Have you ever wondered how well your magazines are going to hold up? I know I’ve wondered that not to mention there are tons of armchair warriors on the Internet offering up their opinion or parroting others. So, what are the facts?
Hope this helps you out – I found it very interesting. Finally results from a real study that you can review. Kudos for them to take the time and money to produce and share this!
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I recently wrote about my Glock 29 Gen 4 and carrying it while hiking. A fellow asked me for more details on what I was using to carry it ands I told him I was using a 5.11 Select Carry Pouch – which is a fancier product name than “tactical fanny pack”. Joking aside, it really does a great job.
Ok, why the fanny pack? I’m on the heavy side and when I go hiking I am usually wearing shorts or sweatpants depending on the weather. Jeans are a “maybe” but I’m at the point in life where I go for comfort. I’m sure not dressing to impress anyone.
If I am wearing jeans and can use a pistol belt then I might use a holster but it depends on the weather. I’d rather conceal the firearm vs. dealing with people staring at my pistol as we are walking along. If I am wearing a coat or open long sleeve shirt then I might wear a belt holster. My preferred option is a Galco shoulder holster.
What I find is that I am often hiking or fishing and it’s too hot for a coat or loose shirt so I had to figure out what to do. I knew a fanny pack might look goofy but would work great if I could find the right one given how it could distribute the weight while concealling the pistol.
The Glock 29 gen 4 is relatively compact but it is not tiny by any means and once you load it down with 10 rounds of 10mm and have a couple of back up mags of 10mm, you’ve got a lot of weight to deal with.
A couple of years ago I ordered in some different models of the no-name import fanny packs that claim to support concealed carry and the quality was very disappointing – light fabrics, lousy sewing and poor zippers across the board. They weren’t an option for the Glock 29 gen 4 because they would never hold up to real world use.
There are a lot of carry options out there but I think I can make the blanket generalization that you get what you pay for – you need a well thought out design, rugged materials, a rock solid zipper and these aren’t cheap.
One company I like is 5.11. Their gear is reasonably priced and has never let me down. Yes, I am getting to my point – their 51804 Tactical Select Carry Pouch is very well made, looks good and doesn’t attract attention. It’s a tight fit but I can squeeze in my G29 with the Pearce magazine base plate so I have a place to rest my pinky finger, two more 10 round mags and a Streamlight TLR-8 that I keep in a side pouch.
The main pouch is a tight fit but I can squeeze in what I need. It’s symmetrical so you can insert the pistol facing either left or right. I have mine set up to rip open with the left and pull the pistol out with my right hand.
Here’s another angle. When you have the load shown, there is very little extra space.
I keep a TLR-8 stored in the right side pouch. It’s a snug fit also.
They call that thing sticking up a “hot pull strap” that you can use to yank the compartment open in a rush. Now that folks is one heck of a good idea. If you are in a hurry and the adrenaline is kicking in, fumbling with a zipper is going to suck. Grabbing that pull strap and yanking open the pouch is very do-able.
To give you an idea of real world sizing, a G29 Gen 4 is about 7″ long andjust over 4.5″ with a regular mag. Let’s just round that to 5″ in my case with the Pearce base plates. You can see in the photos that it is a snug fit. My Sig P365 fits no problem.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
The first thing I noticed with the Glock 29 with its stock 10 round magazine was that the grip was way too small for my hands. Granted I wear XL sized gloves and have big palms courtesy of my dad and grandpa but literally, my pinky finger had nothing to grab on to and I really didn’t want to control a 10mm pistol running hot loads with just two fingers – excluding my trigger finger that is. I had a trick up my sleeve though – I knew I could get grip extensions that would make holding the pistol way more comfortable.
Yeah, sorry, I can’t stand this kind of grip.
The solution comes from Pearce – they make a really nice injection molded base plate replacement that gives us just enough of an extension to comfortably hold the pistol. Since Pearce released their’s some knock offs have come out that look identical but I stick with Pearce.
That little lip makes all the difference in the world.
How To Install Them
There’s two reasons for this post – first is to tell you that there is a grip extension for the 10 round magazines and the second is to give you a tip on installing them that will save you some real grief and this pertains to Glock mags in general.
On most magazines, you push the locking button down that holds the baseplate in position and while you are doing that, you then push the baseplate off while capturing the floor plate and spring so they don’t come flying out. Trust me, those suckers can come out like a rocket.
