New Glock

[JFD]

I lost self control today and finally bought a Glock 35. Don't know why, but it does seem that everyone needs a Glock. At the very least I can now shoot GSSF matches.

I did think that G35s came with the crappy adjustable sights, but this one has fixed sights. Question: There is zero light on either side of the front sight, so is the trick to thin the front sight or open up the rear sight? I'm hoping it hits close to point of aim although I'll likely be putting a Dawson FO front sight on it.

Do these guns normally come with the lightrail? I'm guessing the rail kills the possibility of this gun being used in Production. Don't care, as I'll never shoot Production, but I'm curious.

Around noon today I proclaimed I was buying no accessories for the thing until I decide what I'll do with the gun. By 1600 I had ordered the following:

Brass THE magwell (for the money I thought this was the better option compared to the heavy Dawson ICE magwell)

Tungsten captive guide rod (Damned if I know whether I should have gotten the captive or non-captive, but I figured matching the factory configuration should be OK).

Assorted ISMI recoil springs, 13lb, 15lb, 17lb.

2 extra mags for a total of 5 (Cool that 3 mags come with the gun)

5 Dawson extensions

I'm planning on doing the .25 trigger job tonight. This trigger on this gun feels better than any of the other Glocks I tried today, plus I know little about Glock triggers anyway, so I decided not to order any trigger mod parts for now.

Did I miss anything as far as "necessary" mods are concerned? Obviously this gun will be set up for USPSA Limited.

This was pretty much an impulse buy, no research beyond what I could remember from threads here.

[Clay1]

Congrats, you are going to have fun! Sounds like you have it all set up wonderfully. One more thing that is a whopping $4 is to get the reduced power striker spring. This alone will drop almost 1 pound off of the pull weight without doing anything else.

Rick

[JFD]

Thanks.

I guess I can handle another $4.

[eric nielsen]

JFD

Kinda like 'losing control' and buying a Toyota Camry. Not too much to feel guilty about.

The rail is on all the Glocks now, out of the box they're all fine for USA Production.

On several Glocks I've used a window-scraper type razor blade to slice off the excess front sight width - almost everything outside of the white dot. Then I used the square and the triangle jeweler's files to widen & deepen the rear notch. After that I'd recommend blacking over the white dot & outline or pick 2 colors of Sharpie to color them over. I used green in front and blue at the rear & it works pretty well.

[JFD]

Thanks a lot.

I have little guilt for sure

I was a little worried about thinning the front sight, didn't know if it would weaken it and the next thing I know it's flying off the gun. I'll do as you suggest and thin the front sight and open up the rear sight. For sure the dots will be blackened.

Seems from posts I've read here that Glocks generally shoot to POA (I think that's what I read), so I may be good to go. I'll find out soon enough.

Of course none of my thousands of rounds of long loaded .40 ammo will work, so I get to load up some new ammo tonight as well. Time to visit the reloading forum...

[Keith]

Thanks a lot.

I have little guilt for sure

I was a little worried about thinning the front sight, didn't know if it would weaken it and the next thing I know it's flying off the gun. I'll do as you suggest and thin the front sight and open up the rear sight. For sure the dots will be blackened

Hell. I've had a factory front sight come flying off without thinning it.

[Flexmoney]

Get some grip tape on it too. Glock in 40 major likes to buck around. Great for learning to tweak your grip and stance.

Glocks almost always hit to the same point of aim. But, that POA might be different than what a 1911 shooter is used to. It usually isn't a pumpkin on the post type of hit. Impact is more behind the dot, so the front sight is covering up the target some. (Assuming a nice level sight alignment.)

Keep the striker channel clean, but not oiled.

Oh...just to save some time... 180JHP from Zero, 1.135 OAL, Fed100, 4.2g of TG

Edited February 4, 2006 by Flexmoney

[Rocket35]

If you are going with a magwell, I think you should go with the SJC aluminum magwell. They are $75 through Chris Patty at CPWSA and is far better IMO, I have the brass and aluminum Glockmeister magwells and love the SJC! More comfortable, bigger and weighs about in between the brass and aluminum Glockmeisters. I would also suggest Wolff springs, for the G35 go with a 14#. Much smoother and last longer. They also fit the CGR tungston guiderods from Custom Glock Racing. Oh and get a "competition" pack from Wolff also. Some Dawson Precision target rear and Fiber Optic front sights and you are ready to go!

