Fitment issues with a garbage-tier "Not-A-Glock" (Gen 3ish)

[matteekay]

As something of a lark, I took advantage of Black Friday sales and assembled a Gen 3ish not-a-Glock using a PSA Dagger frame and P80 complete slide. All of the parts finally got in so I assembled it into this... abomination.

 

 

Doesn't actually look too bad. However, functionally, it's got some issues. 

 

I was running through all operations (empty) and everything seems to be working. Then I noticed that if I inserted an empty mag, pulled the trigger, racked the slide, and went to release the trigger, the striker would immediately let go with the trigger partway out. After trying a few things I figured out it's the upward tension from the slide stop that's not letting the sear properly interface with the striker (do Glocks have sears?). I can replicate it 100% by pulling up on the slide as I let the trigger reset.

 

My totally unprofessional opinion is it's one of two things:

 

• The tolerances between two bottom-tier manufacturers are too far off and the slide rides too high (there's a lot of daylight between the slide and frame)
• It's something stupid-obvious that I'm unaware of because I don't shoot Glocks

 

I did check the firing pin block spring and the connector for what's that worth. Anyhow, thoughts? Feel free to call me stupid for any number of reasons!

[bubba72]

Yes Glocks do have a sear. It is not a sear like a hammer fired gun has. The sear on a Glock is part of the cruciform it is the metal part on the end of the cruciform that has a slight upward angle. It is what catches the striker lug as the slide is racked. From what you are describing it sounds like the slide sets up higher on the frame than a normal Glock. If the slide sets up to high the sear will either not catch the lug on the striker or will just barely catch the striker lug. 

 

I helped a friend build a polymer 80 and had an issue similar to what you describe. Finally fixed it by bending the sear upward slightly to catch the striker lug. The cruciform is heat treated and is hard if you try to bend it you need to heat it up with a torch to soften it slightly if you don't it will likely break the sear off of the cruciform. My friend has put over 500 rounds through his P80 so far and it has run 100% after we fixed the sear issue.

 

If you have an armorer's rear slide plate you could put it on the slide and see how much engagement you have between the sear and striker lug.

[matteekay]

Bumping my own thread now that I've had more experience with these guns.

 

The issue seems to be that the rails of the Dagger frame sit somewhat proud compared to a factory Glock frame. PSA overcomes this by milling a more narrow channel in the slide than what you find on factory Glock units, effective holding the slide "down" against the frame (and sear, etc). Replacing a Dagger slide with a different manufacturer's introduces additional vertical play in the rear due to the taller slide channels, the outcome of which is inconsistent engagement between the striker and the trigger's cruciform. I strongly, strongly suspect that the root cause is PSA building their front frame rails into the locking block rather than the frame itself, allowing the slide to pivot.

 

All of this explains why I can get the striker to release when applying upward pressure on the rear of the slide while allowing the trigger to reset. This is true of every slide I try on a Dagger frame (P80, AIM, Brownells, factory) regardless of the trigger setup (stock or Timney). However, swap on a Dagger slide, and the issue completely goes away.