Best Glock Upgrade Ever! (Do This First!)
What is the best Glock upgrade? I have a few Glocks and they are all model 19 (9mm). I love the Glock 19. I also love upgrading my Glock 19's. Who wouldn't? The Glock 19 in my opinion is one of the most versatile pistols to own. Don't get me wrong, I love my 1911, but as a go to gun the Glock 19 works for me best. Glocks are easy to upgrade and modify and holster manufactures have a gazillion options for Glock pistols. Maybe it is the simplicity, durability or accuracy. I just love Glocks. But right off the bat there are a few things that can be upgraded. You hear out there a ton of opinion, mine included, on gun parts and the such. What you "should" put on your gun if you will. But in all honesty a stock Glock with good sights is all that is needed. I say sights because the factory ones are plastic and the configuration of the ball in the bucket plays tricks on the mind. So lets get to what is the best Glock upgrade!
PRACTICE Yep, you read that right. Practice. Many people will always put weight on parts. That parts make a gun better. I say look in the mirror! Handguns/pistols are the most difficult skill to retain. You lose muscle memory quicker with a pistol. When teaching a newb a rifle or a pistol it is always easier to point and shoot a rifle versus a pistol. Shorter sight length between the front and back of the pistol versus a rifle mean tiny flaws show up big on targets. Let alone drawing from a holster, reloads, etc. So staying up on your training is paramount. Particularly if you conceal carry! If you conceal carry it is not a you should, it is you must. Don't be a liability with your pistol. Get your ass out there and train, practice as if your life depends on it. Because one day it certainly might.
SIGHTS The stock Glock sights are awesome. Awesome if you are a safe queen and like looking at guns and not using your guns! The stock Glock sights are plastic. Being plastic means you run the risk of having an issue and them breaking. It is the weakest link, in my opinion, on Glock pistols. There are many great options out there. The two I have used are Heinie Straight Eight Ledge Pro Sights and XS Big
Dot Sights. My preference is the Heinie sights. They have a ledge on them so you can rack the pistol in one handed manipulations off anything and not worry the sights are going to pop off. As the name says, Straight Eight, you have two circles. One on the front sight and one on the rear sight. You stick the front sight circle on top of the rear sight making an "8". You will need a professional installation tool to install the Heinie Straight Eights. The XS Big Dots are easy to use and install. I have heard many good things about these sights. I have a breif history with them. They use the lolipop design. So you have a vertical line on the rear sight and a circle on the front sight. You bring the circle on the front sight to meet the verticle line on the rear sight making a "lolipop". Being a bigger dot it is helpful for people with any sort of eye issues. You are looking in the $80-$150 range depending on which sight and configuration you get. A new rage which I am just getting into is an Trijicon RMR on your pistol. While I have shot a friends Glock 19 in this confiuration, I cannot speak deeply about it as I am in the process of setting mine up. But I do not see it as a negative if you are interested in rocking an RMR.
STIPPLING This is a huge positive. Many people think stippling and go to thinking grip. But I like calling it molding instead of stippling when explaining it. My first Glock 19 I had stippled was by my buddy Nate Murr, inventor of the Gripstop. I was thinking grip at the time, increase traction. Which was part of it, but he told me to grip the gun as I normally would. He then for my hand used a marker for undercuts in the trigger guard. I was like "why do I need those" like any newb to peformance shooting would. The reason is it allows you to get a high grip on the gun. Your hand does not sit as low as it would without doing undercuts. It also creates what I call a saddle for your hand to sit in. There are two cuts one for your main grip and the other for your support grip. The main grip cut is the most important as it sets up for a high grip on the gun in general.
Now lets talk getting rid of those finger grooves! This is a must if your getting molding/stippling done. Not everyone's fingers are the same, so having finger grooves will really mess up your grip.
Particularly when drawing from a holster. If you grip on one of the finger groove ridges on a draw you have to re-grip to get in between a finger groove. It is just a hot mess. I recommend removing them. It might seem extreme but trust me, once you go no finger groove on a Glock you never go back. Finally we get to stippling! Adding texture to key areas on your Glock will increase your grip, period. You can go crazy textured or light texture. Up to you, even doing a light stipple will be a large improvement over the slick factory Glock feel. I recommend using a highly skilled stippler/molder like Light Fighter Innovations. They did my one Glock I butchered and gave it CPR. Now it looks boss! Amazed what they did, check out my video to see the before and after!
CONCLUSION Can you get a new barrel, trigger and more? Hell yea you can! But what it ultimately comes down too is the fundamentals and looking in the mirror. If the mirror looks back and says your being lazy and not practicing, then that is the best upgrade you could ever do.