[JFD]

I just shot it this morning. Don't think I'll be trading my Para for it in this lifetime. I was nit even making major and this thing felt like I was shooting 190 PF loads. Had to adjust my grip after every shot, so grip tape will be ordered immediately.

It was accurate at 15 yards, so that's a good deal. I did have to drift the rear sight a little to the right, but other than that it was hitting to my regular point of aim. Just a bit higher than Flex mentioned, thank goodness, as it's hitting right over the front sight post. Didn't thin the sights or do the .25 trigger job, will do that today and see what the difference is.

I didn't do anything beyond shooting some paper since it was pouring rain. Would have hated to see my splits, as they felt like they could be measured with a sundial. The rain let up for long enough to get some chrono results though.

180 Precision Delta FMJ - 4.3 Titegroup - 1.135 OAL - WSP Primers = 163 PF.

I'm hoping a different recoil spring, the tungsten guide rod and the brass magwell will help the feel of this gun. By next week I'll also have a few more rounds in the mags as well.

I'm going to really check out this brass magwell. If all is not well, then I'll go with the new ICE. The balance on this gun is going to be screwed, as all the weight will be at the grip, when it needs to be up front. Maybe the guide rod will even things out a bit. Guess it's normal for a glock, which is OK, will just have to get used to it.

I guess I'm thinking of this as my wife's new Limited gun, when she wants to give it a try. From what I can tell, she'll be shooting minor or sticking with the Kimber in L-10 while it lasts.

She already proclaimed the glock as the most ugly gun she's ever seen, so the gun may end up being a safe queen unless my Para, or her Kimber, and the backup Colt are in the shop. I'll have to work up a minor load, then "force" her to shoot it, as she may change her mind.

Then again, if I go ahead and order a Ghost, CR Speed belt, and some 773s (if they make them for a glock), then I'll for sure give it a shot at some of the outlaw matches around here. I may wait on the Ghost and use a Blackhawk I won at the Toys for Tots match in December. I disabled the active retention feature, and with a bit of trimming it should be good to go. If I get my splits down to less than an hour, then I'll spring for the Ghost.

Then again it's been fairly entertaining setting up a new Limited gun, so the Ghost might get ordered anyway.

Thanks for everyone's help.

[boo radley]

Didn't thin the sights or do the .25 trigger job, will do that today and see what the difference is.

I'm hoping a different recoil spring, the tungsten guide rod and the brass magwell will help the feel of this gun. By next week I'll also have a few more rounds in the mags as well.

I'm going to really check out this brass magwell. If all is not well, then I'll go with the new ICE. The balance on this gun is going to be screwed, as all the weight will be at the grip....

Thanks for everyone's help.

Heh -- Glock modifications generate strong personal feelings, which isn't a bad thing, I don't think, and I'll throw in my two pennies....

I really, really like Eric W's "TruGrip" adhesive. The last batch I got was even better -- sticks more easily, and different consistency to the grit. The only bad thing, is, it will lock in a bad grip as well as a good grip, but you're an experienced shooter, and know that.....

I don't think the ".25 cent" trigger job makes a huge difference, quite frankly. It makes things a little bit smoother, but my hunch is that there's a bit of psychological bias to it, too. I polished the connector, etc., on my G34, put it back together, and thought -- "Wow! It's a lot smoother!". A month later, I bought a G35, felt the trigger, and it sure didn't feel much different. But it's good to do anyway, if for no other reason than you can see how it all fits together.

What DOES make a huge difference is a kit like Ralph Sotelo's, or a Vanek trigger job, etc. I'm sure there are other good ones out there -- just familiar with those two. But then you're into different springs, and parts that are actually modified: not just "polished."

IMO, I would replace the factory sights before doing anything. As you can see, a good bump will shift the rear sight: they're plastic and cheap, and dreadful. A Dawson FO/Heine combo is awesome, though again, there are other good things out there.

I like having the extra bit of weight of the full-length tungsten rod up front. I had some wear problems. A full-length rod gets a bit more weight out to the end, and makes it easier to swap springs around, but I haven't tried the captured model, either. The THE magwell added a lot of weight, but I didn't like how it changed the balance, but personal preference. Some really like it.

