 yards (45 ft).  At that distance, along with one’s adrenaline induced awareness/tenseness and accelerated quickness of a required response, I believe that just using the iron sights would be sufficient for aiming.  At a closer range, say 10 yards or less, one may not really even use the sights in what presumably would be a very quick reaction time of pointing and shooting at the center of mass of the threatening person.  IMHO, the red dot sights make far more sense on a rifle where the target is at a distance of over 25 yards or more.

AVB-AMG

1 hour ago, AVB-AMG said:

@High Exposure:

Now that I have put 200+ rounds through my “Frankenstine” modified Glock 17, Gen4, I realize that your point about making too many modifications at once can be problematic in diagnosing separate issues and problems that requires tweaking.  During this testing on the range, I discovered that the Magpul GL Enhanced Magwell really did not work as advertised and would occasionally, (approximately once every five times), prevent a secure set connection of my loaded magazine inside within the receiver grip.  So I just removed the Magwel. 

Also, it was apparent very early on that the Chambermax TA-1 charging handle was impeding the full sliding back and forth action of the slide when firing the gun, preventing the slide from returning to its loaded and ready position.  I also removed it and put the original slide cover plate back on.  I have now placed a purchase order online for the Vickers Tactical Slide Racker GSR-03, to take its place, which I hope works better and will ultimately make racking the slide easier with the Aimpoint ACRO red dot on top of it.

The Aimpoint ACRO P-1 red dot sight is cool and once zeroed, makes accurately aiming at a distance over 10 yards quicker than just using the iron, (Trijicon Suppressor Night Sights).  It does make the handgun much bulkier than without it.  While I am glad that I did this addition, satisfying my curiosity, as well as joining the contingent of gun owners who are jumping on the growing bandwagon trend towards adding a red dot sight to a handgun, it also has been quite a learning experience. 

As I stated in an earlier post, my modified Glock is intended to be used as a recreational gun to be used for target practice and not as a basic, dependable firearm for home/personal defense.  In my opinion, other than being an added benefit for competitive gun events, I think that the red dot sights on handguns may be somewhat of a fad or novelty as a new technological tool.  The fact that it requires batteries is just one more thing that needs to be monitored and serviced.

From what I have read, I understand that for almost all personal/home defense scenarios, the range between you and the threat will be less than 15 yards (45 ft).  At that distance, along with the adrenaline induced awareness/tenseness and accelerated quickness of a required response, I believe that just using the iron sights would be sufficient for aiming.  At a closer range, say 10 yards or less, one may not really even use the sights in what presumably would be a very quick reaction time of pointing and shooting at the center of mass of the threatening person.  IMHO, the red dot sights make far more sense on a rifle where the target is at a distance of over 25 yards or more.

AVB-AMG

I still make fun of @Displaced Texan dropping mags because of that cheap mag well thing.

7 minutes ago, Zeke said:

I still make fun of @Displaced Texan dropping mags because of that cheap mag well thing.

Yeah, it was hilarious. 
 

The Magpul magwell needs a little massage work to make mags seat reliably. 
 

A little work on the magwell part with some sandpaper makes everything ok. No more dropping mags. 

Please link the adapter plate you used to get an Acro to sit on the Zev slide. Or if you cant link it, who makes the adapter plate?

6 hours ago, Winchester1776 said:

Please link the adapter plate you used to get an Acro to sit on the Zev slide. Or if you cant link it, who makes the adapter plate?

Reading his post and 2 seconds of searching provided this:

https://primarymachine.com/trijicon-rmr-to-aimpoint-acro-adapter/