Open Glock

[Puma]

I am thinking of building an open Glock. I would like to know which caliber and Glock model would be better. I realize that the 9mm would be at a disadvantage for competition for it would be minor ( I was thinking of a G17 ). I currently have a G35 for limited and an STI. Any and all recommendations and information will be greatly appreciated.

[fyresq]

You can run 9mm major in open.

[Puma]

To run 9mm in open I would have to reload, unfortunately I don't. Other than major/minor I am interested in advantages, comp effectiveness etc. Which brings up another question- which is the most effective compensator ? From shooting AR's I know that there could be big differences between compensators.

[kneelingatlas]

If you don't reload, don't waste your money on an Open gun; trust me, I started a thread just like this one once upon a time.

I shot factory ammo through my first compensated pistol and was astounded that the comp did nothing, literally, nothing. I took off the comp and the pistol felt exactly the same. I would later find out that the principles involved in making good ammo are opposite when using a comp. In a pistol with no comp a small charge of fast powder behind a heavy bullet will produce the softest shooting load. A compensator uses expanding gasses to resist the recoil and muzzle flip so the more gas the flatter the gun; slow burning powder makes more gas because you need more powder to make the same velocity, so the best load for a comp is a light bullet with a large charge of slow powder. This same load without the comp results in much more recoil for any given projectile and velocity than a faster powder, so since 99.9% of their customers are not using compensators, there is no incentive for manufacturers to sell such a round.

[Silver_Surfer]

You can run 9mm major in open.

yup, one guy in our club has one in a shorty version.

[Stev7783]

The g17 gen three is a good gun to build an open glock on. As stated though if you don't reload it may not be worth getting into because when you put the compensatory on factory ammo won't run high enough pressures to make the comp work. You could run factory ammo and just by pass the compensator on the open gun(highly unrecommended). If you go that rout you'd be shooting minor power factor instead of major. Compensator wise you have to main choices of manufactures. Bobby Carver's three port is a good comp and works effectively. Bobby also makes comps with mor ports. On the other hand sjc makes a five port comp that is also highly recommended, they also now make an 11 port comp which some say works really well, I haven't shot it personally. bobby carver also makes comps with more ports them three, they also make a two port comp. When it comes to the compensator it is all really on feel and what you think takes the most muzzle flip out of your gun and helps you track your dot the best. I personally run Bobby's three port.

Edited December 26, 2013 by Stev7783

[Puma]

Thanks for all the information. It echoes what I thought....... I think that I will get a G 17 and shoot limited minor when I am not shooting my G 35 or STI Eagle.

[ede]

For a Open Glock I'd build on a G22 with a KKM 40-9mm conversion barrel.

[Stev7783]

For a Open Glock I'd build on a G22 with a KKM 40-9mm conversion barrel.

That isn't a bad option either. I know some guys that have put the g17 upper on the g22 frame saying the reasoning behind it is that the g22 frame is stronger built to handle the power of 40 s&w, but realistically they are the same exact frame. If you were to go this rout you would be better off just buying the g17 upper and bypassing the converstion barrel all together.

[goat68]

Conversion barrel add some weight and and you maay gain some strength from the beefed up locking block.