I didn't have a lot of time previously, with a 1911, but it still took me a few months to get used to the grip, trigger and timing of a Glock. Under pressure it's really easy to let the trigger get away, IMO, and start pulling 'em left. I know folks who go back and forth -- no problem....

Enjoy!

[the duck of death]

You're right the .25 trigger job is mostly useless (it does indicate the areas to be worked on). Look at the engagement surfaces under magnification and you'll see why it doesn't do much. They must be made smooth, that means you must remove the plating not by polishing but by stoning. Then polish the smooth surface and be amazed.

[rwmagnus]

JFD

+1 on boo radley.

Bump your load to 4.4gr and you're making major and give it some time. It's a different platform and for that matter any new pistol will take some time to get use to and that's after it's dialed in.

Lots of advise here as well as posts hoe to set it up and it is pretty much a personal thing. My only input is sights. I believe the factory sights can be improved very easily. My preference is for a thinner front sight for more precission.

Other than that just run it but give it time before it gets relegated to safe queen status. LOL at least shoot it in dry conditions!

[JFD]

More orders placed a few minutes ago:

Ghost holster

773 mag pouches (3) Will use a CR Speed for my barney mag

CR Speed belt (I'll have to cut this thing down severely if my wife ends up with the gun)

Reduced power striker spring

Bomar rear sight

Dawson FO front sight

TruGrip grip tape

I did the .25 trigger job, attacked it with my trusty dremel (I've learned not to screw things up with it). Used a little slide glide as well. Not a BIG difference, but enough to be worth the effort. Could be my mind playing tricks on me, but I think it's better. If I can drop the last bit of final pull weight a hair, then I think it will be good to go. OR I'll get the latest/greatest drop-in trigger. It's never going to match my sub 2 lb Para trigger, so I'm thinking of just changing the spring and learning to shoot it however it turns out.

I thinned the front sight and opened up the rear sight. Looks a lot better now. Of course blacked out the rear sight.

SO......I'm going to be making a lot of changes to this gun, so I'll hopefully have all the stuff next week and can try it at the range that weekend.

Tomorrow I'll give it a better test shooting a plate rack.

4.4 grains is what I was thinking too, thanks. I'm hoping all the added weight I'll be sticking on the gun will make it feel better. Not that it's terrible, just different. I may attempt to use some really good feeling stair tread tape I got from ACE Hardware on it tonight.

Now I wish I had a better plan concerning what the heck I'm going to do with this gun. Obviously I'm setting up a complete Limited outfit....probably for my wife....maybe for me....don't really care.

I'll likely shoot it in outlaw matches. If I can master the glock trigger I do believe this will aid my game with the Para. I know shooting a DA revolver does the same thing, but I think the Glock will do it better and not restrict my normal practice like a wheelgun would (lack of gear + puny capacity + it's a damn wheelgun). Hey! That sounds like a pretty good plan/excuse...I'll stick with that

Question: The brass THE magwell is a good one right???

Thanks to everyone for joining in my fun

[Dan Mancini]

I shot all last year in Production with my G35. Just switched to Limited.

My minor load for it is, 180gr MG CMJ, 3.3 gr of TG, Win small pistol primers, mixed brass, puts it at about 128-130pf. Depends on the chrono.

Its very soft shooting. Plus I have a 15# recoil spring, but don't change that without changing to a reduced power striker spring.

Dawson sights and grip tape. I won a Vanek trigger for it but if your looking for a 1911 trigger, it's not out there. The Vanek is great if you want to spend some money on your new toy.

Dan

Edited February 5, 2006 by Dan Mancini

[rwmagnus]

JFD

Brass mag well is good. The hot ticket now is the Novak Stainless Steel or the Dawson Ice mag wells. I've got the Novak and like it. I think the Ice has an even bigger opening however. I'd give this one more thought.

I made most all the same mods including a KKM bbl. My RS trigger goes in this week and I'm done. All these changes help but none are earth shattering. Are they worth it in the end? I'd say yes.

[jkrispies]

SO......I'm going to be making a lot of changes to this gun...

Frankly, I think that's the best part about the Glock!

My $.02 (from a G17 addict):

1. The tungsten guide rod is sorta like the magic wand for Glock balance... at least if you learned how to shoot with a fully lugged revolver.

