One GM's Glock 24

[Micah]

The Glock 24 certainly seems to be making a comeback. After shooting Production for several years, I wanted a platform that was affordable, reliable, and as close to what I have trained with for so many hours in my dryfire "dojo" for Limited. I also looked at what the two greatest Glock shooters in the sport use (Sevigny and Vogel)...and the Glock 24 was the clear answer.

Many people have asked me either on the range or via email/pm what modifications I have done to my G24, and I felt that one all-inclusive thread would be fitting. Although I am not a certified Glock Armorer, I know the pistol inside and out. Although I have never won an Area match, I am a GM that has won a few states and have read about/seen/tried enough stuff that does not work to know what does. My Glock mods are certainly not the end-all, nor the one true way. I'm just sharin' what all I have going on

Grip-I like Trugrip as my baseline grip. My grip is very high and tight, and as such I cannot use an extended aftermarket mag release, so I rock the stock extended mag release. This is the same reason why I used the standard (short) slide lock lever. After applying the Trugrip, I then took a look at what portion of my "meat lock" (Burkett's term) applies the most pressure. The upper portion of my weak hand does the majority of the heavy lifting, so I added two layers of skate tape with a strong adhesive. By using two layers, I was able to allow the tape to have a more aggressive engagement with my weak hand. Although I would love to be able to do it, I did not place skate tape on the entire grip surface as it prevents my strong hand from shifting its grip for reloads. I added a piece of grip tape to the portion of the slide in front of my trigger guard for my strong hand thumb to touch. This is my steering wheel and compass.

Magwell-I love the heavy Dawson Ice. It took a little fitting, but now it rests snugly on my lower. I had to spend a few weeks getting adjusted to using a magwell, as my first million reloads were done without one. Now it is second nature. I particularly like the way the magwell prevents the mag release button from being engaged when doing a table draw.

Sights-I've been looking through Heinie rear/Dawson fiber optic front sights for years, and saw no need to adjust to a different configuration, so that is what I have on my 24. The front sight looks a little thinner on the longer slide of the 24, and I can dig it as it lends to greater precision for long distance partials.

Recoil Rod/Striker Assembly-My recoil rod is a tungsten uncaptured extended with a 13# spring that's missing a few coils. The striker is the ultralight steel striker from Jager with a 4# Wolff spring. I cannot always find Federal primers (which are the easiest to set off), and reducing the striker spring weight is the easiest way to cut weight on the trigger pull. The Jager striker allows me to get away with using a lighter striker spring and still use CCI,Winchester, Wolf primers. To date I have never had a light strike.

Trigger-Although placing an order with Vanek is easier, I did my own trigger job here (my Vanek it still in my G34). Bend here, polish there, make a higher hole and use a heavier trigger spring and you're there. Although I used to despise them, someone gave me a Ghost Rocket connector that I was able to successfully fit and love it. The reset is subtle and crisp. I am also able to achieve a similar reset and overtravel effect with a Lone Wolf 3.5# connector and overtravel stop trigger housing. Adding a reduced power striker safety spring will also shave a few ounces.

Rig-I have drawn a Glock from a Blade-Tech DOH for so long, I failed to see the validity in converting to a race holster. My DOH has an open bottom, and my G24 fits right in there. I have no issues drawing the longer 24 from this holster and never have to worry about locking/unlocking my gun. Mag pouches and belt are also the same as my Prod rig: CR Speed Versa pouches and belt. I like the Arredondo +5 basepads over other brands as they seem to be the most durable and least pain to work with.

Load-It took me some serious trials and tribulations, but I have finally found a load that I like, and WORKS! I take a 200g BBI bullet and put 3.65g of Titegroup behind it loaded at a 1.135 OAL. If you plan on reducing the weight of your striker spring, look into an aftermarket striker. Some of them are a tad bit longer and help setting off non-Federal primers. If and when possible, I use Federal primers. Winchesters are okay, and CCI/Wolf are more difficult to get off. The crimp die barely touches the load as any more engagement than that has caused me to TUMBLE TUMBLE TUMBLE! Please keep in mind that I am also a poor educator an underpaid educator. This load is smokey as hell, and I would recommend that if you have the funds, use Montana Gold bullets and Vihtavuori 320. My load won't hurt your gun, and if you don't stand in the same place for long you'll never notice the smoke.