A Glock is close but not quite. Everything I said above is true but there is also a ridge case in the middle of the magazine’s rails that the base place slides on that makes it an absolute bear to do without a Glock magazine tool. Honestly, the first time I went to disassemble a Glock magazine I could not get it off and then started searching – people said to get the tool. I thought the tools were a scam because I never needed one before other than something to push a recessed dimple down or pry off a base plate with 30-50 years of junk on it. Well, with a Glock magazine, you really need the tool and everybody and there brother makes them or imports cheap knock offs that work as well.
Here’s what you need- A G29 otherwise I don’t know why you are reading this :-), however many Pearce grip extensions and 10 round Glock magazines you need and you can see the magazine tool I use in the top left. Note, I can’t speak to whether these extensions will fit on any other brand magazine – all of my 10 round mags are Glock models.
When you look at the tool. it has a nose that pushes the dimple down on the floor plate while also allowing you to have enough leverage to then pry the base plate off thanks to the mechanical leverage it gives you.
I secure the magazine in a vise to hold it while I use the magazine tool to remove the base plate. By pushing down on the handle of the tool. you have enough leverage to remove the base plate. Go slow and capture the internals – notice how I am saying this over and over.
Again, be prepared to grab/capture the floor plate and spring assembly or they will rocket out. Yeah, I’m making light of this but a lot of people have suffered eye injuries from not being prepare and getting hit by the parts as they fly out.
The floor plate (the little grave stone looking plastic tab with the dimple on it resting on the wood vise jaw) that pushes the magazine spring down and also locks the floor plate in place is shaped to go in the magazine one way. You just need to make sure that little dimple is face up to lock the grip extension in place. If the grip extension doesn’t want to snap in place then you probably installed that floor plate upside down.
Reinstall the spring assembly and make sure the follower (the plastic thing that pushes the bullets up) is oriented properly. Note that the dimple is face up in the photo in order to lock the base plate in place. What I do is to hold the floor plate and spring with my thumb as I slide the base plate, or in this case the Pearce Grip Extension, on to the magazine tube. You will probably hear the dimple click ino the hole of the base plate or at least feel that the extension can’t move / that it is secure.
This is a good photo of the ridge, or tab, that is cast in the magazine’s body that really holds the base plate on and makes removal so hard.
This is the end result. Notice how my little finger can now firmly grip the pistol.
If you have big hands or just want to make the grip a tad taller for whatever reason, I absolutely recommend the Pearce Grip Extensions and have four of them on my OEM Glock 10 round magazines. I have shot a ton of hot Underwood and Buffalo Bore ammo and had no problem controlling the pistol. So far, they have held up just fine.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
You may be thinking I am kind of late to the game with a post about the 3D printing of firearms but you’d be a bit wrong yourself. This domain is alive and exploding with designs that range from almost entirely 3D printed to sophisticated hybrid designs where some parts are printed and some key parts are leveraged from off the shelf suppliers such as Glock slide assemblies and AR uppers.
Just look at these examples:
This is a rendering of the FMDA DD17 Glock 17 compatible frame STL file.
This is a rendering of the FMDA DD19 Glock 19 compatible frame v1.2 STL file.
This is a rendering of the Mac Daddy frame STL file.
The authors of the Mac Daddy project provide the above photo in their Zip file as an example of the finished weapon. Note, this is not mine – I don’t even own a 3D printer!
There are just tons and tons of designs – AR receivers, AK receivers, vz Scorpion receivers, modern polymer pistol lowers … the list goes on and on.
It’s interesting to look at this vibrant community as a one step removed observer. I am intrigued by the innovation and the designs but I also have zero time to learn 3D printing at this point. Between my day job, Ronin’s Grips, family and the need to sleep at least a few hours every night, there is no free time. My wife also made it clear to me in no uncertain terms that I am not to buy a 3D printer — which really doesn’t phase me because I have no time as I mentioned.
The reason I wanted to take a moment and write this post is so that those of you who are curious can dig into the many how-to guides and access the tons of designs that are accessible at this time. It’s hard to say what way the winds of regulation will blow in the United States or a given state for that matter. In some countries, even the possession of these 3D design files would get you in huge trouble.
With that said, the following links are provided for educational purposes only. Please understand the laws and regulations in your area before you download anything or try to build a weapon. You assume all liability.
In addition to CTRL+Pew mentioned above, there are tons of download links where people are sharing/replicating a huge “Print2a” repository plus have photos and links to individual designs:
Honestly folks, I am not kidding. I find this topic fascinating from an engineering perspective but I have no plans to get into it. Consider this blog post as an introduction and you will need to take it from here.