2. Lose the sights. I'm in love with my Dawson's, but that's a matter of personal preference. On the other hand, if you can modify the stock sights to your taste, then more power to you.

3. Get some of Brian's "thick" slide glide and slather it up. (The goo is good.)

4. Don't be afraid to take some sandpaper to the trigger face and mag release (maybe this is more for lefties) to make it comfortable to shoot.

5. For spring weight, you're pretty good going one spring weight lighter than stock.

6. I swapped out the firing pin spring and didn't find the difference in trigger feel to be enough of an improvement to risk the chance of a failure to fire due to a light primer strike. As long as the firing pin channel is kept clean, it's no worry... but my preference is to shoot 'er rather than clean 'er. (Don't lube the firing pin, btw-- it'll gather gunk and lock up.)

7. Like the others mentioned, I'm not sure if the $.25 trigger job is all that effective, but I'd recommend it for no other reason than to familiarize yourself with the guts of the gun. That's never a bad idea, IMHO.

That's all I'd really do, which isn't much.

(A quick edit: I'm waiting for my RS trigger to arrive in the mail, but it still remains to be seen if it'll stay in! From all the raves it's getting, I'm guessing it will, though.)

John

Edited February 5, 2006 by jkrispies

[JFD]

Good to hear Slide Glide mentioned in conjunction with a Glock

I figured if I was polishing the crap out of all those parts, they also needed a small amount of slide glide. Went with SG #2.

Also decided the rails (not a whole lot of rail surface on these frames....must remember it's not a 1911 ) needed SG #2 as well. Was thinking of #3 for the locking lug(?) on the barrel, but stuck with #2 throughout the gun. Will give #3 a try, as I guess this gun fits the "loose" description Brian mentions.

I agree 100% that the .25 trigger job would be worth the effort just for learning how the gun works and how to take it apart and return it to working condition. For the record, I used jewelers rouge then Flitz with my handy dandy felt dremel wheels. For the life of me I couldn't see how I could polish anything with just Flitz and a Q-Tip. I'm thankful for the detailed instructions and pics that were part of the "manual" for the 0.25 TJ. I'm now of the opinion that there's definitely an improved feel to the trigger.

I've quit trying to compare this trigger to my 1911s. I've been shooting 1911s for 35 years, so I don't think I'll be able to fool myself into thinking anything I can do to the Glock will feel like a 1911. However I think it's fair to compare it to a DA wheelgun, such as my 686. I spent a lot of effort mastering ( ) the DA trigger in that gun, and the Glock feels more shootable already.

Thanks again

[jkrispies]

Good to hear Slide Glide mentioned in conjunction with a Glock

I figured if I was polishing the crap out of all those parts, they also needed a small amount of slide glide. Went with SG #2.

Also decided the rails (not a whole lot of rail surface on these frames....must remember it's not a 1911 ) needed SG #2 as well. Was thinking of #3 for the locking lug(?) on the barrel, but stuck with #2 throughout the gun. Will give #3 a try, as I guess this gun fits the "loose" description Brian mentions.

Feel free to load up the rails with #3 as well. Personally, I use #3 on everything except for the trigger mechanism. A few weeks ago I did a rainy-day shoot (probably in the 40's somewhere: cold enough to numb my fingers so that I couldn't work the slide dissambly nubbins) and had no problems with the thick stuff freezing the gun up. I can definitely say that the gun cycles a lot smoother with that stuff in it.

Edited February 5, 2006 by jkrispies

[Flexmoney]

JFD,

I knew, coming from your Para, that you weren't going to take to the difference in the Glock at Major. It is waaaay different.

If you wife likes it a Major, she will be about the first. My girlfriend hates mine. She shoots a G20 at Major though. Big gripped gun, she doesn't seem to mind that it doesn't really fit her. The G20 is a lot softer shooting.

I was always using 3.5g of TG for a minor load. I bumped it up a tenth tp 3.6g last summer. I needed a little more feel out of the gun...and, a bit more jucie to kick the brass out.

Lose the magwell and the mag extensions and your setup is the shizzle for Production.

If your outlaw matches don't worry about power factor....

