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!
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I really like building the Polymer80 pistols (Why Polymer80s Excite Me, Tips for Smooth Polymer80 Pistols, and Troubleshooting Your Build). What attracts me is the 1911-like grip angle, Picatinny Rail and the ability to customize the pistol however I want it. You will not save money doing these builds but the results are really cool. When you are planning a build, there are the expected sources of parts like 80P Builder and Glock Store but also a big one that might surprise you – eBay. I’m going to do a series of posts over the next few days with links to a variety of parts listed there.
A few tips for you:
Look at the number of transactions and rating of the seller. If they have less than 10 sales, your potential risk increases.
Stick to Gen 3 parts. Glock has been evolving their pistols for a while now and the Polymer80 frames are designed with Gen 3 models in mind.
Make sure the parts you are looking for match the model you are building. Not all parts are interchangeable across models.
If the deal is almost too good to be true, it probably is. You’re not going to find a high-end assembled slide with barrel for $50. Sure there are used parts and good deals but there are also scams. This is another reason to look at the seller’s ratings.
Polymer80 parts in general:
Click on a banner ad to see a given post plus many more will appear as well:
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If you are working on a Polymer80 build or even wanting to overhaul your existing Glock, there are a ton of parts on eBay. You can find some good deals but I would recommend you stick with reputable brands and sellers. For the sellers, I would look for lots of sales – at least over 30 and ideally hundreds – and very good scores. There are cheap imports/knock-offs showing up so beware no-name stuff.
The following are all real-time listing on eBay so you can go there and find parts.
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 factory sights on Glocks leave a lot to be desired in my opinion. I like fiber optic sights but also want sights that generate their own light at night. Fortunitely, TruGlo has upgrade sights for Glocks that can do just that. They are the TFX Pro model sights.
The fiber optics use daylight and are very nicely visible. I know there is a trend for red dot optics on pistols but I would rather opt for simplicity. The other really nice thing about these sights is that they use tritium to generate their own light at night – some sights make you charge them with a flashlight but not these. The only issue to bear in mind is that the Tritium isotopes with flouresce for about 10 years and then be dead. My thinking is that is a loooonnnngggg time from now plus it just would affect the night use at that time.
So, let’s get to it, Installation has two discrete steps – replacing the back sight and then the front sight. Both of these can be done by most home gunsmiths because the Glock design is pretty forgiving. Some pistols require a top notch MGW sight pusher to be removed but not the Glocks. The below is based on my experience installing these sights both on my Polymer 80 based Glock 17 and 34 Gen 3 compatible pistols.
Tools & Supplies
I’m kind of like Tim The Toolman Taylor, if you remember the show Home Improvement. I like tools and don”t need much an excuse to buy one in order to try and do the job the right way. When it comes to the rear sight, some guys use a 3/9″ piece of Delrin or wood dowel to tap the old sight out. Because of my hand tremor, that’s risky for me so I looked into sight pushers and decided to go with the Wheeler Engineering Armorer’s Handgun Sight Tool.
For the front sight, a dedicated Glock front sight tool can make the job a ton easier because they are shallow and have a magnet that will hold the tiny screw in position while you get it started. A regular nut driver is too deep and the tiny screw will fall into it vs. being held nicely in position.
You will need some medium Loc-Tite to secure the front sight screw.
Tape to wrap the slide and protect it is a recommended. I use painter’s tape.
Getting Started
Make sure the weapon is unloaded and clear – no magazine and nothing in the chamber.
Remove the slide
Remove the spring and the barrel to get them out of the way – you don’t need to remove anything else.
Wrap slide with painters tape to protect it from scratches leaving the two sights exposed.
I did my back sight first and then my front sight.
Procedure – Back Sight
To remove the back sight. I followed the instructions with the Wheeler unit and flipped the pusher over to use the angled face. Mine was set for straight-edged sights from the factory.
I also oiled all of the threads on the Wheeler.
I secured the slide in the Wheeler unit taking care to make sure the slide was the right height so the pusher would engage the sight and not bind on the slide.
The factory Glock rear sight pushed out incredibly easily. I can see why some guys just drive them out. However, I really liked the control the Wheeler gave me.
I then lined up the replacement sight and pushed it into place – checking over and over and making minor adjustments to ensure it was in the center.
The Truglo has secured by a set screw that I backed out, put a dab of blue/medium Loc-Tite on and then tightened down.
That was it for the back now on to the front.
Procedure – Front Sight
Turn the slide upside down and you will see a small hex head screw that must be removed. I used my Glock Front Sight tool for that.
Push or tap out the original sight.
The replacement TruGlo unit is a tight fit I had to firmly press it into position. It is an interference fit so don’t remove a ton of material so it just falls into the slot cut in the slide. It needs to be pressed in as this helps with alignment and retention.
Put blue/medium Loc-Tite on the screw before reassembly. This is mandatory. If you do not, it will shoot loose over time and you will lose your front sight.
Use the Front Sight tool to reinstall the screw with the Loc-tite and tighten it down.
Done.
Conclusion
I really like the TruGlo TFX Pro sights. They are very visible both during the day due to the fiber optics and at night due to the Tritium. They were well worth the investment. 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.
In the previous post, I told you about my finding Gunstreamer for firearms videos. What brought me there was that I was searching on Google for Polymer80 build videos.
On Gunstreamer I found this great video of a guy, who is obviously experienced in building Glock pistols, showing a build on a Polymer 80 Pf940V2 80% frame. He steps you through what needs to be done in terms of sanding, filing and drilling with the supplied jig and then he goes on to actually assembling the pistol.
I learned a lot watching the video – he has a solid informative style and shows you what he is doing.
Here’s the Video
Our Polymer80 Barrel Block Sanding Kit
We have a sanding toolkit to help you quickly and accurately clear out the barrel block area.
We have a sanding kit available for Polymer80 pistol builders that is designed to help you quickly and accurately sand the barrel block area so you can have a smooth functioning pistol. Click here to learn more.
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Please note that all images were extracted from the video and remain the property of their respective owner(s).