And that is my Glock 24. None of these mods are needed to make GM or win your class. What matters most is what you do to better familiarize yourself with your shooting style and equipment, making the tasks required in any given stage subconscious processes, and the study and implementation of proper technique.Unfortunately that is not a drop-in part, rather it comes from hours, days, months and years of dedication and training.

Edited June 26, 2010 by Micah
I'm a great teacher, just not paid much :)

[Dan Hefta]

It's just like mine Micah! Just about everything is the same, even down to the sights. Now I only need to learn how to rock that G24 like you Micah.

[rupie]

whats the difference between a 24 and a 35? barrel and slide length?

[ranger]

Thanks much for a detailed post on your G24 kit!

[dirty whiteboy]

whats the difference between a 24 and a 35? barrel and slide length?

.70

[Sarge]

whats the difference between a 24 and a 35? barrel and slide length?

.70

+1 just a 6" gun.

[Lumpy McSoo]

Nice informational piece. Thank you for the information and pictures.

Rock on, Later, Lumpy.

[Religious Shooter]

Are 17L's and 24's currently being produced by Glock?

[SA Friday]

Micah, just a few things to think about that I learned when I made my G24 a couple years back.

Look into the Lightning Strike Ti safety plunger if you don't round the OEM one out during your trigger jobs, or round out the edges to a smooth curve and get rid of the ridges. It makes all the difference in the initial trigger pre-travel feel.

Watch out for front sight snag with the sight extending out the bottom of the DOH. It was horrible with mine as I was using a Dawson .285h FO front sight. With the .205h front it should clear a lot better but it depends on the sight channel's depth and width. If you feel resistance during a draw in the future, that's probably where it came from. That sight has to clear the holster on the way up and a little flex in the draw can be enough to snag it.

I couldn't get my G24 to pass the lock-up test with a 13lb recoil spring after I installed a KKM barrel and had to go to a 15 lb spring. I couldn't tell if you swapped barrels or not in the pics. Mine ran just fine with a 15.

[Micah]

I am glad that you guys liked the info presentation, thanks

AFAIK the G24 is no longer currently being produced. They had an additional limited run several years ago though. SA Friday, the Dawson/Heinie combo are the "shortest" sights on the viable USPSA market, so I do not encounter front sight snaggage, but can certainly see where that would be a huge problem with taller sights like Dawson adjustables. My barrel is stock...I have never seeing the reason to buy something with tighter tolerances to fix something that is certainly accurate enough to do what I need it to do. Spend that extra $130-300 on primers and bullets!

[GrumpyOne]

Load-It took me some serious trials and tribulations, but I have finally found a load that I like, and WORKS! I take a 200g BBI bullet and put 3.65g of Titegroup behind it loaded at a 1.135 OAL. If you plan on reducing the weight of your striker spring, look into an aftermarket striker. Some of them are a tad bit longer and help setting off non-Federal primers. If and when possible, I use Federal primers. Winchesters are okay, and CCI/Wolf are more difficult to get off. The crimp die barely touches the load as any more engagement than that has caused me to TUMBLE TUMBLE TUMBLE! Please keep in mind that I am also a poor educator. This load is smokey as hell, and I would recommend that if you have the funds, use Montana Gold bullets and Vihtavuori 320. My load won't hurt your gun, and if you don't stand in the same place for long you'll never notice the smoke.

When I first read that, the first thought that came to my mind was, "Well, if he's such a poor educator, how did he get a job teaching?"

Like the mods, BTW. And the write up is spot on, like you wrote it for a magazine...

Also, why the name change?

Edited June 26, 2010 by GrumpyOne

[Micah]

Thanks Grumpy I should have said "Fiscally limited" instead of "poor"! Name change was something that I was mulling over for some time. This sport is such a huge part of my life, it did not make sense to be know in it by any other name than the one my folks gave me...not that I'm not called a plethora of other names on the range

[VegasOPM]

Great thread- I just got a 24 today and I am figuring out what to do with it. I have had over a dozen modded Glocks- so I have some background to work from, but stuff like loads and spring rates are much different for this beast than for my 22 or 17.

