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Tungsten Guide Rod


Z-man

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Hi all,

I've been looking into the different Tungsten Guid rods available for a G34. I was wondering what others experiences have been with them. I know there have been several postings about them breaking, but haven't found much in the way of comparison between a stock or stainless steel guide rod and the weighted Tungsten rod. How do they compare in terms of recoil management and muzzle rise? Are they worth the cost or do they pose a danger of breaking (I've heard they are more brittle)? Any and all advice appreciated!

Kepa Zubizarreta

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I've been running a THE Accessories tungsten rod in my primary production gun since 2002. Four years and 40,000 rounds later, there's a bit of a circular groove worn in the rod near the muzzle end, but otherwise it's in the same shape as when new.....

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I've been running a THE Accessories tungsten rod in my G34 for about a year also, and have had no problems. The non-captive rod is nice if you ever change loads and need to swap out recoil springs. I feel that using the extended tungsten recoil rod eats up a little recoil...but it's not dramatic.

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Pharoah mentioned a slight improvement on recoil reduction. What about others? Is the difference significant enough to shell out $50ish bones?

I have used it for over a year and like it alot, I feel that it helps with the muzzle flip adding the weight at the muzzle. I shoot the g35 and the 40 s&w in my G22 seems to flip the muzzle alot more than in my 35 with the tungsteon.

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I have extended tungsten standard length tungsten and standard length stainless. In my G34 I have noticed no difference in felt recoil with either guide rod (Currently using Stainless for ESP). On my G35 when using major PF load I have noticed no difference where I did notice a slight improvement was when using lighter springs. Currently I am using a G20 in 40 S&W Long Loaded for Limited and to be frank I notice no difference when using Tungsten or the factory guide rod with that gun. Having said that there is a difference in the felt recoil between the G20 and the G35 with the felt recoil being lighter on the G20.

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I like the extended THE I have in my G35. It helps when I shoot major. It flattens out the gun a bit more in Minor, but my Production/IDPA/GSSF load is so soft that I ususally don't bother using anything but the stock rod there (and can't in some games, IIRC).

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It's not really about the recoil management for me. It changed the weight of the front sight. I can really feel the difference in the nose of the gun when indexing on targets. I'm still undecided on whether it's an improvement or not (for me). Lighter front end, quicker handling. With the increased weight up front it took me a bit to get used to it. Like a motorcycle with a different profile front tire. It steers a little slower left to right.

Since I try to hit warp speed between targets the added weight smoothed out the transition, but perhaps at the cost of outright speed. My A's are up and my times are down but it could just be me, not the gear.

I definitely noticed a difference when I put it in, but I'm not quick to call it an improvement quite yet. I just wanted to be able to change springs.

Edited by want2race
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I've heard that the Stainless Steel guide rod from Novak Hangunners outlet is just about the same size and nearly the same weight as the tungsten rods. Any comparison to it?

Novaks guide rod is thicker than most and it requires Wolff Springs.

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Ryucasta, what's your experience been with the Novak rod?

That's the only thing I have ever purchased from Tom that has been relegated to the spare parts bin. The main issue I had with it is that you could only use Wolff springs. ISMI and Glock springs would not work due to the oversized diameter of the rod.

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  • 2 weeks later...

While the recoil management issue is subjective the extended recoil rod makes it infinately easier to change uncaptured recoil springs. If your running a 15 or 17 lbs recoil spring I would say the extended rod is worth every penny every time you reassemble the gun after a cleaning.

You could always go with the captured standard lenght rod but those are a real pain to change springs if/when you have to do them too.

Make it easy on yourself and get the extended rod.

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Does anyone have a link for the tungsten Guide Rod?

Thanks! :wacko:

THE @ CGR

Glockmeister Rod

Hello;

I know this isn't what you asked in your original question, but my experience has been that there is nothing that works better than the original plastic rod. It has NEVER failed me. The stainless and tungsten ones have. Stock springs, stock rod=no problems. I also did not notice any appriecable difference in feel or recoil with the steel/tungsten over the factory setup. If you just want to buy gadgets and spend money, okay, but the stock rod/spring works just fine. My .02.

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I like mine, but be attentive to issues with scoring, and certain springs. I had a devil of time, last year, with periodic feeding problems that was ultimately traced to a tight-fitting, square-shouldered ISMI recoil spring, and wear on the CGR tungsten rod.

When I polished the rod as best I could with 400 and 600 grit paper, and went to a Wolff spring, no more problems.

I like having the extra bit of weight out front, and I like being able to easily replace the 15-lb recoil spring. You certainly don't *need* it, but a full-length tungsten or steel rod is simple, inexpensive addition, IMO, that's easy to try.

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I was under the impression that you couldn't use a Tungsten Guide rod in production division. Are there any restrictions on guide rods in production?

If the gun is no more than 2 oz over the weight of the OEM gun, and the modification is internal, then it's OK. The extended THE rod is 46 grams (for the G34/35) and the standard length THE is 34 grams (G17/22). That's 1.6 and 1.2 oz respectively.

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