--------------------------

Oh....very surprised to hear the not-so-glowing reviews of the $0.25 trigger job. Works great for me. I gotta wonder what people are doing different? Maybe it's a lack of desire to do-it-yourself?

[the duck of death]

*QUOTE*

I don't think I'll be able to fool myself into thinking anything I can do to the Glock will feel like a 1911.

Don't give up, amazing things can be done to the Glock trigger.

[JFD]

No worries about shooting Production. Anything involving reaching for a mag near my butt crack has no interest to me

I shot the gun today straight up against my Para. I think a good bit of the harsh "feel" of the gun came from no grip tape. With the grip tape I added last night, the glock feels a lot better. The TruGrip should be a hair better.

Another bit of the harsh feel came from shooting at stupid boring paper targets, as I didn't shoot in our practice bays this weekend, and just shot on the regular members range. With not a thing to focus on besides sights, trigger, and recoil, the recoil felt worse than I expected. Today I thought my Para felt a bit nastier than normal under the same conditions. Of course I was shooting a batch of 178 PF loads verus the glock with not-quite-major loads. Damn that Para felt HEAVY!

I'll load some minor ammo tonight and see how that feels. From the posts I've read, and what I'm feeling, my wife will never shoot this thing well with major loads. However her goals for USPSA are different than mine, so she's not concerned with major versus minor scoring. I might like minor as well, who knows?

I like the gun much better today than yesterday, and that's not too bad for someone who figured he'd never buy a glock

It's also keeping me occupied at a time when work and weather are limiting my shooting some. I wouldn't have gone to the range today if it weren't for the glock.

Thanks for the help + the minor load data.

[Flexmoney]

Another bit of the harsh feel came from shooting at stupid boring paper targets, as I didn't shoot in our practice bays this weekend, and just shot on the regular members range. With not a thing to focus on besides sights, trigger, and recoil, the recoil felt worse than I expected.

I was going to suggest that as a factor, as I have noticed the same thing at times. But, I thought it would be a hard sell, and even harder to put into words. Cool that you got there through the experience.

[JFD]

Normally, except for sighting in, the only "target" work I do is shooting the plate rack at 25 yards or firing up the upper A/B zones at the end of a practice session. I uber bored very quickly with shooting groups. After about 30 years of shooting groups, I believe I've had enough.

As soon as I had a feel of the gun with it's minor mods, I started playing around to see if I could shoot decent splits. Immediately the recoil wasn't much of a factor except for the sights not returning to where I wanted them to be. No concern there, as the weight distribution and springs will be changed in a major way this coming week.

The glock is going to be all about trigger control. Likely I'll stick with minor loads until I get some idea of my wife's interest, but I see this gun as a good way to have some fun and improve my fundamentals in the quest to improve my performance with my Para in Limited.

Having the Glock race ready and fully rigged with the ghost and 773s means it will likely see a USPSA match this year I'm half tempted to shoot it at the special classifier match next week in Columbia. Will depend on parts delivery from sources that I don't normally use + a couple of my regular sources. Kind of disappointed Chuck didn't have more glock stuff or I would have dropped a lot more money at Shooters Connection instead of a bunch of "those glock places"

Also my daughter is now 8 and will need to be geared up for Limited soon. Eventually I'll justify this purchase!!!

Flex: What PF are you getting out of that 3.6 grain Titegroup load? I'm not big on shooting below 130 PF loads because I don't like how the steel reacts. The .38 Super I shoot in ESP is loaded to 153 PF, but I'm thinking something along the lines of 140 or so for this gun so my wife will be happier. I'm figuring a 140 PF ought to still be pretty mild out of this G35.

I'm excited to actually have a reloading project. So far the most excitement has been finding the first load I tried with the Para (First .40 for me) was dead on for accuracy and PF, and the only other excitement was trying different bullet brands. In other words, BORING. The last fun I had reloading was 405 and 500 bullet loads for my 45-70 back in 2002.

[Flexmoney]

I'm not sure on my pf with the minor load. Somewhere between 135-140, I think. I'm not close to 125, so I don't worry about it.

The 180's help take down the steel.

Edited February 5, 2006 by Flexmoney

[JFD]

Thanks. I was thinking what you were looking for with that extra 0.1 grain of powder is the same thing I'm looking for. Just a hair more omph than the typical minor load.