The 24 I bought was built as a Limited gun in 2000, so it is rocking the Lightning Strikes Aluminum Trigger and Ti striker, along with a smallish mag well. I am tempted to just get the Zev fulcrum trigger kit with the lightened steel striker, but I want to play with the current set up for a while.

As an aside, my 24 came with a ghost ring rear sight- are those even legal in Limited? I have Warren/ Sevigny sights on the rest of my comp Glocks, but the ghost ring sights are interesting, if they are legal.

[Micah]

Vegas, the rulebook stipulates "Notch and post only" for Production and Single Stack, but not Limited/L10. Years ago I purchased a Glock that had a ghost ring already installed and found that I could not accurately read the sights with the same reliability than notch and post sights. One of the most common things I say to shooters that ask me about their equipment at matches is to look at what the top shooters are using. If ghost ring sights were a clear advantage over others, it would be my expectation that GMs would be rocking them.

Also, I would not recommend using Ti strikers as they are not as durable as steel ones. Although if you break the tip in a match it only takes a moment to drop in a replacement, but you will have more than likely tanked that stage. I never, NEVER advocate using a reduced power striker spring unless you have a good steel aftermarket striker with an extended tip. Running a light spring with a stock striker may reduce your trigger pull, but you may be paying for it in light strikes on the clock.

[JBP55]

Are 17L's and 24's currently being produced by Glock?

Yes, They make a few each year.

[Jadeslade]

Hey Micah-nice post. Nice gun. Shot limited today with my 24-gun seems to shoot itself. I put a 22RTF on the bottom-in the humidity here in summer-works great. I like your picture on the porch with your neighbors house in the background. Do they know you dabble in the black arts?

[getagun]

Are 17L's and 24's currently being produced by Glock?

Yes, They make a few each year.

Actually they have been completely discontinued since 2008. There is less than forty of them floating around.

[Glockman1000]

Wow, I wish they hadn't done that. The 24 in my opinion was the gun that got Glock on the map for action shooting. Micah if you don't mind me asking did you ever try the Safariland 007 holster for your 24? Also would you mind telling me where I might find one of those extended tip strikers? I've been out of the game for awhile.

Edited June 30, 2010 by Glockman1000

[prreed10]

Sweet looking gun and great writeup. Here is my G24.

Mine is an older slide - it was originally purchased when a 24/24C kit was offered to complement the G22. I picked up a frame and built it up to be my Limited gun. One difference I noticed between the older G24's and then newer ones is the location of the lighting cut in the top of the slide. It is further back with the newer models. Mine is so far forward that half of a Dawson front sight would hang off the cut. I had to go with a Warren front sight instead - it only hangs off a little. Its actually a 24C, so I ended up getting a LW barrel and putting the factory C barrel aside. I just did a trigger job on the factory and added an extended slide stop and mag release. I had a local guy Cerekote the slide and the magwell in a silver/gray since all my other Glocks are black.

Edited June 30, 2010 by prreed10

[Micah]

Again, I'm glad you guys are getting something out of my post:) Glockman, the striker that I use is sold by one of the forum vendors here on Enos, click HERE to link directly.

I have not used the Safariland 007, and probably never will. Not that it is a bad holster, rather I have literally drawn a Glock from a DOH well over 100,000 times. Keeping things equal as long as I am not at a significant equipment disadvantage is a big advantage.

[Glockman1000]

Thanks for the info on the strikers Micah. I've used the 007 holster and I'm just looking for another one, so far all I've heard is they pretty much went extinct.

[ninemmbill]

Great info and a beautiful looking gun.

[Cold Absolute Zero]

Thanks for the great write up, I really appreciate hearing about how other shooters (especially ones with much more experience than I) set up their Glocks. I find the extra skate tape you use for your support hand interesting, what kind of adhesive are you using? I may have to give that a try.

In a similar concept I stipple my CCW Glocks only on the support hand side so that it gives my support hand a bit extra purchase near the fleshy thumb part while keeping the outside slick so it doesn't snag on clothing.

CAZ

[Micah]

Great info and a beautiful looking gun.

Too beautiful...although it is beginning to show the charisma marks of pervasive practice

I find the extra skate tape you use for your support hand interesting, what kind of adhesive are you using? I may have to give that a try.

I used a generous slathering of Loctite Super Glue Gel

[Chris Keen]

Loctite Black Max works well.