Caspian Slide?

[Shooter32]

Is anyone using a Caspian slide on a Glock? If so what barrel are you using?? What are your thoughts on it pros and cons??? I know the factory slide and barrel are great , i am just getting bored and looking for a new project and this sounded interesting .

[muahdib4]

That's something I was wondering myself. I like to tinker and a new shiny slide possibly even with slide cuts and such would be awesome. Don't worry, I shoot Limited so not worried as far as that goes. I would like to know how they feel, perform, look....

[Micah]

I have never used one, but I have seen them break/crack/jam more than stock slides. With the relatively low cost of Glocks, I would recommend stock.

Hell, if you want to individualize your slide, you can polish it or get it Duracoated/chromed Slide cuts can be machined by most smiths.

[Rolex]

Had two of my Glocks NP3'd by Robar.

Thay have a nice package price on the

Glock top ends!

[eric nielsen]

The biggest problems were quality control (in the early days: very bad) and out-of-spec dimensions for the striker tunnel and breech face slot. The latter means that if the FP tip actually makes it to the primer, it will hit off-center and with much of its momentum robbed. That's bad.

Newer series of Glock-by-Caspian slides had better (not perfect) quality control plus air holes to relieve the partial vacuum created by the striker moving - i.e. the hole Glock always had there - but still is not right with respect to striker tunnel position and angle. Also, at high slide velocities such as found on an Open glock, the locking surface at the top of the ejection port will often peen over and round off.

Trying to phrase this in a way that won't get deleted, Caspian knows they had problems but fixing them was not their highest priority.

[muahdib4]

Hmmm...sounds like I should just look for another Glock slide and have it "pretty-fied". I hate to do it to the one that's on there now...since I don't want to devalue the firearm. Others may not like what I do.

[EkuJustice]

I actually had a caspian slide(2actually). First one the breech face came apart where the striker exited and it actually had a circle of metal come out around the striker. Got that replaced. Second slide tolerences were SOOOO tight where they should not be that the firing pin was not smoothly traveling, the Factory FP safety would not even fit in the gun, a Vanek modified one which is slightly smaller barely fit and did not move freely so that one went back. I understand needing to fit the slide but that should not include milling holes larger that are out of spec by far.

I replaced it with a lone wolf slide that is blindmarked(ie no markings visible) and a blindmarked lone wolf barrel and it has run like a champ from the get go without the fitting of the caspian. I actually like the looks of the lone wolf better with the forward serrations. The parts all fit and function like they should. I actually talked with vanek whose trigger is in it and he said he has tons of problems with the caspian slides for tolerences but has not had a problem with the lonewolf. I'll post a pic of the gun when I get back home

[Glockcomma]

I also had the breech face rupture on one (SJC G17 Open gun) it went back to Caspian and I waited a long time for the replacement. The replacement went to John Nagel (SJC) for inspection and installation, John said the last generation was the best he had seen. I have about 3000 rounds of Major 9mm thru the gun and it's been fine but that's not very many rounds. The gun was in the Jan/Feb 2008 Front Sight page #26 if you want to check it out, it's on a CCF frame.

Tim

[eric nielsen]

Not a knock on Caspian's stainless steel - it's really very good steel, but any aftermarket slide has wear & tear challenges that the Tenifer finish on the Glock slide doesn't. The OEM finish is so hard you can drop it on concrete, clean it a little bit, then not be able to find a mark where it hit the floor.

One thing to look for on aftermarket slides because they don't have that surface hardness: under the extractor groove is a skinny section of slide with a triangular profile. That section slams into the trigger-bar's FP safety tab, on every shot. On my Open glock that section peened itself into the extractor and caused extraction failures. Never saw a drop in tension, it was the freedom of movement that was missing.

With no other parts in your slide, the extractor should go in its groove and then fall right back out. If you tip the slide over and the extractor doesn't fall out, easiest step is use emory cloth to take the finish off the sides of the extractor till it does fall out. With the parts back in the slide, minus the barrel, you should be able to take the flat of a screwdriver and push the extractor thru its travel with no hitches in either direction.

The screwdriver/travel test is so quick it's worth doing on any external-extractor gun. On very rare occasions the sticky-travel thing even happens to 1911/2011 guns.

[Shooter32]

Very good info !!! But pharaoh i have already did what you suggested i have a 34 with the slide cera-coated and i polished the slide on my 17 .. I was looking to go with something with a tighter fit and a custom barrel . I guess it may just be the factory slide with a differant barrel .

[Micah]

Shooter,

Tighter tolerances are not what you need to win matches. Take Bob Vogel for example. Multiple Nationals champion...he only uses stock slides and barrels. When I asked him why he was not using a fitted barrel, he explained to me that the tolerances took away from feeding reliability.

I'm just sayin

[Shooter32]

I know what you are saying , i just love to customize any gun i have , it is a bad and expensive habit but i cant help it .

Edited May 20, 2010 by Shooter32