For all the authors cranking out these amazing designs – rock on! I seriously enjoy seeing them.
Lastly, why did I mention Pandora’s Box in the title? Because I highly doubt the proponents of gun control will ever be able to close the box again.
Again, the above links and information is provided for educational purposes only. Please understand the laws and regulations in your area before you download anything or try to build anything. You assume all liability.
All renderings and the photos of the Mac Daddy are from files that claim to be in the public domain. I do not own them.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
A fellow emailed me the other day asking what I use to remove and install sights on my pistols. For those of you wondering what a “sight pusher” is, it is a device that is used to push sights around on a handgun and can be used to install, adjust or remove the sights.
Of course, one size does not fit all so you tend to see pushers that are pistol specific, ones that are designed to with modular shoes, and ones that really shouldn’t have been made in the first place. Yeah, unfortunately I am not joking on that last part. Investigate any pusher before you buy it. Some are sloppy and if the shift or slip, they can put one hell of a scratch in your otherwise nice pistol.
Option #1: For pros who need to support many different pistols, MGW makes the best modular pusher
My good friend, Scott Igert, owns Michigan Gun Exchange and has been changing sights for his customers for many years. Because he has to deal with a variety of pistols and the job must be done right, he swears by his MGW (Maryland Gun Works) Sight-Pro pusher. It’s modular and comes with a 30 degree block for Glock and HK sights. In addition, there are a number of different pusher blocks available for use on other pistols.
Here’s a video from MGW in case you’d like to learn more:
Note, MGW also has a number of pistol model specific tools that work on just the one type of weapon. I’ll include them at the end of the post – they are good and just too many to list.
Option #2: Personally, I use the Wheeler Armorer’s Handgun Sight Tool
I work mainly with Glocks and 1911s and the Wheeler unit has worked just fine for my needs. It costs around $138 and so it’s economical. It’s very well made and hasn’t let me down after maybe a dozen uses in two years – again, I’m not using a pusher practically every day like Scott is.
One important thing to consider is that it does not have the flexibility of the MGW – Wheeler advertises it for use with 1911s, Glocks and M&Ps but I have read of a ton of other pistols being involved so do some searching before you buy. Unlike the MGW’s shoes, With the Wheeler, you can flip a plate in the back and the pusher surface that goes against the sight is either straight or angled depending on what you need.
By removing those two allen screws, you can flip the pusher around to either be the side with angled or straight pushing surfaces.
Here I am installing a suppressor height Trijicon sight on a Glock 34 slide.
The following photos let you see the Wheeler pusher from different angles – click on one to see them full size.
Here’s a video from Wheeler that will show you more about their tool:
You’ll notice that I am recommending two pushers for different audiences. For pros wanting to do this for a living, get the MGW Pro-Sight because of the need to support a variety of pistols. For people like me who have an occasional sight to do with a supported pistol, go with the Wheeler.
I hope this helps you out.
3/12/24 Update: The Wheeler is still working just fine. I have no hesitation recommending it.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
There seems to be two schools of thought when it comes to magazines for Glock Pistols, Polymer80 Pistols and the myriad other arms that can use the reliable Glock magazine design. One will tell you that only Glock magazines are reliable. The other school will tell you that there are other magazine makers out there that work just fine as well. I subscribe to the latter and think that there are other magazine makers that turn out quality products and ETS is one of them.
“ETS” stands for Elite Tactical Systems and they have what they call “The ETS Way” that espouses providing quality products and taking care of customers. To do that they have a 30-day money back guarantee, lifetime warranty, their products are made in the USA and they pride themselves on exceptional customer service.
Just to be clear, I don’t work for them and this isn’t some paid endorsement – folks ask me questions and eventually I write a blog post after a quick reply via email. That’s how this post came about.
I’ve bought and used probably a dozen or more of their Glock magazines over the years and have never had a problem including storing some of them fully loaded for over a year now. They support quite a few other platforms as well and I want to try their new AR magazines.
This is my Polymer80 Glock 34-style pistol. It has a 22 round ETS magazine inserted and that is an aluminum Tyrant CNC mag well funnel you see. Note, I recently upgraded from the G34-style slide stop lever shown to a Vickers VTSS-001 and prefer the Vickers. Bottom line is that this combination works really, really well.
Now you may be wondering “Why bother?” The answer is real simple – they make transparent clear mags as well as smoke/translucent mags so you can see your round count really easily and I like that.
