- Location
- Western BC
I upgraded a stock Glock 21SF with a few things I thought would improve upon the handling characteristics of the pistol. Maybe some of you will like to do some of these.
The first upgrade I did was a stainless steel guide rod and spring. These items were ordered as two separate parts. After I added this to my Glock, I noticed a "stiffer report" during recoil. I "think" it was worth it but it's hard to tell how much real difference it makes. Still, I prefer a stainless part over a plastic one and hence, I've kept it on the pistol. It has had over 500 rounds with no malfunctions using these parts.
Item: ISM-GL17 -- ISMI Full Size 17 lb Recoil Spring
Item: GR2021 -- S/S Guide Rod for G20,21,21SF
I didn't do much to my pistol for a long time and then one day, I decided to add some grip tape. I bought the grip tape from a hardware store for about $2 and cut it out with a utility knife. What a grip. It felt like a completely different pistol. I'll never go back. I am against stippling as the hands sweat too much and the plastic remains slippery even after just 30 or 40 rounds.
I place my thumb along the frame here and the grip tape offers a better index point hence the grip tape in this location. I need to add more tape to the front forward face of the trigger guard.
I added more tape just under the tail here. You can also see that I cut the grip tape to match the original Glock grips here. It only took about 20 minutes to get it right.
After the tape job, I thought, what the heck, I'll see what else I can do to improve the handling of my Glock so I decided that a extended slide release would be a good idea. I ordered part no. 100-002-748 GLOCK EXT SLIDE REL ALL MDLS EXC 17 from Brownells. It fit nicely. I am not sure I "needed" this part but I like the new ergonomics of this function.
After I added the extended slide release, I wanted to see if I could improve upon the Glock trigger by lightening it with a 3.5lb trigger connector. My impression is that this new trigger connector offers a snappier feel, it's lighter and after 400 rounds at the range, it functions 100%. I have not gone back to my old trigger connector. I also did not measure the actual pull weight of the new trigger, but it is certainly faster than my old one and I think it has less take up and as mentioned, less travel. Here is a photo of the old trigger connector. I'll keep it just in case I need it one day. I used Glockwork9's youtube video to do that. Simple stuff.
By far the most expensive thing I did was order up the Heine Ledge #3195 3D Tritium Night Sights. I had to order these via Brownells Special Order Dept. (SOD) in two separate orders. That meant paying shipping for each order separately in order to get them on a separate invoice each as an under $100 shipment so off the email went...Sarah in the SOD was very helpful.
Order 1:
Heine Ledge #3195 3D Tritium Night Sight FRONT
Order 2:
Heine Ledge #3195 3D Tritium Night Sight REAR
These sights are probably the best sights I have ever seen on a Glock. I installed them myself after watching Brandon401401's video on the subject. Easy stuff.
Another handy thing every Glock owner needs is Item: GT03374 -- Glock Armorer's Tool. It's all you need to service the pistol and detail strip it.
BTW, I don't care about resale value and this one isn't a collectible so I was happy to experiment. I think I have about $1200 invested and without spending money on gunsmithing, there is probably $1400 of value here all told. I don't think I will change another thing on this Glock but I will keep my white Crayola crayon sharp.
Right now, the 21SF runs 100% although I keep hearing about the Ambi. models having a "sticky" mag. release: mine hasn't developed that irksome issue. Good luck with your upgrades!
The first upgrade I did was a stainless steel guide rod and spring. These items were ordered as two separate parts. After I added this to my Glock, I noticed a "stiffer report" during recoil. I "think" it was worth it but it's hard to tell how much real difference it makes. Still, I prefer a stainless part over a plastic one and hence, I've kept it on the pistol. It has had over 500 rounds with no malfunctions using these parts.
Item: ISM-GL17 -- ISMI Full Size 17 lb Recoil Spring
Item: GR2021 -- S/S Guide Rod for G20,21,21SF
I didn't do much to my pistol for a long time and then one day, I decided to add some grip tape. I bought the grip tape from a hardware store for about $2 and cut it out with a utility knife. What a grip. It felt like a completely different pistol. I'll never go back. I am against stippling as the hands sweat too much and the plastic remains slippery even after just 30 or 40 rounds.
I place my thumb along the frame here and the grip tape offers a better index point hence the grip tape in this location. I need to add more tape to the front forward face of the trigger guard.
I added more tape just under the tail here. You can also see that I cut the grip tape to match the original Glock grips here. It only took about 20 minutes to get it right.
After the tape job, I thought, what the heck, I'll see what else I can do to improve the handling of my Glock so I decided that a extended slide release would be a good idea. I ordered part no. 100-002-748 GLOCK EXT SLIDE REL ALL MDLS EXC 17 from Brownells. It fit nicely. I am not sure I "needed" this part but I like the new ergonomics of this function.
After I added the extended slide release, I wanted to see if I could improve upon the Glock trigger by lightening it with a 3.5lb trigger connector. My impression is that this new trigger connector offers a snappier feel, it's lighter and after 400 rounds at the range, it functions 100%. I have not gone back to my old trigger connector. I also did not measure the actual pull weight of the new trigger, but it is certainly faster than my old one and I think it has less take up and as mentioned, less travel. Here is a photo of the old trigger connector. I'll keep it just in case I need it one day. I used Glockwork9's youtube video to do that. Simple stuff.
By far the most expensive thing I did was order up the Heine Ledge #3195 3D Tritium Night Sights. I had to order these via Brownells Special Order Dept. (SOD) in two separate orders. That meant paying shipping for each order separately in order to get them on a separate invoice each as an under $100 shipment so off the email went...Sarah in the SOD was very helpful.
Order 1:
Heine Ledge #3195 3D Tritium Night Sight FRONT
Order 2:
Heine Ledge #3195 3D Tritium Night Sight REAR
These sights are probably the best sights I have ever seen on a Glock. I installed them myself after watching Brandon401401's video on the subject. Easy stuff.
Another handy thing every Glock owner needs is Item: GT03374 -- Glock Armorer's Tool. It's all you need to service the pistol and detail strip it.
BTW, I don't care about resale value and this one isn't a collectible so I was happy to experiment. I think I have about $1200 invested and without spending money on gunsmithing, there is probably $1400 of value here all told. I don't think I will change another thing on this Glock but I will keep my white Crayola crayon sharp.
Right now, the 21SF runs 100% although I keep hearing about the Ambi. models having a "sticky" mag. release: mine hasn't developed that irksome issue. Good luck with your upgrades!
