How To Customize Your Glock
The Glock 17 wasn’t just influential—it set the pace for the next 40 years of handgun development. Nowadays, Glocks are among the most popular firearms in the world, issued to both military and police en masse. Everyday Americans trust Glocks for personal protection, and the Glock is topping many of our competitive shooting leagues.
As you can imagine, with such popularity, the Glock aftermarket completely eclipses any other handgun brand. You can go to any gun range in America and find a Glock that has been completely customized unlike any other. That’s one of the reasons Glock remains so successful: any Glock can be elevated by the massive array of available parts. There are parts for concealed carry, parts for duty carry, parts for hunting, and parts for competition. With so much variety, where does one even begin?
Right here, actually! Dynamic Weapon Solutions is a premier supplier of Glock customization products and accessories. No matter what parts you’re looking for, we strive to give you a great value, so you can get the most from your budget.
Building your Glock from the ground up is easy, and there are a ton of ways to personalize the parts for maximum style. But what does it take to move from bone stock to next-gen carry gun? We’ll be calling our all the products and areas to focus on while you plan out a Glock of your own.
THE FRAME
We start at the heart of it, of course! If you’re looking for the best shooting experience possible, your frame comes first. Did you know that you have options beyond a Glock original frame?
Nowadays, you have several manufacturers to choose from, and they all have their own designs. The most popular aftermarket Glock frame is the Polymer80. If you know anything about 80% AR15 lowers, Polymer80 started as an 80% option for Glock frames, but they’ve released the PFS9 and PFC9 as a serialized alternative. Polymer80 frames incorporate many of the ergonomic features unavailable on factory Glock frames, such as aggressive grip texturing, undercut trigger guards, full beavertails, and textured thumb ledges. These upgrades help you get the best purchase on the pistol so you can stay on target.
THE TRIGGER
Peek into any forum or review blog, and you’ll hear some strong debate about Glock triggers. No matter your opinion, Glock’s factory triggers are safe, consistent, and dependable. That said, we’ve come a long way since 1982, and there’s plenty of amazing aftermarket triggers that are both reliable and precise.
FINISHING YOUR FRAME
After the trigger, the frame needs additional small parts. With so many pins and springs, you may feel a bit intimidated by the minutia. The good news? Glock’s OEM small parts are tough as nails. You can buy most of the Glock pins, blocks, and springs direct for minimal expense, and you know that they’ll have the best fit with aftermarket components. If you have an aftermarket frame, it may have a dedicated small parts kit, which will provide an even better match.
Most shooters will upgrade their Glock’s magazine release and slide lock, as they can feel small in bigger hands.
Of course, if you want a quick reload, you’ll also need a magwell. There are magwells for both competition and carry, ranging in different sizes and weights.
THE SLIDE
What the frame is to ergonomics, the slide is to reliability and accuracy. But who says reliable and accurate must be plain? The real flair of a customized Glock comes with a beautiful slide, which may be cut for front serrations, lightening cuts, or optics mounts. If you’ve ever heard of a Roland Special, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
The trick is finding a slide configuration that is both reliable and accurate. With the factory Glock slide, you get guaranteed functionality, but many shooters are looking for optimized performance.
SLIDE PARTS AND STRIKER ASSEMBLY
After selecting a slide, you will need to finish it with a striker assembly and other small parts. In this case, you can choose between Glock OEM or aftermarket manufacturers. Many aftermarket parts utilize different materials to refine the performance of your pistol, so these options are especially popular on target and competition pistols, where fine-tuning is critical for speed.
Once again, Glock OEM remains a trustworthy standard. Glock’s parts are built with exacting specifications, and their success is proven through decades of testing. For an EDC, you cannot go wrong with OEM parts.
BARREL
One of the most important parts of any Glock slide assembly is the barrel. A match barrel can cut group sizes in half, and threaded options allow for the use of suppressors and compensators. When budgeting for a new Glock slide, the barrel is one of the most important components and deserves that extra sugar—especially if it’s a competition or target gun.
RECOIL ASSEMBLY
Depending on the intended purpose of your Glock, you may also want to upgrade the recoil spring and guide rod. You can increase or decrease the spring weight to better match the kind of ammunition you’ll run, taming the slide reciprocation speed for optimum performance. Compensated pistols usually require lighter springs to make up for the reduced recoil. Similarly, duty guns that use hotter ammo may benefit from a heavy recoil spring, which will slow down the shock of high-pressure cartridges.
SIGHTS AND OPTICS
Finally, you will want to add some sights. With many of the aftermarket slides, you’ll have the option of attaching a Trijicon RMR or Optics Sights. Pistol-mounted reflex sights are quickly becoming a staple in the shooting community, as it comes with many benefits over traditional sights. The most significant benefit is the ability to focus on the target instead of the front sight, improving your target identification, awareness, and tracking.
But that doesn’t mean you should abandon traditional sights. With a properly cut slide, you can mount suppressor-height sights to co-witness with your red dot. This means you’ll always have a backup option in case the battery runs out. It’s the best of both worlds!
An RMR can be installed without any special tools, but you’ll want a sight pusher for the backup sights.
THE EXTRAS
Now that you have a customized slide and frame, all that’s left is the accoutrement. Magazines and accessories are crucial in making your ideal Glock run like a dream.
As previously mentioned, many shooters add a compensator to reduce recoil and cut down their split times. Especially when used with slower rounds, a compensator can make a meaningful difference in your ability to stay on target through rapid fire. Just be aware that you may need to change your recoil spring weight for the reduced impulse.
If you’re building a duty gun or carry gun, you’ll also want to check out our flashlight options. Since most spooky stuff goes bang in the night, a flashlight is an important part of any defensive handgun.
FINAL WORDS
That’s all it takes. You now know everything you need to take the plunge into building or upgrading your own personal Glock. We hope to be your first choice for all your Glock needs.