Look at the magazines, with the clear 22-round ETS mags you can instantly see the round count without needing to look at the OEM 17 round Glock magazines’ count indicator on the back. I’ve also been experimenting with different color followers and Vickers Tactical base plates (note the second magazine from the bottom edge of the photo – it has a red follower and an oversized base plate on it). What I am finding is that I really like using the Vickers plates when I want to reach blind into a bag, let’s say it’s dark for example, and instantly know I am grabbing a magazine with +P Critical Duty ammo loaded.
In Conclusion
When people ask me about ETS magazines, I recommend them. If you want to stick with only using Glock magazines, that’s your choice too. Speaking for myself, I’m happy with the ETS magazines.
Where to find them?
The great news is that most major firearms websites carry ETS so you shop around for the color and capacity you want. I buy most of mine from GunMagWarehouse followed by Midway USA.
Here are some listings for their Glock magazines:
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
I bought a basic Swenson slide almost two years ago and it’s been solid. Part of what attracted me to it was the beveled nose that allows for easier insertion into a holster. At any rate, I’ve had guys ask me if Swenson slides are any good and my experience has been positive plus from what I have read, most guys find them good. Let me put it this way, if I found a good deal on one to host a RMR optic today, I’d buy it.
The Slide You See
When I first installed it on my first Polymer80 PF940V2 G17, no fitting was needed. However, when I built the PF940CL that it is on now, I did need to use Goodson 400 and then 800 grit lapping compound to get a good fit. Initially there as some binding and now it is just nice and smooth. [Click here if you want to read more tips]
That is the only tuning I’ve need to do. The channel spring liner and all slide parts went in easily and I’ve not had any problems. It’s hosted both it’s current Storm Lake barrel as well as a threaded barrel that I bought from 80P builder with no problem. All in all, it’s worked just fine.
View of the ejection port side. Just a solid basic slide. Here’s the other side.Here’s the bottom. Other than the Storm Lake barrel, I think all of the other parts are OEM Glock.I really like the beveled nose and prefer it for carry pistols. Also, Streamlights are my go to brand for light and laser combos. The TLR-4 works great here and any of the TLR series would since this is a full size pistol. The CL just has the shorter G19 grip to aid with concealment.
So, if you are hunting for a slide for your Glock or Polymer80 build, take a look at Swenson models. They have quite a few designs to select from now including fancy windows and various optics cuts. Just remember, if you are doing a Polymer80 build, look at slides meant for Glock Gen3 models.
The problem these days is finding them. The whole market is in pandemic shock – either hit with supply chain problems or unprecedented demand for guns, ammp and parts. With that said, I did some searching and see Swenson slides either at Midway USA or on eBay and the following is a real time search of eBay for themL
I hope this helps you out!
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
I recently built a Polymer80 PF940CL – their compact long model. This is an interesting variant because it is a their Glock 19 grip but built to use the longer Glock 17 barrel. I had a threaded barrel I could have used but opted to get one of the Storm Lake model 34000 barrels after doing some digging around on their quality. I’m impressed and figured it made since to share a quick review with you.
Storm Lake barrels are made in Tennessee. While not everyone may know their name, they’ve been around since 1983 and sell barrels for 1911s, Glock, Springfield XLs and S&W M&Ps.
Their barrels are made from 416 stainless steel, are hardened to 40-42 HRC and rifling is 1:16LH. The rifling is broach cut to support both jacketed and lead bullets.
My Glock 17 Barrel
The 34000 is a 9mm 4.49″ long barrel with no ports that weights 0.30 pounds. I don’t plan on running a suppressor or a compensator so there was no real reason to have threading especially if I ever carry it.
Here’s my 4.49″ 9mm barrel. The black stuff is carbon from shooting. It’s an accurate and reliable barrel.The feed ramp is nicely done. I don’t shoot unjacketed bullets but it worked great with S&B 124gr FMJ , 115 grain FMJ – not sure of the maker – and 124gr Hornady Critical Defense HP rounds.There is a slight crown to protect the muzzle and rifling.Here it is in the PF940CL
All in all, I have nothing negative to say. I am not some super duper target shooter. It’s accurate enough for me under 25 yards and I’ve not had any problems. Now part of that is the build and the magazines too but again, no problems!
I have no hesitation recommending Stormlake barrels. Best of all, I think they are very affordable and show that you don’t always have to spend a fortune to get good quality.
The best selection and prices are actually on eBay. The following are items live on eBay for the G17, 19 and 34 plus other models so just scroll down:
Conclusion
I hope this helps you out!
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@ro*********.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
